The Legend of the Tilly Willy Bridge

Tags: Legend, Ghost Story, Northwest Arkansas, Bridge

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The Tilly Willy bridge is a site in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was never meant to be used as a bridge because it’s not wide enough but it does look like a road. One night a lady drives through the bridge. There was heavy rain that night and she ended up driving off the bridge into a ditch and she died. Now people report that they see a woman in a white dress yelling in agony whenever they pass the site. At times, they even see hand prints on cars passing the site.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Vietnamese

Age: 20

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Northwest Arkansas, USA

Date of Performance: March 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Sister

Context

GP, the informant, was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas (NWA).

Analysis

This legend of the Tilly Willy bridge is one of the most common ones shared with both locals and tourists. While enough to send chills down the spines of those willing to listen, it serves as a warning to those considering a drive through the bridge. A means of the Fayetteville community preserving the safety of those visiting the town.

The NWA Well Haunted by Mother and Child

Tags: Legend, Ghost Story, Northwest Arkansas

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In Fayetteville, Arkansas, there’s a plot of land [Drake Airport] that is haunted. A long time ago and during a full moon, a drunk man threw his crying baby down a well on that plot of land [Drake Airport]. His wife jumped into the well after trying to save the baby, but they both died in the well. Apparently you can still hear them both crying during full moons.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Indian

Age: 22

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Northwest Arkansas, USA

Date of Performance: March 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Friend

Context

AH, the informant, was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas (NWA). NWA exists in a region known as the Ozarks.

Analysis

In class, we read “Ghostly Possession and Real Estate: The Dead in Contemporary Estonian Folklore” by Ülo Valk. In his paper, he brought up the Theory of Ownership; that ghosts and property ownership are linked. The Theory of Ownership states that ownership both involves the exclusive control of one’s own body and the use of that control to “claim” material possessions. In the informant’s recounting of this ghost story, I was reminded of this theory. 

Although the wife and child had no claims to the land that they were killed/died on, they continue to haunt the location. It is a common phenomena when talking about the supernatural that spirits remain in locations where they have no ownership simply because of the lingering anger or sadness that they had; either because of how they died or simply because they died.

I believe that the specific well and time that they haunt are a result of them taking ownership of the situation that they both died in.

Origins of the Osage People

Tags: Myth, Origin Story, Osage Tribe, Indigenous Peoples, Northwest Arkansas

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In the Ozarks, there’s an indigenous tribe of people known as the Osage. When they came to Earth, nothing existed except mud. And then, a great elk came and rolled around in the mud, blessing the indigenous people with grass.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Indian

Age: 22

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Northwest Arkansas, USA

Date of Performance: March 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Friend

Context

AH, the informant, was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas (NWA). NWA exists in a region known as the Ozarks.

Analysis

The Ozarks is home to many indigenous groups, each with their own origin stories. Upon some more research on the origins of the Osage people, I found that the story was more complex than the informant had explained. According to the Arkansas Archaeological Survey[1], they were initially “spirit beings” and came from the sky. In their humility, they called themselves the “Little Ones” and came down to Earth to become people. When they arrived, they found the Earth submerged in water and asked their messenger, the Radiant Star, for help. The Radiant Star sent them a sacred person known as the Great Elk. The Great Elk rolled in the water and lowered it. He then blessed the Osage people with more gifts of grass and landforms.

While the informant AH’s recounting of the origin story of the Osage people contained different details about what medium the Great Elk rolled in, the one similarity was that there existed a Great Elk. In indigenous cultures, a lot of traditions and customs surrounded their spiritual connection with animal figures. The elk, for instance, is often personified as protectors in indigenous cultures. In the origin story of the Osages, this was exemplified through the Osage’s reverence for the sacred Great Elk and the blessings that he brought.

Sources
[1] “Creation of the Work (Osage).” Osage Creation Story, Arkansas Archeological Survey, 3 Feb. 2017, archeology.uark.edu/indiansofarkansas/index.html?pageName=Creation+of+the+World+%28Osage%29.

Dragon Boat Festival

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JK: Dragon Boat Festival, an Asian festival, you can see it in Taiwan, in China, in a lot of different places. I’m not exactly sure, but it’s the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese calendar, so around June for us. It’s about this guy called Qu Yuan who was the Prime Minister and known for his wisdom but there’s a story where he was correct about something he told the king, but his enemies convinced the king to kill him. So the king did not believe him and the kingdom fell to ruin. Qu Yuan committed suicide by falling into a river. The villagers were so upset, they wanted to make sure his body wasn’t eaten by fish. So they dropped wrapped “zongzi” into the river so the fish would eat that instead. So now the Dragon Boat Festival exists because there are a lot of Dragon Boats and races across the river. So we eat the zongzi as a way of remembering Qu Yuan and thanking him for his wisdom and his service.

It’s near the summer equinox and you can also balance eggs on the floor. 

Context:

JK’s family is from Taiwan, he grew up celebrating this festival every year. He has participated in eating zongzi and balancing eggs for the Dragon Boat Festival. 

Analysis:

Festivals surrounding other folklore are fairly common. In this case, the festival is surrounding the legend of Qu Yuan. Similarly to other festivals around the world, the Dragon Boat Festival honors a historical event through ritualistic storytelling. It also involved communal activities designed to foster a sense of community and cultural identity through the use of culturally significant objects like zongzi and dragon boats. Its practice of honoring historical events and culture bears similarities to the Japanese Obon Festival, a vibrant festival celebrating deceased ancestors similar to the Day of the Dead in Latin America. Another example is the Korean Dano Festival that involves cultural foods similar to zongzi in the form of rice cakes.

Korean Doljanchi

Text:

JK: In Korea there is a particular celebration for 1-year olds. Korean “doljanchi” is the first birthday celebration. Technically Koreans view birthdays in different times than Western cultures but the first year birthday is very important. The 1-year old is dressed in very traditional clothing and so are the guests, they wear hanboks. There is a lot of fruit everywhere and rice cakes. One of the most important things is the baby choosing an item. There are a lot of things laid out in front of the baby, money, paintbrush, stethoscope, gavel, that sort of thing. Then whatever the baby grabs or touches is meant to influence their future in Korea. For example if they grab a pencil, they’re gonna be a scholar, if they grab money they are going to be rich.

Context:

JK’s family is Korean as well and he participated in this culture as a baby. He grabbed the pencil and money. He doesn’t know if it influenced his future, but he is here pursuing higher education and “hopefully the money will come in soon.”

Analysis:

Other cultures have similar coming of age rituals that are conducted on a child’s birthday. These rituals are meant to determine a child’s future and celebration of their first milestone. Most cultures have a birthday celebration meant to recognize when a child becomes an adult, such as a quinceanera or a bar mitzvah. This specific divination ritual is practiced in other cultures as well, notably in China. Other Asian cultures have varying rituals for the first birthday. In India, the child’s head is shaved to purify them of any evil committed in a past life. This ritual is heavily influenced by the large presence of Hinduism in India.