Paper, Feet, and Buddha in Nepali Culture

Nationality: Nepali
Age: 39
Occupation: Banker
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/29/22
Primary Language: English
Language: Nepali

Context: I is a middle aged Nepali man working as a banker. He told me about the importance of keeping feet away from paper in Nepali culture while at a coffeeshop.

A prevalant Nepali tradition or belief is not stepping on paper. Paper, since it is the basis of writing, represents education as a whole. Many of the Nepali gods are also manifested in a physical sheet of paper, as it symbolizes the god of knowledge in a nation where education is highly valued. It is therefore regarded as very pure and respected by the people.

Feet, on the other hand, are very often seen as the dirtiest part of the body. Coming home, it is not uncommon for people to wash their feet straight away. Therefore, touching anything with one’s feet is often seen as disrespecting it, and moreso for a piece of paper. It is highly frowned upon to touch paper with one’s feet.

If one does somehow manage to touch a piece of paper with their feet, there is a way to reconcile this disrespectful act. In Nepali culture, it is commonplace to touch your head to someone that you deeply respect, almost like a more physical bow. So if one accidentally steps on a piece of paper, they must take it and tap it on their head to atone for their mistake. This concept of touching one’s head to something in respect is seen in other places as well. In the presence of very respected elders or royalty, it is traditional to bow and touch their feet with one’s head to signify deep reverence for them.

Bad Luck with Double Doors

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/27/22
Primary Language: English

“Opening both doors at the same time will lead to bad luck.”

CL is a Taiwanese student at USC who lived in Taiwan for a few years before moving to the United States. This is a superstition that I have never heard before, and it is definitely interesting since it is focused on such a mundane task as opening a door. The above quote was said after CL opened one door of a double door entryway at the same moment that someone opened the other door from the external side.

When asked where she learned this superstition, she replied that it had been passed down to her from her mom, though she had never questioned its origins. There are some theories as to where it comes from. Other door superstitions state that it is bad luck to leave through a different door than the one that someone entered through, particularly in houses. Though the above superstition is not exactly similar, a person is leaving the door while someone enters simultaneously in the above situation. This could be a variation of the superstition of departing and entering through different doors that has been adapted for a double door entrance.

Doorways often represent a transition or a gateway into another space, the passage between one place or state of being and the next. As such, it is not surprising to see superstitions that arise out of these passageways. They could also be regarded as thresholds between the physical and spiritual worlds, so it can be seen that our interactions with doorways have an influence on the external forces acting on our lives, which in this case takes the form of good or bad luck.

McCarthy Ghost Stories

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 35
Occupation: Janitor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2/20/22
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Within the University of Southern California’s Freshman Honors Dorm, also known as McCarthy Honors College, there are two elevators that traverse up and down between the building’s five floors. The insides have metal walls with a neat dappling texture, and they can comfortably fit around 12 people.

M is a male worker at McCarthy whose job is to ensure that its facilities are clean and that the residents are not collecting a buildup of water residue or gunk in their bathrooms. When asked if he knows any folklore, he claims that some of the workers have experienced strange, possibly paranormal activity in its elevators. 

Me: So how long have you been working in McCarthy?

X: This is my first year working in this residential building, and frankly it’s a lot better than some of the other dorms I’ve been at. 

Me: That’s great to hear. Just out of curiosity, do you know any folklore that is related to your job or to your heritage?

X: Yeah, I personally have a story about the, the elevators in this building. Particularly the right elevator. Since I’m a janitor, I have to go up and down the elevators a lot during the nights and in the early mornings, depending on my shift. Sometimes the elevator will just stop and open its doors on the second floor even when I’m going to the fourth. And so I look around, and there’s no one there. But what’s more strange is that I look down at my watch and it’s 5 A.M. It makes no sense!

Me: Wow, that seems pretty scary-

X: And that’s not even the end of it. Sometimes, the doors will start to close and then just jam, as if someone or something was physically stopping it. Then it’ll suddenly just close with a bang.

Me: Wait, I’ve witnessed that too! That used to happen a lot during the first semester and I’d also get kind of freaked out.

X: Yup, and we’ve had lots of accidents dealing with vomit in the elevators. For some reason, they say that they’re fine before, but then when they get on the elevators and overwhelming nausea causes them to throw up. Most of the time, it’s drunk kids on a Friday but it’s happened to completely sober kids too.

Me: Oh yeah, I’ve seen them air out the elevators a lot. I feel a little better about just taking the stairs haha. Do you have any suspicion of what causes these incidents?

X: Yes, a lot of the workers have had the feeling that someone was watching them or that something was a little off in the right elevator, so there has been a rumor going around that there’s a ghost. HA! I don’t really believe it myself, but it is pretty fun to think about sometimes.

Me: Yikes, I really hope it’s not a ghost! Thank you for your time X and for sharing this story with me.

X: Yeah no problem.

Personally, this story fascinates me because I have been a fan of ghost stories for years, so hearing about potentially paranormal activity in my own dorm is very intriguing. It has been speculated that elevators can sometimes act as bridges between different dimensions, as well as between the physical and spiritual worlds. Although these events in the McCarthy elevator are somewhat compelling, I also think they could all be explained in some degree by more practical means. For instance, the elevator doors could open on empty floors because somebody on the floor pressed the button to call the elevator. Only, they realized the elevator would take too long so they walked down the stairs, leaving the elevator to open onto an empty hallway. The only strange part is that this was happening at odd hours, though college students are notorious for having unconventional sleep schedules. The door getting jammed and then slamming shut could be an issue with the alignment of the doors, as a hitch in the closing could result in lots of force building up and acting on the door at once. The vomiting also, could just be a result of the motion of elevators, as the increased compression when it starts going up or the feeling of weightlessness when it goes down can induce vomiting in someone that already feels sick. In all though, this is a really cool story and I hope that if there actually was a ghost, it would be a friendly one.

The Dangers of Playing the Flute at Night

Nationality: Korean
Age: 49
Occupation: Counselor
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4/21/22
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

“밤에 피리를 불거나 휘파람을 불면 뱀이 나온다”

Context: I was in band during high school, and I would sometimes practice until the late hours. Whenever I played the flute at night, my mom would say this proverb.

Romanization:

bahm-eh piri-reur boor-guh-nah h-we-param ir boor-myun bem-ee na-own-da

Transliteration:

At night, to play the flute or to blow a whistle a snake will come out

Translation:

A snake will come out if you play the flute or whistle at night.

This is a proverb that my mom has heard growing up, and it is one that I have heard many times from her. She grew up in a more rural area of South Korea, so there were many snakes near her home. Controlling or taming snakes with a flute is quite common in many other areas of the world, which is where this proverb most likely originated. Where it seems to diverge is in the inclusion of whistling, which is surprising. The phrase seems to warn that even such a commonplace, harmless act can lead to something much more dangerous or deadly down the line.

Though this is a proverb warning against playing at night for fear of summoning a snake, she most likely said it to me to save the neighbors from the shrill notes of my flute at night.

Slovenian Grandma Song

Age: 19
Performance Date: 4/25/22
Primary Language: English

This is a song that was collected from H, a freshman whose family has Slovenian roots on his dad’s side. This song is one that they used to sing to their grandma as kids, as did their grandma to her grandmother before them.

Granny’s in the cellar

Lordy can’t you smell’er

Cooking pancakes on a dirty stoooove

Her eyes are full of matter

And it’s dripping in the batter

THERE’S A LONG THING HANGING FROM HER NOSE

From her noooose

to her tooooes

there’s a long thing hanging from her NOSE!

This is a goofy song that talks of a grandma cooking pancakes in a dingy cellar, presumably while she is sick with crusty eyes and snot dripping from her nose. Although it picks fun at a grandma, it also fosters a bond between them and effectively eradicates the barrier between an elderly person and a child. As Slovenia is a country with many stories of witchcraft, this song could also be referencing a witch cooking some food or brewing potions, though adapted to be more kid-friendly.

Personally, I find this song quite endearing, as did H’s family, since they continued singing the song after it was passed down to him from his grandma. Instead of painting witches in a negative light or viewing grandmas as old and crippled, this song familiarized them for the children and helped dispel the negative stigmas that usually surround witches by poking fun at their physical appearance.