Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Marine Corps Cadence

Background on Informant: My informant is a Marine Corps vet who lives in the Inland Empire and owns an HVAC business, I called him on the phone because I know that in the Marine Corps they sing when they run, It is called cadence. I asked him to tell me about Marine Corps Cadences. There is no exact location for this Cadence because Marines move all over the country/world for duty stations; but he said he heard this in bootcamp at MCRD, San Diego.

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Interviewer: where did you first hear Marine Corps cadence
Informant: honestly, TV movies but the first time I heard it live would be bootcamp.

Interviewer: why do you sing

Informant: Well if you are good at singing then it should help everyone keep in step

interviewer: In step, like in marching?

Informant: yeah it was originally used as a wy of marching Marines around when a unit marches they must all be in step with each other, uniformity solidarity marine corps is all about that but at some point we started doing it for runs too because it helps motivate us while we run. the worst thing you can do is fall out of a run.

Interviewer: Can you sing one for me?

Informant: I never sang when I ran my marines, I was a corporal, that is more of a sergeant / staff sergeant thing.

Interviewer: Oh ok.

Informant: Fuck it Marines don’t half ass shit, if im gonna do it, I’m gonna do it right.

Interviewer: Awesome ready when you are.

B: ♪♫♩♫ Hey there Army, get in your tanks and follow me, I am Marine Corps infantry.
Hey there Air Force, get in your planes and follow me, I am Marine Corps infantry. ♪♫♩♫
♪♫♩♫Hey there Navy, get in your ships and follow me, I am Marine Corps infantry.♪♫♩♫
♪♫♩♫ Hey there Jarheads, grab your M-16 and follow me, we are the Marine Corps infantry.
Hey there Recon, grab your K-Bar and follow me, you are the best of the infantry. ♪♫♩♫
Hey civilians, get off your butts and sign up this week and join the Marine Corps infantry.

Analysis: This is a clear example of occupational folklore. This cadence helps to increase unit cohesion/group solidarity, while also functioning as a musical way of motivation and occupational pride. Occupational folklore instills shared identity, this example specifically demonstrates how folk music such as this serves to reinforce pride in the Marine infantry, contrasting other branches and elevating the “tip of the spear.” By repeating it, they aren’t just motivating each other, they are reinforcing the core values and beliefs of the Marine Corps itself.

Dumpster Pasta Ritual

Interviewer: “Thank you for meeting with me can you please tell me more about ritual practices you and your family perform?”

DA: “The one that comes to mind is this tradition we have where we make pasta every week. The pasta is called dumpster pasta because we use whatever is left in the fridge in the end of the week to make a pasta dish. The ritual started when my dad lost his job, money was tight so we tried making unfortunate financial circumstances into fun ritual practices in my family”

Interviewer: “Thank you for sharing that with me, do you still perform the ritual?”

DA: “Yes even though my family is doing better we still do the ritual as an act of gratitude to remind us of our struggles.”

Context: This ritual started in her immediate family and became an event for her and her family to break bread weekly and share a meal together. She mentioned that although her families finances are stable now, that she and her family still do the ritual, and she still partakes from her college dorm.

Analysis: This ritualistic practice spans distance as she still performs it even though her physical connection from her family is severed. It can be considered a ritual of healing for them now, and serves as a sort of liminal ritual as her family transitioned from financial statuses.

First Sale: Bell Ringing

OB: At the Real Estate firm that I interned at, they have this massive brass bell in the lobby that no one is allowed to touch. When a new agent closes their very first deal, the entire office stops working and the intern rings the bell as hard as they can. We weren’t allowed to decorate our desk or put up our nameplate until the bell was rung.

Context: The informant is a senior majoring in business who I met during a group project. He witnessed and eventually participated in this ritual of initiation in a formal business setting. To him, the bell ringing felt like a public and declaritive validation of his professional worth.

Analysis: This is a ritual of initiation as well as a transformation ritual. He not only was initiated into a new group of people with shard folkloristic practices, he was also transformed into an official worker for the company, marking a period in which he became a legitimate member of a community. This status elevation ceremony transitions him from a state of dependency to a state of agency.

“Something Blue

Interviewer: “Can you please repeat what you just told me, because it is a great example of a ritual and folk tradition!”

OB: “In my Family, the “something blue” in wedding superstition has to be a blue thread sewn into the hem of the dress in the shape of an anchor. It is supposed to keep the marriage grounded, and supposedly keeps the couple together.

Context: OB’s cousin is getting married in the summer, and she wanted all her family members to sew blue anchors into the hem of their suits. He has learned this tradition for as long as he can remember in his family, however he has never participated himself because it is typically the bride. he is a gay male, and wants to eventually use the tradition in his suit when he gets married, carrying on the tradition in his own way.

Analysis: This is a great example of how a very broad and popularized tradition is localized into a more narrow specific familial tradition. This is an example of material culture, in which an object is representative of a folk belief of a tradition. This could be perceived as a ritual of intensification as it strengthens the bond between romantic partners as well as their families.

Birthday Spanking

AZ: In my family we do birthday spanks. You get one swat for every year you’ve been alive, plus one to grow. My dad usually does it while we’re all standing around the cake before we blow out the candles.

“Interviewer: I know this is a common folk ritual, however is there anything your family specifically does to modify this practice?

AZ: Now that you mention It we make sure to do the spankings at the exact hour the person was born, in order to “spank” them into the next chapter of their life”

Context: This is a multi generational family tradition passed down from her paternal grandfather. To AZ, this is a nostalgic and grounding ritual. While the act is playful, the family takes the timing seriously. The added later of the timing transforms a general game into a practice of family law. She views the physical sensation as a necessary “spank” into her new age.

Analysis: This ritual is another example of how folklore can be localized through variation and a secular rite of passage. However, the specific modification AZ describes, performing the ritual at the exact hour of birth, elevates the practice from a general custom to a sacred domestic event. Anthropologically, this emphasizes the importance of liminality. This is also connected to sympathetic magic, and the physicality of the action in the present propels the individuals journey into the future.