Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Haunted Lake Almanor

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/22/13
Primary Language: English

The informant explains that his family has a cabin on a lake that they go to each year.  The lake is called Lake Almanor because the director of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE) had three daughters named Alma, Mary, and Norah.  There used to be a town where the lake is now and PGE bought up all the land and created a dam over the town, so there’s an entire town underneath the lake.  The informant explains that at night by the lake you are able to hear a creaking noise and that is supposedly the door to the grocery store still under there.  The informant explains that the ghosts of the former townspeople haunt the city because it was unjustly taken away from the citizens and all of the buildings still exist underwater.

The story of the haunted lake with the city underneath displays individuals’ interest in stories of societies, which have been treated unjustly and the belief that those people get revenge via haunting certain places.  The story of the creaking door underneath may actually be true – this is what makes the story more intriguing.

“Flash, flash” legend

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Providence, Rhode Island
Performance Date: 4/18/13
Primary Language: English

The informant describes the legend of  her aunt’s experience with extraterrestrial life.  The informant describes that this story has been shared and told many times within her family and is generally accepted as truth within the family.  The informant explains that this legend holds importance for her because it happened to someone she is close with and trusts. The story goes as follows:

One calm night, Aunt Jane was lying in her bed looking out over the ocean.  She was still awake late into the night, as she is known within the family for sleeping very little.  As she was looking out over the ocean she saw a “flash, flash” on the horizon.  A few seconds later, she saw the same “flash, flash” again, but this time it had traveled really far on the horizon.  There was no possible way it was a boat or a plane or anything like that.  So she kept watching it and it was moving really fast still and the next thing she knew, a really bright green light swooped down through her front yard, around the house, and flew off into the distance.  Aunt Jane is wholeheartedly convinced this was an interaction with a UFO.

The informant’s story of her aunt’s interaction with a UFO is quite entertaining and relates to similar legends of individuals interacting or seeing UFO objects.  It is hard to say what the green flashing light was, but what is more certain is that the story demonstrates the interest people have in extraterrestrial life.  There is a certain fascination people have with finding or interacting with life outside of what is known to man that may have some cause in the abundance of these legends.  It is also interesting how the informant’s entire family is convinced that this event occurred to the person they know.  This may demonstrate the increased belief one holds when hearing events that have happened to those close or related and trusted.

Caroline’s Haunted Mansion

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/24/13
Primary Language: English

The informant detailed a mansion in his hometown that is believed to be haunted.  Interestingly, he is a friend of the kid whose family now owns the house and learned most of the story from him.  This story reminds him of talking with his friends at his high school about the haunted mansion at lunch.  Below are the details of the story of the haunted mansion.

In the early 1900s there was supposedly a young girl who was murdered on the property. And they found her body on the property, either in the attic or on the side of the road – something clearly sketchy.  And supposedly the spirit or the soul of the girl still haunts the lands and oddly enough one of my friends, whose very wealthy, now owns the mansion and he has not experienced any, spirits or haunting, but, the legend still lives. 

This story of a haunted mansion relates closely to many stories of haunted mansions around the United States.  Often the stories involve someone who has died or has been killed in the mansion and that person remains to haunt the property.  I think the frequency of these types of stories details people in that regions of the U.S.’s curiosity with the undead and ghosts.  The frequency of these stories displays people’s possible belief in ghosts.  It is also interesting that the informant is a friend of the kid who lives in the mansion now.  This gives further insight into the story of the mansion and testimonies on whether it is haunted or not.

 

Dragon Boat Festival / Duan Wu Jie (端午節)

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student; Intern at Process Green
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/17/2013
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English, French

“Duan Wu Jie (端午節) is a Chinese holiday that is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of every year.  It is an official Chinese holiday.  What you do is eat zongzi (粽子) which is a type of Chinese delicacy, uh, it’s sort of a, um, dim sum, but not really a dim sum.  It’s just a cuisine.  You wrap rice—a special type of rice, those sticky rice—um, inside a leaf and steam it or poach it in water.  It has a lot of flavors and a lot of different types of fillings.  Once you put the meats and flavors and fillings inside the marinated rice, you wrap it in the leaves, tie it with string, and cook it.  The reason behind eating it has to go with a story behind it:

“There used to be a Chinese politician back then—it’s a long time ago—and, um, he was very loyal to his country.  He warned his country and his king about what he should do before something goes wrong.  He knew something was wrong and that the other country would invade them, but the king wouldn’t listen to his advice, uh, so the tragic happened: people came and invaded the entire country.  He was very disappointed and very saddened, but he was still very loyal to his country.  So he committed suicide in the pond.  And the people found out on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.  And the people loved that politician and wanted to commemorate his death—they threw the, uh, zongzi inside the water so that the fish would not eat his body but eat the food instead.  So that tradition of eating zongzi came from that.  Although it was meant for fish originally, we eat it still.

“This festival is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival.  So people race dragon boats.  Um, apparently that day is also the day when the sun and dragon come out at the same time or something, and it’s a symbol of masculinity, I guess, to race dragon boats.”

Q: “I have also heard another version where the reason the dragon boats are raced is to go out and find this war hero/politician guy.  Have you heard of this version?”

A: “I’m pretty sure that is probably another version of the story.  I’m pretty sure they are still searching for his body, and they haven’t found it yet.”

Q: “And what else do you do on this day?”

A: “Well, it’s a public holiday so you kinda stay with your family and do something fun like go out and watch a film.”

Q: “So it’s mainly just the families that congregate together?  Or does the whole community get together and perform?”

A: “If you break it down, it’s more family-oriented.  Everybody has no work—you don’t have to go to work that day—so families come together, you know?  It’s supposed to be a national thing, but some people celebrate it, some people don’t.  It’s not a mandatory thing.  In our family, we just eat the zongzi that our grandmother made.  We don’t really celebrate, but it’s more of a family tradition now.  There’s special TV programs on that day—a lot of people singing, but I don’t think there’s any particular song that I know of that reflects that particular day.”

Q: “What about preparation?  Is there a lot of preparation for this day?”

A: “Of course.  The food—at least my grandmother started preparing a few weeks beforehand.  Actually, we started eating a few weeks before that day.”

Q: “Who usually is involved in preparation?  Is it mainly the women?  Or does the whole family get involved?”

A: “Yeah, it used to be like that, but now more and more people buy it from the store.  Which is very sad because the women in metropolitan areas are too lazy to learn and carry on the tradition.  Including my mom.  She complains a lot about how she doesn’t have time—actually, she says it’s too hard.”

Q: “Then it is mainly the women?”

A: “I guess it’s part of the tradition, but it doesn’t have to be.  It’s just sort of understated, you know?”

Through my interview with my informant, I feel that the tradition is not very well kept and persistent in his family.  The holiday is large enough to gain all working people and all school children the day off, but his experience with the holiday itself is rather minimal.  There is a huge concentration on the food aspect of this holiday because of the story that goes along with the traditional food.  The dragon boat races are also a large part of the holiday.  Since the holiday is so centered on the story of the suicidal politician, the events that characterize this celebration are related in some way to the disappearance of the great politician.  The food is symbolic of the people’s efforts to try and protect his body, and the dragon boat races are held to send teams out to try and find the body before the fish or currents could carry it away.  Even the mindset of dragon boat racing is considered “masculine” because the man everyone is searching for was masculine.  Also playing into that machismo state of mind is the fact that the women are often left to prepare the food for this holiday.  The making of zongzi is a rather long and difficult process if done correctly, so the women must spend lots of time in preparation for the holiday—weeks, according to my informant.  The women are placed in their domestic places while the men are left to go out and be breadwinners for the family.  Though we live in an era of progress and supposed equality, the holiday times seem to take on a more sexist role and place women back in households if they are to be considered “good wives.”  It is also interesting that because less and less women (whose responsibility it is apparently to learn how to make zongzi) want to spend time slaving away in kitchens, more and more people are going out to purchase ready-made zongzi from the stores.  The holiday has become commercialized.  And since the holiday is so heavily concentrated on the aspect of food, it is odd that the great preparation of the food has been completely removed from the picture of this holiday and left in the hands of businesses.  Because of this trend toward store-bought goods, I feel like the holiday is beginning to lose its significance and steadfastness in the families that had once spent many weeks prepping for and celebrating.  In the case of my informant, for instance, who mentioned that families would rather go out and see a movie together than actually celebrate the holiday, it seems like as the generations drift further and further away from a domesticated lifestyle, the less likely it is that the traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival will be maintained within families.

“Madame White Snake”

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Ningbo, China
Performance Date: April 2013
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

           An international student at USC, the informant grew up in Ningbo, China, one of the country’s oldest cities and now a seaport city in the northeast of the Zhejiang province. “Madame White Snake,” or “Legend of the White Snake,” (as it is sometimes called) takes place in her hometown region, and thus she grew up with the romantic legend as part of family and regional culture. The informant appreciates the legend for its incorporation of romance and beauty as well as sadness into an altogether inspiring story. She is particularly drawn to Madame White Snake as an example of a strong Chinese female character “who boldly strives for her true love against all oppositions.”

            Additionally, the informant noted that Madame White Snake’s son, who eventually finds success and saves his mother, provides a motivational anecdote for her to perform well in school; she feels that perhaps through being a good student she, too, can one day become an important figure and protect her family.

 

            First off I must say that I heard a couple of different versions of Madame White Snake that now they get jumbled (is that how you say in English? Jumbled?) in my head! (laughs). But, this story begins with Lü Dongbin, one of China’s sacred wise men, who sells a kind of live-forever potion to a young Chinese boy, Xu Xian. Xu Xian does not feel so good after a couple days, and he throw up the potion into the Hangzhou West Lake.

            Now, Madame White Snake―actually right now she is still just, uh, snake, like, spirit―drinks the potion that will make her live forever, and she is so, so happy about this because this is her wish! (Informant claps her hands together) Now the white snake remembers Xu Xian and hopes to repay him someday. But, at the same time, an evil spirit in the lake is jealous of white snake, who now has all this, uh, magic power and life. One day, the white snake transforms into a woman to save a green snake from a beggar by the lake who has trapped it, and they become very close like best friends or sisters.

            Many, many years pass (I think it is something like eighteen or twenty) the two snakes transform into women to travel to Hangzhou. The white snake is Bai Sue Zhuan and the green snake is Xiaoqing. They meet Xu Xian, but now he is all grown-up and handsome! And you know what? They meet at the same spot on the bridge where he threw up all the potion! Xu Xian gives the women his umbrella because it is raining, and that is how he and Madame White Snake, or sorry, Bai Sue Zhuan cross paths again. They fall in love, get married, and move to Zhejiang province (where I live!). They open up a medicine shop there.

            The evil spirit is still jealous about the white snake’s (who is now Bai Sue Zhuan, remember) long life, and he uses strong magical powers to transform into a Buddhist monk. In this, uh, new form of body, gives Xu Xian some wine during the Dragon Boat festival and tells him to give it to his wife. But, the wine is really actually turns Bai Sue Zhuan back into the white snake, and this scares Xu Xian so much that he collapses and dies. Bai Sue Zhuan is very sad, but also determined to bring him back! The two women climb up a very big, cold mountain to pick a herb medicine that will bring her husband back to life.

            Now, the story seems like happy ending because Xu Xian wakes up and still loves Madame White Snake, even though he knows about her animal body. (The informant changes expression to a cunning smile) But. . .evil spirit tries again! He kidnaps Xu Xian and bring him to uh, uh, temple. Madame White Snake and Xiaoqing fight back, and Madame White Snake uses powers to bring a tidal wave and flood to the temple. She and her husband reunite, but she is so weak because she is also pregnant with a son and the fight with the evil spirit took too much energy. She gives birth to the boy, but the evil spirit comes back and she cannot win. So, he takes her to Leifeng Pagoda, do you know it?

            For many, many years, Madame White Snake’s son grows up and becomes very smart and a very good student. Actually, he earns first place in the Imperial examination and is best in his classes. He was away for a long time, but misses home now and wants to come back to his parents. The evil spirit is still alive, but Xiaoqing tracks him down and kills him! The son helps, too, because he offers to sacrifice himself to save his mother. God is so moved that he breaks down Leifeng and so this time, finally, Madame White Snake is freed from Leifeng to join her son. The sad part is that her husband Xu Xian has already died, so the family cannot be reunited, but instead she lives with her son and loyal friend Xiaoqing.

 

            The informant’s enthusiasm for the story was evident; her facial expression mirrored the drama in the plot and she would pause right before each plot twist. Additionally, the informant admires Madame White Snake for her perseverance in the face of adversity, and in fact each of the characters overcome some kind of challenge or another. Xu Xian struggles with the discovery of his wife’s true identity, and Xiaoqing and the son must work together to defeat the evil spirit and destroy the Leifeng Pagoda. The legend revolves around the ideas of perseverance and determination, as well as selflessness―chiefly, the son’s sacrifice, but also we see the two women brave a long and arduous journey to revive Xu Xian. Loyalty is another value emphasized in this legend, as not only does Madame White Snake remember her debt to Xu Xian from their first encounter at the West Lake, but also Xiaoqing remains staunchly loyal to Madame White Snake through thick and thin.

            Also notable is that the division between good and evil is markedly apparent, as it can be in many folktales and legends. Even when Madame White Snake makes the one “mistake” of not revealing her identity to Xu Xian immediately, good coalesces with good and Xu Xian finds it in his heart to forgive and love her. Even with no contact with his mother throughout his childhood and adolescence, the under-developed character of the son displays zero hesitation in his self-sacrifice; in short, the story’s characters appear inherently instilled with good or evil before the story even begins.