Category Archives: Earth cycle

Seasonal and celetial based

Indiana Corn Folklore

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 23rd, 2012
Primary Language: English

“Knee High by the 4th of July”

In Indiana, and especially in the source’s hometown near Indianapolis, cornfields surround most of the neighborhoods, and this is where all of the neighborhood kids play during the summer. In fact, when the source moved to Los Angeles, he said he was surprised to find that no one else knew how tall corn was supposed be during different parts of the year. He understood “Knee High by the 4th of July” to be common knowledge all over the country.

People in Indiana mark time, especially in the summertime, by how tall the corn is. It is accepted there that if a corn crop is doing well, it will be “Knee high by the 4th of July”. The height of the corn is also indicative of how hot the summer has been, or how much rain has fallen. He said that people use the cornfields in Indiana to gauge the weather conditions, much like people in Malibu watch the ocean for seasonal changes and weather patterns.

The source explained that the saying is used often, mostly in cars as people pass various cornfields and discuss how the crop is coming along that summer.

청개구리 (The Green Frog) — Korean Folk Tale

Nationality: Korean
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 2/26/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

My informant told me about a story he had heard in Korea, told to him by a teacher when he was in elementary school:

“Once, there was a frog. A green frog, I guess, or–never mind, it doesn’t really matter. Just a frog. Uh, this frog was really disobedient and never listened to his mom. So if she told him to go one path, he’d go on the other one, and if she told him to shower he wouldn’t, and stuff like that. He just, like, does the opposite of whatever she says. A really mean frog kid. Anyway, so the mom is on her deathbed or something, and she thinks like, because he’s always done the opposite of whatever she says, she tells him to bury her in the ground so that he’ll take the opposite and bury her in the ocean, you know? She actually really wants to be thrown in the ocean, but she tells him the opposite. And so she dies, but uh, the frog kid feels guilty for all the crap’s he done in the past and chooses that moment of her death to decide to do exactly as she says. Which uh, sucks, obviously. So he buries her in the ground thinking he’s finally done the right thing when he’s making this huge mistake that’ll make her spirit or soul or whatever suffer forever. [Silence] And that’s supposed to be why when it rains, the frogs cry. Like, the rain reminds them of the ocean which reminds them of the mother that never got buried where she wanted to be. And they get sad, and they cry.”

My informant said that it was most likely a story disseminated to Korean children in order to instill obedience, to parents and elders at a young age. The tying of the story to the frogs’ crying is mainly a way to connect it to reality and make it seem more believable. That the wayward actions of one frog had caused such collective sadness in the entire frog community also seems to imply that a child’s disobedience to his or her parents is a massive enough act of disrespect that it can tear a hole in the fabric of society. Korean children, my informant said, are thus educated from a young age to respect not just their parents, but all of their elders, through this and other stories.

I found it interesting that this particular story, the one that this informant remembered, was one that had used sentiment and empathy to convey its message to its audience. My informant said that he had heard many stories too, of children being kidnapped by monsters in the night if they disobeyed their parents, but that “The Green Frog” was always the one that stuck with him. Instead of using intimidation and fright tactics, this folk tale trusts in a children’s love for their parents, and evokes its moral only indirectly, implying, you wouldn’t want to make your parents sad, would you? This was probably the reason why, my informant said, that this folk tale has always been one of the ones he has remembered over the years.

El Año Viejo (Ecuador)

Nationality: Ecuadorian
Age: 26
Occupation: Nurse
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

In Ecuador, la fiesta de Año Viejo (literally, “the old year festival”) is a long-standing tradition that symbolically incinerates the regrets, failures and anger of the past year to usher in the resolutions, hopes and expectations for the new year.  On the 31st of December, men fill the streets dressed as women during the day, and at night, effigies are ritually burned to ashes.

When living in her hometown of Ibarra (50 miles outside Quito, the capital), my informant celebrated this tradition every year with her friends and family.  As she explains the tradition, she smiles and laughs, recalling the silliness of the festivities.  She recalls how young men, wearing women’s clothes and makeup, block the city streets and demand small payments of money from passersby.  Only then can you pass and go on your way.  She explains that the men collect money to pay for alcohol, “para emborrarcharse” (to get drunk) later that night.

However, about five days earlier, preparations for the celebration begin with crafting life-sized dolls, or los años viejos, made of clothes and paper.  The effigy might represent a disliked celebrity or political figure, or even a representation of past mistakes or unachieved goals.  Sometimes a handwritten note is attached to the doll that explains why it must be burned.  My informant says that effigies are still made of Abdalá “El Loco” Bucaram, a corrupt president who served during the 1990s and was later overthrown for stealing money.  Yet, she also explains that nowadays, the años viejos can take the form of popular culture figures like SpongeBob Squarepants or Marvel comic superheroes.

Again, she laughs as she recalls her uncle’s custom.  Every year, her uncle makes an año viejo of himself and attaches a note that sounds like a last will and testament.  Instead of a somber undertone, he leaves funny and sarcastic notes to his family members.  For example, one year he wrote….

As the clock nears midnight, people set fire to their años viejos outside their houses, in the streets or even on the beach.  To give it even more New Year’s flare, firecrackers are often thrown into the fire.  My informant says that this is one of her favorite holidays, but since she has moved to the U.S., the tradition of años viejos has slightly changed.  Instead of setting fire to the año viejo, she and her family ceremonially throw the effigy in the trash.

When analyzing the celebration of Año Viejo, the liminality of New Year’s Eve instigates a transformation of identities and superstition.  Because December 31st brings the past year to a close, but is not quite a new year, this liminal phase inverts social roles and men behave uncharacteristically by dressing up and acting like women.  Yet, the años viejos can be perceived as a form of superstition or imitative magic.  They symbolize past mistakes or the character of disliked public figures, and the ritual burning of the effigies signifies their eradication, to ensure they don’t return in the new year.  The tradition is also superstitious because it is an active performance that attempts to produce good luck and a “clean slate.”

The types of años viejos that are crafted today illustrate the history and evolution of the holiday.  The history of Años Viejo is unclear, but my informant says that it may have been started because of a yellow fever epidemic that affected the country years ago and many bodies were burned as a result.  Similar to how yellow fever was rid from the country through pyres, the años viejos represent misfortunes or undesired characteristics and are also erased in the flames of a fire.  The yellow fever influence may be the reason why many años viejos take the form of a human.   Furthermore, while años viejos of disliked politicians are still used, the introduction of creating popular culture characters may indicate a change in the political environment of Ecuador.  My informant told me that the president in office today is well liked and the Ecuadorian government is no longer corrupt.  Therefore, años viejos appear to adapt to contemporary issues, trends and most of all, humor.  “Ecuador is a very relaxed country” and locals appear to reflect the stress-free atmosphere through the use of humor in Año Viejo celebrations.

So let’s set the Año Viejo ablaze and welcome the new!

Rain Song

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, Or
Performance Date: 4/21/12
Primary Language: English

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, my fellow schoolmates and I were used to seeing rainy days throughout most of the year. My informant here, a fellow elementary school student of mine, remembers that every time that we would have recess in elementary school (1st through 5th grade), we would sing a song to make the rain go away:

“Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day.

We Want to Play Outside, Come Again Another Day”

He remembers, we would sing this song essentially every day that it rained. Of course, the weather would only clear up very rarely, and most likely not due to our singing of this song. Nevertheless, on the rare occasion that the rain would stop soon after, we would all attribute it to the magic of the song and we would all vehemently defend its legitimacy. On days where it wouldn’t work, we would often attribute it to our lack of singing it correctly or not enough people to make it work, etc. My informant remembers days where we would be sad or he would even cry because the song didn’t work. He remembered thinking that he was the ‘special piece’ of the puzzle, and knew that the song wouldn’t work if he weren’t there. He thought that his friends needed him for the song to be successful.

I believe that this song is mostly known around rainy and wet areas where it would likely be utilized and passed along more often and efficiently, such as Portland. I think it may have some relation to a variety of rain dances that were used centuries ago to have rain fall to nourish the crops. I believe it is a more recent rendition as children saw the rain dance, and believed that if one could make it rain, then they could sing to stop it.

Eve of St. John’s Fires

Nationality: Polish
Occupation: Reference Librarian
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: Polish
Language: Russian, French, English, Spanish, Latin

On the midsummer solstice, or the Eve of St. John, fires are lit and maidens wear wreaths in their hair to celebrate the longest day of the year.

 

My informant first attended this festival with her family as a little girl, and mostly remembered the beautiful wreaths all of the girls would wear in their hair.  She was also able to recall the many fires that were lit and that the men in attendance would jump across them.  Also, those in attendance would stay out all day without sleeping to celebrate the length of the day and to appreciate the sunshine.  At the end of the festival, all of the girls will throw their wreaths into the fires.

One of the most interesting aspects of this festival is that the different flowers worn in a girl’s wreath have different meanings.  My informant remembers wearing white roses, which she remembers symbolized simplicity and purity.  Perhaps the most significant flowers worn in the wreaths were lavender and myrtle, and they both represent love.  If a girl wears one of these flowers in her wreath, throws her wreath into the fire and the burning wreath is thrown into the river and recovered by a single man, the girl would be said to be engaged to that man, by tradition. Symbolically, this union represents the birth of a new relationship, and the longer days are conducive to this birth.

This festival is uniquely Polish and has been celebrated for more than a thousand years.  While mostly celebrative in the native Poland, my informant knows several Poles in other countries that also celebrate the Eve of St. John’s and she believes it’s, “because it’s romantic to look back on one’s culture.”