Constant change in the River

Nationality: Ethiopian/Italian

Primary Language: English

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles

Date: 2/20/2024

Text:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man” 

Context:

This is a proverb that was told to the participant by his father. He explained that he moved schools quite a lot when he was younger and sometimes complained about the impermanence of his life. He explained that his father used this proverb to soothe him and rationalize his fears. It was explained to him as a metaphor that signifies how you are always changing as an individual. He reflected on how his father reminded him to accept change and to not focus on it as a negative as it is inevitable.

Analysis:

It is interesting how a proverb can be used to soothe emotions and help rationalize their thoughts. Hearing the participant’s interpretation of the proverb made me ponder if it had an even more developed meaning. To add on, it also signifies how the world around us is always changing. In a more literal term you can never step in the same river, because the currents are always changing and flowing, causing there to be constant movement within the river. In a more philosophical way, it reminds you that experiences can only be lived once as nothing is permanent, different factors are always changing in one’s life; from a range of emotions, successes, failures, relationships, and even environmental.

To not see the soul

Nationality: Ethiopian/Italian

Primary Language: English

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles

Date: 2/20/2024

Text: “In Ethiopian culture, people are generally wary of foreigners and the lower class, believing many of them invoking the power of buda or demons to curse others. As such it is rude for these people to sustain eye contact, and they generally take effort to sustain eye contact with them as an attempt to curse them. They also believe these demon-invoking people to be capable of changing into hyenas and thus also avoid making eye contact with wild hyenas”

Context: This was told to him at a young age by his family and is a cultural aspect with spiritual components. He clarifies though that it is not something he participates in and personally believes in. Especially with the fact that he was mainly raised in the United States and it is not a social norm that is practiced.

 Analysis: This was an example of how heavily they believe in signs of misfortune and curses, even on a smaller scale not involving magic. I was able to draw parallels between the “tabooistic” belief of the evil eye, that by holding eye contact they can be inflicted with misfortune. Both stem from glaring and believe that one who is jealous, or in this case lower in stationary, they can evoke a curse to lessen your fortune.

Knocking on the head of a virgin

Nationality: Dallas, TX
Age: 20
Occupation: Hospitality

Text:

Perform the physical action of knocking on the head of a virgin.wood, they would knock on the head of a virgin instead. This gesture can also be substituted with the phrase itself “knocking on the head of a virgin” as a form of proverbial speech.

Context:

In high school, the informant learned this saying from a friend who was Greek Orthodox and claimed it as a part of Greek Orthodox culture. Preliminary research has yet to provide any link between this superstition and Greek Orthodox culture, instead pointing towards this practice stemming from urban legend.

Interpretation:

Though the connection between wood as a material and virgin’s heads may seem far-fetched, the substitution of heads for wood is common in the practice of ‘knocking on wood.’ When someone knocks on their own head as a substitution for knocking on wood, they are not only participating in the superstition but also making a joke at their own expense, implying that their head is made of wood rather than brains and thus they are dumb. With this common conflation in mind, knocking on the heads of virgins as a substitute for knocking on wood presents both as a means of participating in the ‘knock on wood’ superstition while making a joke, this time at the expense of a group (virgins) rather than the self. The claim that this superstition comes from Greek Orthodox culture is so far unfounded and inexplicable.

Jinx! You owe me a __

Text:

Jinx! You owe me a soda

Context: 

My information is from a childhood friend of mine. 

A friend of mine explains this phrase as something that would occur between two people, after saying the same thing at the same time. They mostly heard this phrase during elementary school, and they believe it is something that children mostly say rather than adults. They mention that “jinx” on its own is bad luck, therefore making saying “jinx” to possibly cancel it out.

My interpretation and Analysis:

This phrase above is folk speech and also a game that is not necessarily “started” by anyone in order to play, but rather something known and unspoken. In my interpretation it can also be seen as children’s folklore. Based on Jay Mechling’s writing, from Oring’s book on children’s folklore, they may often form games while hanging out or by being in school settings. Children tend to establish a person in power while playing games, and in this case whoever says “Jinx” first is a “winner”. Although I don’t necessarily think that the “loser” or the “jinxed” has to give the winner a soda. It seems more as satisfaction of winning a simple game instead of getting something in return. I interpret “you owe me a soda” as just a possible consequence that someone could add. I believe this because the simpler version of Jinx is not letting the loser talk for a while, which doesn’t require a physical prize and further emphasizes on the unspoken part of the game of Jinx. But overall, these different variations that could stem from “Jinx” seem to mostly rely on how fast you could say it.

Good Enough For Government Work

Occupation: Data Analysis
Residence: Salem, Virginia
Language: English

Text: “Good enough for government work” (folk speech/proverb)

Context:

G is my father, who was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, who now lives in Salem, VA. His family owned a lot of farmland and they didn’t quite live in Richmond, but about 25 minutes outside of the city. It was pretty rural, definitely not suburban, but there were a few neighbors every once in awhile. He has many many pieces of folklore that he says, he has heard people say, and he has from books or movies, in my family he is pretty much known to have a proverb or saying for everything.

G- “I have done a job, be it raking leaves, or cutting grass, or painting a big round table, where I did the best job I could do but it could never be perfectly done and when I finished the job, I say ‘that’s good enough for government work’, meaning if it had been inspected by a government official, they would sign off on the work being done and complete.”

Interviewer – And where did you first learn of it, or if you don’t remember, have you heard anyone else ever use it?

G- “I learned it from my father, but I have heard many people use it.”

Analysis:

The phrase “Good enough for government work” is a colloquial expression often used to suggest that a task or job has been completed adequately but not necessarily perfectly. It implies a level of acceptable or sufficient performance, often in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner. When researching where it cane from, the origin of the saying is not precisely known, but it has become a common part of American English, particularly in informal settings. In my interpretation it is somewhat of a criticism or social commentary of the government and the checks that go into things It has evolved into a broader expression acknowledging that achieving perfection in certain situations may not be practical or necessary. It can be used humorously or pragmatically to convey a sense of meeting a standard without excessive attention to detail.