Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Superstition – South Korean

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Nationality: South Korean
Age: 26
Occupation: Business Student
Residence: Long Beach, California
Performance Date: February 15, 2009
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

When Andrew was a young child he was left handed. He would use his left hand to do everything from eat to draw and write. His mother frowned on him using his left hand every single time she observed it. When he would try to hold his fork with his left hand she would slap him on the back of the hand and scold him. When she caught him holding crayons in his left hand she would slap them out of his hand and tell him to pick them up again using his right hand. This continued all the way to kindergarten. Once Andrew began writing frequently he was caught holding his pencil in his left hand frequently. He was scolded and punished for this behavior every time he was caught.

Over time Andrew had to slowly learn how to use his right hand because of getting hit every time he got caught using his left hand. He eventually became proficient in writing with his right hand and subsequently lost the ability to use his left hand very well. He is now completely right handed and it is all because his mother did not want him to grow up using his left hand.

Andrew told me that being punished for using his left hand was one of his earliest childhood memories. His mother believed that being left handed was connected with evil. The left hand taboo can also be seen in Middle Eastern societies. In Iraq, I learned that the left hand is used in place of toilet paper when going to the facilities. In Iraqi culture it is an insult to wave at someone with your left hand or even shake hands with the left instead of the right. This notion of the left hand being bad is prevalent in Korean culture.

Andrew says that he does not have a single relative, living or dead, who is left handed. Whether or not some of them may have been converted, like he was, is a fairly strong possibility, according to Andrew. Andrew’s mother projected her cultural beliefs about what is “normal” onto Andrew.  Even in American society the left hand is still considered “different.” It is not discriminated against the way it is in Korea, but it is still viewed in a somewhat suspicious light. I believe that the belief that the left hand is connected with evil or at least some negative connotation still exists today and although it is not often discussed it still remains a belief that many people hold in the back of their heads.

Folk Medicine – American

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Nationality: African American
Age: 27
Occupation: Legal Assistant
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Performance Date: March 3, 2009
Primary Language: English

When you have had a long night of drinking and wake up with a massive hangover and feel like crap the only cure is to have a drink of whatever kicked your ass the night before.

According to Bryan the remedy to any hangover is basically to drink whatever caused the hangover in the first place. If, for example, a person spent the night doing tequila shots then the only way to feel any better is to have a tequila shot when you wake up in the morning. Bryan swears by this remedy and says it has worked for him several times in the past.

The first time he learned about this hangover cure was shortly after he started drinking. His first hangover was pretty rough and his older brother told him to drink whatever he had the night before. Bryan says that he did not feel better immediately but after a few hours he started to feel better. On subsequent experiences with the remedy he says he began feeling better sooner and sooner.

I have encountered many hangover remedies including: hot toddy, bloody Mary, tap water, hamburgers. Bryan has tried almost all of these and has had the most success with drinking whatever he had the night before. The only pitfall he admitted to running into using this remedy is when he drinks so much that he has no idea what he actually drank the night before. In these cases he says that it just does not work. He believes himself to be a bad guesser and when he has to guess what he drank the night before because he forgot he says he usually gets it wrong and the remedy does not work.

I think the remedy works on a psychological level in that it makes one feel better about the chances of getting over a hangover more quickly. On a physical level, I am not so sure it provides anything beneficial to an already injured body. That does not mean that it is not effective. An illness is more than physical. Although modern western medicine treats every illness with some sort of cure to the body, the mind itself also contributes to wellness and recovery from illness. If more benefit can be gained from being in a better psychological state of mind as opposed to being more hydrated or medicated then it might be better to think drinking the cause of your hangover for breakfast will cure you.

Folk Medicine, El Salvador

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Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 32
Occupation: Truck Driver
Residence: Torrance, California
Performance Date: February 19, 2008
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

For a bad cough and a sore throat:

Mix lemon juice and honey;

Roughly three spoons of honey to five spoons of lemon juice

I was suffering from a very painful cough when Jorge suggested I try this remedy. It is something he learned from his mother in El Salvador, and it is used as a quick way to soothe a sore throat, and also to alleviate the coughing itself. According to Jorge, Salvadoreans will use lemons and lemon juice as medicine for all sorts of ailments—“even if you get a dog bite! Even if you have an eye infection—I swear—they’ll put lemon juice in your eyes!” Jorge believes that it works; he does not know why, but from experience he has seen lemon juice to help. He pointed out that lemon juice contains a lot of vitamin C, and also that it stings—which can make it seem like something might be healing, or at least, being sterilized.

I think this brings up an interesting point—that often people do associate mild stinging and bitterness with medicine and health. I’ve even heard “if it stings, it’s working!” I actually decided to try this lemon juice/honey concoction. It was difficult to drink something so extremely sweet and sour, but when it slid down my throat, I could see why it was a convincing remedy. It almost felt hot and fiery going down my sore throat, and reminded me of other folk cures for the cold that involved alcohol or spicy foods, such as rum or ginger tea. I do not know if it had any lasting effects, but while I was drinking it, it did make my throat feel better, and seemed to suppress the urge to cough for some time.

Although I have high doubts of the effect of lemon juice for an eye infection, I do agree that its crisp, stinging citrus-ness, and the idea of vitamin C is probably what makes the lemon such a popular folk ingredient. There seems to be something about the sour, stinging juice that people associate to sterility and purity. People still often use lemon juice to clean surface, and lemon juice is often squeezed onto seafood to compensate the ‘fishy smell.’ Jorge said that some people in his country would even hang a necklace of lemons around the neck for health—it does seem as though there is a belief in purification powers of the lemon.

Honey also seems to be a popular ingredient to battle the cold. Koreans will sometimes drink hot honey-water (simply, honey dissolved in hot water) and another friend recommended I try honey with a bit of vodka. Perhaps people have noticed a kind of strengthening, reviving effect of the high levels of sugar in honey that made it helpful for those weakened with the cold.

First Tooth Party—Armenian

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Nationality: Armenian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: May 1, 2008
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: Russian, English

Agra Hadig

Tooth Wheat

First Tooth Party

Agra Hadig is a party that celebrates a baby’s first tooth. Mary had one when she got her first tooth as well. She told me that the “wheat” of “hadig” denotes a special food that is made with boiled wheat, cinnamon, dried cranberries, and roasted walnuts. Another popular feature of this event is when the baby is set on a table and “they just put random things around it, to see what it picks up.” This is their way of predicting the baby’s future, and according to Mary, it works. “I picked up a pen, and I like to write,” said the communication major, “and my sister chose the money, and it came true, because—it’s not that she likes money—but she really likes to save money.” Sometimes, the adults will ritualistically tear the baby’s shirt. This is done so that all the rest of the baby’s teeth will come out easily and without pain.

I believe this tradition may have occurred because the historical Armenians might have been wary of enthusiastically celebrating and embracing a new baby until it was somewhat certain that it was healthy and will survive reasonably long. I believe this, because Agra Hadig seems to so closely resemble other traditions of other cultures in which they also delay the celebration of a baby’s life until after a certain point. Koreans hold a huge celebration for a baby’s 100th day—it was thought that if a baby could make it past 100 days, it has a good chance of living on. I’ve also heard of Eastern European peoples who set that date on a baby’s 40th day. The Armenians, then, seem to have thought that the growth of the first tooth is a sign of health.

The ritual of discerning the baby’s disposition by watching it choose from a number of symbolic objects is also done in the Korean 100th day celebration. I would say that this is a show of hope and enthusiasm for the baby’s long life lying ahead. ‘Now that we know this baby is healthy,’ they seem to be thinking, ‘let us speculate a bit about its future!’

About its reliability as a divination method—it seems to work upon the assumption that people’s lifelong personality and dispositions are inherent and static from birth. It also seems to suggest that humans have an almost instinctual, perhaps unconscious understanding of the meaning of the symbolic objects. That a born writer can somehow sense the significance of a pen the day he is born—or the day his tooth is born. There is also a hint of determinism, that idea that the destiny of a person is already somewhat determined before they realize it. I do not know much about Armenian thought, but I must say I would not be surprised if they had some belief in these things—destiny and static personality.

Another thought I must add. I wonder if conditioning does not play some part in this. According to my mother, I, too picked a pen, and my brother picked money. Though she is not blatantly superstitious, she does not seem to altogether dismiss belief either. I often would hear her say, “and you see? You’ll be an intellectual, but you can’t save a dollar—not like your brother. He is too impatient to study, but he hoards every penny.” Well, quite frankly, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard her say something like this to us much before we were old enough to actually reveal a scholarly disposition versus a financial flair. I also have to wonder if I had picked the money, and my brother, the pen, would not my mother be saying instead, “and you see? You love to spend your money—but your brother is always impatient to learn more!”

I would wager to guess that constant reinforcement and conditioning by the parent with specific expectations plays no small role in the occasional (and dubious) accuracy of this particular version of the personality test.

Annotation: Dresser, N. (1999). Multicultural Celerations: Today’s Rules of Ettiquette for Life’s Special Occasions. University of Virginia: Three Rivers Press, pg. 55

Protective Eye Amulet-Armenian

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Nationality: Armenian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: March 3, 2008
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: English, Russian

Wearing an ‘eye’ as a means of protection against harm, jealousy, and ill-will

Protective Eye Amulet

Right after baptism, some Armenian babies are clothed in all white, with a blue eye pinned to their clothes. Adults will wear it as well, as it is supposed to act as a protective “mirror” that reflects curses and evil back at its source and away from its wearer. According to Mary, the powers of the eye will be greatest if it is a gift from someone else—“that’s much more effective than if you just get one for yourself” she said. Mary showed me her eye, which she always pins to her bra. I was not able to get a picture of it, but it looked very similar to the one in this photograph (Mary spoke of the eye only in terms of pins or brooches, however, and did not mention necklaces). Mary’s brilliant blue eye was set in a golden plate. She said hers was very strong because it was a gift from her mother. She told me that because there is no one who cares more for one’s welfare than one’s mother, an eye from one’s mother is the strongest kind. Mary learned of this from her mother and her grandmother, but told me that many Armenians believe this. She also added that it was not at all a matter of religion.

When I heard of this, saw the gorgeous pin, and watched my friend explain to me the power of her pin with unwavering conviction, I was intrigued—it was not only until much later when I did some research that I found out just how widespread and thoroughly studied a tradition this was, known as the evil eye. Mary, however, did not mention to me that she believed in any people who could cast the evil eye (a belief that seems to resemble the Azande’s ideas of magic)—instead, she seemed to believe that her eye was meant to ward off general negative energy and evil influences. She used the word devil a lot, but said “it doesn’t have to mean the real devil, but just, you know, evil.”

It was also an interesting detail that she believed that the effectiveness of the amulet increases depending on who gave it to her, and on the degree of sincerity with which it was given. To me, this is a very interesting, almost modern, twist on this ancient superstition. It is almost implies an “it is the thought that counts” attitude. It is an idea that suggests that the power lies not so much within the eye-resembling object itself, but within the love of a mother or sincere friend. This, to me, suggests influence by contemporary metaphysical thinking.

Annotations:

Elworthy, F. T. (2004). The Evil Eye: The Classic Account of an Ancient Superstition. Courier

Dover Publications.

Dundes, A. (1981). The Evil Eye: A Folklore Casebook. Garland Pub.