Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Gathering Place – Brooklyn, New York

Nationality: Caucasian, Jew
Age: 83
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Brooklyn, NY
Performance Date: April 30, 2008
Primary Language: English

Corner Candy Store

“As I grew up in Brooklyn, the corner candy store was our gathering place. Penny candy was sold and it was a place talk and laugh on the sidewalk outside it and to catch up on the gossip.”

Different neighborhoods have certain “hang out spots”, to which children and adolescents can publically meet up and chat. Picturing my grandmother hanging out at a corner store in Brooklyn is funny because of how I see modern Brooklyn corner stores portrayed in moves. My grandmother is a conservative white woman who, while growing up not so much, is now extremely wealthy. This is not the image that I picture when I think of Brooklyn corner stores. I picture African American gangsters, thugs, and drug dealers doing “business” on the corner. I picture drive by shootings and frequent robberies. However, when I research about Brooklyn, I learn about its diversity. There are a large amount of African Americans, but there are many Italian-Americans, Chinese, Mexican, Russian Americans, and low and behold, Orthodox Jews. There are indeed about 41% whites and about 36% blacks, 20% Hispanic and 22% of the population of Brooklyn is foreign born. It is in fact, a melting pot of cultures. I remember learning about immigration through Ellis Island and how millions of immigrants settled in New York’s boroughs. The picture that Hollywood usually paints, however, is Brooklyn as a popular place for gang activity and indeed many gang and mafia movies take place in Brooklyn. This folklore research has taught me that Brooklyn is much more multi-faceted.

The other interesting point about my grandmother’s recollection of her childhood is the presence of penny candy. Back in the 1920’s and 30’s, prices were obviously a lot lower. The dollar could buy you a lot more than what it could today. Today, a penny will not buy anything. However, I think the only time I have come in contact with anything that costs a penny is at Ruby’s Diner, where gumballs cost a penny.  The last time I checked was a few years ago, though, so they might not even be as low as a penny anymore. While not the most apparent of cultural identifiers, prices can be an indication of life in the “good old days” and can actually define a time period.

Rite of Passage – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Nationality: Brittish
Age: 19
Occupation: Tau Kappa Epsilon Pledge Educator
Residence: London, UK
Performance Date: Spring semester 2008
Primary Language: English

Rites of Passage: Being a Pledge and Performing a “Think About It.”

During the spring semester of my first year at the University of Southern California, I decided to become a part of the large Greek community on campus. After debating about where to pledge, I finally decided on the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, also abbreviated as TKE or Teke. Known for being rowdy and loyal to their brothers, I knew joining the house would be no easy task. Before one can cross into the bond and gain the loyalty of those in the house, one must go through a pledge semester. Pledging, at least for Teke, involves physical workouts and many chores around the house, all delegated by a person known as the Hegemon, or pledge educator. My Hegemon’s name was Aaron Pattison and he loved a type of customary lore performed by pretty much every pledge to pass through Teke’s door.

Think about it. Normally those words make you sit back and ponder a statement or consider a proposition, but in Teke, those words invoke an almost instinctive reaction. When a frater (active Teke member) asks a pledge to “think about it,” the pledge must immediately get down into three points of contact no matter where he stands. “Thinking about it” means pledges must position their bodies parallel to the ground, keeping the back straight as they put one elbow on the ground with a hand under the chin, while the other arm rests behind the back. The three points of contact that must be maintained mean the elbow and feet should be the only things touching the ground in such a way that done properly, should allow a frater to balance a cup or bottle on the pledges’ backs.

“Think about its” are extremely difficult and tiresome, often resulting in very sore elbows. Normally, a pledge meeting on Monday night is the only time “think about its” are performed but as mentioned before, a frater can ask a pledge to demonstrate the proper technique. Pledge meetings and “think about its” are simply physical tasks designed to test the pledges strength of body, mind, and will to persevere. Whether or not the pledge does the physical tests well does not matter, as long as he shows the determination and heart to try until he can no longer continue. Hegemon leads the meetings and “think about its,” for his job is to lead pledges through such rites of passage into the fraternity. Not only do pledges learn from Hegemon about the house, but also they build a closer relationship with their pledge brothers and Hegemon himself as they struggle and toil together.

After completing my pledge semester, I feel that “think about its” did their purpose. Not only did I become stronger both physically and mentally, but also I respect and love those around me who stuck through the pain as we helped each other get through pledge meetings. Also, not only do “think about its” help pledges grow as a person, they earn them a rightful spot in the house. Pledging is not easy and sometimes quitting seems like a good idea, but knowing you did not quit engenders feelings of pride for outlasting countless “think about its.”

Tradition – University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Nationality: African-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Valencia, CA
Performance Date: MArch 21, 2008
Primary Language: English

UCLA Tradition: The Undie Run

This particular tradition is actually something I was able to take part in, even though I attend UCLA’s rival school USC. My brother enrolled in UCLA as a transfer student and therefore came in a junior. He commuted his first quarter, so it was not until his second quarter when he moved into on-campus housing that he began to experience the life and traditions of a UCLA student. One such tradition is the undie run, undie being short for underwear of course. This event takes place on the Wednesday of finals week when students strip down to their underwear and make a mad dash across campus. There is no particular reason for the run other than a way to burn off energy and relieve a little bit of the tension and stress associated with finals. After the run, students normally gather in the quad and exhibit school pride, whether cursing their cross-town rivals or partaking in other Bruin traditions such as the UCLA 8 count.

UCLA is not the only school with such a tradition however; there are many variations of stress-relieving traditions organized by the student body that garner high participation on other college campuses as well. Typically, students come together, like those at UCLA, en masse and create some sort of commotion or ruckus as method of coping with the rigors of finals. In fact, USC has its own version of the undie run. Deemed the Fountain Run, seniors and other upperclassmen run around campus, looking to jump in one of USC’s many fountains during the last week of class. This is because they are almost done with school entirely and therefore fear no disciplinary repercussions.

I feel these traditions create feelings of school pride and are a welcomed spectacle, even if they cause a large commotion. Each school has its own customs unique to the campus, which students feel makes them closer to the school for having experienced such an exclusive event. Although I have not witnessed or partaken in a USC Fountain Run yet, I am excited for when I finally do get the opportunity.

Tradition

Nationality: African-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Stevenson Ranch, CA
Performance Date: High School
Primary Language: English

The Cipher

During the spring semesters of my High School years, my friends and I ran track and participated in most of the same events. At practices, whenever the coach was late or whenever we finished the workout early, we would relax together on the infield or in the equipment shed with an iPod, speakers, and our amateur rap skills. It’s called a cipher and it is defined on popular website www.urbandictionary.com as “Two or more rappers freestyling together in an informal context. They could be battling or simply playing off of each other.” A freestyle is when a rapper rhymes and creates a song without having anything written down, which is also called “spittin a freestyle.” Freestyle and ciphers are a huge part of the Hip-Hop and Rap music culture, because it is a form of art created by African-Americans that allows anyone with something to say, a chance to say it.

My friends and I would join up, usually one of us would have beats to provide and we would just rap for fun. Sometimes the rhymes were clever and funny, sometimes they were boring and lame; sometimes we would battle each other, sometimes we would attempt to create songs; and sometimes we would just rap for as long as possible without running out of material or messing up the lyrics and tempo. Ciphers incorporate so many aspects like jokes/punchlines, metaphors/similes, and creativeness/originality that it became a competition to see who could produce the best combination of it all.

However, ciphers are not just about who is the best; ciphers were about displaying our talent and hanging out with friends. When a good cipher gets going, energy is present, people feed off one another and it is almost like a tangible feeling coursing through your body. In a cipher, people do not judge what you have to say because you are free to say whatever is on your mind. Ciphers act as a type of therapy, letting you express stress and frustration in the form original creations that might make a person or two laugh. Basically, a cipher is held when friends want to have fun with each other and it eventually transforms into tradition, something we looked forward to annually because it brought my friends and I closer for the period of time and made us all happy.

Folk Ritual – Jewish

Nationality: American
Age: 91
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Boca Raton, FL
Performance Date: April 4, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Yiddish

Jewish Funeral Rituals:

“Immediately after the funeral of a close relative, Jewish families observe a mourning period of seven days and are said to be “sitting shivah”. Immediate family members remove their shoes, don slippers, and sit on stools or hard benches, customs derived from ancient mourning rituals. All household wall mirrors are covered with sheets. As a symbol of grief, mourners wear garments with a rip in the label and, during this shivah period, mourners remain in the house and do no work. A minyan comes to the house, morning and evening, to hold services and enable the mourners to recite a prayer for the dead called “the Kaddish”. Friends pay visits out of respect to the deceased and to honor the mourners. The first meal served to the mourners when they return from the funeral is prepared by neighbors and customarily includes hard-boiled eggs, which are said to be symbolic of the need for the mourners’ lives to go on.  The anniversary of the death of a family member is called the “yahrzeit” and is commemorated by having a memorial candle lighted in the home and another in the synagogue from sunset to sunset and by reciting the prayer for the dead (the Kaddish). Orthodox Jews fast all day at Yahrzeit.”

Irving, born and raised in New York City, learned these Jewish customs somewhat through experience of going to funerals.  “Particularly, after the Second World War, when Jewish American soldiers had ceremonies back in the states is when I picked up most of the customs.  I’m not too religious but after going to several funerals and talking to the mourners myself, I have learned these customs.  I’m not too sure where or when the funeral rituals began, but I believe that the meaning behind a seven day mourning, is to honor one’s life through an entire week, representing an entire lifetime.  Especially at an older age, I have become overly depressed by attending funerals and would rather send my prayers and regards to the family members of the deceased.”

The Jewish funeral rituals differ greatly from many cultures.  It doesn’t celebrate the dead or mourn for just one day; instead, it is a weeklong ritual to honor the deceased and their life to its entirety.  Family members sitting on hard stools might symbolize the idea of not being relaxed and comfortable, almost as if to suffer slightly just as the deceased did.  I am very baffled by the covering of the household mirrors.  The Jewish religion is not known for believing in spirits, which would be one way to look at the mirror ritual as a way to have the dead reappear.  My hypothesis is that by covering the mirrors, anyone in the household is prevented from looking at themselves, and more specifically reflecting upon themselves.  It further emphasizes the reflections, thoughts, and prayers to all be dedicated toward the deceased.  I think that idea carries over into the fact that no one in the house is supposed to work the entire week; instead, time should be focused on mourning and honoring the dead.

I particularly find it interesting that there is an annual ritual, honoring the day that the person died.  I feel it is a way for those who are alive to never forget those who passed.  The candle represents light and hope for the future, and is the only bright part of the funeral/death ritual. The overall Jewish funeral ritual is packed with symbolism, mourning, and honoring that lasts more than just a single day unlike most cultural funerals.