Category Archives: Kinesthetic

Body movements

Hardcore folk dancing

Nationality: Italian,
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: White Planes NY
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English

Unwritten rules to hardcore concerts

  1. Don’t wear the tshirt of the band you are seeing
  2. When a mosh pit is being started clear off as many people as possible
  3. When standing around a mosh pit keep your hands in front of your face
  4. When someone falls down in the pit pick them up as quickly as possible
  5. Purposely hitting someone is looked down upon but accidents happen.

Tristan likes these concerts because everyone knows these rules and looks out for each other. This makes the concert a place where Tristan feels very comfortable and connects him to the music. Tristan says he’s not scared of getting hit or trampled, getting hit comes with the territory and he trusts the crowd to protect him. Tristan will continue hardcore dancing and actively participating in that subculture.

Tristan’s unwritten rules are important to him because he is passing on the traditional dancing associated with the hardcore genre. This is a classic example of folk dancing and folk customs. This type of dancing is a communal experience in which everyone swings punches while looking out for each other. If you observe this type of dance, as an outsider it would look like everyone was drunk, and fighting. To an insider, the display is an amazing expression of the music. The dancing represents the rage that the music conveys.

Tim Perille

18

1027 W. 34th St. Los Angele CA

Superstition: Sports Luck

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Colorist for Cartoon Network
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, Japanese

White/Hispanic

California State University Fullerton

Illustration

Colorist for Cartoon Network’s Regular Show

English, Spanish

20 April 2011

Sports luck- Kicking the base of the flag pole.

“I’m a huge SC football fan. I’ve been going to football games with my family since before I can even remember. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve kicked the base of one of the flagpoles off Trousdale on the way to the Coliseum. I think I learned it from my father, he has been an SC football fan since he started going to the games when he was a Freshman. I don’t really know why I do it, I guess for luck and because that’s what my family always does. It’s a pretty common thing; you can hear people kicking the metal base plate long before you ever reach the flagpoles. The bases of the poles are scuffed and are so loose because of the thousands of people who kick it every game. It’s really funny when you get new fans that don’t realize how hard you have to kick the base to make a loud noise.  They’ll just tap it and it doesn’t make a noise. When this happens, it’s not uncommon to boo the person, unless they’re a kid or something.”

Looking at the act of kicking the flagpole, I agree with my informant. This act is an example of sport’s luck. People have thousands of different little things that they do prior to and during games to ensure there team the best chance of wining. If your team wins its because they are the better team, however if they lose, and you failed to adhere to your pre-game ritual, then its all your fault. The act of kicking the flagpole, in my opinion, is also a simple gesture to ward off possible calamity and for luck. It’s a superstition akin to knocking on wood after saying something is going really good. The act of kicking the pole can also be seen as a way for people to recognize the real fans that have stayed with the team for years. AT recalls a time when barely 15, 000 people would attend SC football games. In her own words, “Man we (the team) were bad back in the mid 90’s. Some fans started calling it the Dark Ages. The Coliseum was practically empty, you were a real fan if you stuck with the team back then. Now, we win all the time, which is awesome. But because of this, we get a bunch of bandwagoners that don’t know anything about the traditions.”

Mexican Child Game- “Pon Pon Pata”

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

“Pon pon pata, cola de la rata, pon pon pon, cola de ratón.”

“Pon pon pata, tail of the mouse, pon pon pon, tail of rat.”

“Pon pon pata, mouse tail, pon pon pon, rat tail.”

While “pata” translates to “foot,” it is not meant as an actual word. As with “pon pon pon,” it is simply a nonsense phrase that is easily rhymed.

This rhyme is used on children barely a few months old (as young as three months). This game is played by the adult taking the index finger of his or her dominant hand, then sticking it to the palm of the opposite hand. This is done to the beat of every syllable. The adult does this with an enthusiastically happy expression, trying to make the infant laugh. Eventually, the child is able to mimic this action and gains a sense of hand-eye coordination by taking his or her own index finger and jabbing into the opposite palm.

MB explains that this very simple game, made partly of nonsense words, is a simple way to engage children in a hand-eye coordination exercise. It only requires the most basic of motor ability at a time when the adult will get sheer joy out of the child learning. By mirroring, the child is actively engaging with an outside influence. Simultaneously, the references to the rat and mouse tails are used to create familiarity with these animals that are common sights in ranch life.

Mexican Child Game- “Aquí va un Gusanito”

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

“Por aquí va un gusanito, no encuentra el hoyito, no encuentra el hoyito, y ya le encontró!”

“By here goes a worm, no finds the hole, no find the whole, and now it found!”

“Here goes a little worm, can’t find the little hole, can’t find the little hole, and now he found it!”

This game is played with slightly older children, about six months. The parent takes an outstretched arm in the non-dominant hand, then walks the index and ring finger of the other hand from the child’s hand toward the armpit, and on “y ya le encontró!”, the adult starts tickling the child in the armpit.

This game seems to serve both a physical and social purpose for children as they reach a certain age. As this game requires that the child be strong enough to support itself and supply an arm, it is not played until about six months of age. It is a very engaging activity for both involved, as the child might ask the parent to repeat this incessantly. With this game, the child’s repeated requests to repeat it take it a step beyond the simple mirroring of earlier child games. The worm looking for a hole could also be a basic introduction to types of animals (a worm looking for a hole), while the “-ito” suffix on “gusanito” is added to make it small and endearing.

Mexican Lap Game- “Los maderos de San Juan”

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

“Los maderos de San Juan piden pan, no les dan, piden queso, les dan hueso, ye se sientan a llorar en la puerta del zaguán!”

“The workers of San Juan beg bread, no them give, beg cheese, them give bone, and they sit to cry in the door of hallway!”

“The wood workers of San Juan beg for bread, they don’t give it to them, they beg for cheese, they give them bones, and they sit to cry in the door of the hallway!”

This is probably the most socially important of the child games that MB explained (for other Mexican child games, see the “aquí va un gusanito” and “Pon pon pata” entries in my collection). This one isn’t played until the child is about one year old. The child is seated on the lap facing the adult, and the adult places both hands to support the child’s back. The parent then slowly rocks the child back and forth (back on “San,” forward on “Juan,” back on “piden,” forward on “pan,” etc.). When they reach “en la puerta,” the adult begins tickling the child around the neck, much to the laughing delight of the child.

Notably, this is a very dark game, as it concerns poor workers who don’t have enough to eat. However, the game itself is very enjoyable for both the adult and the child. As MB explained, this game is usually played by members of the lower class who might have to deal with the reality of food shortage now and then. She compared it to slaves singing spirituals: Singing songs about your misfortunes often helps you deal with them, in the case of the parents. Turning their troubles into a silly game helps them deal with their lives. At the same time, the child is gaining exposure to the reality of the life they will probably live someday. Children might repeatedly request the game be played, often to the point where the child is barely able to fit on the adult’s lap.

I completely agree with MB’s analysis: This game seems to serve both a physical and social purpose for children as they reach a certain age. The “maderos” game not only involves the child being physically strong enough to be rocked back and forth, but also demands some social exposure. In a safe environment, the child is introduced to some of the harsh realities of poverty life, but does so in a way that brings joy. This prepares the child to cope with challenges in life that he or she will inevitably face.

Annotation:

Franco, Jean. Introduction to Spanish American Literature. Cambridge UP, 1995. Print

In this book on Spanish-American literature, poet José Asunción Silva includes a variant of the this rhyme (referred to as a nursery rhyme) as part of a longer poem titled “Los maderos de San Juan.” In the context of the poem, it is shared by a grandmother to her grandson as she rocks him on her knees. The poem itself is about remembering the hardship of the past and the continuity of stories.