Informant: My friend’s family is from southern India, and every few years they go back in the summer for family weddings. This past summer she went to three, and recounted some of the traditions for me.
Original Piece: “Something called Marichol, where… it’s gonna sound really weird, when I explain the reason behind it. So, it’s where, if the guy is getting married… or let’s say it was my female cousin that’s getting married, me and other cousins would block the groom from entering the ceremony unless he gave them money. It’s because you are… like shaming them, or getting mad at them for not marrying you. Like, since you’re not marrying me I need other compensation. Then guys block the entrance for the groom too, but because they can’t marry the bride. And they’re prepared for it, the groom comes with bills in his pocket.
When people are entering, there’s a table at the front. There’s these bida on the table, and people take a little bit of it to eat, and someone’s standing there and there’s this canister thing that you sprinkle on people before they go.”
Context of Piece: My friend was showing me pictures from this summer, and I asked her to tell me a bit more about their weddings customs.
Thoughts about the Piece: I like this one the best, as my friend spoke from personal experience, having blocked the entrance for the groom several times before.
Category Archives: Customs
Tamil Wedding Food
Informant: My friend’s family is from southern India, and every few years they go back in the summer for family weddings. This past summer she went to three, and recounted some of the traditions for me.
Original Piece: “Wedding food is a tradition, because we always have the same thing. You have your vegetarian floor, and your non-vegetarian floor. and rows of tables, and rows and rows of banana leaves. And you sit, and men come around with these huge silver—what are they called… like a canister. Like a really big canister and a ladle of food. and they put it on your plate unless you say you don’t want it. Like you have biryani…Tandoori chicken…and some other vegetable dishes.
But not everyone can eat at the same time because there’s too many people.
There’s another part of the wedding where the bride and groom stand at the end of the stage and people come and talk to them individually. So you’re either waiting for food or waiting to talk to the bride and groom. And people go up and talk to the bride and the groom, and give their gift, and take a picture. And so the bride and grooms can talk to everyone at the wedding, and thank them.”
Context of Piece: My friend was showing me pictures from this summer, and I asked her to tell me a bit more about their weddings customs.
Thoughts about the Piece: This piece was interesting, as it brought some order and sense to an otherwise crowded proceeding.
A Catholic Tradition Honoring My Mother
Nationality: American
Primary Language: English
Other Language(s): Spanish
Age: 20
Residence: New York City, USA
Performance Date: April 13, 2017 (Skype)
Mike is a 20 year old man, born and raised in New York, who is a mobile phone salesman in New York City. He is a high school graduate whose family is of Puerto Rican Heritage.
Interviewer: Good Afternoon. You mentioned that you follow a tradition your Mom taught you. Could you explain please?
Informant: “Ya it is like I am Catholic you know you know and we really go by this Catholic thing like every time I do the cross. Every time I pass a Church, I do the cross. And I feel if I didn’t do the cross that I would feel different.”
Interviewer: You mentioned you would feel different, why?
Informant: “Like this was a thing, you know the do the cross, that I use to ah see my Mom do every time, you know, we were passing a Church. Like it ah didn’t matter if youse was on a bus or a car or like just walking down a street, um she would always cross herself. Then… then I was, you know older then a little kid, ah every time she crossed herself you know and if I was wit her, she would stare at me if I didn’t cross myself. So I guess, like um I would um feel different like I wuz disrespecting my Mother, you know. So like , I am a Momma’s boy, she is very close. And um I don’t want to, you know give her anything that wouldn’t be very respectful. Does that make sense to you?”
Interviewer: Yes it does. It is a very nice thing to do. Do you do the sign of the cross even when she is not with you?
Informant: “Of course, it’s like so deep in my bones and mind that it is like ya I am like a robot! When I see the church, like I have to stop and do my cross, you know. It is so beautiful cause I see my Mom smiling a lot every time ah um I do that.”
Thoughts about the piece:
Devoted Catholics worldwide have been making the “sign of the cross” since the 400s: http://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-is-the-origin-of-the-sign-of-the-cross/
Here is a demonstration of how to do this movement prayer properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpRzqXG1dhc
Two Scoops of Rice
“Whenever I’m having like family dinner, like when I was a kid, and we’d have rice, regardless of whether or not we were hungry, we’d have to take two scoops of rice, not one. Like, even if you only wanted one scoop’s worth of rice, you’d have to get that amount of rice in two smaller scoops, because you have to take two scoops no matter what. It’s about having the ability to have two scoops of rice and appreciating that certain sense of prosperity. My dad put this practice into my family, and he got it from his parents who were from China, where this practice is a broader cultural thing.”
ANALYSIS:
This piece of folklore is super interesting because of it’s strong connection to Chinese heritage despite the informant having never even been to China. Culture and cultural practices get passed on from generation to generation and are often a way for the people inheriting the culture to get in touch with their heritage, and I think this is a perfect example of this. And even though the furthest line the informant can draw back to this practice ends with his grandparents, it’s almost certain that the grandparents inherited it from their grandparents, and so on and so forth. It’s uplifting to know that such a gracious cultural practice and the meaning behind it has survived for so long and across continents.
Fasting for Blessings
“So, In India, there’s this common ritual for married couples. So, one day of the year, they fast in honor of their significant other so the gods bless them. My parents did it until they were in their 40’s but then they just gave up on it. For the most orthodox families they do it even if their ill and need to eat, but since my family isn’t like that it’s not that serious. And it’s on a specific day of the year, but I don’t remember which one.”
ANALYSIS:
I find it interesting that different families take this custom to different degrees of seriousness. It’s a very clear and straightforward ritual, that if you fast you will be blessed by the gods, but still some families take it more seriously than others. It makes me wonder what percent of families take it seriously compared to the percent that don’t, and if there are any other factors that might help indicate which families will take it seriously and which won’t.