Category Archives: Gestures

Don’t Step on Books/Paper

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 25, 2015
Primary Language: English

The superstition: “If you step on a book or piece of paper, then you have to touch it to your forehead because otherwise it’s disrespectful. It’s because books are like instruments of learning which is next to God and practically sacred so to put it to your feet shows disrespect so you put it to your forehead, which is a sign of respect, to counteract that.”

The informant is Indian American. Her parents are both from India, but she was born in California. She’s not very religious, but she considers herself culturally Indian. She grew up hearing this superstition from her parents, so she has always followed it.The gesture of putting to your forehead to negate it seems similar to another Indian superstition, that people can’t step over you, and they have to reverse their step to negate it. Although the informant isn’t religious, she still follows this religious superstition, since she is still rooted in Indian culture. I imagine education is very important in India and in Hinduism, since learning instruments can be likened to God, and sacred. Both of the informant’s parents are doctors, and she herself is studying engineering and computer science, does a lot of research, and tutors children; so I think it’s fair to say that she takes education very seriously herself. This may also be another reason she follows this superstition.

Southpaw

Nationality: Italian
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: New York
Performance Date: April 29, 2015
Primary Language: English

Anthony is a student at USC and one of my closest friends. He grew up in New York and moved to Los Angeles this year to study at USC. He comes from an Italian background.

 

 

Performance: “Southpaw is like a thing because when you introduce yourself to a girl you want to have your right hand open. You don’t want to have your right hand clammy or cold. Is that the reason?”

Sure, whatever reason you think is right. that’s why it’s folklore. keep talking. How does it happen and what does it mean.

“Well if you’re drinking a beer, and the beer is in your right hand, your hand is cold and wet from the can or bottle, and thats bad when you meet people. First you have to switch what hand the beer is in , and then your hand is cold. Southpaw is when you see somebody with their drink in your right hand, you say “Southpaw,” and they have to chug their entire drink. It’s to encourage you to always hold your drink in your right hand.”

 

Response: I’ve heard of southpaw before – it is very popular at USC and in party communities. A variation of this folklore that I’ve heard before is “Buffalo” where “buffalo” is exclaimed at a person holding a beer in their right hand and the same rules apply. I am unclear where the word buffalo would come from. Southpaw makes some sense, as that is the colloquial term for left handed pitchers in baseball. Anthony learned the phrase not in his home of New York but at USC.

Left is Law

Anthony is a student at USC and one of my closest friends. He grew up in New York and moved to Los Angeles this year to study at USC. He comes from an Italian background.

 

 

“Left is law is a phrase you say when smoking. If you are sitting in a group of people smoking, hookah or whatever, you have to pass to the left always, counterclockwise, never to the right. Left is law. If you ever try to pass to the right everybody freaks out and reprimands you for it. It’s like a ritual type thing. If you ever pass to the right then it’s all fucked. The whole time is ruined, and it’s all shit. You always pass to the left.”

 

 

Response: This is a sort of ritual/magic folklore that revolves around smoking. I’ve never come across the folklore before, but my friend Anthony was adamant about it’s importance and relevance. He was shocked that I had not heard of it before. Perhaps it just exists in order to create a “go to” or “status quo” for a situation that is often variable. There also seems to be an expectation of having a good time tied to following the ritual, and a poor time associated with breaking it.

Hebrew Death Hands

Nationality: Israeli
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Israel
Performance Date: April 29, 2015
Primary Language: Hebrew
Language: English

Yon is a student at USC who I am close friends with. He is originally from Israel, and this is his first year in America. He speaks with a thick Israeli accent, and jumped at the opportunity to share his culture’s folklore with me.

 

Performance: “Ok so we have this thing where you cross your hands like this.” Yon then places his hands out, palms towards himself, and overlaps his lightly spread fingers at a diagonal angle. “It spells death in hebrew. Ma-vet. Yeah. The lines in your hands SPELL mavet, which means death.”

And you do it why? because it’s creepy? Because it’s cool?

“Yeah, we just do it.”

 

Response: This was a very interesting piece of folklore. When you hold your hands at a certain angle, the creases and lines on your palms spell out the Hebrew word for death. Yon didn’t seem to really understand why I was asking why they did it, he said that they simply do. I think this is an example of a cool piece of identity which those who speak hebrew have with the human body. If I looked down at my hands from a certain angle and saw the english word “death” I would think it was pretty cool too.

Cross Yourself

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Mexico
Performance Date: April 30, 2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Bernie is a very close friend of mine from Mexico. Bernie left Mexico for the first time to study at USC. He loves to talk about his culture, and speaks with a thick Mexican accent.

 

 

 

Performance: “Another thing that is pretty big for Mexico and that my parents always taught me, related to Catholicism is that every time that you um pass by a church either by car or walking if you don’t do…umm…the cross? (he crosses himself to see if I understand) The cross. Then you’re going to have bad luck. My Mom would always tell me that you gotta do the cross every time you pass a church, if not it would be against your faith and bad luck and everything.”

 

 

Response: Crossing one’s self is common practice for Catholics, but i find it interesting that beyond simply being a “bad christian” that Bernie was taught it was actually bad luck. It is interesting when religious practices are sort of hybridized with “luck” which is generally a folk belief tied to folk traditions, rituals, and gestures.