Subject:

Nyami Nyami

Informant:

Amelia Giles grew up in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, and lived there for most of her early life. She moved to South Africa in her late thirties and to America in her late sixties, where she lives today.

Original Script:

“The Nyami Nyami is Zimbabwe’s version of the Loch Ness Monster, and he’s a river God who is believed to inhabit the deep waters of the mighty Zambezi and, um, at the foot of Victoria falls and lake Kariba, which obviously was dammed for hydroelectric power, and this mythical god-spirit has the head of a crocodile and the body of a snake, and he was dead against anybody, um, building lake Kariba, because he felt that he was separated from his lady-love who was a similar reptile, and who was believed to have been left on the other side of the river. So, anyway, he just swears that eventually lake Kariba is going to collapse and he’ll be reunited with his love, and um… also the Zambezi river is Africa’s fourth largest river, and even today, um, as a display of solidarity, you can buy the Nyami Nyami necklace at the foot of Victoria falls, and people buy it and they wear it, and hope it will protect them from it’s wrath, and, um it’s said because he’s supposed to control all the fish in the water and whatever happens in the water. And, so that’s the story of Nyami Nyami, and um, it was obviously… the Tonga people believe strongly in the Nyami Nyami, and somehow they’ve managed to get that belief to come through to even the generation of today. When people, when they go to Victoria Falls they seem to believe the story, and that stories been going through at least three generations. And so that’s the story of Nyami Nyami, and whether he ever breaks through lake Kariba and reunites with his lady love, we just wait to see what happens.”

Informant’s Background Knowledge and Relationship with this Piece:

Amelia remembers hearing this story throughout her childhood, but only paid attention to it and started to believe the legend when she visited Victoria falls for the first time in her late teens. She knows that Nyami Nyami merchandise is commonly sold around Victoria Falls, and that his legend is widely known and believed in across Zimbabwe.

Thoughts About the Piece:

I think it’s interesting that Nyami Nyami is viewed as a wrathful God, who only appeared in the last few generations. I also think it’s interesting that a God is so strongly associated with a modern, man-made structure.

Subject:

The Battle of San Jacinto

Informant:

James Collins moved around a lot prior to college, living between Texas, New York, and New Hampshire. His family was from Texas, and he identifies as a Texan. He is currently a student at the University of Southern California.

Original Script:

“Alrighty, so the battle of San Jacinto was the deciding battle for the independence of Texas, the republic of Texas. Now, previously to the battle of San Jacinto, Texas had suffered great losses at the Alamo, and everybody knows the story of the Alamo, but that was actually quite a crushing defeat for Texas, in that everybody there was killed. Including Davy Crocket, sadly enough. But uh, well he was executed later on but he was captured there. Um, the battle of san jacento, well there’s probably some hyperbole built into it, uhh, specifically that it was this battle that happened, in this swamp which I believe was I think a little bit it’s east of Houston, in this really swampy area called the big thicket, which is just like, it looks like the Amazon sometimes, if you go into the middle of it. And, Santa Ana’s army was camped there, uh they had been pushed south a little bit, back towards Mexico, and the vast majority of their army was there. And prior to that Texas didn’t really launch many offensives. They were kind of focused on defending territory, and hadn’t been super proactive in taking the fight back against the Mexican army. But at the battle of San Jacinto, The um, the Texan militia snuck up before dawn and actually began an assault on the Mexican camp. And, the story goes that there weren’t any sentries for the Mexican army, which is probably unrealistic, but the story goes that the Texans rushed in among the tents and into their camp, and started killing Mexican soldiers as they were waking up. And the other Mexican soldiers, hearing the commotion, wake up in their underpants, and run for their lives in their underpants – and some not wearing anything – from the advancing Texans. Um, there’s actually a mural of this, in the Texan state house, of the Mexican army in their underpants, running away from Texans. And there’s actually a monument, at the site of the battle, by, um, it’s pretty close to Houston, and it’s this massive pillar that rises up in the sky and there’s like, there’s like stories about areas around that pillar where the camps were, and there’s jokes that like, somewhere, buried in the swamps, there are still underpants from the Mexican army.”

Informant’s Background Knowledge and Relationship with this Piece:

James is a pretty proud Texan, and loves stories and ideas relating to Texan superiority or independence. This story of how the losing Texan army was able to crush their opponents in such a humiliating way must have resonated very strongly with him. He can’t remember who or when he heard this story, but considers it a common story in Texas.

Thoughts About the Piece:

The story seems a little far-fetched and slightly gruesome. If it is as widespread in Texas as James asserts it is, then I would say that it is definitely indicative of the nationalistic pride that Texans stereotypically report for their state. While it is a brutal story, it was told in an almost comical light, emphasizing the image of Texan dominance over the fleeing, half-naked Mexican army.

Subject:

The Legend of John Henry

Informant:

James Collins moved around a lot prior to college, living between Texas, New York, and New Hampshire. His family was from Texas, and he identifies as a Texan. He is currently a student at the University of Southern California.

Original Script:

“The story is about men building a railroad. John Henry is this massive dude, like six foot seven, and he was the best at building railroads, at railing stakes into the ground, um, like, putting the nails and pins into the boards, and connecting the iron pieces into the boards. And he was the best at driving in the pins of the train tracks. But one day, a rich dude comes along, and he says ‘I have the most fantabulous, wonderful machine: it is a track layer. It lays track in front of the machine, and hammers them in as it goes along. And I am willing to bet you, John Henry, that I can drill through that mountain, and lay track through that mountain, quicker than you can lay track down through that mountain.’ Keep in mind John Henry has to knock down, like, make a cave as he’s going, lay down track, and pin the track into the ground – he’s got a lot to do for one guy, but John Henry says ‘I’m gonna take you on.’ So, they start going off. Initially John Henry has a huge lead, he’s just, he has this massive hammer, he’s swinging it into the mountain, he’s digging a tunnel, essentially, with the hammer. Like, knocking it down, laying track, pinning the track into the ground. And he does this for a while and he’s side by side with the, um, with the automatic rail layer. And the guy managing the machine is like, ‘I’m gonna catch up to you, I’m gonna catch up to you, I’m gonna catch up to you.’ Eventually the guy starts to catch up to him, and John Henry is in trouble. And, he’s getting tired, he’s slowing down. But um, the rail layer keeps catching up, catching up and eventually it overtakes him. John Henry has been struggling, he’s been smashing his hammer into a mountain, digging his way through a mountain as a one man team for, you know, hours on end. And, when it’s getting close to the end, he’s struggling but he manages one second final wind, and he’s pushing through, pushing through, catches up to the rail layer, and breaks through the other side of the mountain. He hammers down his final pin, hammers down his final track, and falls over, dead. But he won, he beat the rail layer.”

Informant’s Background Knowledge and Relationship with this Piece:

James believes there may also be a component of jobs, some kind of wager that John Henry made that if he won then his other workers could keep their job. He doesn’t know where he learned it, but likes it because he feels like it is an authentically American story. He believes that the legend began among the African American rail worker community.

Thoughts About the Piece:

I’ve heard the story of John Henry before from a Disney Short Film. However, in the version I watched I remember the other rail workers laying the track for John Henry while he hammered in the nails. I also definitely remember John Henry making a deal with the owner of the automatic rail layer which involved allowing all the other rail workers to keep their jobs if he could beat the machine, which he did. I think that that is a very critical component to the story and I find it interesting that James chose to omit it, although he later mentioned that there might have been some employment aspect to the story.

Subject:

Hayes Family History

Informant:

Conor Hayes has lived in Southern California with his family for all his life. His mom is from Alabama, and his dad, while born and raised in the US, claims some Irish Heritage from his grandfather (COnor’s Great Grandfather). Conor is currently a student at the University of Southern California.

Original Script:

“So, all of our kind of family legends on my dad’s side center around my great grandparents. So, my dad’s dad’s parents. Umm, and they both immigrated over from Ireland, and there’s a lot of kind of mystery and, um, surmise, surrounding the circumstances by which they ended up in America, and married to each other. My great grandfather was just, like, a quiet guy, who never really talked about his life before America, but, um, there are two, there are two stories about why he came. So him and his future wife, didn’t know each other back in Ireland, so she is not a factor in this story.  But apparently he was, um, there, when the IRA – the Irish Republican Army – was a big factor in politics and in life in Ireland, which, you know, for brief background information they’re, you know, more or less a terrorist group that was.. uh.. supporting Irish independence, specifically, you know, the Catholic regions of Ireland. So my great grandpa, the one thing that is consistent across the stories is that somehow he ended up stowing away on a cruise ship to come to America.           Um, and then he became, he was one of the man Irish immigrants at the time, but like managed to land a job as a gardener. Um, and, one story of how he ended up on the cruise ship is that somehow, he stole a bike from an IRA member, like as a teen and, the IRA member was apparently so pissed off and so well-connected in his town that my great grandfather had to like, flee the country. And the other option, also involves the IRA, but it’s that my great grandpa was a part of the IRA, and then stole a bike from a police officer. Cause, my grandfather was like a teenager at the time and it was probably just like a teenage rebellion thing.”

Informant’s Background Knowledge and Relationship with this Piece:

This is a family legend for Conor, which he learned from his uncle. It interests Conor because the subject of the legend is not too far removed from him – only two generations away – and nevertheless the story is heavily obscured, with two very different versions and a lot of speculation even within them.

Thoughts About the Piece:

I find it interesting that even within the same bearer, this story has demonstrated multiplicity, as the informant clearly has two different but related stories about his great grandfather. I find it interesting that the exact details have been lost so early on, due to the subject of the story being reluctant to share many details. As a result he has made a family legend out of himself.