Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Fist Pump Farewell

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Saratoga, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

“I remember when I was in middle school.  Whenever my dad would leave for work.  He would leave for work before I went to school so I would be eating breakfast.  He would get ready and put on his shoes, and then he would stop just before he left and say ‘Fighting.’ (The informant says the word in a low tone as pumps his fist in a forward motion.)”

The informant believes that his dad picked the gesture up in the army.  The fist pump motion is paired with a reverberating and deep utterance of the word “fighting” in a Korean accent.  (I was unaware what word he was saying at first because of the heavy accent until the informant explained.)  The informant said it was a big moment when he finally got the resonance of it, a sort of rite of passage.  His voice was finally low enough to make the sound like his father.

Nowadays, whenever he has a bad day, his mother will say it to him over the phone to cheer him up.  I asked if he thought he would continue the tradition with his children, and he said that he was unsure.  “I could imagine if I had this really spunky three year old and I was looking for something new for us to do.”  He said that he would love if  his parents, particularly his dad would do it with his kids, and maybe he would join in, but maybe it would just be a tradition for his dad and his children.

The word and gesture does not really mean anything, but the practice and performance of the ritual is what stuck with the informant.  It is a tradition with his dad that is a little silly, but it became a regular part of his day.  I think the custom is a good way to keep the connection between the informant and his family; the gesture has lost its original meaning, but now it holds more importance and remains in his memory.

CRC “Radiothon”

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: 4/26/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, French

My friend lives in the Communications Residential College at Northwestern University.  This residential college houses communications freshmen and sophomores.  Every year the CRC would host a Radiothon and ask for pledges to donate to the American Heart Association.  The tradition was started in dedication to a student who lived in the dorm and died of arrhythmia in the 1980s.  Since its inception, the Radiothon has become a massive event for the members of the CRC, and it is carried out with a decent amount of publicity every year.

The radiothon lasts for 50 hours, and students are encouraged to stay up the entire time (my friend was unable to).  There are set programs that are carried out each year and passed down by each year of CRC residents, and there is room for customized programs that students submit.  The conditions for the custom programs is that they last for an hour, are entertaining, and can generate money for donations.

One of the most popular forms of the custom show encourages the residents of the dorm to donate money to see other residents do outrageous things.  For example, my friend’s friends donated to see her and another resident have a chocolate pudding fight.

An example of a hybridization between the fixed shows and the custom shows is the segment “That’s Stupid” during the Radiothon.  The tradition of “That’s Stupid” is passed down every year, and the framework is the same – pay money to have your friends do stupid things.  What exactly you can get your friends to do really depends.  My friend pitched in with other friends to donate $50 and have salsa poured on a fellow resident’s hair.

The tradition of the Radiothon acts as both a memorial and a celebration.  It’s a memorial to the student who died from arrhythmia and lived in the dorm.  Since both that student and the current residents major in communications, there is connection that the tradition plays on.  But it’s also a celebration of the present group of freshmen and sophomores who live in the CRC.  So on one hand it is mindful of the past – on the other hand, it is optimistic or celebratory of the present.  Sometimes, the Radiothon does extend to graduated classes of the CRC community – my friend said that alumni ocasionally call in to donate to the American Heart Foundation.  I feel that the use of technology allows for this potential expansion of the relevant community.

Cantonese Wedding Comb Tradition

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 51
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: Arcadia, CA
Performance Date: 4/27/2013
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

My mother said that when she was about to get married, she learned of a tradition that takes place before the day of the wedding.  Her older sister combed her hair the night before, and said the following lines:

一梳梳到老 (yi shu, shu dao lao)

二梳白髮齊眉 (er shu, bai fa jing wei)

三梳兒孫滿地 (san shu, er sun man di)

四梳有田有地 (si shu, you tian you di)

Each line is delivered with a stroke from a comb.

The first line translates to, “one stroke, stroke until old age.”  The first stroke comes with a wish for the bride-to-be to have a long life.

The second line translates to, “two strokes, your brows become white together.”  The second stroke wishes for the bride-to-be to have white eyebrows at the same time her husband does.  In other words, this stroke wishes for the couple to grow old together.

The third line translates to, “three strokes, children and grandchildren cover the ground.”  This third stroke wishes for the bride to have many children, and children who survive to raise grandchildren.

The fourth line translates to, “four strokes, you’ll have fields and have land.”   This wishes for the wife-to-be to own property.

There are other significant gestures in this ritual as well.  The reason why my mother’s older sister combed her hair was because she was happily married, had children, and had a home.  Elder members of either family can comb the wife-to-be’s hair so long as they’re happily married and generally have experienced the wishes of this combing ceremony.  Widows or sickly wives can not perform this action.

After the combing ceremony, the wife-to-be can not sleep and must preserve the hair until the wedding.

There’s a lot going on in the gestures of this combing ceremony.  A happy marriage and future is very important, so it would make sense that this combing ceremony takes place.  The stressed need for a happily-wedded wife to perform this ceremony shows that theres is a form of contagious and homeopathic magic going on in the performance.  Since homeopathic magic follows a “like produces like” rationale, a happy wife combing a wife-to-be’s hair hopefully produces another happy wife.  On the other hand, the wife combing the wife-to-be’s hair acts as a form of transferrence.  She is transferring her happiness and successful marriage to the wife-to-be.

My mother noted that the fourth line was a recent addition.  With expanded rights and social roles for women, the wish for her ability to own property became very relevant.  This shows that the incantation and the practice of combing the wife-to-be’s hair is adaptive to changing circumstances.

The Rock (and other rocks) at Northwestern University

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: 4/26/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, French

My friend at Northwestern University says there’s a tradition of painting particular rocks on campus.  There’s one massive rock at the center of a few campus buildings, and there are rocks scattered along the coast of Lake Michigan (Northwestern is situated along Lake Michigan).

The rock at the center of campus is often used to promote student organizations, and is known as “The Rock”.  My friend is not entirely sure how the tradition of painting The Rock began, but she knows the rules surrounding the rights to painting the rock.  Should a student organization want to paint the rock, they have to have at least one member guarding it for 24 hours straight.  After the 24 hour period has passed, the organization is allowed to paint anything they please on the rock.  Most of these paintings cover the entire rock and promote the organization itself.  Although the exact origins are unknown, my friend knows that The Rock’s been painted on for quite a long time (she hears many people joke “I swear it was way smaller before,” which hints at the number of times The Rock’s been painted over).   She has not guarded The Rock herself, but knows of friends who have stayed the night by The Rock on behalf of their groups.  Sometimes the progression of  The Rock’s multiple exteriors is documented on a bulletin board.  It’s a popular hangout spot (which I think is partially because of the traditions surrounding it) so it’s good advertising space for campus groups.  Part of becoming a Northwestern student is knowing where The Rock is on campus and knowing the ritual you must perform to win the rights to paint on it.

There are other rocks along the Lake Michigan shore that students can choose to paint.  People can personally reserve rocks but there are no guarantees the paintings will not be painted over.  People who paint the rocks are often couples or graduating students.  My friend and her friend have already looked for a rock and are planning to paint it as seniors.

I think that The Rock and the rocks along the lake are popular spots for painting because rocks are often thought of as enduring objects.  I’ve seen the rocks along the lake myself – these rocks still contain writing from people who have graduated several years ago.  The idea of “leaving your mark” on the college you go to is put in a very physical form through this tradition.

To paint The Rock and the other rocks is a sort of ‘initiation’ into being recognized as a Northwestern student.  Once you’ve been able to carry out these practices you’ve made your impact on the campus.

Iranian Funerals

Nationality: Iranian/Turkish
Age: 48
Occupation: Restaurant Owner
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 24, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Farsi, Turkish

When somebody passes all of the family members gather and they bring food and say prayers at the home of the person who has died. The burial is usually occurs within three days of the person’s death. They usually have a big memorial on the seventh day. During the memorial family and friends gather and eat Persian food, which is supposed to be comforting. The 7th day is a significant day for saying prayers. Forty days after the death of the person they do another memorial, which only includes the deceased person’s family member, friends are not included. This memorial includes a prayer ceremony and eating traditional Persian food. The family of the deceased person are supposed to wear black for forty day after the person’s passing.  If the person that died was young, they are traditionally supposed to wear black for a year. The family of the person who died celebrates the anniversary of their death every year. They visit the person’s burial site, where they take flowers and then typically go to a family dinner or lunch.