Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Oplatek

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC Student - Interactive Media, Music Production
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/25/18
Primary Language: English

Transcription:

Interviewer: “Where are you from?”

Informant: “Litchfield, New Hampshire”

Interviewer: “Okay can you tell me about your family traditions?”

Informant: “Um…yes I am…so I’m French, Polish, Irish, Lithuanian, Hungarian, and Italian but…the thing is…equal parts everything except for two parts Irish, umm just for context. But the thing is my family has only ever celebrated like…actively in my Polish and Irish side. Um…we tend to celebrate St.Patrick’s day pretty hardily. He have a lot of like traditions. We listen to a lot of traditional…like uh traditional Gaelic music. Um…bands like The Berry McNeals and so on so forth. We very much tend to listen to those types of music. And our Irish heritage just generally throughout something that we’re pretty proud of. Um…but in terms of actual traditions…we uh picked up a polish tradition called the Oplatek on Christmas Eve where um… there’s this… basically we don’t follow it strictly because the story behind it is a little bit more long form than we have time for. But um…essentially what would happen would be…a priest I believe would distribute loaves of bread…to…um…to each…to every house or something like that then like towards the start of the Christmas season I think. And then like they would break that load of bread like um…on Christmas Eve. As I understand it. Um…but the important part is the breaking of it on Christmas Eve and um…saying ‘This blessing may have health, wealth, and happiness in the golden crown of heaven.” Um saying that blessing over it then I believe it’s the oldest member starts…the head of household starts and then they pass to the left. Until everyone has a piece of bread. Then they all eat it and it’s like just a part of like a ceremonial kinda thing.”

Interviewer: “So it’s religious?”

Informant: “Yes but no. It’s um…it’s religious based but it’s culturally religious. It’s a culturally specific celebration of a religious thing. My family is Catholic and so um generally practices Catholic holidays. Even though I’m atheist, I still observe Catholic holidays with them just because at this point, it’s not anymore about the religion side of it so much as celebration with family and experiencing those celebrations together.”

Summary:

The informant talks about a Christmas tradition in his family. In it, there is bread and on Christmas Eve, the eldest or head of household takes the bread, breaks it, and passes it to the left. Once everyone has bread in their possession, they bless it and then eat it. This tradition is a Polish tradition and has roots in Catholicism. However, I find it very interesting that it isn’t about Catholicism anymore. I asked the informant and he said that he still celebrates it even though he’s atheist. He claims that the tradition has lost it’s original meaning and is now more about spending time with family. It’s very similar to Christmas as a whole. It’s also slightly reminiscent of Folklorismus. More like Folkloristmas I guess.

The Giving Tree

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC Student - Interactive Media, Music Production
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/25/18
Primary Language: English

Transcription:

Informant: “Okay um one more thing. Oh yeah my mom does this thing or did this thing which we don’t really do anymore but I’ll probably do once I have my own place. Um…like with my own kids. We did this thing called the Giving Tree or the Thankful Tree or whatever the hell but basically it was just like a big poster like ‘hey what are you thankful for?’ and we would get these leaves and we would trace them. Like we would trace them on the table and write a couple of things that we were thankful for. And then just put those up for like Thanksgiving season. Um and that would be like a sort of a…um that would be something we would do pretty consistently every Thanksgiving season.”

Summary:

The informant tells me of one of his former Thanksgiving traditions, known as the Giving Tree. A big poster of a tree is hung up. The kids trace leaves and write what they’re thankful for on them. Then they hang the leaves up on the tree. The informant states that the tradition hasn’t been done in a long time. However, he still wants to continue the tradition when he has his own family. In the future he plans to be an active bearer of this tradition. I think it’s a nice tradition that’ll bring the family together and teach the kids what thanksgiving is all about.

21 HISTORIES

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 22
Occupation: Musician
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4-23-2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

21 HISTORIES

 

Main Piece:

 

Boring thing he had to learn in middle school – compilation of stories, events, almost like an almanac, these scholars go write in 100 years what happened – this person becomes king, this land goes to who, this person gets exiled, facts and facts.

 

Section such as farming, war, royalty – these sections in 100 year sections – detailed accounts of the things that happened in these 100 year periods.

 

Usually in each section there’s categories such as strange events/phenomenon – there’s crazy shit in there ex: on this day/time the fire was freezing cold / I saw the geese flying backwards / I saw dragons creeping in the woods.

 

21 chapters goes through time periods

 

Each emperor has a person who just takes cares of his hats / crowns / and another that just takes care of his concubines…etc.

 

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

Had to learn it as part of the curriculum.

 

Where/Who did they learn it from?

School

 

What does it mean for them?

Makes him learn the differences of royalty between the East and the West. Again, part of his identity of being Chinese/Chinese history, things that are particularly/uniquely Chinese: emperor not treated as human – as a God/force of nature, can’t even criticize them

 

 

Context of Performance:

Sitting inside friend’s room just talking.

 

Thoughts:

 

As a Chinese Indonesian born and raised in Surabaya, Indonesia until I was six, it was interesting that I was not subject to the same kind of rigid curriculum (nearing propaganda) as my friend had received in China.

 

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why my identity as an Indonesian (I am Chinese by blood but we live in Indonesia at the time), my identity as an Indonesian isn’t that strong to say, my friend’s identity as Chinese.

CAMBODIAN GREETING // “CHOM-REAP-SUA”

Nationality: Cambodian
Age: 22
Occupation: Barista
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4-24-2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Cambodian

CAMBODIAN GREETING // “CHOM-REAP-SUA”

 

Main Piece:

 

Growing up I was taught that greeting elders in Cambodian was very important. This might’ve been the first Cambodian word I ever learned. It is often regarded disrespectful if a Cambodian American, specially a millennial who does not recognize the importance of greeting in Cambodian to Cambodian elders.

 

It was a gesture of both hands formed in a prayer-like form (clasped) and head slightly bent while saying the hello greeting. (head slightly bent/bowed to the front) I remember there were times when I wouldn’t be sure if I needed to do it but then I would know when my mom whispers in my ear to bow.

 

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

A required tradition of respect growing up.

 

Where/Who did they learn it from?

My parents. (theyre from Camodia, immigrants)

 

What does it mean for them?

As an adult it means that I still have the ability to show respect to Cambodian elders and teach my friends their first word of Cambodian / first greeting in Cambodian.

 

Context of Performance:

Sitting inside friend’s room talking.

 

Thoughts:

It is interesting to note that this is very similar to my Chinese-Indonesian folk-principle/custom of respecting your elders. This is more specific in that there’s a specific gesture and saying involved (where my mother only told me to respect my elders…etc.), but I feel that this is a very common principle and core of Asian cultures, or at least the East….as well as perhaps some/most of Western cultures?

 

 

CAMBODIAN DANCING

Nationality: Cambodian
Age: 22
Occupation: Barista
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4-24-2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Cambodian

CAMBODIAN DANCING

 

Main Piece:

 

I was exposed to it a lot when I went to church in Los Angeles. (a Christian church). My old best friend was an active dancer of the Cambodian dancing group in Long Beach and her parents would organize dancing performances during the church service as a way to promote Cambodian culture. When the Church service had combined different languages, such as during Thanksgiving I remember my mom would be pissed that my best friend’s mom can get away with organizing a dance meant for either an ancient Cambodian king or something affiliated with Buddhism.

 

I also remember that I had attended one of their trial classes in Long Beach and I observed the elasticity of their hands bent backwards, their balance, the patience to wear heavy gold jewelry and crowns while maintaining a steady yet careful dance flow.

 

The only thing I enjoyed about these dance performances was being entertained by the demon dancer.

 

The demon dancer is probably a character in the dance performance who has intentions of kidnapping or raping or killing the female dancer or princess-like character of the performance.

 

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

It’s probably the most creative and representative form of art within Cambodian culture.

 

Where/Who did they learn it from?

My old best friend / the Cambodian service at the Christian church.

 

What does it mean for them?

An art form perhaps worth more exploring when visiting Cambodia.

 

Context of Performance:

Sitting inside friend’s room talking.

 

Thoughts:

I think it’s interesting here how even though the subject’s parents did not have a strong cultural root(s) in Cambodian culture, that as immigrants joining an American Christian church in Los Angeles, California (with a Cambodian service), she was able to in a way get back in touch with her Cambodian cultural roots. Interesting to see that in America, at least, today, you can still go to say, a church, a community/organization outside your traditional folklore handing-down passageway (usually just from family) to learn/get into contact/access with your forgotten cultural roots/folklore.