Category Archives: Initiations

“Squid”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Language: English

Slang Term: “Squid”

“When you refer to someone as a squid, it means that they are like an unsafe rider who doesn’t wear gear, so when you see someone, like, riding with a T-shirt or shorts or flip flops, they’re a squid.”

“I originally heard that time a few years back… at a bike meet. I looked it up and it turns out it’s like a full on, it’s just a term in the motorcycle community, calling people ‘squids’. It’s sort of used derogatorily-ish, because I mean anyone who’s been in a crash knows that you should not be wearing a T-shirt and flip flops.”

Analysis:

The term “squid” exists in this context as a deterrent for unsafe riders and places emphasis on having proper gear and safe practices. Motorcyclists attribute this phrase to several origins, some saying it is an acronym and others quoting the movement of a squid- a burst in one direction, changing, then a burst in another direction- as plausible explanations. Because one is more exposed on a motorcycle, it is important to take safety seriously and learn to be competent as well as confident. No one wants to be a squid, and being called one is likely meant to serve as a ‘wake up call’ that one’s behavior is unsafe and reflects poorly on the community. As O mentioned, anyone who has been in a crash knows the importance of protective gear. The difference between safe and unsafe behavior may be the difference between life and death, so the term ‘squid’ becomes an important part of keeping people alive and safe

The Champions Chalice

Nationality: Malaysian

Occupation: Full time student

Residence: Baltimore, MD

Item: A silver vase called The Champion’s Chalice

Context: The informant played on a rugby team and told me about a tradition involving a silver vase nicknamed “The Champion’s Chalice” that a previous member of the team had stolen. After a win, the rugby team would gather and everyone would drink beer out of the vase to celebrate the victory. After every match the team would gather and drink, but the Chalice was only used following a victory.

Analysis: Both the vase itself and the use of it give insight into the brotherhood that forms within a rugby team. The origin of the vase was it being stolen; when it was first stolen, nobody on the team snitched about who stole it, showing a commitment to supporting teammates off the field. The ritual of drinking out of the vase following a win acts as a form of initiation into the team, and as an extension the brotherhood. For a new member of the team, they must prove their strength by contributing to a winning team, and once they have proven themselves they can share a drink alongside their teammates. For existing members of the team, the Chalice acted as a physical prop to commemorate a victory, and distinguish wins from losses.

“tasting the brotherhood”

Context:TB, a member of a fraternity at USC provided me with this legend that has circulated amongst the men in his frat. We were having a discussion about traditions and rituals that are unique to his fraternity and that is how I obtained this legend. He told me that he had heard it from an active member who was a year older than him when he was pledging over a year ago and that the story still gets passed down to new pledges every semester.

Text:“In my frat we have educators, who are older active members in the house who keep the pledges, the new class of boys being initiated at the end of the semester, in order. There’s this rumor that a few years ago a pledge was promised an expedited initiation if he drank a concoction of urine that had been collected from a bunch of active brothers in the house. This act was referred to as “tasting the brotherhood” but the strange thing about it is nobody knows if it’s true because the person made to do it would be too embarrassed to admit their actions. The rumor probably was first made to freak out the pledges, but with years of the story being passed down its uncertain if it ever happened or still happens at all”

Analysis: One of the most stand out features of this legend is the ambiguity surrounding the truth of the rumor. The idea that someone may be too embarrassed to confirm or deny their participation ensures the story’s continued circulation without any clear verification. I believe this uncertainty is central to the fraternity and them being able to use this story as a scare tactic for the pledges to create a greater sense of unity upon initiation.

Christmas Raviolis

Text: 

“At Christmas, we make homemade raviolis. When I was growing up, my grandmother [made homemade raviolis] most of the time, and then when you kids were younger, Nonni (the informant’s mother) did it a number of years, and now we do it.”

Minor Genre: 

Holiday Ritual; Food Traditions

Context: 

“My dad has a funny story about the first time he had dinner with my mom’s Italian family. In the Italian meals, they would serve raviolis almost as an appetizer. My dad filled up on the raviolis and then there were still like four more courses of dinner to come.

“I never made [the raviolis], I just ate them. My grandmother made them and I didn’t really pitch in as a kid. It wasn’t until Nonni started making them with you kids that I helped. We would have raviolis throughout the year but really the ritual of making them was saved for Christmas.”

Analysis:

I have memories of making raviolis with my grandmother, Nonni, every Christmas growing up. It was a process that involved the whole family: we first made the pasta dough using an old recipe from the informant’s grandmother (my great-grandmother); then we rolled out the pasta into thin strips using a pasta-roller attachment to the kitchen table; then we used ravioli dishes to place the dough, add in the filling, and press the food into ravioli shapes.

Ravioli originated in Italy and is a type of pasta dish containing filling typically composed of meat or cheese. Nonni’s side of the family immigrated from Italy from the regions of Tuscany and Campania. Although the filling of our family’s ravioli is likely an Americanized version of the Italian original, we reference an old hand-written recipe for the pasta that could reasonably be believed to have been brought over by Nonni’s Italian ancestors.

The ritual of making raviolis each Christmas is a way to honor our family’s Italian heritage while simultaneously engaging in a community-building activity that will ultimately be enjoyed by every member of the family at dinner.

“Johnny, I want my liver back…”

Genre: Folk Narrative – Ghost Story

Text: 

One day a boy named Johnny is told by his mother to go to the butcher’s to get some liver for dinner. He takes the five dollars she gives him and heads off toward town, taking a shortcut through the local cemetery. When he gets to the butcher’s shop, Johnny is distracted by a stand of comic books, where the newest edition of his favorite series is on sale for only five dollars. Without thinking, he immediately buys the comic book and begins to read it, losing track of time until the sun begins to set.

Jonny realizes he’s made a mistake: he now has no money to buy the liver for dinner, and his mother is going to be furious that he spent it on a comic book! He has no choice but to hurry home, cutting again through the graveyard. But on his way home, just as he passes a freshly-dug grave, Johnny has an idea – a way to get a liver for free.

“What kind of liver is this?” his mother asks when he gets home and gives her the liver. “It looks old… you’re sure you asked for the freshest cut?”

Johnny tells her that he’s sure it’s fresh and it’s what the butcher gave him. Johnny’s mother finally accepts the liver and tells him to wait upstairs while she makes his favorite meal for dinner: spaghetti and liver.

While Johnny is waiting in his room, he begins to feel sick, thinking about the graveyard, the fresh grave, and the liver currently being prepared into spaghetti. When his mother calls him down for dinner, Johnny feels too sick to eat and tries to just go to sleep.

But late that night, once his mother has gone to bed, Johnny hears a low call…

Johnny, I want my liver back…

Johnny sits up straight in bed. The call sounds like it’s coming from the direction of the graveyard. He feels even more sick now and hides under his covers, but then he hears a thudding on the front door…

Johnny, I want my liver back… I’m outside your front door…

Johnny is crying now in fear, desperately wishing he hadn’t spent his five dollars on a comic book and instead had gone to the butcher’s.

He hears the front door creak open and then slow footsteps coming up the stairs, getting closer… and closer… and closer… Then there’s a rattling on his bedroom door.

Johnny, I want my liver back… I’m outside your bedroom…

Johnny runs to his closet and shuts the door, trying to hide but knowing it is too late. There is a sudden pounding on his closet door…

Johnny, I want my liver back… I’m inside your bedroom…

Johnny holds his breath. The closet door creaks open… and then…

AHHH! (the narrator screams)

Context:

“I grew up going to a summer camp near Lassen National Park and the camp led day trips through a bunch of subway tunnels. The tunnels were dark and cold and eventually led to a larger opening, where all the campers would gather in a circle and turn off their flashlights while the counselors told a ghost story. It was tradition to tell this story and the younger campers would always get scared, but it became a part of the camp’s culture. The story didn’t have an exact narrative ending, but it ended with the counselors suddenly turning on their flashlights and jumping at the campers while their screams echoed through the subway caves.”

Analysis:

This story has a pretty clear message to the listeners, who are primarily children: that dishonesty will only get you in more trouble and to follow directions. If Johnny had listened to his mother’s directions and spent his five dollars on the liver, nothing bad would have happened. But because he wanted to cover up his mistake of spending the money on a comic book, he ended up getting an old liver from a fresh body in the local graveyard and his actions came back to haunt him.

I also see this experience as a whole as a “rite of passage” for the participants in the summer camp described by the informant. Young listeners who are hearing the story for the first time will be hanging onto every word and will therefore receive the most shock at the end, when the counselors scare the campers. In contrast, campers who have heard the story before will know what to expect and may even join in on scaring the younger campers. The shared experience of anticipation, fright, and eventual laughter likely creates a sense of bonding/community within the group of listeners.