Pre-Game Water Polo ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/15/2017
Primary Language: English

My informant is my roommate and she was a high school and college athlete and has had many years of sports-related rituals. She was recounting to me a high school experience.

Me: “So, being a college athlete, you are pretty intense, do you have any rituals or superstitions before a game?”
CB: “Before a water polo game we would all huddled together and the shower inside of the locker room we all hold hands and say the Lords prayer, then the captains would give a small little speech about what we are looking to do in the upcoming game after the speech we would put our arms around each other shoulders and we would do this cheer three times, louder each time that  would go “oh I feel so good, like I knew I would do, I feel so good a little bit louder now.”
Then after we would do the cheer three times we were basically screaming like all the parents could hear us outside the locker room then we would say SFA just go fight win on three and then we would all run out of the locker room super pumped for the game.

Sports has an incredible about of rituals, especially in team sports, because there is a lot of the game which is out of the player’s immediate control and which they desire to take back control through ritual. Pre-game rituals like this are designed to bring good-luck to the team and to promote confidence for the game as pre-games are rife with anxiety and fear of the unknown outcome of the game. In this case, the ritual was for an entire team, creating good luck through ritual. Additionally, the team prayed the Our Father before, this is a common occurrence in many sports pre-game. This may be a case of putting the game’s outcome in heavenly hands or asking for God’s help in the upcoming game. This can be attributed to again the uncertainty of a sports game, and many occurrences may seem like divine intervention. This ritual’s purpose is to boost confidence, unite the team and to dissipate any uneasiness about the upcoming game.

Sports rituals such as these are learned through participation on a team, outsiders usually don’t participate in them, therefore it is restrictive to a particular team. Knowing such rituals and their purpose is a part of their identity as athletes, performing them solidifies their team identity and loyalty.

Schoolyard Game

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/14/17
Primary Language: English

Informant Information:

Alex, 19,  is a student at the University of Southern California studying Interactive Media and Game Design. He lived in Cincinnati, OH  for most of his life until moving to Los Angeles, CA for college. He comes from a Persian(Iranian) background.

Game:

“There’s this game  where everyone sits in a circle and their arms are stretched out so their hands are on top of each other. Then they sing a song and slap the other people’s hands to a beat/word. The song goes like ‘King.. Kong.. jungle.. man.. swinging.. from.. a.. rubber.. band.. slipped.. and.. fell.. and.. cut.. his.. hand.. the.. color.. of.. his.. blood.. was…’ whoever was the last person slapped says a color and they slap their hands for every letter of the color so it’s like B..L..U..E.. and whoever was hit on E leaves the circle, and the game continues until there’s only one person left.”

Q: What happens when there’s only one person left? Do they get anything?

“No they don’t get anything. They get the satisfaction of winning or a high-five. It’s a school yard game.”

Q: How old were you when you played this game?

“Middle school.”

Q: Did you know of any other similar games? Is this version common?

“No I don’t think I heard this exact song outside of my school, but I know that other people played the same game with a different song.”

Analysis:

This playground game seems to derive from another similar game called “Down by the Banks of the Hanky-Panky”. In the original game, the informant’s colors weren’t present. It was only the song, and whoever was slapped to the last beat of the song was considered “out” of the game and had to leave the circle. I couldn’t find the origin of the the original game, but I know that this game is very widespread, with many different versions appearing across the country.

 

For more information about the original game, see this reference: Emily, By: Sing Books with. “Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky, a funny little circle game or counting song (a Girl Scout Songbook song, too).” Sing Books with Emily, the Blog. N.p., 16 June 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.

Grandmother’s Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student at the University of Southern California
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/14/17
Primary Language: English

Informant Information:

Alex, 19,  is a student at the University of Southern California studying Interactive Media and Game Design. He lived in Cincinnati, OH  for most of his life until moving to Los Angeles, CA for college. He comes from a Persian(Iranian) background.

Story:

“There are so many  things we do but if I’m just thinking of one in particular then… Okay I got it. We have this circle of fabric with Farsi written all over it. Before we make any big decisions or go on any trips, my grandmother makes us kiss the Koran and step through the fabric three times. She also speaks in Farsi while it’s happening.”

Q: Did your grandmother ever tell you what it meant?

“No… No I don’t think so. But I like to think it means that I have God’s grace and protection so I’ll be safe wherever I go.”

Analysis:

It was difficult to find references of the exact tradition the informant provided (there were no references of the fabric, and I checked both Persian/Islamic sources but couldn’t find anything) but I was able to find several sources that spoke of “kissing the Koran”. The sources said that kissing the Koran is not mentioned in the actual Koran itself, or in the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. They encouraged believers to abstain from doing so because of that fact. Because of this, I came to the conclusion that this tradition is more of a “good luck” charm specific to his family, as the informant mentioned that he only did this before any trips/major decisions.

The Alaskan Spirit

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Seattle
Performance Date: April 1 2017
Primary Language: English

The interviewer’s comments are denoted through initials GM, while the interviewee’s responses are denoted by a PO.

 

The interviewee overheard my conversation with another student, and offered to provide me with a story of his own strange encounter.

 

PO: I have a story to tell you too if you’d like! It’s about this really weird trip I took to Alaska.

 

GM: Sure! Go for it. What happened?

 

PO: I went to Alaska for a school trip last year with a bunch of kids from my school. One night, me and 3 other friends were told by an upperclassman of this island nearby where we were camping that was once owned by an extremely wealthy man, but recently died. Being stupid and adventurous, we chose to take one of my friends’ boats and make the short trip to the secluded island late at night while the rest of the group was asleep. Upon reaching the edge of the island, we instantly noted a very weird aura in the area. While there was no human in sight, we began to observe some of the wildlife and their antagonistic attitude towards us. These were not vicious animals: crabs, birds, and insects. We chose to stay the night there (again, stupid adventure). I woke up in the middle of the night to find easily 10-15 crabs surrounding the four of us, as if they were in a cult. The screeching of birds and deafening cricket chirps made all of use jump up from our mats and start sprinting towards the boat. We all rowed back to the mainland at the fastest we’ve ever rowed, and never looked back.

 

GM: Did you see any person or apparition of any sort as you were leaving?

 

PO: No, but there was definitely a spirit possessing the nature of the area. All the crabs, birds, and crickets were in a sort of rhythm – under a kind of spell. They were synchronized and coordinated, as if under the control of a human. We all think it was because we trespassed into the deceased man’s territory, and his spirit thought of us as intruders.

 

Conclusion, written by the interviewer:

 

This story is one that shows no evidence of a human or ever transparent apparition: but it undoubtedly felt like a ghost story to the interviewee. He was terrified and held genuine belief that there was a spirit controlling the area, and all four of them felt it. For an outsider, it may seem like the presence was a long shot, made up in the mind of the subject. However, the significance of the story to him shows that the “spirit” was definitely present, and had a purpose: to keep his “master” and his land protected.

Positive Energy

Nationality: Indian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Gurgaon
Performance Date: March 31st 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

The interviewer’s comments are denoted through initials GM, while the interiewee’s responses are denoted by a VA.

GM: Has anything happened to you or your family that you found strange and inexplicable?

VA: Like, a supernatural presence?

GM: Yes, anything along the lines of that. Can you tell me about a certain such incident?

VA: Okay, this isn’t really like a ghost story, but I still can’t think of scientific reasoning for it so I’ll tell you it. In 7th grade, my parents decided to buy a house in Gurgaon, just outside of New Delhi. The house was at a very good location at a very good price. The only reason the house hadn’t been sold yet because of the direction it faced. Really silly stuff for people outside of India to hear that, but it’s a very common thing in India to make sure your house faces north and east.

GM: Why do you think that is?

VA: Generally, it has to do with the sun. Since the sun rises in the east, and north is generally synonymous with “up” and “good”, both those directions are preferred. Having the sun rise in front of your house is considered a good omen, bringing positive energy in. This house, however, faced directly Southeast. Most of our relatives and friends strongly advised against buying the house because of the stereotype I just mentioned. However, my family, generally not religious, thought that it was a silly idea to only buy houses that faced a certain as all directions could be peaceful if the people inside remained happy. So, my parents went ahead and bought the house. Within a couple of months, we moved in, and initially everything seemed fine. Now, I don’t know if this was because of the paranoia stemming from our social pressures, but somehow strange things started happening in the house after a few weeks. The first night that something strange happened, my parents were awoken by loud sounds coming from the kitchen. I was young and deep sleepers so I assumed my parents were just being paranoid. However, more weird things started happening over the course of the next year. I found myself having weird nightmares. Sometimes, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and my bed would be covered in sweat. My parents at the didn’t feel comfortable: it didn’t feel like the type of house anyone wants to come back home from work every day.

VA: You see, the people inside the house weren’t happy: there was no positive energy. Whether this was because of influences from others, or whether there was a genuine lack of positive energy in that house, I’ll never know. Despite the fact that my parents didn’t believe in the directional theory earlier, we were eventually convinced that there was some truth to this idea. So, the next year we moved to another house, strictly facing East, and sold the other one. We lost a lot of money in the process, but my parents have no regrets: today we live in a house that we all feel comfortable coming back to each night.

Conclusion, written by the interviewer:

This story shows the fine line between self-guided perception and the belief of a genuine supernatural force. Had there been no preconceptions going in to the house, this would have been a much more concrete ghost story: but such stories are never concrete in the real world. A “weird experience” is the name given to such events not only as a means to repress them but also to understand them. My interviewee still did not think there was a ghost present, but that they went against nature – a dark energy, in hindsight, was inevitable for him. This story is told by an international student from India, and I especially chose to ask him for a story because I knew that not only would the social views be different, but his reaction to the weird events as well. While loud noises in the US could be attributed to a poltergeist or spirit, he just noted a “lack of positive energy” –nothing more.