- My father told me that the hand gesture, commonly associated with Star Trek as the Star Trek hand signal, was actually first used as a way to distinguish Jewish people from non-Jewish people. He said that if you are able to successfully make this hand signal, since some people cannot, then that was a way to tell whether or not you were Jewish. He had heard this from his cousins, who are Jewish, and who are all able to make this hand signal.
- He does not actually believe that this is true, but he found it funny and has remembered it since the time he heard it from his cousins, years ago. He also really likes the Star Trek series, and the fact that this hand signal was used in this series reminded him of what his cousins had told him.
- Most people replicate this hand signal when they are mimicking the Star Trek hand signal, because this is what it is most popularly known as. Other than that, I do not recall seeing this hand signal being used in other contexts or conversations.
- I find what my dad’s cousins had learned this hand signal to symbolize funny. I think that they must have heard that rumor from one of their friends, or possible a relative, that was just joking with them about this. I do not believe that this was an original meaning for this hand gesture.
Category Archives: Gestures
Elijah’s Cup
“I don’t even know how this started but ok so like over Passover which is like the Jewish holiday commemorating the Exodus out of Egypt, we have a Seder dinner to retell the story of what happened. Part of it is…something that my family does is what we call “Elijah’s cup,” which is essentially just leaving a full cup of wine at the table, and I can’t really remember but at either the end or the middle of dinner, you’re supposed to open the front door and welcome Elijah in to drink the cup. It’s something about welcoming in those who don’t have a dinner or like the less fortunate, but I’m not really sure to be honest. My family does it every year.”
Background: This was a very interesting story for me to hear because I know the story of Passover from the Catholic viewpoint but have never really understood the specific Jewish traditions of Passover, and this was one example with which I was not familiar at all. This is an interesting symbolic touch added to the dinner, which, in my opinion, provides structure to the dinner and increases the level of reverence associated with the dinner if a real object or real food is dedicated to a holy person. I can relate to this because during Catholic mass the most important part is when the bread and wine are supposed to become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and this tradition creates more respect for the ceremony when we dedicate such an intense belief to a weekly ritual, a characteristic I see reflected in this tradition of Elijah’s Cup. This interview was conducted in person as the informant lives down the hall from me. This story is important to the informant because she conducts this part of the ritual every year at Passover.
Pouring a Drink in South Korea
The informant is a 51-year-old international businessman who has frequently traveled across Europe and Asia to meet with clients for the past 20 years.
Over a relaxed nine holes of golf, I asked the informant if there were any dining customs or etiquette that have stood out to him throughout his travels. He mentioned that after having been to South Korea many times, he has learned that you must pour a drink in an extremely particular way when out to lunch or dinner.
“When you’re pouring someone’s drink in South Korea, you have to hold your forearm tightly. So if your right hand is being used to pour the drink, you place your left hand on the underside of your right forearm and wrap your fingers around it. It’s just polite. I guess that it comes from the old days when extremely wide-cuffed sleeves were the custom.”
While contemporary fashion trends and the accepted style of dress in South Korea may not encompass wearing sleeves that are so wide-cuffed they have the potential to droop into food and drink, this form of dining etiquette provides a glimpse into the types of formalities that arose as a result of the traditional style of South Korean dress. I asked the informant what a South Korean would do if you failed to hold your forearm when pouring a drink, and he replied, “Probably nothing. It’s kind of like chewing with your mouth open. Nobody will say it but everyone is thinking you’re rude.” Hearing of this subtle dining tradition that I would have otherwise never thought to perform leads me to wonder how often I and other Americans give ourselves away as foreigners when eating in other countries. Assuming that this is a practice unique to South Korea, knowing to engage in this tradition provides South Koreans a silent act of solidarity with one another. If an individual from South Korea is out at a restaurant anywhere across the world and sees another holding their forearm when pouring a drink, they will know that they share a common nationality, or at least that both are knowledgeable and respectful of what they see as proper dining etiquette.
Respect for your Elders
S is a 21-year-old Filipino woman. She is currently majoring in Business Administration at the University of Southern California. She grew up in the Philippines and therefore identifies as Filipino, however, she also identifies as Chinese. S speaks English, Mandarin, Tagalog and Hokkien, the last being two of many languages specific to the Philippines.
S: Do rituals count as folklore?
Me: Yeah.
S: Ok, so like, one of the things is like when you meet an elderly person, you like place their hand on your forehead.
Me: Like your hand. on your forehead?
S: No, like I would take your hand and place it on my forehead, like the elderly person’s hand. Like, it’s called, um, Mano. M-a-n-o. Yeah, so it’s just like a sign of respect, you do that with everyone, like even people you don’t meet (know), like if their really elderly. And like you always add like the word po, p-o, at the end of every sentence.
Me: P-o?
S: Yeah, ’cause it’s just like a sign of respect for, like, regardless of gender, you just, you like add it. so you say like, oh, like in the Philippines you’d say like “Oh, come, let’s eat,” and then you would add po at the end. It’s just something like that. It has a lot to do with respect and just like valuing those kinds of uh, values.
Me: Valuing their age I guess. And like their wisdom maybe?
S: Yeah. Exactly.
S explains the ritual, or practice, in the Philippines when meeting an elderly person. You take their hand and place it on your forehead. You do this out of respect, to honor their years and their wisdom. Respect is a common theme in both the Chinese and Filipino traditions and rituals that S has talked about, as well as many other Asian cultures.
Spitting on Babies and Crossing your Heart; Protection from the Evil Eye
A is an 18-year-old woman. She is currently studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. She considers her nationality to be American, but more specifically she is one quarter Greek Cypriote, one quarter German and half Argentinian. that being said, she strongly identifies with her Greek roots. She is fluent in both English and Greek, and is currently learning Mandarin.
A: Oh, you have to do the cross every time you pass a church or God will be angry. It’s a good one. Like my Grandmother will be driving and she’ll do the [sign of] the cross.
Me: God will be angry?Are there reprecussions if you don’t do it?
A: I’m unaware. Oh my God, the Evil Eye! Katherine Dupas still wears hers.
Me; Oh yeah we talked about that in class!
A: There’s an idea that if someone sends negative energy towards you and thinks ill will of you then something bad will happen to you. That’s kind of what it is. If you don’t cross yourself it’s not that you necessarily have something negative towards you it’s that you won’t be as protected by God against the negative energy and stuff from the Evil Eye.
Me: So the Evil Eye is…?
A: Other people being malicious towards you.
Me: So the Evil Eye is the symbol of that? And the cross in front of the church protects you from that?
A: Yeah.
Me: So why do people wear the Evil Eye?
A: Cause then it also protects you from the Evil Eye.
Me: By wearing it?
A: Yeah, cause the Eye looks at the other eye instead of at you.
Me: Ok, I get it now.
A: This is also why old ladies, old Greek ladies spit on babies and small children. When they’re like “ptou-ptou” it’s because there an idea that people who are attractive will incur the Evil Eye because of their beauty people will envy them, so you’re supposed to spit on them for good luck and also make them less enviable.
Me: So you do that to babies because you don’t know or because they’re young?
A: Cause they’re young and adorable, and you don’t want someone to be envious of their adorableness and send them bad vibes.
Me: Aw, who would wish terrible things upon a baby?
A: The Evil Eye works in weird ways.
A talks about