Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Putah Creek Folk Etymology

Nationality: American
Age: 62
Occupation: University Professor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/15/11
Primary Language: English

The informant is a caucasian male. His father was born in Denmark, but was raised in America. He was raised in Virginia, but attended high school in Pasadena, CA. The informant later lived in Hawaii for 8 years, Northern California for 7 years, and now resides in Southern California again. He is a professor, teaching molecular biology to pharmacy students. He was brought up episcopalian but is no agnostic. The informant is divorced with one child.

The informant heard this story when he was working at the University of Davis in the 80s. He was told it on multiple occasions by his colleagues who had lived in the city for a longer time. He himself would retell the story whenever it came up in conversation. The story deals with a small creek that runs on the edge of the campus, through the arboretum, and out eventually to Napa Valley. This creek is called Putah Creek. The story goes that way back in the 1800s, when Davis was first being developed it was a mining town with many day laborers. These men would work hard all day, and then at night they would come down to Putah Creek for entertainment. The women of the night would come out strolling along the creek and the men would employ them. Eventually the creek became known as Putah Creek, after the Spanish word for prostitute. And the name has stuck to this day.

Analysis: This is an example of folk etymology, telling the story of how a place came to get its name. What makes this interesting is that in the interview with the informant, he admitted that he had also heard that the name is probably of Native American origin, indicated by the spelling. And yet he also said that the more racy story was the one that he would tell people. It is interesting that even while the informant was completely aware that there was at least some doubt about the origins of the name, as he himself admits, he will still tell the first story as if it were fact. This indicates a preference for an interesting story rather than the truth. So while the analysis of folk etymologies may not actually help to determine the true origins of anything, they do reveal what interests people enough to actively pass along.

Curse— Chicago

Nationality: American. Self-Identified Ethnicity: Caucasian
Age: 56
Occupation: Attorney
Residence: Champaign, IL
Performance Date: 4/24/11
Primary Language: English

The curse as described by Jim:  “The owner of the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago wanted to bring his goat to a Cubs game in 1945.  He wanted to bring the goat in, but the owner of the Cubs prohibited him.  So, he put a curse on the Cubs by saying that they were no longer going to win.  The Cubs have tried to get rid of the curse, but they haven’t been able to break it… because they haven’t been back to a world series since 1945.  There have been other occurrences proving that the curse is true.  For instance, the Cubs were five outs from going to the World Series in 2003.  Then, a foul ball was hit to left field.  A fan, the now infamous Steve Bartman, interfered with the fly ball which made left fielder Moises Alou angry.  Then, the Cubs lost the next two games.  That proves the curse is true.”

Jim told me that he believes wholeheartedly in this curse, as it’s his duty as a Cubs fan to stay loyal.  He explained that there’s no other explanation for why the Cubs haven’t been to the World Series since 1945.  He said that he believes the curse will one day be broken, but he’s not sure how that will be accomplished.

Jim said that he learned about the curse from his father when he was growing up.  His father was a huge Cubs fan, which influenced his team preference.  Jim also said that every Cubs fan should know about the curse.  He mentioned that it’s perpetuated by the media, who reference it after losing Cubs seasons.

At the simplest level, this curse is used as justification/an excuse for why the Cubs have not been to the World Series since 1945.  The team is known for its losing seasons, and this is an easy way for fans to justify their losses and feel better about the team.  For instance, when the aforementioned mishaps involving Steve Bartman occurred in 2003, it was easier to blame the curse than the actual players involved with losing the games leading up to the World Series.

The curse is also a way to shape the identities of Cubs fans.  Jim mentioned that all Cubs fans should know about the curse.  While most non-fans wouldn’t believe in the curse, true Cubs fans do… giving its fans a sense of community and camaraderie.

This curse is similar to other baseball curses like “The Curse of The Bambino,” which was supposedly placed on the Red Sox after the team traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920.  However, the curse was “broken” in 2004 when the Red Sox finally won the World Series.

This curse is referenced in Issue #250 of the Hellblazer comic book series, in which main character John Constantine is hired to break the curse.

Chinese Religious Folk Legend – Unjust Deaths and Vengeful Spirit Women

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 54
Occupation: Retired Banker
Residence: DeXing E. Rd. Lane 331 #28 7FL, Taipei, Taiwan
Performance Date: 3/18/2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

This folk legend was collected from my Father. My father was born as a farmer’s son into a veteran’s family in Taipei, Taiwan. His father and mother ran away from China to Taipei during the Chinese Civil War. Much of his cultural practices and beliefs are taken from mainland Chinese culture. Because of his background, he is considered a “mainlander” in Taiwan (Chinese in Taiwan are divided into Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese or indigenous). My father graduated from Iowa University with an MBA. His B.A was obtained in Taiwan. During one of our telephone sessions, he mentioned the following superstition that he learned in his childhood from his parents. I’m paraphrasing and translating it here to the best of my memory:

“When a young unmarried virgin dies an unjust death because of a man…like if they were attacked or if they commited suicide because a man rejected them or cheated on them… the women needing a soul to reincarnate, they…as spirits… sit at the riverside as ghosts and transform into seductive women who are brushing their hair to punish and entrap lusty men. The vengeful spirits wait at the riverside, of course, late night, for lusty men to come and flirt with them. When the lusty men do come, the spirits take the men to their spirit homes, drink wine, talk, and have sex. However, the men, waking up the next morning, find themselves next to a pile of bones, leaves or decaying forest matter…and because of this…the men usually get so frightened they fall into a great illness and die.”

When I inquired my father on the truth of this superstition and his own beliefs in it, he said that he wasn’t sure if it was true or not, but he definitely believed in the riverside spirits. Furthermore, he said that when he heard this story in his childhood, his mother cited several relatives of neighbors in her village who drowned to death because of these vengeful spirits and one neighbor in particular who passed away because he fell to a great sickness after meeting one such vengeful female spirit. But, ultimately, my father thinks that parents tell their children this story to warn them against being too lusty or perverted; however, he reiterates that he doesn’t doubt the existence of these vengeful female spirits. While the belief in the supernatural and the implicit moral lesson (control one’s lust) taught to children is important in this item, I think the values the item attributes to men and women are more important. The superstition portrays women as weak individuals who are unable to fend off sexual attackers or “evil” men and because of this, fall to their demise. However, they come back as strong, powerful and vengeful beings to prey on their previous attackers. This suggests a belief in some sort of latent evil or vengeance in women. On another note, the item portrays men as lusty sexual predators who are unable to control their instincts and who lose their lives because of an uncontrollable lust. That is to say, the item also suggests and attributes an animalistic or predatory quality to men. Yet, this predatory quality seems to be frowned upon based on how this story is put to use–it’s a cautionary tale that tells its audience to restrain their lust. So we can infer that perhaps, in Chinese culture, a more idealized version of man is one who is in control of their sexual tendencies.

Interestingly, the vengeful spirit women in this item seem alike to the Banshee of Irish folklore and even the La Ilorona of Chicano folklore.

Chinese Religious Folk Belief on Life after Death and Spirits

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 54
Occupation: Retired Banker
Residence: DeXing E. Rd. Lane 331 #28 7FL, Taipei, Taiwan
Performance Date: 3/18/2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

This folk belief was collected from my Father. My father was born as a farmer’s son into a veteran’s family in Taipei, Taiwan. His father and mother ran away from China to Taipei during the Chinese Civil War. Many of his cultural practices and beliefs are taken from mainland Chinese culture. Because of his background, he is considered a “mainlander” in Taiwan (Chinese in Taiwan are divided into Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese or indigenous). My father graduated from Iowa University with an MBA. His B.A was obtained in Taiwan.

When we were having our regular telephone session, he told me the the following recollection on the phone (in Chinese):

(This is not a direct transcription or translation. It’s based off what I remember him saying)

“I was at your grandmother’s house the other day and during the course of our conversations she remarked how Grandpa’s spirit hadn’t visited the family at all after his death. Because of this, she began wondering if Grandpa was doing okay in the spirit world. I chatted with her a bit more and she then told this story:

‘Your great grandmother used lived in a province called Fujien in China. She was married into the Lian family at around 8 or 9 and stayed at the Lian household to be raised into an ideal wife. At the Lian’s household, your great grandmother was one your great great grandmother’s favorites (your great grandmother’s mother-in-law). They were so close, they even slept in the same bed together–like mother and daughter. So in your great great grandmother’s old age, when she felt death looming, she told your great grandmother that after her death, she would come back as a spirit and protect your great grandmother. Thus, she told your great grandmother not to be afraid if she heard or saw things at night when her spirit came to visit. Now, when the time came and your great great grandmother passed away, supernatural occurrences actually began to happen in the Lian household. Late at night the drawers would rattle, floorboards would creak and places your great great grandmother frequented would shake–your great great grandmother’s spirit had, as she promised, come back as a spirit to visit the house she was so used to and to say her final goodbyes before moving on. Naturally, all this supernatural activity scared the wits out of your great grandmother’s aunt. She would be so scared she wouldn’t go to the bathroom at night and resort to peeing on the bed! But, knowing that it was only your great great grandmother’s spirit coming to visit, your great grandmother continued her late night activities with indifference and she was happy to know that her great great grandmother was doing well in the afterlife.’

Later, I asked her why Grandpa’s spirit hasn’t visited, to which she replied that it was probably because a) in a modern cityscape, it’s not dark enough. There are too many lights, which scare the ghosts away. And b) they had moved too much and Grandpa couldn’t find their new homes.”

When I asked my father what the significance of this family legend was, my father said that he said the pre-dominant belief (even to this day) in Chinese culture was that the spirit or the soul of a person stays on earth for a week before it moves on to heaven. And during this week, the spirit often visits loved ones and goes to places he or she was used to going when they were living.

While my father said the significance of this legend was the folk belief that “a spirit stays on earth for a week after death”, I want to point out a few other folk beliefs and practices revealed in his story. First of all, we can see a sexist or patriarchal society structure in China about four generations ago. My great great grandmother was married around the age of 8 to be raised as an ideal wife. From this tidbit, it would seem that the only role a woman had in life was to be a wife. Second, we see a firm belief in the supernatural. My great grandmother and my grandmother never questioned the supernatural occurrences in this family legend–to them it was normal and commonly accepted that there were spirits living around them. Adding to that, the recollection implies that this belief in the supernatural is passed from generation to generation through word of mouth. Because of this, my father believes in the supernatural and even I, being an atheist, believe in these folk beliefs about the supernatural as well. Also, similar to other folk beliefs, this family legend reinforces the idea that ghosts only come out at night (in this case, the reason provided is that ghosts fear the light).

Most importantly, in this legend, a great significance is given to the family. Where in the folklore of other cultures, ghosts and spirits may come out to scare or devour humans, in this legend, the spirit returns to give condolences to its family–giving spirits a much more homely feeling than other folk legends and superstitions do. This emphasis on family reinforces the importance placed on the values of family and community that so many of our contemporary scholars have found in Chinese culture.

Nightwalkers Legend

Nationality: American
Age: 62
Occupation: University Professor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/15/11
Primary Language: English

The informant is a caucasian male. His father was born in Denmark, but was raised in America. He was raised in Virginia, but attended high school in Pasadena, CA. The informant later lived in Hawaii for 8 years, Northern California for 7 years, and now resides in Southern California again. He is a professor, teaching molecular biology to pharmacy students. He was brought up episcopalian but is no agnostic. The informant is divorced with one child.

The informant learned about this during the time he spent living in the Hawaiian islands. He heard stories about the Nightwalkers from colleagues and friends at the University of Hawaii. Back before the haole, the caucasians, invaded the islands, pre-18th century, the natives used to walk everywhere, creating paths and trails as they travelled. They mainly lived in the valleys of the islands, so these trails were usually on the valley floors and leading from one valley to another. When the haole came and invaded the islands, they made war with the native Polynesians, many of whom were killed in battle or murdered in attempts at suppression. There is a belief in the culture of Hawaii that when people are murdered, or die under unnatural circumstances, their spirits do not disappear, but rather remains in this world. The spirits are the Nightwalkers and they walk the ancient paths and trails of Hawaii. Some of the old trails are aligned with new modern roads, so the Nightwalkers will walk down modern roads. Others are still more natural paths on valley floors. The Nightwalkers will harm people if they encounter them. When the informant was in the Sierra Club, he took a trip to the Halawa valley, on the island of Molokai. While camping there, he would stand outside of his tent at night, trying to see the Nightwalkers go past him.

Analysis: The informant’s attitude towards this legend is an interesting duality. Just like how a legend is defined by its unverifiable truth value, some believe and some do not, the informant both believes in the Nigthwalkers and does not almost simultaneously. He tells the legend as a make believe story and characterizes it as a native Hawaiian belief, a group of which he is not part of. He does not actively share in the belief of the Nightwalkers, relegating their story to fantasy. And yet on his trip he actively tries to participate in the legend, he tries to see the Nightwalkers in action. Even while he separates himself from the belief system that incorporates the Nightwalkers as real, he attempts to have an experience that would change his mind. While he does not believe, he wants to be proved wrong. And so it is with many legends. Most people do not believe, but they want them to be true. This is an interesting and complex outlook: knowing you are right, but wanting to be wrong, that probably characterizes many peoples’ relationships with legends.

Annotation: Grant, Glen, ed. Obake: Ghost Stories in Hawaii. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing, LLC, 1994.