Category Archives: Childhood

Angel Childhood Musical Ballad: Legend/Myth

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/23/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Text: 

Me: “Did you grow up hearing any bedtime stories?”

CC: “Um not really, instead my mom used to sing me a song before falling asleep about an angel”.

Me: “Can you sing it for me?”

CC: “Sure…Angél de mi guardia…dulce compañero…no me dejas sola…de noche ni de dia”.

Me: “Who is this angel?”

CC: “Well in my Catholic Mexican household we often believe that angels are here on earth to protect us especially at night and during the day. Growing up I was told that the angels will come in our dreams and we can see what they looked like if we really believed. Usually they are said to be dressed in white and have a calm demeanor. Part of the reason why my parents would sing this song to us during bedtime was to make sure the angels would come to protect us as we rested. If they didn’t sing it to us, the angels wouldn’t be in our dreams and we wouldn’t be protected at night”.

Translation: “Angel of my guard, sweet companion, you do not leave me alone, night or day”

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

-CC’s relationship to this piece stems from her Catholic Mexican culture given that her Mexican household consisted of religious beliefs that resulted in comfort. CC would hear this musical legend/myth from her mother as she would often sing it to her when she would go to sleep or had trouble falling asleep. CC interprets this musical legend/myth as a calming coping mechanism that helps her fall asleep quicker. In actuality, CC interprets this musical ballad as a prayer-like story that helps her connect to her faith. 

Analysis(what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

-The overall cultural value within this musical legend/myth stems from the Mexican Catholic culture that can be seen represented in the childhood home of CC within her family’s overall spiritual and religious beliefs. Not to mention, the personal values that can be expressed within this musical legend/myth is that it allows the individual to inherit the calmness and the overall reassurance that results from their conscious beliefs. I see this musical legend/myth as an overall concept of protection and safety that is implemented by a caring caregiver. Considering that I have heard about similar legends/myths regarding angels myself, I interpret this musical legend/myth to be a validating motive that can be seen as a stress reliever or as an act of reassurance considering protection is granted as you rest. Considering that I don’t have similar experiences with hearing this specific musical ballad, I can still relate to it given the fact that I have grown up hearing mythical legend stories revolving around angels within my Catholic religion as well. The mythical legend that I grew hearing about was the guardian angel named Michael. The similarity within the angel named Michael and the guardian angel within CC’s ballad is that both angels are called upon for protection and guidance. Unlike CC’s ballad, the angel guardian Michael is said to heal those who are sick while they rest. Considering the similar approach between these two mythical legends, it is safe to assume that these two stories can be claimed as different oikotypes. Considering this mythical legend stems from religious perspectives, it can be claimed as an overall supernatural-individualistic process that plays into the category of sacred myths.  

La Chupacabra: Legend

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/23/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Text: 

Me: “Did you grow up hearing any legends?”

DR: “I know about The Chupacabra. Growing up in my Salvadorian household I remember constantly hearing about The Chupacabra. From what I remember, it’s a creature that almost resembles a dog or like a coyote that was dangerous and would only appear at night. Supposably, they would suck the blood of goats until they died”. 

Me: “Why specifically goats?”

DR: “Not quite sure, but it doesn’t only pertain to goats, I often heard different family members saying that it applied to various types of domestic animals…like on farms. I guess it has to do with the idea that at night farm animals are usually left outside in fenced capacities which makes it easier for The Chupacabra to attack them. Actually if someone was out late, they would be taken away and eaten by The Chupacabra, which is why my parents would always warn me about it and kids I grew up with would always be scared of it”.

Translation: “The goat-sucker”

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

-DR’s relationship to this piece stems from her Salvadorian and Mexican culture considering this legend is said to affect those of Mexican, Salvadorian, and other Latin American cultures which is why DR grew up constantly hearing about this legend within her mixed household. DR would hear this legend from her immediate Salvadoran father and from her extended Mexican family. She would also hear it from her extended family from El Salvador who have reportedly seen The Chupacabra in their home country. Not to mention, DR would also hear this legend from other students in elementary school. DR interprets this legend as a scary phenomenon that makes children scared of the dark in hopes to keep them safe from the dangers of kidnapping, drug dealing, and gangs that would be evident at night in many Latin American countries. 

Analysis(what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

– The overall cultural value within this legend stems from the various origin stories that can be told within Latin American cultures and households; specifically in this case, a Salvadorian home and their overall spiritual beliefs. Not to mention, the personal values that can be expressed within this legend is that it allows the individual to inherit fear of this creature and to be extra cautious at night or within how they care for their farm animals which exemplifies their consciousness beliefs. I see this legend as an overall concept of obedience when it comes to a parent’s emphasis on their motive to scare their children from going out at night in order to avoid danger. Considering that I have heard about this legend myself, I interpret La Chupacabra to be a terror embedded concept that is directed towards children in order to maintain their behavior and as a possible excuse that farmers can use as a way to redirect their mistreatment of farm animals who pass away on their watch. One similar legend that has similar qualities to La Chupacabra is the legend of Bigfoot that I grew up hearing. These two legends are similar in the fact that they are both considered legends regarding creatures that stem from conspiracy theories. Not to mention, the only difference between these two legends is that I grew up hearing about Bigfoot from a social process while DR grew up hearing about La Chupacabra as an individual memorate process, given her families reported encounters in their home country.

Lebanon Local Town Hyenas: legend

Nationality: Lebanese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/21/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Arabic

Text: 

Me: “Did you grow up with any legends in your hometown?”

AH: “In Lebanon it’s all mountains, my house will overlook the mountains from a balcony, some noises that no one seems to know of can be heard every night, they sound just like hyenas, like the laughing noise that hyenas make”.

Me: “Oh- have you personally seen hyenas on the mountain?”

AH: “No, no one has ever seen hyenas there. People in my village simply believe that the noises come from a hyena-like person, almost like a werewolf. People in the village try to determine who is a true hyena-like person and they try to find out who could it be. People are determined to find out who it is so they can get them to stop laughing in order to let us sleep at night. However, my parents would always say don’t go to the woods or mountains…they would tell us to avoid it at all costs. So yeah, I always grew up hearing those laughing noises at night”.

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

– AH’s relationship to this piece stems from his Lebanon hometown which allowed him to have various experiences as he would first-hand hear the hyena-like noises constantly in his childhood village. AH would hear this legend be talked about by his parents and from the people in his community. The hyena-like person concept was an idea that was constantly heard about all around town considering many wanted to find the person who kept them up at night. AH interprets this legend as a light-hearted concept within his town considering that not much attention has come about when it comes to doing something about the noises. Given that the village people are not adamant about calling animal control or the city police to investigate, AH interprets this legend as a fun idea that unites his entire community. 

Analysis (what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

– The overall cultural value within this legend stems from Lebanese culture considering the hyena-like creature is completely precise and embedded in AH’s Lebanon village within their overall lifestyle. Not to mention, the personal values that can be expressed within this legend is that it allows the individual to create different theories surrounding the noise because they have various personal experiences when it comes to hearing the noises from their homes; thus exemplifying their spiritual values. I see this legend as an overall concept of protection or nurture when it comes to the parent’s emphasis on not allowing their children to enter the woods/mountains. Whether the legend is true or not, I think parents use this idea as a tactic to keep their children safe and at home. Considering that I have never experienced any situation similar to this, I interpret this legend to be a nonchalant way for the village people to avoid the sounds in order to save them the trouble of getting to the bottom of what actually keeps them up at night. Not to mention, I interpret this legend as a uniting cultural phenomenon among many generations within their town. Despite the fact that I have never experienced anything similar to this legend, I have heard about similar legends regarding my Mexican culture. I grew up hearing about the legend of La Llorona which had similar motives of making children behave and to stay in at night in order to avoid danger. The legend of La Llorona can be seen as a different oikotype when it comes to the concept of behavioral legends. However, one distinctive difference from AH’s legend compared to La Llorona, was that I grew up knowing that kids in my school would participate in legend quests as they would go hiking in attempt to see if La Llorona was real or not instead of simply being scared and staying at home like the influence of AH’s legend.

‘The Category Game’

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Performance Date: 2/14/2023
Primary Language: English

My informant AL is my classmate from the ANTH 333 course offered at USC.

Game: ‘The Category Game’

Rules: A group will stand or sit in a circle and go one by one listing different items of a category. People are eliminated if they cannot name an item in time or if they repeat an item. During the game, the players usually clap along or otherwise keep rhythm.

AL: “Like you’re in a circle and someone throws out a name or, you had to, someone would say ‘dog breed’ and everyone would have to throw out a different dog breed…We would usually play these games on a bus going to somewhere or waiting in line for something. It was a waiting game not like ‘oh let’s all do this right now’. It wasn’t the main focus.”

Game example:

P1: Category–types of fish

P2: Bass

P3: Salmon

P4: Mackerel

P5: Snapper

P1: Catfish

P2: [eliminated]

P3: Trout

P4: Clownfish

P5: [eliminated]

P1: Mahi Mahi

P3: Bass [eliminated]

P4:[eliminated]

P5: Barracuda [winner]

Analysis:

I am also familiar with this game. It is a fun way to pass the time, particularly on a bus. It also showcases the areas of knowledge of the players through their familiarization with the different answers other players give. For example, two players could realize that they are both very interested in a particular type of dog or have watched the same television show. The ‘category game’ was, therefore, a good game to find potential friends based on shared interests and conveniently was often played during beginning-of-the-year school trips when new students often met each other. The game also plays off the common technique of simply listing things in a group to hold off boredom. For example, trying to name all European countries while at the DMV to keep your brain active.

Family Ghost Friend

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Context

The informant is a USC student who has lived their entire life in a neighborhood near the USC main campus. Their family is of Mexican origin, and this story is about a ghost that has haunted their family throughout the generations. We conducted this interview in the basement of Taper Hall during our shared ANTH 333 discussion section, and so this story is what the informant could think of as a story to tell off the top of their head.

Text

Int.: Okay, I’m recording.

LH: Okay, so basically this story, I don’t know who came up with it, but it like ran amongst like my little cousins and I when I was growing up, I used to live very close to USC campus. And I remember one day, my mom would tell me just randomly like, “Oh, your little friend stopped by your blah blah blah.” And I was like, “What do you mean my little friend?”

LH: I was like, 11 when this happened. I was like, “What do you mean, my little friend?” And the story goes basically that like, in my family, we had an uncle who like died tragically in a fire when they were still in Mexico.

[Interviewer laughs in surprise]

LH: I know this escalates very quickly. He died very tragically as like a kid in a fire and blah blah blah, and everyone in my family thinks that my grandma is cursed. Like, we think that she like dead ass has like something on her, like, witchcraft. And so the story is that once like, my uncle died in the fire, he had been like haunting my grandma like ever since and like following her around.

LH: And so every time we would go to like, my grandma’s house, the vibes were so gross. It was so cold in there. It was–it felt like you were being watched all the time. And my mom would say that, like all the little kids in the family at the time, would have like the same constant imaginary friend whose name was Pablo.

LH: And she was like, yeah, like your little cousin saw your–or like Pablo the other day and I’d be like, “Who the fuck is Pablo?” Like, what are you talking about? Until one day my old–My other uncle he was like, “Yeah, you had this uncle who–” blah blah blah, this and that. And basically like, to this day we tell this story to like the little kids because like, my grandma’s house has always felt so, like, grody and like, weird, like, the vibes.

LH: The vibes have always been off and so to this day, every time we get, like, a new little cousin in our family, or like, someone else in the family would be like, “Yes, you know, my grandma’s haunted but she has like this little boy following her. But yeah, that’s like, pretty much the sum of it.

Int.: That’s crazy.

LH: Yeah.

Analysis

I love this story for how it reveals the family structure of the informant as one that is strong and large. From a folklore studies perspective, it reveals how folklore often spreads through family structures and reinforces cultural beliefs–such as the belief in ghosts–in the process. The ghost in this story arises from a family legend–that of the boy who died in a tragic fire. It also shows how children influence the folk beliefs in adults, not just the other way around. Because the family children all have similar or the same imaginary friend, it reinforces the belief in this ghost and continues this legend. In a way, it keeps the memory of the boy who died alive. The ghost becomes disembodied from the real boy in terms of actual facts, such as what the boy looked like, how he behaved, and more, but the shared idea of him continues to change as the imaginary friend persists throughout the family.