R is a USC senior majoring in Computer Science. She is a quick witted, stylish, craft girly with an affinity to push the boundaries of what it means to be a person in stem. She grew up in the Bay Area with two brothers and a dog and a cat. She also grew up acting as a child in San Francisco. When she was younger and at a family gathering she was hanging out with her older cousin who showed her this drawing “trick”. As you can see above, it starts by wiring the word “look” and then by adding on lines to make it into a mask. Then you add a face, a mouth, and the rest of the facial details until Violà! A Ninja Turtle has appeared. R’s older cousin explained to her that this was a drawing he was taught be another kid his age in elementary school. R, then used this drawing and shared it with many of her friends at school
Analysis:
This is an example of a tradition passed on among different age groups and through decades. Though this was most likely invented during the pop culture renaissance of the 90s and during the inevitable rise in popularity of The Ninja Turtles themselves; it lives on past its time through this drawing. This teaching of the “drawing trick” was a clear way for R’s older cousin to connect with her and pass down something he found cool and special when he was her age and that she subsequently did as well.
Explanation of Folklore: This folklore is a hand gesture that was explained to me by T, and is used in his home country of Guam, along with Hawaii and throughout the Pacific Islands. The gesture is a greeting sign that is widespread, and in the common traditions of the Pacific Islanders, when done, everybody knows what it means, and it is a normal, everyday aspect of Island life.
Analysis: When I interviewed T, he told me about a particular hand gesture that is practiced in Guam. He mentioned that it is not exclusive to Guam, but is also polar in Hawaii, and most of the pacific islands. The hand gesture is made by sticking out one’s thumb and pinky finger, bringing in their middle three fingers to crate the gesture. (see image below). T told me that in Guam, this hand gesture is commonly used as a greeting, a nonverbal way to express “what’s up” to someone else. He told me that in Guam, everybody else uses it to greet each other, and is a very common greeting. T elaborated and mentioned that it is also very popular across the Pacific islands, specifically in Hawaii. In Hawaii, this is labeled the “Shaka” and has a strong association with the surf culture in the state. This “Shaka” as it is labeled is known very well by the many tourists that visit Guam, and the Pacific, and has made its way to the mainstream. T mentioned that in Guam, tourism is tremendously important, and makes up a large part of the economy. Gift and souvenir shops use this gesture in merchandise, and to make memorabilia surrounding it.
When asked what he believes the origins of the symbol are, T mentioned he is not sure, but guesses it originated from the native Chamorro people of Guam. he believes that these indigenous inhabitants of Guam are the originators of the hand gesture, and it has made its way through generations and is still utilized to this day. Even in the present, the people of Guam continue to use it, and know what it means. It is a part of their nonverbal folkloric gestures.
Personal Analysis: This is a regional folklore that even I knew of, and have seen many times in the mainstream. Previous to interviewing T, I was aware that there was a strong association between this symbol and surf culture. Growing up in California, surfers would call this “Shaka” and I was aware of its origin from the pacific islands. Elaborating on T’s theory, I do believe that this may be a remnant of the indigenous Chamorro people. Perhaps their native customs included hand gestures, that were kept alive and passed on throughout the generations. Guam is a country with a very diverse population. There is strong asian influence, especially Japan, the Philippines, and China. This intermix of people make its all the more fascinating that a gesture could survive all this time. The Oicotypes associated with this folk gesture are very interesting, and provide a unique perspective of regional variation. In Guam, this not called “Shaka” but more so an unspoken form of communication. It is interesting however to see the more common and well known variation to be the “Shaka” and more closely tied to the surf culture of the Pacific Islands.
My informant was a Japanese-American college student at USC who grew up in California. Below is a transcript of our conversation talking about the cat’s cradle, a playground game she played as an elementary schooler.
“A cat’s cradle is a string that you can manipulate into different shapes with your hands by making a series of movements with your fingers. It was taught by my friends in elementary school and requires other people to help out to work since the patterns are easily forgettable; I had to ask people all the time how to do it. If you could make a shape out of a string people thought you were cool because you’re making a new shape out of a simple string. It felt mysterious and skillful, like a cool trick you can do to impress other kids on the playground.
I remember I also tried to teach my mom it, who said that she knew how to do it when she was younger but she forgot how to do it as she grew older. I didn’t play cat’s cradle after elementary school. There was no particular reason why; new trends just came up and I forgot how to make it.”
Cat’s cradle seems to invoke a similar sense of fascination and mystery as performing magic tricks, but this sensation seems to be quite ephemeral. It’s reminiscent of how children grow out of pretend play because they feel childish pretending like they’re something else and they want to feel more “grown-up” (this is reflected in how “too old to play pretend” is a common saying.) Because cat’s cradle was a social activity and needed other people to learn it from, the informant probably felt social pressure to stop doing something no longer regarded as “cool” anymore. The fact that the informant’s mother also knew how to do it but forgot as she grew older suggests that this is a common pattern among young children and occurs with every generation.
The informant was a Chinese international student from Shanghai who goes to UC Santa Barbara. He describes a tradition in his household that takes place during Lunar New Year where his family puts a lucky red envelope (红包 – ang pau) upside down on their front door.
“The character on the envelope means prosperity or auspiciousness. Upside down (福 – fu) in Chinese is the same pronunciation as arrival. So putting it upside down is like saying that prosperity has arrived. People put that on their door during the New Year. Some people also choose to put that only inside their door to signify that the prosperity has entered the household. There’s also belief that the character at the front door should not be upside down since that upsets the prosperity but you can put the character upside down onto other things (like a closet) inside the house. It is a very common and significant cultural practice in China. And my family does that too. We typically put the character upside down outside the front door to our apartment.”
Because Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language where one word can have multiple meanings depending on what tone it is said in, there are many opportunities for word play like this instance. The disagreement between people whether putting the envelope upside down brings or upsets prosperity and whether putting it outside or inside the door is the correct way is interesting because it shows how different people interpret the wordplay differently and that there is no clear cut answer.
Nonetheless, using a lucky envelope to bring prosperity inside the home reminds me of how people across a lot of cultures have rituals to bring them luck for the new year (eating a select amount of grapes, kissing on midnight, etc.) and indicates that many people see it as a hopeful new opportunity to change their lives for the better.
Allegedly our Moroccan family has this thing passed down in the family where the right eye twitches, it is a good sign, but if our left eye twitches it is a bad sign.
Informant is born in Morocco…
Analysis: My cousin’s had his left eye twitch and freaked out so he chose not to believe in it…Therefore, I think it could lead into paranoia but, personally, it has passed down to me (I am American), and it predicted numerous things. For example my left eye twitched and then I had an argument with my friend. But it has to also follow with a gut instinct because sometimes it twitches and barely anything happens and perhaps thats just a physiological response rather than a response of intuition. It has to be connected to a twinge of intuition. As I am writing this my right eye twitches so it gives me the suspicion that I am correct in this analysis.
