All Saints Day

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/28
Primary Language: English

Background: The informant is my roommate and a fellow student at USC. She grew up in Southern California and attended a private Catholic school until she began high school.

Informant: I don’t know if this is a thing like…anywhere else, but at least at my school you’d dress up as a different saint on this day…it was called All Saints Day. Like it was Halloween but with saints instead of like monsters or whatever and we’d go to mass and we’d just all march around and you’d kind of get into character as your saint like you could be Mother Teresa or something.

Me: Was this a tradition at your school…like did teachers tell you to do it?

Informant: Yeah it was like an official day…I think it was just cute because it was like tiny kids dressed as these like adult saints but I don’t know if it was religiously significant.

Context: This was told to me during a recorded in-person interview. Upon further research, the informant later told me that it was in fact celebrated by many Christians outside of her school, and it was meant to signify that anyone who trusts in God is themselves a saint.

Indian marriage jokes

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/26
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

Background: The informant (A) is the 20 year old daughter of two Indian immigrants. She was born and raised in the US. 

Joke 1:

Today if Ravan took your wife away would you still consider him evil?

A: So basically it’s like….since Ravan took Ram’s wife, would it be such a bad thing if he took mine? Since there’s always, like, “beef” between Indian husbands and wives it’s like he’s saying like “oh I wouldn’t even care if mine was kidnapped by Ravan and I wouldn’t even call him evil anymore”.

Joke 2:

The doctor (to the lady): any history of insanity in the family?

Lady: yes, my husband thinks he’s the boss of the house!

A: It’s like…commonly accepted that husbands always go into the command of their wives because they’re scared of their wives in Indian households. It’s a cultural thing, whatever the wife says goes and you just have to agree and say yes to everything. It’s a joke but it’s low-key true, like they’re all scared of their wives.

Context: This was told to me over a recorded FaceTime call. The characters Ravan and Ram refer to the legend of Diwali, where Ravan kidnapped Ram’s wife Sita. Ravan is a widely known villain character in Indian culture. “Beef” is a word used by modern youths to describe disagreements or rather unfriendly relations. According to the informant, husbands and wives disagreeing often, or the husband being submissive, are topics that many members of the culture group will often joke about.

Galette des Rois

FESTIVE RITUAL DESCRIPTION: Every January 6 during Epiphany her mother would cook a cake called a “galette des rois” which means a cake for the kings. Inside they would place a small ceramic figure called a “fève” and whoever cut the cake and got the piece would be named king and could order everyone around for the whole day.

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Female, French, 42

CONTEXT: She learned this from her family who would do this every New Years Eve. She remembers how much fun it was when she got the “fève” and how she spent the whole day as the queen. She says this would bring the whole family together and make everyone laugh and have so much fun. 

THOUGHTS: I think this sounds delicious and fun. Definitely something I wish my family celebrated.

PICTURE:

Pelo en la oreja…ni duda deja.

TEXT: “Pelo en la oreja…ni duda deja.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Male, 58, Mexican

CONTEXT: His mother said this Old Age Proverb occasionally, when referring to someone being very old. His mother learned it from her grandparents who used it with each other to poke fun at their old age. It is a well known Mexican saying that is comically but also points out the Life’s Cycle. It can be said in reference to an elderly person that is not listening, pokes fun and is at their expense. It speaks about the fact that elderly people grow hair in their ears. 

ORIGINAL SCRIPT: “Pelo en la oreja…ni duda deja.”

TRANSLATION: “hair in the ear, does not leave a doubt”

THOUGHTS: Although this saying is a bit rude, it is also light hearted and not meant to actually insult anyone. I think it is funny and something rare to point out or notice.

Una Limpia

RITUAL DESCRIPTION: This ritual is called a “Limpia” which means a “Cleaning” in English. A woman will grab an egg and fill a glass with water. The person who is receiving the Limpia needs to be naked. Then the woman will rub the egg all over the person’s while chanting Hail Mary in Spanish over and over again. Once the egg has been rubbed all over the body she will crack the egg into the glass filled with water. Then you must wait and watch the glass. If the layer of white that comes up from the yolk comes up in little spikes then you are filled with the evil eye and it is being removed. If not, you did not have the evil eye on you.

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Female, 42, Mexican

CONTEXT: This ritual is done when life is not going well for someone and they have reason to believe they are filled with the evil eye. I saw this ritual be preformed life onto another woman. The woman told me this ritual has been passed down through woman for centuries since its indigenous origin. It combined the indigenous shamanistic ritual with Catholicism in an effort to clean someone from evil spirits. She would have it done when her life seems to be filled unnaturally with bad luck and said that after doing a Limpia her life would always turn around for the better. It means a lot to her and she says that she prefers to only have it done by someone who is familiar with the ritual and believes in it the way she does.

THOUGHTS: I was very taken with the performance of the ritual. As it was happening I was apprehensive and was feeling doubt. But as the women looked into the glass and saw the white leaving the yolk, they were so joyful and relieved it made me happy to watch. I figure it doesn’t matter what it is but to change your energy or believe you have been cured from bad luck can only improve your life.