EATING WHILE LAYING DOWN YOU BECOME A PIG

Main Piece:

I would be at my grandmother’s house at elementary school and after class I would stay with her while she was feeding me I would be eating and watching the TV and to be comfortable I would lay down (while eating) and she would come and tell me that (eating while laying down I’ll turn into a pig). Sometimes she would change it and say that I would turn to an alligator.

I would never believe her – I would just laugh and I wouldn’t question it because I thought it was funny. Sometimes I stand up, sometimes I still laid.

Background Information:

Why do they know this piece?

Growing up and being told that constantly everytime I ate while watching TV from my grandmother.

Where/Who did they learn it from?

My grandmother

What does it mean for them?

Now as an adult it simply means encourages better digestion or flow of digestion perhaps there is a folklore behind this but I never knew.

Context of Performance:

Sitting inside friend’s room talking.

Thoughts:

I think this is very similar to how my mother would tell me things in Indonesian such as do not put your butt on your pillowcase and then put your face on it (or you’ll grow trees/branches out of your face) (it is also interesting to note that Cambodia and Indonesia is very close geographically to each other and that these kind of sayings may be rooted within one another). I think these types of folklore are passed down from parent to child in order to discipline them – or at least prevent them from doing things that may be harmful to their health.