Death of a Crow

Personal Background:

Stephanie is a junior at the University of Southern California studying biology. She has grown up with a lot of Mexican influence, and has even spent some time in Mexico with her parents and grandparents. She is living in Los Angeles at the moment and is very happy with some of the Mexican influence L.A. has.

Folk Belief:

            When Stephanie was about six years old, she visited Mexico with her family to see her grandparents. One thing she noticed that was odd was when a crow flew into a tree that was nearby. Everyone she was with started shooing the crow away in a panic. When she asked why her family did this, they said it was because a crow brings bad luck. Her parents told that when a black crow flies into a nearby tree and caws, it means someone is going to die soon. This scared the family because Stephanie had a great grandmother who was getting very old and sick at the time.

Stephanie still believes that will happen when crows are around. She gets very nervous when there are crows around, even if they are not in trees making noise. She did not lose her grandmother right when that happened, but it was enough to make her uncomfortable.

Analysis:

This story is a perfect example of folk belief and superstition. It is a belief Stephanie and her family has, and there is no actual rational belief behind it. They crow represents something evil the family does not want to be part of.

To me, it seems as if there are certain groups that have more beliefs than others. It seems as if the people in the small, rural areas tend to have the most folk beliefs. They focus on small signs for big signs.