Nicaraguan Duendes “Elves”

Age: 74

Text

Informant: “When me and my brother were younger, we sometimes went to a farm with our grandparents and dad. At night, we used to sit in the back of a pickup truck as adults drove, and when we were sitting there, we saw little kids following us. I told the adults that I saw little kids following us on the road, but they were running really fast. They were running at the speed of the truck. Only me and my brother saw them but none of the adults could see them. My grandparents and dad asked what the kids looked like so we described them as little kids with a red hat and backwards feet. The adults told me that they were elves. I tried reaching my hand out to grab the elves and the adults told me not to do that and I couldn’t reach my hand out to grab them because they were elves and they took children.”

Context:

The informant was born and raised in Nicaragua until they moved to the U.S. at 16 years old. When the informant was young, they rode on the bed of a pickup truck with their brother. One night, they saw elves following them and tried reaching out to grab them but failed. When they told their dad and grandpa, they were advised not to reach out for them because they could grab and steal them.

Analysis:

The story is unique in the sense that it’s not a common one told to children across an area. It is a personal experience, or a memorate. This reminds me of Lydia Hamessley’s “A Resisting Performance…” where she describes murder ballads being told in first-person perspective. I think folklore becomes more interesting when you’re hearing the stories directly from the source. It provides details that can get left out or aren’t shared when someone else is retelling the story.

Kaal Pudpe Sign of Respect

Age: 20

Text:

Informant: “This is included in what me and my brother do in my culture. It’s something that is a sign of respect, it’s called “kaal pudpe” and it means “touching the feet.” So you touch the feet of your elders. If you were my elder, when I would first see you, I would say “How are you?” and I would go like this” (gestures touching feet). “It’s respecting the wisdom that they have and it’s always a married elder.”

Interviewer: “So if they’re not married, you wouldn’t do that to them?”

Informant: “No, you don’t have to. There’s a lot of people around my age but then the minute they got married, you’re supposed to, technically. It’s a lot of things as well as a greeting when you enter someone’s house, as a sign of respect.”

Context:

The informant is from Karnataka, a state in India. In their culture, they view elders as wise and are highly respected. Married couples are also seen viewed highly. As young people, to show respect for them, they’ll touch their feet as a form of greeting.

Analysis:

In many cultures, aging isn’t seen as a negative, but rather, a positive. The elderly are seen as wise and more knowledgeable. Young ones are encouraged to respect elders because they lack life experience and can learn from them. Countries like Karnataka create these traditional ways of young ones showing respect by touching their elders’ feet. This ritual is repeated through generations and acts a way of socializing across the culture and holding people in high regard. In Chapter 5 of ‘Living Folklore’ by Sims and Stephens, they expand on this thought and share how “traditions associated with objects, customs, or rituals…may sometimes emerge into narratives and form an important part of a group’s identity.” This functionalist ritual validates the culture and sets a certain expectation that everyone must follow.

Paper Heart

Age: 20

Text:

Informant: “I’m used to doing this with gum wrappers mainly, that’s what we used to do in middle school. You take a rectangle and you first make it a square and then you fold it diagonally so it’s a triangle on each side. You do that twice. You bring one of the points of the outside to the middle and then you bring the other one to the other side. Instead of bringing it to the middle you bring it to the other side and the point in the middle of the triangle that you just made. Then you fold it up using the two points of the end of that trapezoid to bring it up into the middle. It looks sort of like a heart but not really. I was always taught you flip it around and make it look more heart like by rounding out the edges. It’s a heart. They look prettier when they’re made out of foil because they’re cute and tiny.”

Context:

The informant attended high school in America and learned how to make a handmade paper heart out of gum wrappers and paper. It’s a type of origami as there are many steps on how to properly form the paper to get the desired result. They were taught by their middle school friends and exchanged them with classmates.

Analysis:

Traditionally, children and teens make hearts out of gum wrappers. They fall under the material folklore as they’re a physical object and handmade. It can be made in class with resources that people often have on them. After they’re made, they’re typically traded amongst friends, acting as “gifts,” and multiple can be made. I think females are the primary producers of these fun, origami-like pieces that are traded with friends. This connects to my idea of it being a feminist approach because there’s an element of collaboration in making one for a friend and knowing that you will likely receive one. There’s also a process and method to making sure you’re following all the steps properly to produce the right result.

Karnataka Rice Throwing

Age: 20

“Poojes…well wishes and blessings.”

Text:

Informant: “In my culture, they’re used at different times but there’s a combination of these things that I was thinking about. Whenever me and my brother leave somewhere to go back to college without our family, we’re supposed to do, we do “poojes” for a lot of things. Just religious reasons as Hindus. When one of us is leaving or getting on a flight, I don’t know what it’s for but I think it’s for well wishes and blessings. My parents bring out rice and throw rice at the person.

Context:

In Karnatakan culture, it’s common to throw rice at people. It signifies well wishes and good luck as they are about to embark on a new endeavor.

Analysis:

In many cultures, there’s a tradition where wedding attendants toss grains of rice at a couple during the wedding. It symbolizes the person wishing that the couple have a prosperous marriage. In Karnataka, people will throw rice at anyone they want to have good luck. This tradition has a functionalist approach because it satisfies the need for the culture to bring their blessing on family and friends. The ritual is customary, as it’s a gesture or movement. It’s meant to be repeated at important events. It also validates the culture because it’s performed by members who identify as part of the group and is done onto other group members.

Niles Canyon Ghost / White Witch

Age: Gabrielle Vella

Text:

Informant: “My legend is the Niles Canyon ghost, or, I’ve also heard White Witch. A ghost of this woman who some say that she died by a car crash in Niles Canyon or that she was a hitchhiker. Either way, she’s a ghost and haunts the area and it’s in Niles Canyon near Fremont, and I live in Union City, so I live in the area. I grew up going over there a lot. I’ve never seen her personally, but the people who have, say that she’s wearing 1920s style attire, usually a dress and it’s typically white. That’s usually what I hear. I know some other people say that she was going to prom or to a wedding or something. That’s not what I’ve heard most often. Most often I’ve heard that she was a woman who was hitchhiking and got into a car accident and so she haunts the area, but I think there’s a certain spot she doesn’t go passed. I think there a toll in the area, like a toll you have to pay and she doesn’t go past that.”

Context:

The informant is a 19-year-old college student, originally from Union City, CA. They first heard the legend from their grandma.

Analysis:

After researching this legend, I found that the Niles Canyon ghost is a story told about a woman who died in a car crash in Niles Canyon, alongside her boyfriend. The accident is said to have taken place on February 28th. The year is unknown. Every year, the ghost supposedly walks on the road and asks passing cars for a ride to San Francisco.

The story of the Niles Canyon ghost most closely resembles a legend in folklore. It has the component of a story told by a community that is often believed. In this case, people in neighboring cities, such as Fremont and Union City have heard the legend and belive it to be true. The story is set in the real world, Niles Canyon, CA. We know that the ghost is from a certain time period, the 1920s. All of these elements combined draw most similary to an urban legend.