Category Archives: Adulthood

Coming-of-age, courtship, marriage, weddings

Mexican Riddles

Performance Date: 2/22/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. “Agua pasa por mi casa,

cate de mi corazón.

El que no lo adivinara,

será un burro cabezón.”

2. “Chocó entre dos paredes,

late mi corazón,

quién no sepa mi nombre es un cabezón.”

English Translation: 

  1. “Water passes through my house,

drink from my heart

The one who doesn’t guess it,

will be a big-headed donkey.”

2. “I collide between two walls,

my heart beats,

whoever doesn’t know my name is a big head.”

The informant explains that she learned of these riddles from her grandmother, and heard them many times in Mexico. She was only 5 years old when she first heard of them and when she was first given the riddle, she guessed it wrong. They told her again and emphasized the necessary words so she was able to figure it out. She would ask people in her 5th-grade class about it but most did know it despite its popularity in Mexico. She taught her brothers the riddle when she was older.

These riddles seem to use a lot more vivid imagery compared to other riddles. It utilizes a unique way to figure out the riddle where it deals mainly with hidden words sprinkled throughout the sentences. Other riddles typically have hidden meanings but they utilize hints and clues in order to help solve it but this riddle has to do with the words you hear. Some have attributed the riddles as a way of being able to teach vocabulary in Spanish as it introduces new words and words that are not always featured together.

Text: 

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 54
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English

“A moil was retiring and at the end of his career. He went to a tailor, and said ‘I’ve been saving the foreskins from all of the circumcisions I’ve performed in my career.’ ‘I would like you to make something for me out of them.’ He hands the tailor a jar filled with these foreskins. The moil comes back in a week and the tailor hands him a wallet. He said ‘that’s it?’, ‘All of that material and it’s just a wallet?’ The tailor says, ‘rub it, it turns into a suitcase’”. 

Context: 

This is a joke my dad heard from his “old dirty grandfather” when he was young. He prefaced the joke by explaining that a moil is a rabbi that performs circumcisions. Both my dad and his grandfather are Jewish. 

Analysis: 

This text qualifies as a dirty joke in that it deals with socially taboo material such as circumcision, genitalia, and masturbation. This joke toys with what is socially acceptable, especially told to a relatively young child. It is humorous because it is shocking and a little bit grotesque. Telling jokes with “dirty” material is an act of rebellion against social norms, which explains some of the appeal. I also can see this joke as told in this setting as an initiation, or a rite of passage. The fact that this joke was told to my dad at a young age by his grandfather leads me to believe that there was some sort of knowledge exchange or initiation occurring, from an older male member of the Jewish community, to a younger member. Puberty can be seen as a significant rite of passage, and this joke which discusses circumcision, genitalia, and alludes to masturbation, could be an unofficial signifier of male coming of age. This joke is likely only told in male jewish spaces, given that it deals with a Jewish tradition that only applies to males. It could be an indicator of comradery and masculinity in these spaces. In a way, by telling this joke to my dad, his grandfather introduced him to this boys club, signifying his coming of age. It is also interesting that the joke deals with circumcision, which is done at a young age, along with a reference to masturbation, which typically is associated with puberty. 

Marriage Luck

Text:

“When I got married, [I was told by my sister-in-law] the bride wasn’t supposed to walk down the center aisle for the rehearsal because it would curse your wedding. It was also seen of as good luck if it rained on your wedding day and that would give you good fortune in your lives.”

Context:

JN is a 50-year-old freelance writer in Minnesota, where she grew up as well. She told me about a wedding tradition from when she got married, because she remembers that she accidentally walked down the center aisle during her rehearsal and was told that her wedding was cursed, but during the wedding itself it rained which she was told was good luck.  


Interpretation:

It’s interesting the superstitions that develop from liminal time periods like weddings, as it seems like so much is changing that we try to rationalize it by creating rules. The fact of the matter is, marriage is huge shift in one’s life, so if things go well or poorly after that, it is easy to blame it on that one day. And during the wedding itself, because those getting married are aware of how important it is and how much is changing, they will likely buy into the superstitions because they don’t want to risk anything going wrong. Either the people will stay married forever or they will get divorced, so either you have good luck in marriage or bad luck. Instead of blaming bad luck on personal decisions or poor choices, it’s easier to blame it on things that are out of one’s control, like the weather or a mistake during the rehearsal. People are quick to look for scapegoats for poor decisions rather than analyze their own hand in their fate. 

The Little Ghost Boy

Informant: My informant is a very good friend of mine. She and I met in my sophomore year of high school. She is currently an undergraduate at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The following transcript is a retelling of a ghost story that she heard from her mom and that has been passed down by the family due to the erie circumstances and she is now telling it to me. 

Context: My informant states that after hearing this story from her mom. At the age that she heard it she was terribly scared of it. However, now that she has grown up, she’s not that scared, but still has a strong belief in this story. In fact, she has stated that now rather than fear for this little ghost boy she feels empathy for it. She can not imagine how lonely or how much this child must have been through that they are not able to let themselves go. 

Story:  So, this is my mom’s ghost story. It was around the 1980’s. At this time my mom was living at Jalisco, Mexico. She was in her friend’s house and was in the kitchen. She looks over towards the restroom and the bedrooms and from a distance, she sees a small child. He was dressed in a small white suit and no older than 5 years old. She saw him walk from the restroom into one of the bedrooms, then he just disappeared. When my mom’s friend came back to the kitchen my mom asked about it. The friends said, “Oh yeah. This is normal. When I clean, I can always hear a little kid laughing. 

Analysis: Based on the details of the story, I’m awestruck as to how my informant is not scared of this ghost story but rather how she experiences empathy and some sort of pity for this ghost child. By seeing my friend’s reaction toward this story, one is able to see a glimpse of how younger generation are slowly becoming more intrigued and fascinated by these stories. Rather than ghost inflicting fear, Americans have now become succumbed to the idea of suspension vs. if we go back in time America used to be terribly afraid of anything out of the supernatural.

Mexican Adult Riddle

Informant: My informant is my Mexican dad who grew up in Puebla, Mexico.

Original Piece: Bajamos los calozens y chupame lo que tengo  que soy? Mango

Transliteration: We lower our pants, suck what I have. What am I? Mango

Translation: Lower by pants and suck what I have. What am I? Mango

Context: This is said to child at a gathering or to an adult. My dad said he first heard it when he was in Mexico, and when he was a small child. He heard it again when he was a young adult and understood that this was a riddle that was meant for grown people. Inside joke sort off

Analysis: This is definitely a riddle that was meant to be sexualized because the mind of an adult can go directly to the part of man. However, this is said to child because they don’t know what sex is. Therefore, pointing out how much a child can be innocent, and how much an adult’s mind is developed when they first experience what sex is. When someone first heard this, their mind goes to well a man’s private part or a womans. Again, this is all an inside joke between adults and adult humor