Category Archives: Kinesthetic

Body movements

Bucktoothed Buzzards – Ballad

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Language: English

Text/Context: “This is a girl scout song that we would always do at sleepaway camp, around the campfire, a bunch of sugar-high girls, the whole deal. At least in my unit, it was always reserved for the oldest troop. The eldest girls on their way out of the program are the ones teaching it to the younger girls, they have that privilege. And with girl scout songs, when you’re the one leading them you have to give 300% so that anyone else only has to give 50%. We usually do this starting at 3 or 4 but I’ll start at 2 for the sake of time.

Two buck toothed buzzards, sitting in a dead tree. Ohhh no. One has flown aaa-way. What aaa shame. Darn. 

One buck toothed buzzard, sitting in a dead tree. Ohhh no. One has flown aaa-way. What aaa shame. Darn.

No buck toothed buzzards, sitting in a dead tree. Ohhh look. One has reee-turned, let us reee-joice. Hallelujah!

One buck toothed buzzard, sitting in a dead tree. Ohhh look. One has reee-turned, lett us reee-joice. Hallelujah!”

Analysis: The girl scouts are one of the largest and most well known folk groups, and the scale is reflected in the variety of folklore they have to offer. My sister was a girl scout for a few years, so I thought I was familiar with most of their folklore, but I have never heard this song before. It has a similar structure to other silly folk songs, with the counting and all, but I think it separates itself from others like it in a few unique ways. When performing this song for me, my informant also performed a dance that she said is essential to the song. It was quite the interesting dance with lots of unusual motions, and those combined with the unique delivery and enunciation made it very interesting. I already understood that being a girl scout is an experience that sticks with people forever, but seeing this performance and hearing what my informant had to say about it really reinforced that fact. It goes to show how powerful folk groups really are, and how even something like a silly song can mean so much more.

STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR MOTHER’S BACK

The informant was told in the third grade that if they stepped on a sidewalk crack, their mother’s back would break. This superstition lasted for years and is widespread, and is something that is often told amongst young elementary children. It is also believed that it can cause bad luck and misfortune.

Age: 24

Date: April 3rd 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of superstition and this story is often shared among young students in school. This superstition has racist origins, dating back to the 19th century. The original saying was “step on a crack and your mother will be black”, which then later evolved from being a harmful racist saying to being about bad luck.

Finger Point of doom. 

Nationality: African American

Primary Language: English

Other language(s): French

Age: 49

Occupation: Digital Marketing Consultant

Residence: Upstate, NY

Performance Date: 4/18/2025

Context: 

My informant, YD, is a family member of mine who lives in the Hudson Valley area of New York. YD has told me about gestures as they were growing up in quite diverse households, from gestures of Italian culture, Chinese culture, and Swiss culture, I had never truly known what each of these gestures they’d jokingly use with me actually meant to them. So one day I asked them this question, but instead of explaining the gestures they’d learned from their diverse cultural background, the ones in which I had known, they told me the story behind a different kind of gesture, one I had overlooked. 

Text: 

“I’d say the gesture that has the most meaning (good and bad) is the ‘finger point’. Typically growing up the ‘finger point’ was an unspoken instruction or nonverbal scolding. Similar to ‘the look’ that many black families instinctively understand, I had the ability to decipher what my mother was saying when she pointed to something or at me. You didn’t dawdle but moved into action, clearly understanding every ‘word’ and detailed action expected of you. I think it came from slavery’s time frame, from what my mother had told me, when communication needed to be coded. I see this as a badge of honor and super power within our family that has kept me safe and I will continue to teach that instinct within our culture.”

Analysis: 

The “finger point,” as described here, and from my research, isn’t just a scolding gesture or a tool for discipline, but is indeed, part of a coded system of communication that has deep roots in African American cultural survival. YD connects it to practices that may have originated during slavery, when verbal communication was restricted or dangerous, and truthfully so, in many African American folklore studies that explores the development of nonverbal codes as survival strategies, quiet gestures that spoke volumes in unsafe or oppressive environments was common and impressively passed down for generations. That concept alone blows my mind. It’s interesting how YD doesn’t just view the gesture as disciplinary, but as a legacy of resilience, intuition, and inter-generational wisdom. It’s especially meaningful that they frame it as something to be passed down, reinforcing the idea that folklore isn’t always just stories or songs, but also ways of seeing and navigating the world. YD’s account transforms what some might consider a small behavioral detail into a rich cultural artifact, filled with meaning, memory, and pride. I think that’s all so brilliant, and will probably never look at finger pointing the same way again, in a good way I mean. YD’s tale is a great reminder that folklore can live in the body, in silence, and in a single glance or gesture.

Ants in your pants!

AGE

17

Date_of_performance

2/23/25

Language

English

Nationality

American

Occupation

Student

Primary Language

Spanish

Residence

San Jose, CA

Folk Speech: minoi minoi minoi minoi pei o se loi a siva siva ua gaoioi 

Translation: move move move move like an ant, move like you got ants in your pants

Context + Text: The individual is my roommate’s sister. The informant has a large Samoan family, where this saying stems from. She recalls hearing this saying most frequently whenever she was feeling a little down, or just afraid of dancing with her family. “The time I vividly first remember hearing this was at my brother’s 15th birthday, when the whole family was out dancing on the dance floor, and I was hiding in the corner with my other cousins. We then heard our parents and relatives yelling this saying to us, while laughing, as they were egging us on to come dance with them”. It was a very endearing moment, she said, as her and her cousins felt inclined to join the dance floor. 

Analysis: The above saying is actually stemmed from a Samoan pop group called Five Stars, dedicated to making family music. The change to turn some of the lyrics into a saying was successful in creating a cultural connection between Samoan families. For the informant herself, her family has moved over into the US, so it has become a little hard to keep the Samoan culture with such a small community. This little saying to just cheer up children and encourage them to dance is effective in keeping the culture alive. She believes that it is fun to hear this saying, and this is important as she has started listening to more Samoan music, hoping to hear more fun little sayings she wants to carry on. 
We can find a similar and funny version of this in the children’s cartoon, Phineas and Ferb, with the song “Squirrels in my Pants”. This song is performed by one of the main characters as she dances in creative and entertaining ways. 

Apples & Honey: Jewish New Year Ritual

Age: 63
Occupation: Retired
Language: English

Informant Information:

Age: 63

Date of Performance: 2/18/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: English

Residence: Alameda, California

Text:

“Both my parents were Jewish, and at the new year—which, in Judaism, is a holiday in the fall when apples are in season—you cut apple slices, dip them in honey, and that will give you a sweet, prosperous new year.”

Context:

The informant, a California native from a fully Jewish background, grew up celebrating the Jewish New Year with her parents.

Analysis:

Eating apples dipped in honey is a Jewish tradition during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Their round shape symbolizes the cyclical nature of the year, while the honey’s sweetness represents hopes for a prosperous and joyful future.

Before eating, participants often recite a blessing expressing their wish for a “sweet new year,” reinforcing the ritual’s symbolic nature. For the informant’s family, this ritual was a celebration of their Jewish identity and means of passing down traditions to future generations. The timing, coinciding with apple season in the fall, also reflects the natural alignment between cultural customs and the regional produce available in California.