Category Archives: Gestation, birth, and infancy

Generally up to the first year.

Mexican Child Game- “Pon Pon Pata”

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

“Pon pon pata, cola de la rata, pon pon pon, cola de ratón.”

“Pon pon pata, tail of the mouse, pon pon pon, tail of rat.”

“Pon pon pata, mouse tail, pon pon pon, rat tail.”

While “pata” translates to “foot,” it is not meant as an actual word. As with “pon pon pon,” it is simply a nonsense phrase that is easily rhymed.

This rhyme is used on children barely a few months old (as young as three months). This game is played by the adult taking the index finger of his or her dominant hand, then sticking it to the palm of the opposite hand. This is done to the beat of every syllable. The adult does this with an enthusiastically happy expression, trying to make the infant laugh. Eventually, the child is able to mimic this action and gains a sense of hand-eye coordination by taking his or her own index finger and jabbing into the opposite palm.

MB explains that this very simple game, made partly of nonsense words, is a simple way to engage children in a hand-eye coordination exercise. It only requires the most basic of motor ability at a time when the adult will get sheer joy out of the child learning. By mirroring, the child is actively engaging with an outside influence. Simultaneously, the references to the rat and mouse tails are used to create familiarity with these animals that are common sights in ranch life.

Birth rituals

Nationality: Korean-American
Performance Date: 14 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Jean is a Korean-American woman whose parents moved to the United States in 1966. She shared with me some customs and rituals that her family performed during her first pregnancy.
“I’d gotten an ultrasound and so was told that it was a 70% chance we’d have a girl [they did]. Mom insisted on my lying down, and then she held a string tied around a pencil over my belly and watched it turn slowly. When it stopped in a particular position, she then declared I’d be having a girl for sure.

“My non-Korean husband and I also wanted to give our daughter a Korean middle name, so my mom went to a name broker for a list of lucky names using the second syllable that would be part of it. In Korea, each generation of a particular branch of a particular surname shares one syllable in their first name. There’s literally a list of syllables for each generation (my dad showed me the family book, written in Chinese characters, which he owns because he is the first son of a first son and so on), and the list specifies whether or not the syllable will be the first or second part of the name. All of the male siblings and cousins in that family will have the same syllable. My dad even discovered he had a cousin very far removed because when they met for the first time, they shared the same syllable in their first name. Usually the naming happens after the baby is born because things like date and time of birth affect the naming, but because we were in the US and needed to put something on the birth certificate right away, mom and the broker used the due date. Since this naming is usually applied only to the males of the family, which may be why quite a few Korean people have commented that my daughter’s Korean name is more masculine than feminine.

Mom also made me a traditional after-birth soup, seaweed soup (mi-yuk gook), which I ate for several days, [one recipe available here: http://koreanfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/miyukgook.htm] and then she asked if I could please stay home and not go out with the baby for 3 months. In the olden times, the newborn and mom didn’t go out for that period of time, which makes sense because of cold weather, too many folks who might pass on sicknesses, and general infant mortality rate. We then had a 100-day party (small) to officially celebrate her birth, and then on her first birthday, my parents held a really big party to celebrate their grandchild’s coming out. My daughter wore a traditional hanbok, and at the ceremonial table, several items were placed in front of them. The item she grabbed first would mean something about her life to be. She picked up uncooked rice, so my mom said she would never be hungry. (Pencils represented a scholar; money meant she would always have money; string meant a long life, etc.)”

These traditions are interesting because they reflect beliefs shared by many cultures regarding the importance of birth in determining the way a child’s life will progress. For example, the family book containing the name syllables and the tradition of each member of a generation sharing a particular syllable is similar to the less ritualized Western traditions of “family names” that are passed on through generations- my father is Edward Alexander Jr. and if I had been a boy, I would have been Edward Alexander III.

The 3 months ritual and the 100 days party are very interesting because they are traditions carried over from a time without pre-natal care and obstetrics, yet they still survive. Also interesting to note is that because Jean and her husband were living in the U.S. and needed a name right away, they modified the naming tradition a little bit and had the broker use the due date for the baby. It is possible that future generations of her family will continue to do the same thing, if they continue to live in the United States.

Italian Curse Words

Nationality: Italian
Age: 18
Occupation: Analytical Chemistry Research Major at Florida Institute of Technology
Residence: Melbourne, Florida
Performance Date: December 20th, 2010
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English, French

“Mortacci Tua “ (short form of “gli spregevoli defunti tuoi, della tua famiglia”)

/Mor TA chi too a/

“The contemptible your dead, your family”

“May your parents be damned for giving birth to you”

“Li mortacci tua is not very nice (Laughs out of embarrassment) it’s like…fuck you and your ancestors pretty much I mean you can say it between friends as kind of like screw you (jokingly) but it’s generally a swear word, an insult…. I don’t remember when and where I first heard it… but an example of the use is like when Stefania and I would play cards, she’d always win, I said it to her, in a good way”.

This past winter break, while interviewing my friend Flaminia for Italian folk items I could not help but notice how truly embarrassed she seemed to be while speaking about this swear, while I on the other hand did not understand the real meaning of how this is a curse since there is no literal translation to the word mortacci in English. So I turned to my friend Gianluca, who is much older than she is, and lives in Rome, asking for a better explanation. Here are his words:

“Mortacci Tua” means like “your dead parents”…. the meaning is “Your damn parents that let you to born…AHAHAHAH!! Really bad!!

An adult, 33 years old, had a very similar amount of embarrassment, so I realized that it is really considered one of the nastiest curses. Reading a bit about these swear words, I found that it is a typical Roman expression, but is also now used in other parts of Italy. I also discovered that it is considered illegal to use it, and a person caught saying it could receive is a fine by law. This nasty expression dates back to the 18th century and can be found in a few of the sonnets of the Italian poet Maria Gioachino Belli.

Joseph Maria Gioachino Belli was an Italian Poet who is known for being the voice of the people of Rome in the 19th century[1]

For example, Gianluca showed me this poem,

‘Non ha nient’altro a cui pensare questo Santo Padre,

Possano averne bene li mortacci sui,

E quella santa fregna di sua madre?’

And in English:

“He has nothing else to think about this Holy Father,

possano averne bene li mortacci sui , May as well damn his parents for letting him be born,

e quella santa fregna di sua madre? » And that holy cunt of his mother? ”

So, like most of the traditions I encountered during my time in Rome, Italy, it dates several hundred years back. I am not surprised that this is considered one of the worst curses that can be said to a person, considering Italian culture focuses mainly on family. And I must admit that this sense of family is a part of the Italian culture that I value very much. Teens become couples at a young age and stay together for years, sons and daughters leave home at a late age, and make sure to stay close to their families’ houses.  Due to such a strong sense of family, it seems appropriate that the worst thing one can do is insult a person’s family.

[1] “Giuseppe Gioachino Belli.” Andy’s Virtual Rome. Web. <http://roma.andreapollett.com/S8/roma-b1.htm>.

Mexican Holiday

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 29
Occupation: Dental Office Manager
Residence: Orange, CA
Performance Date: April 2ndm 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“El Dia de Los Muertos”

/El Dee ya de Los M wer tos/

“The Day of the Dead”

“In Mexico we celebrate El Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Death). This is more of a holiday that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd). Traditions connected with this holiday include building private altars, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these all these as gifts.

This is a traditional holiday that has been celebrated for many, many years. This tradition or holiday, however you’d like to call it, is taught at school, church and home; it’s more of a spiritual connection to remember the loved ones and to know the ones that we never met”.

Leslie told me that even though she was born in the USA she had heard about this holiday since she was little, however only witnessed it once, during a family visit to Mexico, and was fascinated by all the festivity and the ceremonies.

This certain Mexican Day of the Dead reminded me of the Italian “Il Giorno dei Morti” (also translates directly to “The Day of the Dead”) that I encountered when living in Rome. However, there is a difference, though the Italians visit the grave of their beloved with the same devotion as the Mexicans, the part that involves presents does not exist in their tradition. They bring nothing to the cemeteries other than the appropriate mourning items such as flowers and the likes. I tend to favor the much more warm and colorful Mexican way. In Judaism, my own religion, we do not have such a holiday, and we only have a gathering near the grave on the anniversary of the dead person day of death. At this time there is mainly a special form of prayer, and everyone picks a little stone and puts it on the grave. Flowers are not allowed by Jewish tradition, although unreligious people do put them. The reason for putting stones from my understanding is because they last longer than flowers, which eventually die and are removed from the grave. This Mexican holiday again makes me aware of the different approaches each religion has towards the dead, Judaism being the most solemn one so far.

Spanish Birthday Song

Spanish Birthday Sonf – “Las Mañanitas”

Éstas son las mañanitas que cantaba el rey David

a las muchachas bonitas, te las cantamos a ti.

Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,

ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.

Translation:

These are the early morning birthday songs

that Kind David used to sing

to pretty girls, and so we sing them to you.

Wake up, my dear, wake up, look, dawn has already come,

the little birds are singing, the moon is gone.

My aunt, a high school spanish teacher who has traveled to tens of Spanish speaking countries, told me of this song she first heard in Spain 10 years ago.  Every birthday, this is a popular song to sing in not only Spain, but many Spanish speaking countries.  According to my aunt, every Spanish speaking country has this song associated with the birthday celebration.

She claims she does not know the origin of the song and admits she does not know why King David is included in a birthday song.  She did say that this song is often sung around when the birthday cake is brought out, and that the song reminds the birthday boy or girl or their mother’s love and how special they really are.  My aunt also recalls that there are several different versions and verses, but above is the one she remembers the most.  This song can be sung at various celebrations other than birthdays, as well, such as anniversaries and weddings or can include mariachi instruments.

I thought this was a wonderful song to sing on one’s birthday.  It has a great message that one is loved and cherished by their family and reminds them that today is their special day to celebrate.