Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Fan Lhor

Nationality: Thai
Age: 21
Occupation: student
Residence: LA
Performance Date: 4/4/16
Primary Language: English
Language: Thai

LS is from Thailand. She explained the folk superstition surrounding eating. According to L, “If you eat the last piece of food on a plate, you’ll get a hot boyfriend, or a fan lhor as we call it.” Food is generally shared in Thailand, served family style with a bunch of plates in the middle of the table that everyone eats from. L told me that this was a favorite custom of hers because all her family and friends took it very seriously. She explains how you say “fan lhor” as you reach for the food. “Whenever we were at the end of the meal,” L recounts, “me and friends would all shout it [fan lhor] and race for the last piece. We always wanted a hot boyfriend, obviously.”

I love this custom because it is so much fun. I have seen L perform this in person at a few dinners. It is a natural thing for her to do at the end of a meal because she is so used to doing it at home. The custom captures the spirit of Thai meals, which are meant to be lively affairs with a big group of people.

I believe the custom exists because it encourages people to finish all of the food served by making a fun game out of it. Table manners are such an interesting part of a culture because they vary greatly. In some cultures it is rude to be aggressive and loud at the table, but in Thailand it is encouraged. Furthermore, these dining customs encourage good eating habits in a fun way. Folklore has this power to stick in our minds because it is performed for us in such casual, quotidian ways. It is easier to remember folklore than traditional rules or literature because it is so informal that it can be repeated and reheard daily.

Horsemint

Nationality: American
Occupation: Botanist
Residence: San Antonio, TX
Performance Date: 4/16/16
Primary Language: English

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Horsemint is purple plant that grows in Texas. PL identifies it on nature walks, and often tells about how it was used as an insect repellant, which is how it got called horsemint.

PL: “One time a man was there whose dad used it often. His dad had horses, and would bundle up the horsemint, tie to rafters in barn, and shoe horses where the plant would rub on their backs. It worked as an insect repellent to keep flies off horses, that way they wouldn’t more or become too agitated for the farrier.”

Horsemint actually contains citronellol, a natural insect repellent, so it turns out the folk practice in this case is actually very functional. Bug sprays and other commercial products use the same type of ingredients.

 

 

Pelmeni

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Germany/California
Performance Date: 4/19/18
Primary Language: English
Language: German

My informant’s grandmother is Russian, and what was a common food in her country became a family tradition for holidays and other get togethers once they moved to the United States and settled in New Orleans. Her memories associated with that side of the family always involve making pelmeni together, giving it a lot of sentimental value. It’s interesting how the tradition is passed down and each person has their own role that they fill, including the younger children being given something to do so that they also feel included.

“Whenever we’re all together, we always make pelmeni, a Russian dumpling. My great grandma would sit down and make everything by hand (dough, meat, etc) and would pound out hundreds of absolutely perfect and soft pelmeni, the most amazing you will have in your entire life. She had 5 kids, the oldest is my grandma and youngest is my Aunt Tanya (a 24 year difference between them). As a little kid, would go to grandma’s house and get little wrappers and sit around the table and make the dumplings. My grandma would give my little sister one tiny piece of dough and meat, and my sister would fix it and say “okay that’s good but I think you could do a little better” with same piece. She would play with same piece of dough and meat for hours while the older kids and adults made the actual pelmeni. My great grandma’s five kids each have several kids who have several kids, so I have tons of super close cousins all living in new Orleans. The torch was passed down from my grandma and my mom is now the honorary one in charge of making them, and it will probably be passed on to my sister later on, since she has the knack for it.”

Merde for Luck

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Germany/California
Performance Date: 4/19/16
Primary Language: English
Language: German

“Merde” means shit in French, and in German theater is used as a good luck blessing before a show. It originally meant something along the lines of “may there be a lot of horse shit outside your theater from all the people coming to see the show.”

Musikverein Oberammergau

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Professor
Residence: San Antonio, TX
Performance Date: 4/8/16
Primary Language: English

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GP’s father was in the military, stationed in Oberammergau, Germany, during GP’s childhood.

“My dad played trumpet, and after convincing them to let him audition, he became the first non-villager in the band in their several centuries of existence.  Called the Musikverein, they were the marching band at Octoberfest, played Volgfest, and other celebrations. They would have big parties out in mountain meadows, where a dance platform would be set up and music would play. People would come in dirndls and lederhosen, cook sausages, and dance.

One celebration was particularly memorable. On Bavarian King Ludwig II’s birthday every year, just the horn players would climb the nearby Mount Kofel. They would build a wooden cross, light it on fire when it got dark, and play brass numbers.

You could hear it over whole valley, and kids would stand out in backyard and look up at the lights on the mountain.”

The entire celebration sounds like a very interesting sight. Having been to Oberammergau and seen the mountain towering over the town, it’s not hard to imagine the entire village watching from below. The town is also known for its world-famous passion play that it puts on every 10 years, so the town seems to have a flair for drama.