Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Flowers

Nationality: Cantonese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: West 27th Place
Performance Date: 4/11/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Cantonese

Informant AN is a student at USC in the cinema arts school, so she knows a lot of cinema traditions.

AN: “Like the other ones that I’ve talked about, this one also brings bad luck. It is common knowledge that after a production you are supposed to give the actors and directors flowers as a sign of congratulations for a great play. However, giving flowers to the director or actors before a production is a sign of bad luck, I don’t know why though you might want to search it up when you go home.”

Thoughts: I went online and searched this up and I found that the reason you aren’t supposed to give them flowers before the productions is because in the past, in order for people to get cheap but beautiful flowers, the flowers were picked from graveyards. Therefore, if you give flowers to them before the production it symbolizes death of the production, so it is considered bad luck.

Jo Kheer Piyae

Nationality: Indian
Age: 77
Occupation: Anesthesiologist
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: 4/24/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

“Jo kheer piyae, so veer thae, dhand zor vuthan, sutha suhan lagan, aakhun jyot vudhay, dhadhi suhan thae, de kheer ama p school vuchan.”

This is a childhood rhyme in India. First the mother is telling the child: The one who drinks milk grows very strong. His teeth are bright white and beautiful, his eyesight is always good, it makes him or her look beautiful.

The child says: Mom, please give me milk so I can drink milk and then go to school.

My grandmother says he says this because he knows that health is wealth. Her mother used to sing it for her when she was a little girl living back in India. Every time I didn’t want to drink my milk as a child, she would sing this song for me.

Om Jai Jagadish Hare

Nationality: Indian
Age: 52
Occupation: CPA
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

Om Jaye Jagdish Hare,

Swami Jaye Jagdish Hare

Bhagt Jano Ke Sankat,

Khshan Mein Dur Kare

Jo Dhaywe Phal Pave,

Dukh Vinshe Man Ka Sukh Sampati Ghar Aave,

Kasht Mite Tan Ka

Maat-Pita Tum Mere,

Sharan Gahun Kiskee Tum Bin Aur Na Duja,

Aas Karun Jiskee

Tum Puran Parmatma,

Tum Antaryami Par-Brahm Parmeshwar,

Tum Sabke Swami

Tum Karuna Ke Saagar,

Tum Palankarta Mein Moorakh Khal Kami,

Mein Sewak Tum Swami,

Kripa Karo Bharta

Tum Ho Ek Agochar,

Sabke Pran Pati Kis Vidhi Milun Dayamay,

Tumko Mein Kumti

Deenbandhu Dukh Harta,

Thakur Tum Mere Apne Hath Badao,

Apni Sharan Lagao,

Dwar Para Tere

Vishay Vikaar Mitao,

Paap Haro Deva Shradha Bhakti Barao,

Santan Ki Sewa

Tan Man Dhan,

Sab Hai Tera Tera Tujhko Arpan,

Kya Lage Mera

 

“Om Jai Jagadish Hare” is a well-known prayer in Indian culture. It is sung often, and most often on celebratory events, like Diwali. My maternal grandmother introduced my brothers and I to this prayer when we were very young. She gave us bells to sing, and it essentially translates to listing god’s praises, asking god to bless us, and offering god foods and gifts. It’s supposed to be a happy prayer, though. Both my maternal and paternal grandmother, however, enforced the idea that this prayer was important for us to learn, and it was interesting to see that this is a prayer that breaches most of the cultures within India. My maternal grandmother speaks Sindhi, and my paternal grandmother speaks Punjabi, which are different dialects in India, but both of them sing the “Om Jai Jagadish Hare” prayer in Hindi, the overarching language, as a unifying prayer. My dad and I were talking about the prayer recently, and he was testing me to see if I remembered the lyrics from my childhood, but I didn’t. It made me upset, because it’s a large part of my childhood, but not something my family personally practices often. He then tried to remember all of it, but it’s a long prayer/song, and he couldn’t either, so we looked up the words together.

Indian Wedding Tradition

Nationality: Indian american
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Atlanta, Georgia
Performance Date: 4/22/2017
Primary Language: English

Informant:

Shehan is a sophomore aerospace engineering major from Atlanta, Georgia,  

Piece:

So ummm it is an indian tradition that when you have the bride and groom like the week prior to the actual wedding day they have this thing called a pithi. That’s a word in Hindi. But what they do is they get the groom and he sits on a chair all of his like bachelors like hang out and chill with him for a little bit and then they just like start throwing eggs at him and like ketchup mustard, mayo. really the plan is to like get him as dirty and gross as possible .the tradition is is like cleansing your body at the same time. They do the same thing to the bride, but with her they just put some sort of oil on her face, but for the groom it’s always like eggs yolks and always turns into a big food fight. And its like really fun, really gross and it happens before every wedding

Collector’s thoughts:

The most interesting part of this wedding tradition to me is that the informant says it is a indian bachelor party tradition, yet mustard, mayo, and ketchup are all very american condiments that are not traditionally indian. This reveals that while the tradition may come from the informant’s hini background, it has taken on a distinctly american twist in what foods are used to throw at the groom.

The Buddhist Shrine

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC Campus
Performance Date: April 19th, 2017
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

13

 

-As told by of an immigrant from Hong Kong, China

 “This specific type of shrine is to make offerings to the god of the land. 
I was taught that if I accidentally kick it or in any way mess with it, it will be really bad for me. 
 A story I heard was, someone was peeing next to one, and he accidentally pissed a little onto the shrine and for months he couldn’t sleep,  his face becoming more pale by the day.
In the end, he had to go to that specific shrine on the street with a priest and apologize to be cured. 
I was told this by a teacher of mine when I was in 6th grade in Hong Kong.” 
-Ivan Tsang, in person, walking to class.