Category Archives: Initiations

Lickey Doo

Story: My family on my dad’s side, they have passed down a tradition called lickey doo-n i don’t know how it’s spelled… I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you or not… You can only learn it Christmas eve by candlelight and you can only learn it from the matriarch of your family because our family is Jewish so we go by the matriarchs are the boss. When my great grandma taught my father how to do it, it was christmas eve, and she was giving him instruction on how to do lickey doo because someone in the family was sick. They wanted to take care of that person…I … I don’t know all the details of how it’s learned because I haven’t had my session yet… I think how it’s done is you need a bowl of water, you need to do a blessing with oil in the water, um, you need to in some way anoint someone with that oil, um, there’s a prayer that you sing, you CLAP! Your hands together(informant claps) you rub them really fast like this (informant rubs hands together) and you pretty much – lay hands (demonstrates) on someone to administer the magic. I’m a chronic migraine sufferer, and when I was a kid my father would do lickey doo on my head to make it feel better!

Context: The context of this interview was in person in a sculpture yard. The informant watched as I made something with my hands, and in return told me their folklore.

Thoughts: When asked why this is significant to her, the informant says that finding magic in the world around them has been really important to them throughout their life. They also appreciate the matriarchal tradition to pass down the ritual. She learned all of this from her dad, who apparently only remembered a good bit of it because a celebrity on TV said it during an interview while he happened to be watching it.

Analysis: Despite this, I could not find anything about lickey doo on the internet. However, I found some ancient mesopotamian hand rubbing magic that echoed the informant’s. They read, “‘Where have you turned to?’—you recite over the oil [and you anoint yourself?]. 4 [The incantation] ‘To loosen [evil muscle]’—you recite three times over the salve….The incantation ‘Head disease, star, like in heaven’—you rub his temples…. The incantation ‘I recite the incantation for the trial of all gods’—you sprinkle water on the sick person”(Barbara). The links between the material usage is apparent, and the text goes on to instruct the spellcaster to rub nearly every part of the ill person’s body. Despite the informant’s Dutch and Jewish roots, I still believe this connection is important and possibly shows influences from other cultures to create this home remedy for illness.

Bibliography:

Barbara B Ö CK, Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cient … https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/125130/1/Ritual_of_Rubbing_2003.pdf.

Initiation

Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/29/22
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context: The school in question here is The Cate School, which is a boarding school located in Carpinteria California. The sophomores and the freshmen at this school would live in the same building. 

Text:

 “It’s an initiation that a lot of students participated in, especially the freshmen members. I remember, my friends and I, would go into freshmen rooms and basically spook them a little bit. We’d turn off all the lights, and hold brooms and question them. Some got a little scared, hahaha some ran. But those who stayed, we would basically tap them on the shoulders with the broom and say they got initiated. It’s something the older students always do”. 

Analysis: 

With schools themselves being strong with folklore, boarding schools are even more riddled with folklore of its own. Having kids from all over the world living together as they are still becoming who they are is an incredibly unique environment and one that spawns its fair share of folklore. Additionally, activities revolving around the older and younger student dynamic are also quite common. 

Tombs Night at Georgetown

Background information: OLP is a 21-year-old student at Georgetown University in DC. They were raised in the Bay Area, but currently live in DC for school. They have lived there for the past couple years, but only recently physically went back to Georgetown for classes. Because of this, they have had a good amount of exposure to Georgetown culture.

OLP: Georgetown students have a tradition of having this thing called a “Tombs Night” when they turn 21, it’s like, where you have a party and then go to this bar called the Tombs. And I had mine this year!

Me: Oh, I remember! How was it? 

OLP: It was fun (laughs). It definitely felt like something that was really, um, hyped up, so it was exciting.

Me: How did you learn about Tombs Night? 

OLP: I know this because I was invited to upperclassmen’s tombs nights like last year (laughs). I don’t think I know where or when it originated, but I think it’s been said that it’s because the Tombs is notoriously difficult to get into with a fake, so no one even tries until they’re 21. So yeah, even though I was invited, I didn’t ever actually go to the bar until this year. It’s like a big way to celebrate being 21, so the person’s friends will host a party for them and invite as many people as possible. And for some reason they stamp your forehead at the door when it’s your birthday. So it’s a whole thing, so I assume it must be kind of old. 

Me: Do you know how it got to be such a big thing? 

OLP: No, I feel like people just want a reason to party on their 21st though, right. Oh and also, it’s usually a way for people to go socialize during the winter when club events are kind of dead. At least I feel like it is. 

This piece of folklore was very intriguing because of how specific it is to students at Georgetown. Through word of mouth, despite the fact that students do not seem to know the origin of the tradition, everyone knows that it can act as sort of a rite of passage for Georgetown students turning 21. “Tombs Night” being a tradition shows how folklore practices can provide an opportunity for celebration and socializing.

The Board Stretcher

Text

Board Stretcher

Context

MI – A board stretcher is a thing you tell to new inexperienced workers in a wood shop or whatever. If they cut something too short you go “Oh! You cut that too short! Go get the board stretcher!” to go stretch the board back out to the right length. And they go looking for it but it doesn’t exist. It’s like a snipe hunt. Everybody gets a good laugh while the new guy makes a fool of himself.

Analysis

This is an example of a snipe hunt, as mentioned by the informant. It is not possible to stretch a board back out to the right length when it is cut too short. But a new employee, probably worried about making mistakes and cognizant that they know much less than everyone else in the shop, will eagerly listen to the more experience workers even at the expense of their own logic. The practical joke played on the new employee will possibly show them, through humor, that the older employees are not upset at them for making a mistake. As snipe hunts can only be played once per person, the new employee will then become more experienced in the wood shop culture, and therefore takes another step into the in-group—or folk group—of the wood shop.

The “Bell Run”

Background information/context of performance: GP is a 21-year-old student at Beloit University in Wisconsin. She grew up in Alameda, CA, but is currently living on-campus at Beloit. Beloit is a very small university, so many traditions are well-known throughout the entire student body, according to GP.

GP: Beloit does this thing where we all run to this bell in the middle of campus from what we call “The Wall” naked, and usually drunk, and then you have to pee on the bell. It’s called a “Bell Run”. It sounds gross (laughs). I don’t really know where or why it started, it’s kinda hard to figure it out. 

Me: That’s okay, you can just tell me about your own experience with this tradition. 

GP: Well personally, I know about it because I’ve been told by my peer mentor when I started college. I also saw a lot of people doing it on the weekends, especially people in like frats or sororities. I feel like it would make sense if it originated from Greek life here, I think a lot of people do it during initiation or, like, that kind of thing. That’s how most people I know ended up doing it. 

Me: What do you think of this tradition? I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds pretty entertaining.

GP: To me, it’s just one of those college traditions where people can do something kind of taboo on a regular day and not get…stigmatized for it. Like of course it’s supposed to be embarrassing, and it is embarrassing, but no one gets in trouble for it even though it happens all the time. It’s definitely a form of hazing, but in my eyes it’s a more harmless tradition and it’s supposed to be funny, as long as you’re not forcing people to do it. I’ve never seen anyone who was forced to do it but…I’m sure it happens especially in frats. It probably depends on if you’re doing it for Greek life or if you’re doing it because you’re drunk and want to do something stupid (laughs). But Beloit doesn’t have a super intense Greek life culture, so I think it just feels more fun and less scary. 

Me: That’s interesting how you brought up doing something taboo, I feel like a lot of college traditions are kind of like that. I agree that as long as no one is getting hurt, and everyone is having fun, it seems like a good time (laughs). Have you ever done a Bell Run? 

GP: I did one when I joined my sorority this year. It was funny because I didn’t know if I would have to do it or not but I was dreading it the whole time (laughs). I ended up doing it at like 5 am one day. I wore underwear still. I wasn’t trying to have everyone see me naked. 

GP’s idea that traditions like the Bell Run are a way for college students to engage in something taboo, without it feeling too inappropriate or embarrassing, was compelling because I think that it spoke to the idea that many traditions in various cultures may not be deemed appropriate without the context of folklore. The Bell Run provides context to a behavior that would be seen as very strange and vulgar without knowing the tradition behind it. I think that many other college traditions are similar, since they often involve drinking and engaging in public displays embarrassing or funny behavior.  In addition, GP’s belief that this tradition has been popularized primarily by Greek Life offers some insight into how groups like fraternities and sororities create a feeling of closeness and exclusive membership through customs like this.