Category Archives: Folk speech

Indian proverb about fate

Nationality: Indian
Age: 70
Residence: India
Performance Date: 3/23/2021
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)

Context & Background:

Indian proverbs relating to death and fate. Translated from Hindi to English. Informant: an old lady from Rajasthan who is my late grandfather’s family friend.

Performance: (via phone call)

Proverb: “Jakho Rake Saiya, Maar Sake Na Koi”

Transliteration:

Jakho: Whoever

Rake: Keep

Saiya: God

Maar: Kill

Sake: able to 

Na: not

Koi: anyone

Translation: Whoever god wants to save, no one can kill them.   

Explanation: This proverb says to have faith in God or fate, and if you have that no one can kill you.       

Analysis:  

This sounds a lot like a religious proverb, but I don’t think it relates to Hinduism as much as Indian culture. India is a mix of many religions, including a lot of Muslims and Sikhs. The proverb doesn’t state any particular God, just one that you believe in. India is a very faithful country and most people have some sort of relation to a higher power. The proverb is used to reduce worry and have trust, like all faith related sayings. This proverb, unfortunately, is very prominent today in India because of the Covid-19 Pandemic and India is suffering from many deaths in its second wave. As we have family members in India, we use this proverb to keep us hopeful and trust in the higher power. This proverb is also used when to explain miracles that save people’s lives and tragedies that take people’s lives. 

Indian Proverb on Procrastination

Nationality: Indian
Age: 50
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: Austin, TX
Performance Date: 3/12/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

Context & Background:

I grew up around the house hearing this proverb all the time from my mother and father. The informant is my father who gives more insights on the meaning of the words. Translated from Hindi to English

Performance: (in person)

Proverb: “Kal kare jo aaj kare, aaj kare jo ab”

Transliteration:

Kal: tomorrow

Kare: to do

Jo: you 

Aaj: today

Kare: do

Aaj: today

Kare: to do 

Jo: you 

Ab: now 

Translation: What you’re gonna do tomorrow, do today, and what you do today, do now. 

Explanation: Whenever you say you will do something tomorrow or later, it doesn’t happen. So whenever you say tomorrow, think I will do it today. And, whenever you think I’ll do today, do it now. 

Analysis:  

I think my parents were giving me anti procrastination propaganda from an early age. Anyways, from first-hand experience, I know that Indian households put a large emphasis on studies and academics. The households obviously want to instill good values in their children, like not to procrastinate, but I think there is an underlying purpose for getting better at academics. The pressure to be good at school starts from a young age, a lot like Asian culture. In order to foster good habits, the parents say this proverb whenever they see their child not being productive. This is a quick and efficient way to get them back on track.

Estonian Proverb

Nationality: Estonia
Age: 51
Occupation: Stay Home Mother
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/23/2021
Language: Primary Language is Estonian, but the informant also speaks English.

Background: The informant is a 51 year-old Estonian immigrant who lives in Los Angeles. She continues to participate in Estonian traditions and is a part of the “Estonian House” which is an Estonian community that resides in LA.

Context: While I was having a discussion with the informant on a car ride, she told me about an Estonian proverb that related to the conversation.

Main Piece:

  • “Väiksed vargad ripuvad võllas, suured sõidavad tõllas.”
    • Transliterated Proverb:
      • Väiksed: Small
      • Vargad: Thieves
      • Ripuvad: Hanging
      • Võllas: Gallows
      • Suured: Large
      • Sõidavad: Driving
      • Tõllas: In the carriage
    • Translated Proverb: “Small thieves hang on a shaft, large ones fly on a chariot.”
  • Explanation: Essentially this proverb reflects on a corrupt justice system in which smaller criminals are punished and hanged for everyday crimes, such as stealing, whereas the large criminals who are committing the really heinous crimes are riding in their chariots. It insinuates that those who are in high places in society had to pull some strings or cut off some loose ends to get to where they are at in the social hierarchy. It also implies that the everyday thief, who is likely just a poor person trying to survive, is severely punished for minor crimes.

Interpretation: A common theme in Estonian history is the subjugation of the peasantry and the lower-class members of society. This proverb reflects how Estonians have viewed their justice system in the past to be corrupt and favor the large criminals (likely members of the upper class) and punish the lower criminals for simply stealing or committing minor crimes to survive. This proverb becomes especially significant when realizing that Estonia was a part of the Soviet Union which instilled communism. Perhaps proverbs like this reflect a deeply embedded attitude that Estonians have to upper class members or “large criminals” and how that was affected by years of communism under the Soviets.

Italian Family Drama Proverb

Nationality: United States
Age: 52
Occupation: Business Consultant
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/19/2021
Primary Language: English

Background: My informant is a 52-year-old with Italian heritage. Both his mother and father are from Mola di Bari, a seaside town in Southern Italy. The informant was born in Toronto, Canada and moved to Santa Monica, California at a young age. While he was not born or raised in Italy, the strong Italian roots in his family meant that Italian culture and tradition was still very prevalent in his household. The informant is also my father.

Context: I spoke to the informant while eating dinner with my family and I addressed the topic of folklore to him to see what interesting things he knew about the Italian side of my family.

Main Piece: The informant told me about an Italian proverb that he has heard used in his household which states: “Every family has their own candle to burn”. The informant interprets this as a way of saying that no family is perfect and every family has their own issues to deal with. The informant also mentioned that the candle is quite significant in Italian culture, which is heavily influenced by Catholicism, and that there is deep symbolism of candles in Catholic traditions.

Interpretation: Having never heard this proverb before, I became interested in the symbolic significance of candles in Italian culture that the informant mentioned. After doing a little bit of research I discovered that the burning of candles is used to represent prayer and worship in the Catholic church. After thinking about it, the saying “Every family has their own candle to burn” essentially means that every family has their own problems and conflicts to pray for, as prayers are often used to ask God for aid to relieve a certain conflict or fix a certain problem.

Estonian Riddles

Nationality: Estonia
Age: 48
Occupation: Property Manager
Residence: Costa Mesa, California
Performance Date: 4/23/2021
Language: Estonian, English

Background: The informant is a 48-year-old woman who was born in Estonia and immigrated to the United States, and currently lives in California. She still participates in Estonian traditions by attending the “Estonian House” which is an Estonian community located in Los Angeles.

Context: The folklore was collected during a scheduled zoom meeting in which I interviewed two native Estonians who currently live in Los Angeles and who are close friends.

Main Piece: “When we grew it was always: ‘Mõista, mõista, mis see on’. Like here (referring to California) it’s like knock-knock jokes. Like here its ‘Knock, knock, who’s there’, but in Estonia its ‘Mõista, mõista, mis see on’. It means ‘Guess, guess, what it is’.”

Estonian Riddles:

  • Mõista, mõista, mis see on. Talumees viskab maha, saks paneb tasku.
    • Transliterated Riddle:
      • Mõista: Guess
      • Mis: What
      • See: It
      • On: is
      • Talumees: Farmer
      • Viskab: Throw
      • Maha: Down
      • Saks: Noble Man
      • Paneb: Put
      • Tasku: In pocket
    • Translated Riddle: Guess, guess, what it is. The farmer throws it down, the noble man puts it in his pocket.

Answer: Tatt

  • Translated Answer: Snot

Explanation: The farmer blows his nose and the snot falls onto the ground, whereas the noble man blows his nose into a nice white rag and puts it back into his pocket.

  • Mõista, mõista, mis see on. Kui kummuli, siis täis. Kui püsti, siis tühi.
    • Transliterated Riddle:
      • Kui: If
      • Kummuli: Upside down
      • Siis: Then
      • Täis: Full
      • Püsti: Upright
      • Tühi: Empty
    • Translated Riddle: Guess, guess, what it is. If upside down, then full. If upright, then empty.

Answer: Müts

  • Translated Answer: Hat

Explanation: When upside down on someone’s head, a hat is full of hair. But when upright, there is nothing inside of the hat.

Interpretation: It was very interesting to me that instead of telling things like knock-knock jokes, children in Estonia tell riddles and try to guess what the riddle is describing. The riddles are very simple and to the point. They are not overly elaborate or complex, they are simple yet still slightly difficult to get correctly on a first guess. I know I couldn’t guess correctly when told these riddles. However, even within these riddles you can see aspects of Estonian culture shining through. For example, in the first riddle the transliteration of the word ‘saks’ is noble man or squire. Estonian history deals much with foreign invasions. Many of these people were Saxons who invaded Estonian lands and proceeded to enslave and subjugate Estonian peasants. My hunch is that the word for nobleman, ‘saks’, is directly correlated to the Saxons who invaded Estonian lands and exerted dominance over the Estonian people, as native Estonians were rarely members of the upper classes, it was always the invaders (often Saxons) who comprised the upper classes.