Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Filipino Birthday Tradition

Nationality: Filipino American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Chicago
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: filipino

Informant:

June is from Chicago, Illinois and is a current junior in college.

Piece:

So a family tradition that we have is for all of our birthday’s um instead of baking a cake, my mom would cook a traditional filipino dish called pancit. It’s basically like noodles with like vegetables, chicken meats. All the things you would want. It’s a very healthy dish and it’s supposed to be that instead of a cake which is very fattening and sugary um something that’s healthy so you can live a longer life. There are various i guess different noodles you can use, but my parents always use i guess these same very thing ones.

Collector’s thoughts:

The idea of eating healthy food at one’s birthday in order to guarantee another year of good health is an interesting idea that makes a lot of sense. Not only does the yearly meal work as a good luck charm for good health, but also connects the informant back to his filipino heritage.

Sorority Initiations

Nationality: African American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My sister spent a semester as a transfer student at Howard University and the campus was heavily into greek life. Most of the student population was apart of the Divine 9.

Original script: Greek organizations have well known stories of their hazing. For the divine 9 sororities, the women are known for intense hazing at Howard. The sorority of delta sigma theta is known for having their pledges swim across the lake across the street from the university. At 7am, the pledges are blindfolded and taken to the lake wearing only under garments and told to race across the lake and the last 3 will not be admitted into the sorority.

Background: My sister asked what delta sigma theta initiations were like when deciding to join a sorority.

Thoughts: I don’t agree with the hazing if it crosses an inappropriate boundary, but having traditions and rituals in a organization bring members closer together because they are bonded by the memories and hardships they went through to be accepted.

 

US Navy Shellbacks

Nationality: African-American
Age: 51
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My dad was in the US Navy for 4  years

Original Script: To become a shellback in the US Navy you have to cross the equator. Legend has it that King Neptune lives on the equator and if you cross it you become a shellback. When you become a shellback there is a ceremony were a someone dresses up as King Neptune and gives you a shellback card.

Background: A shellback is a sort of fraternity in the Navy, Navy men give respect to shellback backs because you have to sail for a long time to be able to cross the equator, some Navy men that spent 20 years in the Navy has never crossed the equator.

Thoughts: I thought the ceremony was comical, the idea that someone dresses up as King Neptune show dedication to their tradition. The shellbacks get really into it and show respect to those who made an accomplishment that goes unnoticed to a civilian.

Blonde in the Bathroom

Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/23/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Informant: My friend who is from Brazil

Original Script: ” A girl with platinum blonde hair was murdered in the bathroom. She looks super pale with bloody cotton ball in her nose, she looks like a corpse. You go in the bathroom and switch on the lights and flush the toilet three times and she appears.”

Background: The Brazilian version of the children’s game Bloody Mary

 

Howard University Graduation

Nationality: African American
Age: 22
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My sister spent a semester as a transfer student at Howard University.

Original Script: At Howard University it is declared as the Mecca for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. At the Mecca graduating senior must sign their name on the clock tower on the 12th floor of the library. Venturing out to find the clock tower in the library is half the battle but getting up there is worth the journey and the view is amazing. Every midnight the day before graduation seniors find their way to the tower write their names and chant “ HU you know!”

Background: My sister and seniors that went to Howard were taking about what their traditions were when graduating.

Thoughts: I like the tradition of the university because it bonds together the students that made it  through the 4 years of college and you are apart of a ritual that is shared from those in the past. Traditions create memories that can be passed down to generations of students to keep the positive attitude to make it through the 4 years of college, so you can join the tradition.