Category Archives: Gestures

CAMBODIAN DANCING

Nationality: Cambodian
Age: 22
Occupation: Barista
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4-24-2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Cambodian

CAMBODIAN DANCING

 

Main Piece:

 

I was exposed to it a lot when I went to church in Los Angeles. (a Christian church). My old best friend was an active dancer of the Cambodian dancing group in Long Beach and her parents would organize dancing performances during the church service as a way to promote Cambodian culture. When the Church service had combined different languages, such as during Thanksgiving I remember my mom would be pissed that my best friend’s mom can get away with organizing a dance meant for either an ancient Cambodian king or something affiliated with Buddhism.

 

I also remember that I had attended one of their trial classes in Long Beach and I observed the elasticity of their hands bent backwards, their balance, the patience to wear heavy gold jewelry and crowns while maintaining a steady yet careful dance flow.

 

The only thing I enjoyed about these dance performances was being entertained by the demon dancer.

 

The demon dancer is probably a character in the dance performance who has intentions of kidnapping or raping or killing the female dancer or princess-like character of the performance.

 

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

It’s probably the most creative and representative form of art within Cambodian culture.

 

Where/Who did they learn it from?

My old best friend / the Cambodian service at the Christian church.

 

What does it mean for them?

An art form perhaps worth more exploring when visiting Cambodia.

 

Context of Performance:

Sitting inside friend’s room talking.

 

Thoughts:

I think it’s interesting here how even though the subject’s parents did not have a strong cultural root(s) in Cambodian culture, that as immigrants joining an American Christian church in Los Angeles, California (with a Cambodian service), she was able to in a way get back in touch with her Cambodian cultural roots. Interesting to see that in America, at least, today, you can still go to say, a church, a community/organization outside your traditional folklore handing-down passageway (usually just from family) to learn/get into contact/access with your forgotten cultural roots/folklore.

 

COINING

Nationality: Indonesian
Age: 80
Occupation: Grandmother
Residence: Indonesia
Performance Date: 4-20-2018
Language: Indonesian Primary / English Secondnary

COINING

 

Main Piece:

 

This is a method of medicine for Indonesians/Chinese (for things such as colds, flus, fevers, etc.).

 

You do it by first rubbing “minyak putih” (literal translation: white oil) on to the affected area (usually the Chest or the Back area – could be over the triceps in some cases, etc…) – the area where “the bad wind” has entered the body, making it sick, and then you use a coin (but I use the hard peeled skin of red garlic, sometimes using the garlic piece too) and I use that to rub on the affected area down, down, down, in lines down the body to get rid of the bad wind.

 

The idea is that with each stroke down of the garlic/coin the garlic/coin takes some bad wind out of the body.

 

Usually this is done until there are red marks all over the affected/intended area. The redder the mark, sometimes blue or purple dots, the better or more effective the coining is working.

 

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

Because this is a very big part of medicine of our culture and it is a very good way to heal.

 

Where/Who did they learn it from?

I learned it from my mother.

 

What does it mean for them?

A very good way to heal your family when they are sick.

 

Context of Performance:

Talking to grandmother over the phone.

 

Thoughts:

Personally I do not like this method of medicine because it is painful/can be very painful. This would be done a lot to me when I was younger.

 

Once I went to school in the 2nd grade (I came here to the States from Indonesia when I was in 1st grade, still unaccustomed to the culture/rules of America) and my teacher saw how I had these giant red marks up to my neck. She called me during recess and asked me if everything was okay at home – she mistook it for child abuse.

 

Also there was a period when my father was very sick from pneumonia and this coining was all that my mother did to help him heal – and it was extremely insufficient – and he had ended up going to the ER for his pneumonia – it had gone very bad to the point where 75% of his lungs were filled with the liquid and the bacteria. I think this could have been preventable much earlier on if we took him to a legitimate doctor instead of trying to use this home remedy to heal him.

 

Although I have some dislikes about this I do admit that sometimes it does work and it helps me heal much faster than without it/traditional American/Western over the counter medicine.

 

 

ACUPUNCTURE

Nationality: Indonesian
Age: 80
Occupation: Grandmother
Residence: Indonesia
Performance Date: 4-20-2018
Language: Indonesian Primary / English Secondnary

ACUPUNCTURE

 

Main Piece: (rough translation from Indonesian)

 

When you are sick besides coining you can also do acupuncture.

 

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese tradition and method of healing where you lay flat either on your back or your front side and an experienced and trained physician sticks needles gently into you acupuncture/acupressure points.

 

They believe that by doing this you can “clean up” or “open up” your chakra / meridian points / flow of energy throughout the body.

 

They believe that this is because all sickness in some way shape or form block or disrupt the flow of energy through the body through these acupuncture points.

 

I always use acupuncture when I am sick and it always makes me feel better very fast.

 

 

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

Because this is a good way/method of healing for the body.

 

Where/Who did they learn it from?

From a lot of places, books, doctors, family practitioners.

 

What does it mean for them?

A very powerful Chinese tool and tradition to cure the body of anything.

 

Context of Performance:

Talking to grandmother over the phone.

 

Thoughts:

I personally believe in acupuncture and a lot of my friends who had it before told me that it worked – but I never did it because I am very afraid of needles. This is a very well known Chinese tradition and way of healing.

Eye contact during toasts (A common drinking gesture)

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Flemington, New Jersey.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Michael Gordon, a Junior studying Pop Music at the University of Southern California, who hails from Flemington, New Jersey, provided four pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, within his studio, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folk Type: Folk-Speech.

Folk Performance: Eye contact during toasts (A common drinking gesture).

“Any drinking rituals out on the east coast?” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: Story-time, Mike again, if you do a cheers or a toast you gotta clink glasses and if you do, you need to make eye contact with each person that you’re about to toast with and when you take your drink you need to be making eye-contact with one of the other people and if you don’t it’s bad like and the cheers is forfeit.

Background Information: Michael enjoys this piece because the drinking culture on the east coast is particularly strong. He learned of it in high-school while drinking with his friends.   

Context of Performance: The context was illustrated in the story section.

Thoughts: There are theories that this practice stemmed from the frequent poisonings that would happen in European Court culture but i’m not sure how that applies to looking into people’s eyes. I wasn’t able to find any concrete reasons why this practice exists. So my current thought is frustration.

 

Down Down Baby

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 15
Occupation: High School Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 04/13/2018
Primary Language: English

Main Piece: Down down baby

The following was an interview of a Participant/interviewee about a folk game that is passed around mainly in elementary. She is marked as HT. I am marked as DM.

HT: Down down baby/ Down down the roller coaster/ Sweet sweet baby/ Sweet sweet don’t let me go (cross arms and hit chest 4 times)/ Chimi chimi coco puff chimi chimi riiiide (tucks hair behind ear)/ Chimi chimi coco puff chimi chimi riiiide (tucks hair behind ear)/ I had a baby a biscuit/ He’s so sweet a biscuit/ Apples on the table/ Peaches on the top/ Step out baby I don’t want you anymore/ To the front (jump forwards)/ To the back (jump backwards)/ To the side side side (jump to both sides)/ To the front (jump forwards)/ To the back (jump backwards)/ To the side side side (jump to both sides)

Background/Context:

The participant is fifteen years old in the tenth grade. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, but she has Mexican parents and family. Hailey, who is marked as HT, is my sister. I was at home for my mother’s birthday party on Friday, April 13, 2018, when I overheard my youngest sister playing a hand game with my cousin. I noticed it was the same games I played in elementary, but the lyrics of the game were slightly different. I began to ask her questions about the game. My middle sister, Hailey, got into the conversation. We began to compare our elementary games. In this particular game, the objective was to be able to sing all the words and do the movements with them. This game was mainly to just pass time in recess.

DM: How do you know this?

HT: Um, I uh, I played it in elementary.

DM: Who did you learn the game from?

HT: Uh

DM: Do you remember?

HT: Not the person but I know I learned it from my friends.

DM: Uh, why did you like this game in elementary?

HT: It was catchy it was uh yeah just catchy.

DM: And at that time what did it mean to you? What did the game signify to you?

HT: It was entertaining it distracted me and yeah.

Analysis/ My Thoughts:

While I was in elementary, this “Down down baby” game was very popular during recess when we had enough time to rest but not to play full games like kickball or handball. My sister told me this game was also very popular in her recess. Although they were both similar, the lyrics are different. Today’s version is shown above while the one I did in elementary nine years ago goes as stated: Down down baby/ Down down the roller coaster/ Sweet sweet baby/ Sweet sweet don’t let me go (cross arms and hit chest 4 times)/ Chimi chimi coco puff chimi chimi riiiide (tucks hair behind ear)/ Chimi chimi coco puff chimi chimi riiiide (tucks hair behind ear)/ I have a boyfriend a biscuit/ He’s so sweet a biscuit/ Apples on the table/ Peaches on the floor/ Step out baby I don’t want you anymore/ To the front (jump forwards)/ To the back (jump backwards)/ To the side side side (jump to both sides)/ To the front (jump forwards)/ To the back (jump backwards)/ To the side side side (jump to both sides).