Category Archives: Folk speech

The Moon Lullaby

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 48
Occupation: Payroll Administrator
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 28, 2017
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

At a family dinner, I asked my mom if she could tell me any folklore. She told me the following:

(I will be denoted C for collector, and my mom will be M):

M: “Luna, Luna,

Dame pan,

Para el chuchito,

Capitán,

Si no me das,

Anda al volcán.”

which translates to:

“Moon, Moon,

Give me bread,

For the puppy,

Captain,

If you do not give me,

Walk [in] to the volcano.”

C: “When would you sing it to us?”

M: “Just like when we were watching the night sky, especially the moon or I would sing it to you and your sister when I was trying to put you guys to sleep.”

Collector Analysis:

My mom learnt this song from a television soap opera she used to watch as a child. She recalls that her favorite actress in the entire world sang this song in the show. She remembered and would sing it to my sister and I when we were younger. So, the song itself is a way for my mom to remember her childhood. My mom and I would go camping a lot and watch the moon, which is when she would sing it. However, I do remember her singing it as a lullaby. I really enjoyed hearing my mom sing this again. I’m sure it was as nostalgic for me as it was for my mom. This song was just a huge part of my summers and my childhood overall.

Bez muke nema nauke

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Bez muke nema nauke

Informant: MK was born in New York, but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He is a senior in high school. He has an older brother, and a younger sister. While growing up our grandparents would teach us valuable life lessons and most of the time they would use a proverb in doing so. Proverbs are a huge part of our family’s culture.

 

MK heard this proverb multiple times weather it was from a family member, school teacher or even his water polo coach.

 

“Bez muke nema nauke” when translated literally means “Without suffering, there is no learning.” The English equivalent is: No pain, no gain.

 

Have you ever heard of this proverb?

 

“Of course I have, it is a common saying in our community.”

 

Does it have any meaning to you?

 

“The same it means to anyone else that lives in my community. It teaches people a lesson. It’s a valuable lesson that I ended up learning the hard way.”

 

This proverb can be used in multiple occasions in variety of fields. For an example it is most commonly used in sports and schools. In sports without pain, suffering and sacrifice there is no gain, improvement. In schools, it is said when students complain about studying; without spending hours behind a book, one wont learn

Bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani

Informant: MK was born in New York, but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He is a senior in high school. He has an older brother, and a younger sister. While growing up our grandparents would teach us valuable life lessons and most of the time they would use a proverb in doing so. Proverbs are a huge part of our family’s culture.

 

My informant heard this proverb from his grandfather and his teacher back in elementary school.

 

What does “bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani” mean?

 

“The literal translation is better a sparrow in a hand than a pigeon on the branch. The English equivalent of this proverb is “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” This means something you have for certain now is of more value than something better you may get, especially if you risk losing what you have in order to get it.”

 

I think this proverb has a good message to it; don’t selfishly throw away something good just because you think you deserve better. However, I also believe you should never settle. If you truly think something out there is better and you can achieve it, I say go for it. The proverb is applicable sometimes, and not others.

ko nema u glavi ima u nogama

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Ko ne radi glavom radi nogama (ko nema u glavi ima u nogama)

Informant: MK was born in New York, but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He is a senior in high school. He has an older brother, and a younger sister. While growing up our grandparents would teach us valuable life lessons and most of the time they would use a proverb in doing so. Proverbs are a huge part of our family’s culture. MK heard this proverb multiple times weather it was from family members and schoolteachers.

 

What does this proverb mean?

 

“Roughly translated it means one who doesn’t have it in his head has it in his feet. Another version of it is one who doesn’t work with his head, works with his feet.”

 

Does this proverb have any meaning to you?

 

“Yes, it does. My grandmother tells me this almost on a daily basis haha. I got so use to hearing it that it became almost like a joke between me and my grandma.”

 

The proverb explains how if you don’t think, you will have to go back to where you started and do the same thing you should’ve done already. For an example my wallet is in my room and I already left the house to go for lunch, I have to go back home (work my legs) because I forgot it (didn’t think). All in all the proverb is clever and like most of them it teaches a lesson.

“el nopal en la frente” and the origin myth of Mexican City

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 31 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

 My informant (AG)’s parents moved from Mexico to Los Angeles before her birth. She speaks Spanish to her parents in home and is surrounded by Mexican culture.

 

Main piece:

 

Original script: “el nopal en la frente.”

Transliteration: “The cactus on your forehead.”

Full translation: “You merely look Mexican and indigenous.”

 

AG: “I consider myself a “Chicana”, which means someone whose parents are Mexican but is born here. I learned this word in middle school, and ‘Chicana’ is a big culture in LA. ”

“Cactuses are super important in Mexico, they are on their flag and we eat them. And they also have a big influence on Aztec culture. On the flag, there are a cactus, an eagle and a snake. So on the flag, the eagle is standing on a cactus and with a snake in its snout. This has to do with the original myth of Aztec people. When they were trying to find a place to live, the god told them that once they find a eagle that was eating a serpent, that will be their holy land, the place that they were supposed to live in. They searched it and found the eagle, and the place they found it is now Mexico City. They built the empire because they saw the image. ”

“So when my mom says to me that “el nopal en la frenta”, it means that I look kind of indigenous. It’s like a criticism, it’s like you have a cactus on your forehand, you look Mexican, you look brown and indigenous, but you can’t even speak Spanish.’”

 

Context of the performance:

This is a section of the entire interview. AG told me the context of the proverb when she heard it. When she talks to her mom but can’t speak Spanish perfectly, or when she is not aware of certain Mexican history and culture, AG’s mom will say this proverb to her. Moreover, AG told me that this saying is only used between relatives or people who are really familiar to each other, so this will never appear in a conversation between two people just met.

 

My thoughts about the piece:

This is a saying always told from a older generation to a younger one, and especially, according to my informant, is prevalent in LA and being told to young people around her age. This reflects on the trend that younger generation of immigrants tends to lose the connection with indigenous culture and the older generation is the monitor to enhance the culture bonding.