Category Archives: Material

New Year’s Tradition: Black-Eyed Peas

Nationality: African American
Age: 60
Performance Date: April 21, 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from an interview between the informant and the interviewer: (The informant is represented by “A” and the interviewer “B”)

A: “Oh, I can give you one more food tradition. Um, which I know is general in the public, but a superstition is black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. So, all of that is you just gotta have some black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. So, and it doesn’t matter, you know, what form it takes although for us, it would always just be somebody would just, some fresh black-eyed peas. And you know what would go with it. It could be anything. You could have greens and spaghetti and fried chicken. Um, you know, we didn’t have jambalaya or gumbo growing up, but, um,… they would mainly be that it could be some fried fish, but you just had to have some black-eyed peas. ”

B: “Do you know if there’s any like, else, like…?”

A: “No. The tradition was it was supposed to be for, I don’t know where it started, but, all I know is it’s supposed to be for good luck for the entire year..”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore during an interview at the informant’s house. My informant, my mother, is an African American who grew up Cleveland, Ohio but currently resides in California. Although, she does not currently do this, she used to do this while growing up.

My Thoughts:

Black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity and good luck into the new year. This superstition is mostly prominent in the South, but families that have migrated from the South have spread this tradition nationwide. There is speculation as to why black peas are associated with good luck. My informant was not aware of any of them, but black-eyed peas swell when they are cooked which is thought of as a possible reason that they are associated with prosperity. There are also several legends as to where this tradition stemmed from dating back to the Civil War.

German wedding tradition

Nationality: German
Age: 52
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: California
Performance Date: 5/5/20
Primary Language: German
Language: Russian, English

Context: My informant is a 52 year old German immigrant. He grew up in East Germany and went to university in the Soviet Union and currently resides in California. He will be referred to as “H”.

Main piece: We have this tradition, and we did this for our wedding by the way, where wedding guests get a bunch of porcelain plates and smash them on the ground. Then the new groom and bride have to clean up all the bits of broken glass together, kinda to show that they can work through any problem together. I think it’s really sweet.

Background: My informant is German and was married in Germany in his hometown in the Harz region.

Notes: This reminds of breaking glass in Jewish weddings, although I’m sure the significance behind that action is different than in this context. Breaking things in the context of a wedding seems subversive, as most symbolism in weddings comes from an idea of unity and wholeness. But the logic behind this particular tradition is for a couple to demonstrate an ability to overcome hardships in their new lives together.

German Birthday tradition

Nationality: German
Age: 52
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: California
Performance Date: 5/5/20
Primary Language: German
Language: Russian, English

Context: My informant is a 52 year old German immigrant. He grew up in East Germany and went to university in the Soviet Union and currently resides in California. He will be referred to as “H”.

Main piece: When we were kids, we would play this game at birthday parties. Everyone would sit in a circle at a table. In front of one person would be a pair of gloves, a hat, a scarf, a chocolate bar, and a fork and knife. The person on their right would have two die. Basically, whoever had the chocolate bar and everything in front of them would have to put on the hat, scarf, and gloves and try to eat as much of the chocolate bar with a fork and knife before the other person rolled two sixes. If they did, then the die and the chocolate bar and everything else would be passed to their right. The goal was to eat as much of the chocolate bar as possible, which is hard to do when you have to use a fork and knife. Lots of fun.

Background: This is something my informant would do during his childhood birthday parties and the birthday parties of his friends and family. He grew up in the Harz region of Germany, located towards the center of the country.

Notes: This seems like a great game with high stakes that relies on luck and speed. It also places value on confectionary goods, like chocolate.

Red Bean Porridge recipe

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 77
Occupation: Grandma
Residence: China
Performance Date: 2020.3.17
Primary Language: Chinese

Main piece: A Red Bean Porridge recipe taught by my grandma, acknowledged being especially helpful for reducing symptoms of period.

Original Recipe:

红豆一两，黑米一两，薏米一两，红枣数颗，桂圆数颗，花生少许，糖少许

Translated Recipe:

Red bean: 50g; Black rice: 50g; pearl barley: 50g; Red dates: a few; Longans: a few; Peanuts: a few; Sugar: a little;

Background Information:

Almost all of the ingredients in this recipe except sugar and peanuts, are believed to be healthy to women, especially during their periods. Food like red beans, black rice and red dates are supposed to enrich the blood because of its color. Pearl barley are believed to be good to women’s skin. Longans are just healthy in general. And I think my grandma only adds peanuts and sugar to make me willing to eat it. If you want to be extra healthy, you can replace sugar with brown sugar.

Context:

My grandma called me when I was in quarantine and share this recipe as concerning for my health.

Thoughts:

I was never a fan of this red bean porridge when I was young. I thought it is disguesting that my grandma put in all the ingredients and boiled them. When I grew older and started having my period, this porridge actually helped reduce my pain several times. I don’t know if it is just because it’s some hot stuff and you always feel good eating hot food when you are in period. I’d rather believe it’s a magical recipe that would make me feel better.

Using a Safety Pin to protect unborn babies during a lunar eclipse

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 54
Occupation: Health Care Executive
Residence: San Diego
Performance Date: 4/18/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Main Piece

Informant: When I was pregnant my mom- you know the news tells you when there is gonna be an eclipse– well she saw that and she told me that I needed to place a safety pin near my stomach inside of my shirt, near my stomach.  

Interviewer: What was this for exactly? 

Informant: It was supposed to be to avoid harming my baby–defects, birth defects. I don’t know of what kind. Maybe a lazy eye? I don’t know. Haha. 

Interviewer: Were eclipses usually known to cause babies harm?

Informant: That’s what they say. I don’t think there is scientific proof on that. My guess is someone had a baby with a deformity and then they blamed it on the eclipse and it spread. I don’t know. I’m just guessing. 

Interviewer: Did you do it? 

Informant: The consequences of not doing it, even as silly as it sounded, was tugging against me. What if something did go wrong? There didn’t seem to be any logic to the request, but it was simple so I did it. My mom was happy that I followed, and there was a sense of protecting my baby and doing it in case something were to happen to her during the eclipse. I had it secured so it wasn’t gonna poke me, haha.

Background

The informant is my mother, a Mexican woman who is first-generation and the oldest of 3, who was born and raised in San Ysidro,CA  a border town just north of Tijuana, Mexico. Influenced by memories and conversations with her great great grandmother, many of her practices, customs, and beliefs were passed down from her maternal side of Mexican customs. Fluent in both English and Spanish, the informant has always felt conflicted about her culture as she wanted to fit in with American customs but wanted to preserve her Mexican heritage and traditions. The informant had her first child when she was 18, and worked her way as a single mother with two kids to attain her Master’s Degree and is now the Executive Vice President at a non-profit health clinic that serves the community she was raised in.

Context

During our interview, we were discussing all of the different experiences with folklore that she experienced when she was pregnant with her kids. She mentioned a safety pin and eclipse in passing, and I asked her to discuss it further as it was my first time hearing about it. 

Analysis

This form of folk protection is very rooted in the belief of superstition and fear of the unknown that expecting mothers can feel when they are carrying. Wanting to do everything to protect the child, the informant listened to the superstitions and how to protect the baby that were passed down to her from her own mother. This shows the flow of pregnancy superstitions via maternal channels, and the spread of cultural premonitions and protecting practices.