Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Momotaro

Nationality: Japanese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: gateway apartments
Performance Date: 4/24/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

Informant CS is a student at USC who is currently studying physical therapy. He is Japanese, born and raised in Japan, and went to school at an international school in Japan.

Give me a Japanese folk story

CS: “Okay I will tell you the about Momotaro. I don’t really remember the details of the story but I’ll tell you basically what happened. Momotaro was this legendary Japanese hero that is really well known. You can find toy figures of him in toy shops and in stores. His name literally means peach boy because he was born from a peach. It was said that a peach came flying down from the sky and out hatched Momotaro. Two couples found him and raised him. Once Momotaro grew up, he learned of an island full of demons that were terrorizing people, so he set off to fight these demons. He meets some talking animals and become friends with them (I forget how), and then goes fights the demons. He destroys the demons and brings the demon king home as a captive. Then… I think he lived happily ever after.”

Thoughts: When my friend was telling me this story I didn’t recognize who it was but after I went home and did a bit of research on the guy and saw his Chinese name, I knew exactly who he was. I have definitely heard his name before in mandarin classes, but probably the reason why I know him is because there is a theme park in Taiwan named after him. Another fun fact is during WW2 Momotaro’s story was very popular and was used as a metaphor. Pearl harbor was considered the demon islands that the demons (United States) lived on, Momotaro represents the Japanese government, and his animal companions represent the Japanese people. I thought that was really interesting how they use a legendary story as propaganda to boost the morale of their people during WW2 and to get them to have faith in their government.

Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 58
Occupation: Art Teacher
Residence: Fullerton
Performance Date: 4/14/2017
Primary Language: Chinese

Informant KY is my aunt who was born and raised in Shanghai, and came to the states when she was in her late 20s.

KY: “a long time ago there was this dude, forgot his name, who was a war hero and a sick poet. He was loved by everyone and eventually became the emperor’s right hand man. The Emperor trusted him and listened to all of his advice. However, there began a rumor that this dude was a traitor and selling secrets to other nations, and the Emperor started believing this rumor. The guy was kicked outta nation and he just hung out on his own for a few years. Eventually he hears news that his nation has been invaded and defeated. The guy was so sad, because he really loved his country, he took a rock and drowned himself. People felt bad for him so they made these zongzi for his spirit and threw it in the river that he drowned himself in. One day as these people were throwing the zongzi the guy’s ghost floats up and was like ‘guys, the fish are eating all the food and I don’t get any’. So the people went home, put the zongzi in bamboo baskets and threw them into the river”

wait i thought they threw the rice because then the fish would eat the rice and not each the guy’s corpse

KY: “I don’t know man, thats what I remember…”

Thoughts: To me, this is a very familiar because zongzi is a large part of Chinese cuisine and culture, and I’ve heard of this story from my parents and my teachers too. Zongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, which shows that it is a big part of Chinese culture. Anyways, this story just reminds me of when I was a kid and I would listen to my mandarin teacher tell us all these stories about why we eat different things during different Chinese festivals, and also reminds me of how much I miss home.

For another version of this story see: https://artifactsjournal.missouri.edu/2014/03/the-legend-behind-zongzi/ by Xiao Fan

The Ghost of Frankie Silver

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: Computer Services Assistant
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: German

“The town that I am from in North Carolina, it’s called Morganton and it’s in Burke County, and one of the famous citizens of Burke County is named Frankie Silver and she was the first woman to be hanged… I thought it was in North Carolina, but it might just be in Burke County… I am not entirely sure, but she was accused of murdering her husband and chopping him up with an ax and then burning him in a stove, like the stove in their house…
And so she was found guilty and hanged. I think she wasn’t hanged in Morganton. I think she was hanged at the state courthouse, but I think the trial was in Morganton in the old county courthouse, which is still standing. They don’t use it as a courthouse anymore, but it has like a museum inside of it. It’s pretty cool. But supposedly, her ghost, you know, still kinda haunts where her house was. I think it’s not quite in Morganton. It was more out in the woods kind of up the mountain, but my mom told me that supposedly where she was buried, which I guess has since kinda been lost… no one really knows where it is anymore… is kinda out towards my childhood home. There was a road off of the main road that was kind of…I think it was just a gravel road called Buckhorn Tavern or something real rustic like that… and that supposedly is where her grave is according to my mom.”

The informant grew up in North Carolina and lived there his entire life there until moving to Los Angeles around three years ago, where he currently resides.
In regards to Frankie Silver, there is speculation to if she was innocent or not, or even if it was just self-defense. This happened at the turn of the century though, so a lot of the speculation comes from women not having as many rights as they do now, meaning that even if it was self-defense, she could have been “doomed at the onset once she was accused” (according to the informant).
While the informant claims to not believe it now, he admits that he probably did as a child, being that he was into ghost stories then. However, he also admits that he didn’t really understand who she was until he was much older. He learned who Frankie Silver was as the children in Morganton/Burke County are required to read a book called “The Ballad of Frankie Silver” by Sharyn McCrumb in middle school.
The informant also cannot distinctly remember what would happen to you if you saw the ghost, but he figures it has something to do with her being unjustly hung.

The informant relayed this to me while in the passenger seat of his girlfriend’s car as she drove us all back up to Los Angeles. I have known the informant since he moved to Los Angeles.

I find it interesting that the informant knew about legend of Frankie Silver, but did not fully understand it until reading a book based off of it. In this case, the legend was enhanced/more distributed because of the authored literature based upon it. While the informant was able to distinguish what he knew as the legend and what he knew as the book, I am sure that the two often get confused or even fall under the same heading of “By Sharyn McCrumb.”
That being said, there is no way of telling how much of the book influenced the informant’s version of the legend or how much it has changed since the book was published.

USC’s Tree from Hitler

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Case Clerk
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: German, Spanish

“There was a tree on or nearby campus that had been donated by Hitler”

The informant was a history major at USC. The topic of the tree being donated by Hitler was brought up after someone had done an end-of-term paper on memorials in Germany around the World War II period for their German history class. Their professor at the time explained that it was true and continued to explain the history of it to the class.

Von KleinSmid, who was president of USC around the 30’s and the 40’s, was believed to be either a Nazi himself or someone who at least had highly fascist sympathies. With Los Angeles hosting the 1932 Olympics and then Hitler’s Germany hosting the one in 1936, Hitler supposedly donated the tree in honor of the friendship between the two in light of the Olympics. It is believed to be the tree directly outside of Morton Fig on campus.

The informant admits that she cannot confirm it to be true or not, but she has heard this legend from multiple people in both class and just around USC.

The informant relayed this story to me while driving us back to Los Angeles. This informant is a relative.

While I have heard this legend to be true from multiple people, I have also heard that the legend can’t be true. Those that deny it say that the tree was not in the campus plans until the 60’s, but I cannot say if it is true or not.

The Legend of Saint Abuna Aregawi’s Monastery

Nationality: Ethiopian and Greek
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, Oregon
Performance Date: April 21, 2017
Primary Language: Amharic
Language: English, Spanish, and Attic Greek

“So, my saint name is “Waleta Aregawi,” which derives from the saint Abuna Aregawi, who was a Syrian monk who was residing in Ethiopia. And basically, he is famous for building the Debre Damo monastery, which is on a mountain top. So, the legend says that when he was at the base of the mountain, a large green serpent came to him and Saint Michael was giving him instructions on how to build a monastery and after that, the snake coiled around the monks body and helped him travel up the mountain to build the monastery.”

In Ethiopia, especially in the orthodox church, when you are baptized as a child, you are given a saint name. According to the informant, multiple people can have the same saint because it correlates with both the month and the certain day you are born. For example, the informant was born in August, which translates to “neḥāsē” in Amharic, and she believes that the 31st is attached to Abuna Aregawi. She actually brought a picture of her saint and keeps it in her room here at USC.

While multiple people can have the same saint, she believes that her own saint name, “Waleta Aregawi,” is specific to her.

The monastery is a real location that can still be visited today. The monastery is not only for people who have Abuna Aregawi as their saint, but for everyone.

The informant relayed this to me while we were sitting on a bench on the USC campus.

When the informant first described this to me, I saw a lot of similarities with astrological signs. You have the specific month and day you were born connecting you with others who supposedly are similar to you. While not exactly similar concepts, the idea of being connected to a group of others with the same heading creates a sort of community within a community. At the same time, it also gives a form of identification and belonging to their particular religion.