Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Pinning

Performance Date: 18 April 2016
Primary Language: English

Pinning

 

Informant:

R. S. is my adopted Grandfather. He married my maternal grandmother after my Mother’s biological father died in an Air Force airplane accident. R. S. graduated from Stanford with an engineering degree while also running track. He was in the Air Force and spent time in real estate development before retiring. He then became the mayor of Indian Wells for two terms, and now remains very active by sitting on several boards, such as the Living Desert: Indian Wells’ zoo. R. S.is part Cherokee. His wife and my Grandmother is a Reverend that remains very active as well.

 

Folklore:

“I have found the ‘Pinning’ tradition particularly interesting. It has been around for as long as I can remember. Your Dad pinned your Mom… from what I understand it’s still pretty common today, right? I didn’t have the pleasure of pinning your Grandmother, since we didn’t meet until after Stanford. I love the idea of it, especially in modern times. It seems to me today that long-term relationships have seemed to take a back seat. I appreciate the tradition and respect that pinning maintains between fraternity gentlemen and sorority women. Commitment and loyalty are something we start to see less and less now… Pinning is a tradition that keeps it in place.”

Analysis:

Basically, a brother of a fraternity “Pinning” his significant other in a sorority means that he is placing her above his brothers. This is an extremely poignant and significant act, as a fraternity member places all loyalty in the hands of his brothers and its bond. By pinning someone, he is placing her above this sacred bond. It has become increasingly rare, which almost makes the sacred tradition even more special in today’s day and age.

Noodles for your Birthday

Nationality: Filipino-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/25/2016
Primary Language: English
  1. “So on our birthdays we eat noodles because we believe that they’ll give us log life. Ya. It’s not like my family thinks if we don’t eat it we’re going to die sooner. It’s just that we’ve been doing it for so long we just keep doing it again.”
  • She knows it because she’s Filipino and it’s part of Filipino culture
  • She learned it from her family who practices this tradition and passed it on to her and her sisters
  • It’s just supposed to mean that eating noodles will give you long life if eaten on a birthday
  • Context of performance: we were just discussing various types of family traditions and culture
  • I think it makes a lot of sense, the idea of noodles representing longevity. Noodles are typically long, smooth, and consistent which would be the ideal type of life to lead as you grow. I just don’t know how I feel about the consumption of those noodles leading to long life, however. I don’t feel as if there would be any specific benefit to eating those noodles however there’s not really another way to connect with a symbol that’s a food besides eating it. I think it’s possible that they hope by consuming that food they are giving themselves the opportunity to be able to reflect the qualities of the noodles which they want to be representative of their lives.

 

Wine and Chicken

Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 22
Occupation: EMT
Residence: Rancho Cucamonga, California
Performance Date: 4/25/2016
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. We did this thing for Christmas or anytime family was together we’d get in line, oldest to youngest, take a sip of wine, make a public wish, and a private wish, then pour the little shot of wine into a chicken that was cooking over the stove. It was a Venezuelan cultural thing we learned from my grandma who has been doing this since she was a child.
  • He knows this because his family still partakes in the tradition
  • He learned it from his parents who picked up the tradition from his grandmother
  • To him and his family it’s an opportunity for them to bond and express their good wishes for each other. However, beyond this, he doesn’t know the significance of the chicken, wine, or wishes. They just do it because that’s how things have been done for the last couple generations.
  • The context of this performance is that we were just talking about interesting traditions around the house that we have experienced.
  • I find this incredibly interesting, however I’m failing to find any connections between the chicken and wine and long life, beyond the idea of the coming together over food a traditional way for family to bond. Perhaps it has to do also with wine being a common Catholic symbol of importance, and when you’re sharing wine with someone it’s representative of being open and friendly with one another.

Korean Baby Rings

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/26/2016
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English
  1. So I have a friend, who like, told me that Korean babies when they turn 1 are given a golden ring to keep for the rest of their lives. I think she said the ring is supposed to represent consistency and give them good luck. Also, the grandparents are supposed to give you the ring as like their official gift to the baby. It’s like their grandparently duty I guess you could call it.
  • She knows it because a friend of hers was helping her out with a project she was completing
  • She learned it from the friend in just a regular conversational setting
  • It’s just a Korean tradition that happens with babies. Apparently there are many of those
  • The context of the performance is we were just exchanging folklore that we had both heard of over the last several weeks.
  • I think it’s really interesting that she mentioned this to me because I actually, as a Korean, have heard of this before. My mother has a ring and my sister has a ring, I just can’t remember if I do or not. If I do, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. But I agree, there are a lot of little traditions that we Koreans have especially centered around infancy that are supposed to promote health and well being for the remainder of the child’s life. And it usually is a family affair, where generations will all try to contribute to the baby.

Sunday Pizza in Sao Paulo

Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Sao Paulo Brazil
Performance Date: March 5 2016
Primary Language: Portuguese
Language: English

Title: Sunday Pizza in Sao Paulo

Interviewee: Rafael Blay

Ethnicity: Brazilian

Age: 19

Situation (Location, ambience, gathering of people?): In his room in Webb, with 3 other friends playing video games in the background. It was a Thursday in April, all the work done for the week, so spirits were high. The interviewee sat on his bed to recount some tales and such.

Piece of Folklore:

Interviewee- “In my city, it is a huge tradition that everyone gets pizza delivered to them on Sunday night. It’s important that it’s Sunday night. It’s because the pizza is so good, and the maids and the people that clean the house do not work on Sunday, so it is easier to clean.”

Interviewer- “Have people been doing that for a while?”

Interviewee- “Well as long as I can remember, since I was a little kid.”

Interviewer- “Is it something important in your family?”

Interviewee- “Not really. I mean it’s nice knowing that on Sunday you are going to have dinner with your family and you get to see everyone. Even if you go to a friend’s house you can see their whole family because they come to dinner. On the other hand, maybe the reason I like it so much is because I don’t have to do the dishes (laughing).”

Analyzation:

What apparently started off as an innocent thing simply because it was the easiest thing for the family, probably due to hearing children complain about having to do the dishes, has turned into a real tradition. Of course the reasons for the tradition starting are practical, but it has grown to be something far more important than just not doing the dishes. It gives families an excuse to come together and eat good food and not have to worry about anything afterwards. Specifically with the Interviewee, it is something that he remembers fondly and misses from being back in Brazil. The Interviewee also says that Brazilian pizza is also far superior to American Pizza, which did not sit well with other Americans who heard his statement.

Tags: Pizza, Sao Paulo, Tradition