Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

German Local Legend

Nationality: American
Primary language: English
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Seattle, WA

Text

There’s a mountain range in southern Germany in which, during springtime, there are many waterfalls and fast rivers. There was once a farmer traveling with his cows at the top of the mountain. Suddenly, one of his cows was swept away into the river. He looked for the cow, but couldn’t find it. Later, people further down the mountain suddenly saw the cow shoot out of the waterfall. To this day, whenever you pass by that waterfall, people tell this story, saying, “A cow once shot out of this waterfall.” There’s even a sign about it next to the waterfall!

Context

BW was 10 or 11 when she heard this story. She was a military brat, and when her father was stationed in Germany, the military base she was staying at had a hotel nearby. BW’s family visited and hiked in the mountains during their stay. BW heard this story from a tour guide or a local who knew the area well. She doubts that this was a true story, and thinks it was probably a silly way to encourage people to use caution around waterfalls. She also notes that there were quite a few waterfall caverns in this mountain range, so perhaps this was a way for locals to add lore to a notable geographical landmark.

Analysis

Legends always have unknown truth value, and often tell us about people’s values and fears. This particular German legend seems “untrue,” but whether or not a cow shooting out of a waterfall is possible isn’t relevant for the area this story belongs to. The inclusion of a farmer and his cows as the main figures of the story are notable, hinting that this area did or does value agriculture and require farming jobs. After all, legends take place in the real past or present, not a fantastical world. More interesting, though, is what’s at the heart of the story: the loss of the farmer’s cow to the waterfall. I believe that this represents the way in which nature is uncontrollable and unpredictable. Weather in the mountains can be harsh, and I imagine that snow, rain, wind, and other conditions would make growing crops and living in a mountain range a difficult endeavor. The farmer’s loss of his cow demonstrates the way in which people trying to live in this mountain range might lose precious resources in unpredictable ways to the climate around them. However, this legend has an amusing end, with the cow returning to fly out of the waterfall. This is a humorous image–cows aren’t supposed to fly out of waterfalls!–and according to BW is used as a fun tidbit. I believe that this is a way for residents of this German mountain range to make light of their fears about nature and loss. The possibility of losing precious resources without warning is scary, but this legend makes it seem less so. Additionally, the potential survival and return of the cow from the waterfall is hopeful, implying that the residents of this mountain range want to stay optimistic even in the midst of hard times.

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Myth

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Barista/Student
Residence: Mercer Island, WA

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A very long time ago, there were 10 suns in the sky. Crops and people were dying because of the excess heat from too many suns. One day, a really good archer named Houyi decided he’d solve the problem by shooting down the suns. He succeeded, shooting down nine out of ten of them. The people were happy, and afterwards, Houyi married a girl name Chang’e. He was rewarded for his feat with a special medicine ball, but told only to eat it when he was about to die. Later, Houyi went hunting, leaving his wife at home. Thieves broke into their house and demanded that Chang’e give them the medicine ball. Chang’e refused, but when the thieves insisted, she ate it rather than risk it falling into their hands. As a result, she floated all the way up to the moon. Houyi was extremely sad. Chang’e is said to still be there today. There are other versions of this story where Chang’e chooses to eat the ball without the intervention of thieves or where Houyi grows evil and Chang’e eats the ball to prevent Houyi from using it.

Context

AZ was between 4 and 5 when she first heard this legend. She can’t remember where she first first it, but recalls that it’s generally told during the Mid-Autumn Festival or in school. This celebration is all about the moon at its brightest and roundest, and the legend is shared to honor Chang’e for eating the ball to protect it from being used for bad things. AZ says this story is the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The story is very nostalgic for her. AZ told me that she prefers the version she told over the alternate versions. She doesn’t know what the story might mean or represent.

Analysis

There’s a lot to this myth, which seems to have many variations and hold lots of value in Chinese culture. I designate this as a myth because it is not only a creation story, but also appears to be sacred. It’s the origin of a large, annual celebration, denoting its importance in China. I think that this myth expresses the importance of the Sun and moon in Chinese culture, as well as their intrinsic connection to human beings. This is because both bodies have major importance in the story: Houyi is reason there’s only one sun, and his shooting down of the other nine leads to his to his ownership of the ball; and Chang’e’s choice to eat the ball takes her to the moon, where she remains to this day. Chang’e’s and Houyi’s decisions to take action in order to protect the world around them highlights the importance of strength, virtue, and courage in Chinese culture. This is further emphasized by alternate versions of the tale mentioned by AZ. In the one in which Houyi turns evil, Chang’e’s choice to eat the ball is still courageous, strong, and virtuous. In the one in which Chang’e chooses to eat the ball, being stranded on the moon is her punishment, warning others to choose virtue over desire. Since this myth still shapes an important celebration in China and continues to be told, I believe that these values are still important to the culture in the modern day.

Subterranean Lizard People of Los Angeles

Text:

“My mom is really into conspiracy theories. One of them that she’s into is the one about the lizard people that live in the tunnels under LA. I don’t know if she actually believes it or not, I think she just watches a lot of YouTube videos about them. She sends me Instagram DMs about it, just memes and TikToks.”

When asked to explain what the lizard people are, DS responded:

“Okay, basically they’re these shapeshifting aliens that have been around for thousands of years and control everything. Like, if you dig into any scandal with the government or celebrities, the idea is that they’re probably behind it.”

When asked if his mother had any stories of personally encountering the lizard people, DS responded:

“She talks a lot about this YouTuber she watched a few years ago who was filming himself walking around the tunnels and he said that he had seen the lizard people down there during a previous visit. I don’t think he actually caught them on tape in the video though.”

Context:

DS is a 20 year old student studying political science at UCLA. He grew up in Los Angeles in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood. In this entry, he is referring to the network of tunnels that span roughly 11 miles that were used as speakeasies during the Prohibition Era.

Analysis:

This entry from DS demonstrates an intersection of city history and internet conspiracy theory in the creation of folklore. The idea that the rich and powerful are secretly lizard people is not a conspiracy theory unique to Los Angeles, or even the United States. This notion, arguably, can only be sustained through global internet communication via comment sections, discussion sites, forums, etc, where such notions can be entertained without being realistically challenged. Yet, despite the global appeal of the reptilian conspiracy theory, it has taken on its own special iteration within the context of Los Angeles, particularly within the tunnels that span underground. Already mired with mystery and a reputation for secrecy as they were used to host speakeasies during the Prohibition Era, the tunnels become the ideal location for hiding lizard people. Additionally, Los Angeles is considered the home of many powerful and influential people, which helps to contribute further to the idea that they may be lurking beneath us. Folk communication, as described by DS, as memes and Tiktoks add a social layer to the conspiracy, a means to connect with another person through shared anxieties about the “elite.”

La Llorona

Text:

When asked if his abuelita had told him about any legends during his visits to Mexico, MS responded:

“She told me about La Llorona. It was a story she heard growing up from her parents to discourage her from playing in rivers. And now they made it into a movie a couple years ago.”

When asked to explain the version that his abuelita told him, MS responded:

“Yeah, so I knew about the story before the movie came out. The version she told me was that this woman fell in love with this guy from a wealthy family, but he wasn’t interested in her, so she killed the kids they had had together. Then she felt bad about it so she killed herself too and became a ghost. So now her spirit kind of roams around bodies of water, like lakes and rivers, and cries while looking for her kids. Abuelita also said she tempts kids into water and drowns them, so that’s why parents warn their kids to stay away from bodies of water when they’re playing.”

Context:

MS is a sixteen year old who has grown up in Los Angeles, CA. His abuelita immigrated from Mexico to Sacramento, CA in 1961. She then returned to her hometown in Mexico in the ’90s. Here, MS is recalling legends he had heard from his abuelita when his family visited her in her hometown during vacations.

Analysis:

The legend of La Llorona speaks to several anxieties: the notion that a mother might murder her children if she is discontent, the fear parents have of their children drowning while playing, as well as their fear of their children being lured away. Guilt brings these anxieties together and serves as the strong emotion that keeps “the weeping woman” bound to the mortal plane. Considered a cornerstone of Mexican and Chicano folklore, the way MS was indirectly exposed to the legend highlights how identity may be shaped by these legends. In a sense, he exists in between identities, close enough to have heard the “authentic” version from his abuelita before it was retold by those outside of the culture, yet removed by the virtue of where he has grown up; he can merely visit the folklore, he cannot “own” it in the same way as his abuelita.

The Ghost of Peg Enwistle

Text:

“Another one of the ghost stories I learned about Los Angeles, when I moved out here, was Peg Enwistle. From the story I heard, she killed herself by jumping off the H of the Hollywood sign. Now people say she haunts the area. I’ve read that joggers in the morning, they say they’ve see her ghost.”

When asked if she had ever seen anything while hiking up to the Hollywood sign, CR responded:

“I was with a group one morning and I swear I smelled gardenias. That’s what they say is her scent, because she wore gardenia scented perfume when she was alive. But, I was already aware of the myth, so it could have been a placebo.”

Context:

CR is a sixty year old acting teacher. Originally from Virginia, she moved to LA when she was eighteen and has lived in various areas of the San Fernando Valley.

Analysis:

The legend of Peg Enwistle lands itself in two primary taboos of American culture: the infeasibility of the American Dream and suicide. Both are considered uncomfortable topics for many Americans, which helps to spur ghost legends such as this one. The circumstances of Enwistle’s death, namely her lack of success as an actress despite her hard work, instils doubt into the traditional notion that one’s efforts will be rewarded with success. The idea that the Hollywood sign served as a symbol of failure that loomed over Enwistle’s head rather than a beacon of inspiration that we might fantasize it to be is a notion that disturbs us. There is a certain guilt felt collectively by society for imposing impossible standards and dreams onto its youth. For the consequence of these standards to then be the suicide of a young woman only compounds this guilt. As CR discusses, her physical presence remains, particularly as the scent of gardenias. We get the idea from legends such as this one that true rest cannot be achieved when one ends their own life.