Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Jiggle-O

Nationality: American
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
Residence: Salem, Oregon
Performance Date: March 20, 2013
Primary Language: English

“In our orchestra at our school, we have a tradition that has been past down since . . . I’m not even sure when. But for the three whole years I’ve been in orchestra we’ve always done this tradition. It’s something called Jiggle-o and we do it before concerts. It’s something kinda weird and funny, but it might be hard to explain in words. So what we do is, first we privately gather in a circle by ourselves in some room. Then, one person starts off the process by saying ‘Jiggle-o, jig-jiggle-o,’ and then everyone says the phrase together again, ‘Jiggle-o, jig-jiggle-o.’ Then, the person who started it yells someone else’s name in the group in this way, ‘Hey _____!’ So for example, ‘Hey Jenny!’ And then the person responds with ‘Hey what?!’ So the whole sequence goes like, ‘Hey Jenny!’ ‘Hey what?!’ ‘Hey Jenny!’ ‘Hey what, hey what?!’ ‘Show us how to jiggle-o!’ Then everyone shouts together, ‘Show us how to jiggle-o!’ Then the person, in this case Jenny, yells, ‘My hands are high, my feet are low, and this is how I jiggle-o!’ As she says this, she will perform some dance move, usually something goofy or funny or crazy. Then everyone watches, and shouts together, ‘Her hands are high, her feet are low, and this is how she jiggle-o’s!’ And then they all perform the dance move together. And so on, then Jenny will start the whole process over and call on somebody else, until everyone has had a chance to perform a dance move. I don’t know if I explained it well . . . but yeah this is our little tradition thing before concerts that we do. It’s just a lot of fun and goofiness.”

My informant was unsure as to where this ritual/game came from originally. Probably one of the orchestra members brought it in from somewhere else, perhaps from a team-bonding activity from a sport. She said that it just helps the members of the orchestra to loosen up before concerts as people may become stressed or nervous. Doing fun little things like this help them to laugh together and relieve stress before going onto the stage. Also, she believes that it helps their teamwork, since jiggle-o requires teamwork and synchronization, and members of the orchestra bond as they act silly together and laugh together.

This seems like a cute and funny activity to do, something that allows people to get close to one another as they show their crazy sides. It was strange to me that the name of this game is jiggle-o, which is pronounced the same way as gigolo. When my informant first told me of the ritual, I was a bit confused and surprised, because I thought she was talking about a gigolo, which is a male prostitute. I’m not sure if these are connected, but maybe the activity had some Freudian roots, as they are showing each other how they “jiggle-o.” Nevertheless, it seems like an interesting and effective team-bonding activity, one that can help them loosen up before big concerts. Perhaps I will use it for an icebreaker game or when goofing off with friends.

 

Red Packets

Nationality: Singaporean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 30, 2013
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

“During the Chinese New Year, I’m no sure about elsewhere in Asia, but in Singapore, the Red Packets are given from married people to single people. Red Packets are envelopes filled with money. Single in this case usually means younger folk. So the tradition is that the younger folk have to kneel in front of the older, married people, and say, “gong xi fa cai,” which is basically a congratulations. As they do this, they’re supposed to hand two oranges in outstretched palms facing upwards. You have to hand the orange to the elder respectfully. Then the elder will take the oranges and give you the Red Packed filled with money. It’s basically a favorite time of the year for all kids. You pretty much go family or house hopping during the two days we celebrate the Chinese New Years. Two days for us, and Hong Kong has like two weeks or something. And you collect money.”

 

My informant recollected this tradition with a lot of laughs and good memories. She remembers it as a time when she felt rich as a child with all the envelopes she received from her elders. Now it has a different meaning for her, since it is suppose to be a time for well wishes and respect. I understand this, as I grew up with a similar tradition. I also bowed to my elders and received money. When I was a child, I would be excited to receive the money and spend it on various things. Now, it is different in that I am more hesitant to take the money since I know the hard work that is required o earn the money. Instead, I look forward more to the advice they give. As they hand me envelopes, they usually also give me advice for the new upcoming year, as well as expectations. It is funny to compare what the elders said to me as a child and what they said to me now. Before they would tell me to behave and obey my parents. Now they speak about future spouses and jobs. I’m not sure where the tradition of receiving money for new years came about, but it is a time to show respect to elders through the bowing. You can see the joy on the faces of the elders as they watch their children and grandchildren bow to them, and how they happily give away the packets of money.

Game: Afikomen Game

Nationality: White, Jewish, Spanish, Greek, French
Age: 28
Occupation: GraduateStudent, Instructor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 18 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew, Ladino, Spanish, Fench

The Afikomen Game

The informant couldn’t remember what Afikomen means or whether the word is in Yiddish or Hebrew.

This is a children’s game that’s played during Passover. The informant explains that during Passover there is a service called a Seder. The ceremony comes with a book that spells out all the rituals and what order their supposed to go. The informant says that the service generally lasts about two hours. However there are people who try to finish it in one hour. The informant has lead Seder’s before and they tend to three hours long. At some point during the Seder the person leading the prayer breaks off a piece of matzo (explain) and usually hides it somewhere in the house. All the children get up and race through the house to find the Afikomen. However finds it first gets a prize usually money. It’s usually money because children are not allowed to eat sweets during Passover.

The informant in Passover most of the events and rituals are directly related to the history of the holiday or the Commandments. The Afikomen game is not related to holiday at all. According to the informant the game was created to help the children get through the Seder without disrupting it. She explained that the Seder lasts for hours and Passover has certain dietary restrictions, bread and candy are off limits. Basically the holiday isn’t very kid friendly. The informant says that some Rabbis try to justify its existence by saying that it symbolizes the search for freedom but it only exists to keep the children from getting bored

My informant says the game is not that important in itself but it is important it is related to Passover.

The informant mentioned that Passover is a ritualized holiday; every aspect has some historical or religious significance. I think it is interesting that a holiday as old and sacred as Passover has this completely unrelated game attached to it. Even though it was not originally part of the traditions it is still important enough that people try to justify its existence. Maybe being a useful way to keep children quiet during the ceremony outweighs the fact that has no symbolic significance.

 

 

 

Food: Bacalhoada

Nationality: American-white, Portuguese, and Brazilian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 25, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Not fluent in any other languages

My informant told me her grandparents come from the Azores a group of islands off the coast of Portugal. Ever year around Easter, on Good Friday, her grandfather cooks a dish called Bacalhoada. It is basically a dish formulated from potatoes, fish, hard-boiled eggs, olives, onions, and whatever else is available in the kitchen. This tradition comes from the Portuguese sailors. Since they sent a lot of time at sea they didn’t have access to fresh foods. They would catch a whole bunch of fish because they were never sure when get would get more food. So they dried and they would rehydrate them with milk later. For this dish they would have the fish and they would then throw-in any vegetables or food that they happened to find on the ship.  Even during war-time they would take the time to make this dish every Good Friday. According to my informant the recipe varies from year to year. Part of the concept of the dish is to put in whatever you have available. My informant says that she enjoys the tradition because she doesn’t fell she has that many. She enjoys the tradition but not always the food that goes with it.

It is interesting that the informant places more emphasis on the history of the tradition than the food itself. It was probably because she didn’t know the recipe off the top of her head but the history of this dish still seems more important. Especially since the recipe seems to change yearly because that’s how the dish was originally made. That might be why the informant follows the tradition even though she’s not all that keen on the actual food. The history behind this dish gives it importance so not practicing it might seem disingenuous.

Food: German Dumplings

Nationality: American- German, Austrian, Irish
Age: 45
Occupation: Business administrator
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 31 2013/ April 21 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: French

German dumplings- In my informant this is a family dish reserved for special occasions, particularly Thanksgiving. He learned this recipe from his mother and he passed it down to his daughters. The recipe is formally written down for convenience but the recipe is taught by example. There is no designated person responsible for making the dumpling it is just whoever volunteers. He says that he feels that dumplings are unique to our heritage and family tradition

Ingredients:Potatoes, Water, Salt

How to make:

Chop potatoes into small cubes.

Blend them in a blender to mush

Place the mush in a cotton rage and squeeze the juice out

Mix with flour and salt

Roll into baseball sized spheres (though the size may vary depending on how big the cook’s hand are)

Boil for thirty minutes until they float on their own

Serve with Chicken gravy

Part of the tradition is making jokes about how dense they are. Here’s a few that the informant told me:

“You can use them for bowling”

“In the Civil War they used them as cannonballs”

“We used them in floods to keep the water away”

“We tried to use them as Christmas ornaments but they pulled the trees down”

“In way back in Austria instead of throwing the first pitch they throw the first dumpling”

I find it fascinating that cooking the dish appears to be the most important part of the tradition. Dumplings are reserved for special occasion, they are jokes that only get told around that time, and children are taught how to make the dish while it’s being prepared. It might be because making the dumplings is so labor intensive. When someone makes dumplings they spend hours in the kitchen peeling, chopping, and blending potatoes. Then there’s the manual labor involved trying to ring out the water. Maybe the jokes and teaching other people came about in order to make the process more fun.