Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Tres Elefantes- Spain-South America

Nationality: Spanish
Age: 20
Occupation: student
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English and French

The following are lyrics to a never ending song that i learned as a child and to my surprise so did kids in Panama, Peru and Spain. The following was recorded from my friend from Spain Ana Mula Diaz. The only difference between the song that I remember and the one she tells us is the word she uses for balancing. which speaks of a slight choice of words difference between Mexico and Spain but the meaning is the same.

Informant Singing in a 1-2 1-2 1-2-2-3-4 rythym

Informant: Un Elefante se balanceaba sobre la tela de una arana.. y como veia que resistia fue a buscar otro elefante….. dos Elefantes se balanceaban sobre la tela de una arana y como veian que resistia fueron a buscar otro elefante..tres elefantes se balanceaban sobre la tela de una arana y como veian que resistia fueron a buscar otro elefante…

Translated

Informant: One Elephant was balancing over the thread of a spider and since he saw that it resisted he went to find another elephant…. Two elephants were balancing over the thread of a spider and since they saw that it resisted they went to look for another elephant… three elephants were balancing over the thread of a spider and since they saw that it resisted (held) they went to look for another elephant…4

 

The song never ends it keeps going on an eternity, I was shocked that the song is so old that kids in Spain sang it too. The meaning is very imaginative and it probably came as tok says from a creative genius child. we didn’t realize at the time that we sang it that it was so illogical for an elephant to balance himself over a spiderweb let alone 100 elephants. but this song was a part of our childhood and when we were really little the loser would be the one who couldn’t count that high or the one who wanted to stop singing.

“Ghost Light”

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Actor
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 7 April 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

It is a tradition in stage theatre to leave a lamppost without a lampshade lit in the middle of a stage every night a theatre closes. This is called a ghost light, and it is meant to provide light for the spirits of the theatre.

Background:

This is a theatrical tradition/superstition I’ve heard about multiple times throughout different acting classes and performances. I’ve never actually worked in a theatre that does this but many Off-Broadway theatres keep the tradition alive in New York. Superstition is very powerful in theatre. I’m not entirely sure how long the tradition has existed but certainly throughout the history of American theatre.

Context:

Again I haven’t witnessed it first hand. Strangely I’ve seen ghost lamps in the storage spaces of theatres so maybe the tradition is fading. I was in a play within a play and the owners of the theatre used a ghost lamp, but outside of that I have yet to see it.

My Thoughts:

This obviously makes me think about the musical Phantom of the Opera, because it plays off that superstition of the haunted theatre. I’m taking a consumerism class right now, and this author Miller keeps bringing up how houses often take on the “haunted” condition due to past owners, and such. I think it’s interesting that for actors who often after long productions feel like they “live” at the theatre, that intensely personal space takes on similar connotations to the home.

“Egg Smashing”

Nationality: Iranian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Singer
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 30 April 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

Whenever someone in our family gets a new car, the first time we go on a long trip the car has to drive over and break eggs for good luck. It was always a big eventful moment when my dad would get in the driver’s seat and we’d all stand outside the car and cheer when he ran over the eggs, one behind each tire. Then of course because my mom was a clean freak, we had to spray off the driveway and the tires with the hose before we could actually leave on the trip. But that moment of cheering with me and my brothers was always worth it.

Background:

I have no fucking idea why we do this, it’s just a thing we do. I don’t know any other families that do it; I was always kinda proud of this tradition just because I didn’t know anyone else who did it. I liked it cuz it seemed like a great way to celebrate the journey and then after the trip when we came back and were all really tired and ready for home, it was awesome to see the driveway and remember how cool the trip started out and why we took it in the first place.

Context:

We just did it before the first long road trip in a brand new car.

My Thoughts:

This reminds me of christening a ship before its maiden voyage. I’m sure there has to be some sort of connection ideologically. Otherwise, I like what my informant said about it being a good opportunity to liven up and celebrate an otherwise uneventful departure.

“Torah Kissing Before a Journey”

Nationality: Iranian American
Age: 19
Occupation: Singer
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 30 April 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

We have a fancy book of Torah from Iran in our house that we keep near the door. Everytime one of us is going on a trip or somewhere particularly important we do this thing where someone holds the book over your head at the doorway and you walk under it, turn around and come back inside under it, kiss the book and then exit the house from under it. You’re not supposed to turn around and look at the house again until you come home. It’s symbolic and about going back to honor your traditions and having the Torah be the last thing you see or do before going somewhere.

Background:

My mom was the one who first taught me about it when I was really little. The first time I remember her teaching it to me was when we were going to the hospital for my little brother to be born. I was three years old. I like the tradition a lot because it makes me feel protected somehow. I don’t think of myself as really superstitious, and I’ve never noticed a correlation of like amazing outcomes for events with this ritual, but it always made me feel better somehow. Especially since the book came from Iran, I think I liked that part best, cuz it made me feel like my ancestors had my back or something.

Context:

We do it whenever something significant is happening. I don’t think there are like specific guidelines – it’s kinda like knocking on wood for good luck right? You just kinda feel it out and decide what you want to do it for. I did this before I took my SAT’s, before leaving for college, and other important events like that. It was also for events like my brothers being born, so it’s not just a personal thing I guess – you can do it to wish luck on someone else if you’re going to an event that you want to go well in general.

My Thoughts:

I think it was cool my informant made the comparison to knocking on wood because while she was telling me the story, I was pretty forcefully reminded of that ritual because my family practices it. I really appreciate that this version creates a strong connection to ancestors and faith in family. By participating in it, my informant both draws upon her personal family history and contributes to it for future generations.

“The Rep Who Sold Nine Homemakers”

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Salesman
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: 11 March 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

Ok, so there’s this story about this rep who worked for CUTCO about 10 years ago. Most people agree he worked in the Bay Area, but no one will tell his name, to keep the legend alive I guess. Anyway, he was a solid rep, around $70,000 in career sales, when one day he’s doing this demo for an old white woman in her fifties or whatever, and he goes through the whole presentation, kills it, but she’s a rich bitch, you know how they are, and she says: “You know what, I don’t really need that homemaker set. But it’s been years since my husband divorced me and I get pretty lonely, so let me tell you what. If you… you know… take care of me, I’ll buy that homemaker set.”

The rep figures, hey, it’s a sale, so he fucks her and she buys the fucking set – drops a grand on it right there, just to get laid. Here’s the good part though… she refers him to a friend of hers right, and you know, people who buy sets refer you to other people who buy sets. So he’s stoked for this demo. Anyway, he goes over, does the presentation, kills it, and at the end, this broad says: “Hey, to be honest, I don’t need these knives, but I heard what you did for my friend – and if you do the same thing for me, I’ll buy that homemaker set from you.”

So the rep fucks her, and boom, another sale. Dropped a grand, just like that. He keeps getting referred to friends of friends, and each one happens the same as the last – he sees some old chick, fucks her, and she drops a grand on a homemaker set. He does this nine times for nine women in a row – in a week he’s sold like $9,000 and as an FSM that means $4,500 in his pocket.

Anyway, he goes to see the next woman, number ten, expecting a good fuck and an easy sale. But he gets there, and she’s hideous – so fuckin ugly you wouldn’t believe, fat, disgusting, face like a manatee – anyway, he does the whole presentation hoping she’ll just buy some things and he can get out. But at the end, she says: “Hey, I know what you did for my friends and I want the same thing and then I’ll buy that homemaker from you.”

And this bitch is ugly as shit, so the rep says: “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

The woman says: “If you don’t do this, I’ll call all nine of my friends and tell them to return their homemakers.”

So the rep sits there, right? Ten grand in sales on the line, five grand sitting in his pocket about to disappear. He looks long and hard at her and thinks about all the cool shit he can buy with that five grand. But he just can’t do it. He says: “I’m sorry lady, I just can’t.”

And she called all her fuckin friends and they returned all nine of their homemakers, stealing five grand out this guy’s pocket. Can you fuckin believe that?

 

Background:

I heard this story from my manager Jaymison. He swears he knows who the rep is, but won’t tell me. I think this story’s great, it just goes to show some things are more important than money I guess haha. Pretty much everyone in the company knows it, it’s a pretty popular urban legend. One of the first things you learn when you become an FSM I guess.

Context:

I mean usually I tell this story if someone’s been around for awhile and I feel like they’re becoming part of the crew. Usually it comes up when they’ve been having a bad push contest or something, like saying “hey man, it could be worse,” you know what I mean?

My Thoughts:

In the CUTCO company there’s a culture of oversexualization, which this story reinforces. Most of the people in the company are very young, in their late teens or twenties, so sexual conquests are important to this group. It also reinforces basic sales concepts like how to find a specific closing skill and keep using it in all applicable situations. I think it’s interesting that the blame for losing the sales here is placed on the tenth woman for being ugly rather than the rep for being promiscuous, which speaks again to the youthful nature of our company.

I think it’s interesting that only reps who reach a certain level in career sales (an FSM is someone who’s sold $30k) get to know this story, meaning that it creates in-groups for those who are good at the job. This is especially true since my informant heard this story directly from our manager, since in most companies a manager would never tell this kind of story to someone below them as it would be considered highly inappropriate. It’s also interesting that my informant uses this story to motivate reps during sales contests by showing them there’s always worse situations to be in and motivating them to do more.