Category Archives: Game

‘Catch You Lacking’

Age: 21

Date of Performance: 02/24/25

Language: English

Nationality: Indian

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Main Transcription:

“Do you have any other experiences with these kinds of minor genres in folklore?”

“Um, yeah, actually, I do. One example was in high school, or middle school, actually, um, my friends and I had this thing, which I think was pretty common outside as well, but if you put your hand in a circle below your waist, and someone looked at it, you got to pinch or hit them, like I would slap them on the hand.”

“Okay, does it have any, I don’t know if symbolic is the right word, but was there any greater meaning or was it just a little joke you guys played on each other?”

“Yeah, I don’t think it had any greater meaning except for catching people ‘lacking.’ Catching people unaware.”

“Haha, just catching people lacking.”

“Yeah, just to always keep people on edge as like a friendly, fun kind of game.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Of course, warm regards to you, professor.”

Context:

This little game seems to be just a fun gesture that he used to do during his adolescence. I find this particular entry funny because I also have personal experience with this game during middle school. From the extent of my knowledge, it was probably spread through online communities and ‘meme’ culture.

Analysis:

Given what the interviewee said and my personal experience, there does not appear to be a deeper meaning of the gesture other than “catching people ‘lacking.'” I do not think there needs to be any effort to analyze the complexities of each tradition, game, or gesture that people engage with; sometimes, people just like to mess around. I find it fascinating, however, that this game has transcended local, even global boundaries, since we both have known about this game when we were younger. As to its origins, still unknown.

What’s Behind the Curtain?

Nationality: American

Age: 21

Occupation: Vet tech

Residence: San Rafael, CA

Performance Date: December 2nd, 2024

Primary Language: English

Language: English

Main Description:

“So I was staying in Fort Bragg at my dad’s house and I was getting ready to take a shower and I think my dad was in town or something like he was going shopping like grocery shopping. and so the fan in the bathroom doesn’t work. So there’s there’s a door that goes to the outside because there’s an outdoor shower also. So we keep the door cracked when we shower inside just to let the moisture out. So, you know, it makes the shower curtain billow a little bit, so I get in the shower and the shower curtain is billowing because of the air flow. 
And um at one point, I lean against the shower curtain, and it’s as hard as a rock, like I push against it and it does not move. Um and so I take a step back and I look around the shower curtain. There’s nothing there. 
And the shower curtain is still like billowing a little bit. So I was just kind of left like what the hell was that? But I think it was a shower or not a shower. 
It was a bathroom ghost. Fort Bragg bathroom ghost, just I don’t know what he was doing. He was leaning against a shower curtain. 
That’s all.”

Informants Opinion:

JS: What do you think that ghost was doing there?

OG: “I think he’s stuck in the bathroom so he just hangs around and listens to people sing in the shower.”

Personal Opinion:

It’s hard to say what this could mean but to my assumption it would have to do with the previous owner of the house not wanting others using their shower or even living in their house. Or maybe it’s a more kind approach and they’re simply visiting their former home to see who’s living there.

Taiwanese Festival: Lunar New Year

Nationality: Taiwanese
Primary Language: Taiwanese, Mandarin
Age: 46
Occupation: Branch Manager
Residence: Taipei, Taiwan
Performance Date: 19 April 2024

Tags: Lunar, New year, firecrackers, red, family, Asia

Text:

Lunar New Year (also called Chinese New Year) is one of, if not the, most famous festivals/traditions in all of Asia. Starting at the turn of the Lunar Calendar (around February in the Gregorian calendar), families from all around Asia come together to enjoy good food, share fortune with each other, and have good times. Various activities before and after the main celebration include cleaning the house to let the good fortune inside, putting scrolls and characters on doors and walls, decorating various places with red, and lighting fireworks. The latter two are in relation to the mythological story of Lunar New Year, about a fierce beast named Nian who would come and terrorize the local people before they warded him off with firecrackers and the color red. Now, elders give the young red envelopes filled with money (usually after a short give-receive ritual of sorts), eat foods like dumplings in the shape of money and other such cuisine that invoke good fortune, and have an overall wonderful time with each other.

Context:

C was born and raised in Taiwan, and has traveled the world various times due to her work and studies. She regularly participates in Taiwanese and Asian festivities with friends and family.

Analysis:

I put “Taiwanese Festival” in the title, but really, any sort of Western Asian country would do due to how widespread this particular festival is. Virtually every single action one takes and food one eats can be linked to a specific belief or superstition, making it one of the busiest times of the year for Asians due to how much work gets put into everything. It truly is a showing of how various different people from different backgrounds can come together and share in one traditional time.

Makahiki games

Text: On the island of Molokai, Hawaii, a series of games called the Makahiki games are a yearly tradition. During the harvest season, which is late spring, there are a series of tournaments with age brackets including men and women. People from all over Hawaii are sent to Molokai to participate in these games. These games include spear throwing, a form of wrestling, and many other competitive things.

Context: The informant’s relationship to this piece is that she participated in it one year. Specifically, her school flew her from Oahu to Molokai to play for one of the games as a 13 year old. She found out about this because in Middle school, her school had a PE section where they played the Makahiki games. The informant interprets these games as a way to celebrate and indulge in her roots in relation to the history and how the games came about. 

Interpretation: I interpret these games as a way to connect with history and just be patriotic. Hawaiian culture is a very strong and uniting culture, so I think these games are another way to bring people together.

Driving Through Tunnel Ritual

Text: 

Whenever the informant drives through a tunnel, she holds her breath and honks her horn for the duration of the drive until exiting the tunnel.

Context:

The informant has known this ritual her entire life, growing up in Northern California, where there are many hills and mountains to drive through. Her family has always done it, and she has continued the tradition of this ritual to her friends all over California. The ritual feels like such second nature to the informant that she instinctively holds her breath and honks her horn in any tunnel. In different regions of California, some drivers alongside her do not honk their horns at all, and are alarmed at her doing it. However, where she is from, the tunnels are always filled with honking horns by default, and it is never questioned. 

Analysis:

Upon doing more research about this particular ritual, it is clear that this is just one variation of many similar rituals. To some in different regions of California, the honking of the car horn is never involved, and the ritual only involves holding one’s breath. To others, the ritual also includes saying the first fruit that you can think of as soon as you leave the tunnel. 

This variation in such a common ritual, whether it is regional or just specific to each person and unrelated to geographical location, shows how far folklore can spread when its practitioners all have a shared experience. In this example, the shared experience is driving in tunnels through hills or underground. Whatever the variation of the tunnel ritual is, its existence and popularity shows the discomfort that many drivers must have with driving through tunnels. After all, why else would such rituals be so popular? 

It is very common for rituals to arise out of fear and superstition, and the popularity of this tunnel ritual is a perfect example of our tendency to create rituals that make us feel like we have more control in situations where we feel uncomfortable or unsafe.