Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Jimmy Hoffa and Giant’s Stadium

Nationality: Caucasian American
Age: 50
Occupation: Professor of Creative Writing
Residence: Monterey, CA
Performance Date: 4/7/12
Primary Language: English

Informant Bio

My informant grew up in Hudson County, New Jersey in the 1960s and 1970s, spending most of his childhood in Secaucus. He remembers having friends whose family members had ties to the Italian mob, and in fact his own father worked as a Teamster (a cement mixer driver, specifically) for the Teamsters local 560. This was the chapter of the Teamsters union run by notorious Italian mob boss Tony Provenzano. My informant does not recall that living in such a mob run area ever caused him or his family any anxiety, it was simply a fact of life in Hudson County.

My informant now lives in Monterey, California, and will occasionally tell stories about New Jersey when his family is around, or when he is feeling nostalgic. I was able to take notes on this story while some of my informant’s family was visiting from the East Coast.

Jimmy Hoffa and Giant’s Stadium

My informant told me that because gangster and Detroit Teamster Jimmy Hoffa mysteriously disappeared during the construction of Giant’s Stadium (now officially named the Meadowlands Sports Complex) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a popular theory was circulated that Hoffa was killed by the mob and dropped into the newly poured concrete in the stadium’s end zone.

“People liked that theory (where I lived). Most people thought it was possible. They knew how mobbed up the companies building the stadium were.”

However, my informant doesn’t quite believe this theory about Hoffa’s final resting place, because my informant’s father was one of the men pouring the cement at Giant’s Stadium. My informant’s father pointed out at the time that planting a body in the cement at the stadium would require a large number of people knowing about the hit (on Hoffa). It simply takes too many men with cement trucks to plausibly plant that body – and even if they did it at night after the construction day had ended, it would require hands to dig up the cement that had been laid during the day and Teamsters to pour new cement in order to prevent the construction crew from knowing that the cement had been tampered with.

“They’re (the mob) not bright bears as a rule, but they’re not that dumb,” my informant said. So though my informant has a personal connection to the story, he believes that it would have been easier for the mob to carve up Hoffa’s body into pieces and dump him in the Meadowlands, “or Snake Hill landfill, which is home to, a lotta guys apparently.” No reason to give Hoffa any special treatment.

The various theories about Hoffa’s disappearance that have come out of Hudson County, New Jersey seem to be an exhibition of the denizens of their knowledge of the way the mob works. Living with the acceptance of mob activity makes their actions something that can be enjoyable to speculate about, especially when people feel they have some understanding of their dealings. It’s a source of, in a way, town pride and personal connection between those people who lived in the mob’s shadow, but were not directly connected to them.

Stinky Tofu Origin Story

Nationality: Taiwanese American
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

A long time ago, there was a man and a woman who loved each other very much.  They were both married and very poor.  One day, a war broke out, and the man had to leave the woman to help fight the war.  Her husband told her that she would be back in six months.  While the husband was gone, the woman stayed at home and waited for him to come back.  She missed her husband very much so with the last of her savings at the end of the sixth month, she bought some very expensive tofu in order to prepare a fantastic dinner for her husband’s return.  However, on the day that he was supposed to come back, the wife received a letter informing her that her husband had to stay in the army for another month.  Since all her savings were gone, the wife had to start begging for food and picking plants from the wild in order to sustain herself.  She refused to eat the tofu because she wanted to save it for her husband.  At the end of the month, her husband finally returned.  The wife quickly went to prepare food for her husband, but noticed that the expensive tofu had rotted.  She started to cry and her husband saw her and asked, “Why are you crying?” The wife replied, “I bought this expensive tofu just for you but it has rotted away so now I can’t make you your dinner.”  The husband felt really bad so he told her, “Just cook it any way. I’m sure that it will still taste fine.” So the wife took the rotten tofu and cooked it anyways.  While she was cooking it, a putrid stench filled the air.  When the wife presented the dish to her husband, she said, “You don’t need to eat this. It smells horrible.”  But the husband, seeing how loyal and loving his wife was for waiting for him all this time, replied, “No, it’s ok. It smells fine,” and then he took a bite.  With that, he told his wife, “This is the most delicious tofu I have ever eaten! You have to make more!”  After that, the wife started making rotten tofu all the time and the husband would invite his friends over to try his wife’s dish.  The smell would always make people hesitant to try it, but after taking a bite, they would always love it.  And that’s how stinky tofu was invented.

Stinky tofu is a very traditional comfort food in Taiwanese cuisine and is basically fermented tofu that has been fried.  It is known for its disgusting stench which many people describe as being similar to garbage or used diapers.  My informant and I were eating stinky tofu at a restaurant inRowland Heights, and she asked me if I knew where stinky tofu originated from.  She then told me this story. When I asked her where she had heard it from, she told me that her mother had told her this story the first time my informant was trying  stinky tofu.

I think the main purpose of the story is to help convince people who are hesitant to eat stinky tofu to try it.  Evidence for this comes from the fact that my informant told me that this story convinced her to try stinky tofu for the first time.  The tale puts a romantic spin onto an otherwise seemingly disgusting product.  At the same time, this tale reveals many characteristics of Taiwanese society.  For instance, the idea that a woman should stay at home while the husband can go out to work is definitely present.  Simultaneously, this tale places a value on loyalty which can be seen through the wife character who waits for her husband and seeks to keep him happy no matter what.

Japanese Suicide Story

Nationality: Japanese American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 14, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

There are these these two cliffs in Japan that are known for being a popular suicide spot.  One day, a photographer was on one of the cliffs taking pictures, you know, of the wildlife and plants and stuff.  Well as he was snapping shots, he noticed a girl on the other cliff.  He realized that she was going to commit suicide but there was nothing he could do since she was too far away, so he just started to take pictures of her suicide.  Well, later he went home and developed the pictures.  Each picture showed the woman falling lower and lower towards the water.  When he reached the final picture, the one right before the woman hits the water, he notices that the woman’s eyes are looking straight at the camera.

I was told this story by my informant while we were eating a late night dinner.  We had been just casually talking and exchanging horror stories for fun.  I asked her what this story meant to her, and she replied that this story seemed to be teaching that suicide is something that is evil and demonic.  It also seems to be a story to deter others from committing suicide.

Currently, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the country.  Japan has always had a long history of seppuku.  Seppuku is the act of honorably committing suicide and was a totally acceptable act among Japanese citizens.  Nowadays, many people are committing suicide due to social pressures such as job loss and depression.  The problem has become so prevalent that the Japanese government is now actively funding suicide prevention programs in order to lower the suicide rates.  I believe that this story must have arisen from this need to decrease suicides as the act itself is portrayed as being something terrible and horrifying.

Children Horror Story

Nationality: Japanese American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

So, there was this really, really good looking couple.  They had a baby girl that was super cute.  But as the baby grew up, she got less and less cute to the point where the parents became too embarrassed to take her out and have other people see her so they tried to keep her at home as much as possible.  One day, the little girl kept crying that she wanted to go to the park and the mom couldn’t handle it anymore, so she took her to the park.  At the park, the little girl was like, “Mommy, I need to use the bathroom.”  There wasn’t a bathroom anywhere so the mom brought her daughter to a little secluded grassy area that was on a cliff near the park. She told the daughter, “You can pee here. No one will see you.”  While the girl was peeing, the mom pushed her off the cliff and the little girl died.  A couple weeks later, she found out that she was pregnant again.  When the baby was born, it was the most adorable little baby boy and as he grew, he just got cuter and cuter.  The couple loved their son so much and was always showing him off.  One day, the mom brought the little boy out to the same park and he needed to pee.  The mom then took her son back to the grassy cliff area.  She told him, “Mommy will wait for you over there so take your time.”  He replied, “Ok, but Mommy? Please don’t push me off this time.”

My informant told me this story while we were eating dinner.  We had previously been discussing our beliefs regarding  the after life when she said that the topic reminded her of a story she heard.  She told me that her mother had told her this story.  When I asked her what this story meant to her, she told me that it taught her that she should never be embarrassed by their family.

I feel like the story is very effective because of the twist at the end.  When I was hearing this story I expected the ghost of the girl to return and push the boy off the cliff; I was completely blown away when it turned out that the boy was a reincarnation of the girl.  I agree with my informant’s interpretation.  Additionally, I believe there is a focus on how shallowness is a bad characteristic to have, as seen through the couple’s better treatment for their better looking child.  At the same time, the theme of revenge is somewhat present through the reincarnation of the little girl into the little boy.

The Legend of Sasuntsi David

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 26
Occupation: Research Technician/COPE Health Manager
Residence: Van Nuys, CA
Performance Date: 3/20/12
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: English and Russian

“Msra Meliq, the king of Arabia kills the king, Lion Mher, who was the leader of his nation, and takes his son David to raise. Due to the unnatural strength of the young boy, the king can no longer keep him, so he gives the child to his uncle to raise. As David grows, so do his powers. It is believed that he had weapons that no one else could hold. His horse would fly across town and he could alone destroy large groups of enemy soldiers in one strike. David is represented as a statue in the city of Yerevan swinging his sword back and forth and flying his horse, Kurkik Jalali. The legend of David of Sasun has been integrated in many baby names of Armenian sons. Even my brother is named David, who my father believed would be the hero, the savior, the symbol of our nation.”

The informant was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United States when she was about fifteen years old. As a child, Sasuntsi David was one of the most common legendary figures that is attributed to explaining the history of Armenia. The legend of David of Sasun is about a young boy who grows up as the hero of the nation. He has become embedded as the symbol of Armenia and determined as the reason their nation still stands today. She learned this as an early child in grade school. In grade school, it is part of the general curriculum to learn the legend to memory and know the hero’s godlike powers by associating it with hope for their nation. She finds this particularly legend compelling. Despite the fact that it is a legend, there are many facts pointing to an actual existence of parts of the legend, such as there being a door of David’s son hidden in the mountains. The legend says that Mher, who was the successor of the supernatural powers and father of David, deemed that the door had some powers. And the people, today, believe that this door will someday open and a new hero will emerge.

I believe the legend of David of Sasun serves as way for Armenia to establish its national identity, since many Armenians are spread out across the European nation. For example, there are Russian-Armenians, Lebanese-Armenians, and Persian-Armenians. It’s a way of saying, “Here I am,” and to convey that their people have not lost a sense of their roots. It also seems that a large part of instilling this legend in school curriculum can come from attempting to have Armenians become well knowledgeable about their culture and history. Just like the United States teaches U.S. history and the national anthem to instill history of the U.S. to its citizens, certain countries have used folkloric means to instill their own history to their people.