Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Saci Perere

Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 54
Occupation: Dancer/Filmmaker/Motion Graphic Designer
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: April 19
Primary Language: English
Language: Portuguese

“Saci Perere is a Brazilian legend… that…it… he is… Sani Perere is a black boy with only one leg, a red cap, and a pipe in his mouth, so he keeps peeping…erm….smoking his pipe and the red hat…the red cap gives him the power of disappearing whenever… ummm… he feels like it or whenever he is a….ummmm… tricky situation. He is a prankster so he is always playing tricks in the country side people of Brazil. Like, he would hide the toys of the kids in the garden, or… not in the garden whatever… or he would make the cake not rise, or he would spoil the eggs… so that’s Saci Perere… so he’s a trickster but he’s not like… he doesn’t really do any bad deed so he is kind of loved by people around the country”

Saci is a fairly popular folkperson throughout Brazil, appearing on products, and television shows alike. Almost as recognizable as Robin Hood. He seems to be partly based in stereotypes around black people within Brazil who has constantly had fairly racist named folk beliefs and names for things. Even some early drawings of Saci Perere feature overblown racist features that one might find in a United States minstrel show.

Razor Blade in Candy Apples

Nationality: American
Age: 55
Occupation: Musician/ Web Producer
Residence: New York City, NY
Performance Date: April 20
Primary Language: English

“When I was a little kid we used to go trick or treating and we would go to different people’s houses and you’d get some candy but you’d get candy apples and popcorn and peanut butter crackers and cakes a lot of the stuff was all home made stuff that people would give you. Then, one year, it all stopped and the reason why was there was a legend… there was a rumor that somebody had put razor blades to apples and given it to a kid and when he bit it he got cut up and all the… and then he had to go to the hospital and and it so all the kids said, don’t ummm eat anything that was prepared because it could have poison in it, it could have razor blades, it could have anything, and the parents they started saying, don’t eat anything and they were, they started taking if you did get some popcorn or something they would throw it out so that was the thing and even though there was nobody or any news story”

This is a fairly common story, I feel like the hysteria more common in suburban states such as Richmond—Where the informant is from where people are more cooped up and have a natural fear for their children to not get hurt as supposed to city kids who’s parents are less fearful for them.

The Ghost of Queens

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 24
Primary Language: English
” There’s this urban legend in my house… It’s a very old house, built in the nineteen fifties or something… That my house is cursed…. because an old Jewish woman who lived in it died and in my room too!”
The informant’s house is very old, he seems to appreciate the urban legend as the house still has its old fashioned furnishings and has a very nineteen fifties design to it in general. The informant was told this legend by his family who were probably told about this through the Realestate agent or the person selling the home. This type of urban legend makes the residence seem quirky. It’s a bit of a gamble to tell a family moving into a home about a terrifying urban legend involving a ghost. Tt could either scare them away if they are scared of ghosts or draw them in more if they actually believe in ghosts.

 

Zhong Kui

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: February 12, 2017
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Sophie is an international student from Taiwan. She is pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. She hopes to find a career in computer security and plans to stay in the United States, specifically Los Angeles, to work. She enjoys watching anime and learning; from USC-sponsored workshops, she has learned how to code and create chatbots.

Original Script

There’s this guy in ancient China in Tang Dynasty. Actually, um, he’s a really smart guy and he went through this test to be a government official, and at that time, the test was taken in pen. So, um, they don’t know how the guy look like when he takes the test, and then the person grading test assigned the guy to be in first place. And then he went to the emperor and the emperor saw him and the emperor thought the guy was so ugly. He couldn’t be a government official because he was so ugly. And then the guy was really sad because he was so smart, but because he’s too ugly, he got rejected to be a government official so he killed himself in front of the emperor. And then the emperor felt sad too because he killed a guy by calling him ugly. So, the emperor put the guy’s face and everything on chūnlián, which is the red paper we put in front of temples and houses in New Year’s, so the guy could scare off bad spirits with his ugly face.

Background Information about the Performance from the Informant

The informant read about this legend from a book when she was small. She remembered the story of Zhōng Kuí because she found it very amusing. Both the emperor’s reaction to Zhōng Kuí’s suicide and the fact that the man’s hideous appearance was the cause for the tragic end to his life were so ridiculous to her that it was funny.

Context of the Performance

I interviewed the informant in a study room at Parkside IRC.

Zhōng Kuí is a legendary figure in Chinese mythology. He is widely regarded as a vanquisher of evil who commands a force of 80,000 demons. His image is often publicly displayed on household entrances for protection, due to his disfigured appearance and fearsome reputation.

My Thoughts about the Performance

Although I knew about the legend of Zhōng Kuí, I was surprised to hear from the informant that many Taiwanese people place Zhōng Kuí’s face on red paper to repel evil spirits on Chinese New Year’s. In contrast, most Chinese attach ménshén, or door gods, to entrances to protect themselves from evil. However, both countries plaster chūnlián on walls for luck and protection on New Year’s. Even though China and Taiwan share some similarities, I find the many cultural disparities or variations between the two very interesting.

Qu Yuan

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: February 12, 2017
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Sophie is an international student from Taiwan. She is pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. She hopes to find a career in computer security and plans to stay in the United States, specifically Los Angeles, to work. She enjoys watching anime and learning; from USC-sponsored workshops, she has learned how to code and create chat bots.

Original Script

So, in ancient Chinese times, there’s this poet whose name is Qū Yuán. And he wrote these really great poems and he’s also this really successful government official but then the emperor died. The new emperor doesn’t like him, so the emperor banished Qū Yuán. And then he got to this river and he was really sad and he just wrote his last poem and then jumped into the river and died. But the people around that area were really sad because he was this really good government official and then they just threw all this zòngzi, which means “rice dumplings,” and threw them into the river so that the fish would just eat the rice dumplings and not Qū Yuán’s body so he doesn’t get eaten. So yeah, and uh, Duān Wǔ Jié, which is Mid-Summer Festival, we eat rice dumplings to remember this great poet.

Background Information about the Performance from the Informant

The informant hears this story every time she attends the Dragon Boat Festival near the summer solstice. At the festival, people re-enact the tragic life of the poet and minister, Qū Yuán, up to his death. It is a folk legend that the informant grew up hearing as a child, and it holds heavy historical importance to her.

Context of the Performance

I interviewed the informant in a study room at Parkside IRC.

Qū Yuán is a famed and respected Chinese poet and minister from the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty. Known for his contributions to classical poetry and verses, he served as a role model for scholars and officials during the Han Dynasty; the public admired him for staying true to his principles unto death. In certain regions of China and Taiwan, people commemorate the death of Qū Yuán in the Dragon Boat Festival. They believed that the locals rowed through the Miluo River on dragon boats to retrieve Qū Yuán and tossed zòngzi, or balls of sticky rice, into the river to save the poet’s body from being consumed by the fish.

My Thoughts about the Performance

While I have read about Qū Yuán in history books, I did not realize his legend was also considered the origins of dragon boat races and zòngzi. It was fascinating to hear about this famed historical figure, who is still celebrated today, and the legacy he left behind. I also find it interesting that he is commemorated only in certain parts of China during the Dragon Boat Festival. In other parts of China, such as southeast Jiangsu, people celebrate Wǔ Zǐxū at the festival; in northeastern Zhejiang, they celebrate Cao E.