Nazar or the “Evil Eye”

Nationality: Desi American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco, California
Performance Date: April 2021
Primary Language: English

Background/Context:
The interlocutor (AG) is a roommate of the interviewer (INT). She grew up in the Bay Area with a rich Punjab heritage.

Description: (told over text)
(AG): “The evil eye for Punjabis is called nazar, and like other cultures it means someone is jealous of your successes. It has to do with people’s auras, so if you’re around people who are negative and jealous of you or your success you can get affected by nazar. it can basically impede your life and like the path to move forward like I said the other day.”

(INT): “Is there a way to get rid of it?”

(AG): “Yeah the way my dad’s mom would protect them from nazar would be to take 7 red chilis and then circle them around their head 7 times, then throw the chilis into fire.”

(INT): “Do the chilis do anything? Like what are they there for?”

(AG): “I think its something like how chilies can attract all that bad energy quickly and then they get thrown into fire to destroy it.”

INTERLOCUTOR’S OPINION:
(AG): “I mean, nazar is just like, a thing that’s always present in my life I guess? I’m not too worried about getting affected by nazar since I know how to cleanse it, but then again, I think I’m pretty aware of peoples auras and try to only hang around with people who give off good vibes :)”

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I know that a lot of cultures share this belief in an “evil eye,” which is pretty heavily based in the belief that people’s negative energy can affect you badly in the same way that their positive energy can benefit you. I think this belief can also be applied to the need for explaining the unknown, such as why people must endure hardships, illness, and loss. Nazar is a possible explanation for these negative things, and by purifying oneself from the evil eye, they could purify themselves from everything that’s holding them back as well.

Mooncake Lady: Chang’e

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Cantonese

CONTEXT:
The interlocutor (ZG) is a high school friend of the interviewer. She and her twin sister grew up in a Chinese-American household in Los Angeles.

DESCRIPTION: (told over call)
(ZG): “I don’t know if this is what you want but there’s this mooncake woman story my mom used to tell me and my sister of her and her husband! Did she tell you this already?…Mm, okay. 

So basically, there’s this Chinese moon goddess named Chang’e, right? And she’s supposed to be really pretty, with like, long black hair, y’know? Anyway, my mom told us about how Chang’e was this woman who was kinda in love with this human guy named Houyi. Houyi’s, like, an archer, by the way, and he’s supposed to be, like, the best archer. So basically it’s about this husband and wife? And the husband, Houyi, did something courageous and legendary and was given a potion of immortality for it, I guess? And then he gave it to his wife, Chang’e, to hang on to it while he went out to go hunting or fight somewhere, and she was alone in the house. But then this OTHER guy came to steal the potion from her. I think his name was like… Fengmeng? But I could be wrong. So like, instead of giving it to him, she drank it, which caused her to become immortal. And then because she was now immortal, she floated up to the moon and became the moon goddess.

So now there’s a Chinese celebration or festival that kind of honors her, I think? And mooncakes are also kind of in her honor too! The salted duck yolk, yum, being like a little yellow moon of course!”

INFORMANT’S OPINION:
(ZG): “My mom grew up in Hong Kong, which is where she learned this story from her parents and from celebrating the Moon Festival. She moved to the U.S. when she was, like, 10 or something, I don’t really know. I don’t really remember when she first told this story to [my sister] and I… we’ve kinda just known it forever, I guess.”

FINAL THOUGHTS:
As someone who grew up in two cultures with heavy folkloric traditions, I got the gist of what it’s like celebrating a tradition or a festival based off a myth. It’s really interesting to hear the different ways folklore can weave itself into a culture and pass itself down from generation to generation, withstanding elements such as migration to a different country or community as well as the test of time.

 

Manananggal

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 45
Occupation: Government Employee
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: March 2021
Primary Language: Tagalog
Language: English, Ilonggo

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND:
The interlocutor (JP) is the mother of the interviewer (INT). She and her family grew up in Bacolod, Philippines, and lived there up until she moved to Los Angeles in her twenties.

DESCRIPTION: (told in person)
(JP): “The manananggal is this mythical creature that separates from their lower body. She usually has fangs and wings, like um… a vampire witch, and she likes to hunt for her victims at night.

Most of her victims are pregnant people since she can such the blood or heart out of the fetuses, or, um…. or even the mother, but she also will attack newlyweds and abandoned grooms. A lot of people who fear the manananggal will put out salt, holy water, or garlic to keep her away from their home. She also doesn’t like the sun, I think.

Some people say that since the manananggal leaves her severed legs just standing in the middle of the forest… if you see the legs, you should sprinkle salt or ashes or even put garlic where the body is supposed to meet. And they say that…if you do that, you will kill her.”

FINAL THOUGHTS/OBSERVATIONS:
There’s a lot of similarities between the manananggal and other monsters and legendary figures we’ve studied, such as the Balkan vampire. While there may not be a distinct cultural connection, it’s definitely interesting how different cultures can come up with similar mythical creatures that are meant to scare people. It definitely reflects the cultural fears people have. In this case, based on the fact that the manananggal is represented as a woman with the ability to suck blood or eat fetus hearts, I believe the manananggal could possibly reflect a fear of miscarriages or other issues regarding childbirth, as well as divorce or young relationships being ruined.

Dalgona Coffee

Nationality: Filipino American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pennsylvania
Performance Date: April 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND:
The interlocutor (EF) was living at home with her parents for the first part of COVID lockdowns. During the first few months, she took part in a popular TikTok trend of making “Dalgona Coffee,” a drink that originates from South Korea.

DESCRIPTION: (told over the phone)
(EF): “Okay, so at the start of quarantine, there was this TikTok trend, yeah? It was like… the dalgona coffee challenge, where basically, you would try and make this coffee. And everyone was doing it! It was like this huge thing on TikTok where everyone was making little aesthetic videos of them making whipped coffee and so I had to do it. So I made it once and I swear I made it again and again during quarantine until I realized, why the fuck am I spending so much time whipping coffee? So then I stopped.

Anyway, it’s two tablespoons of instant coffee, two tablespoons of like, granulated sugar, and two tablespoons of hot water. You, like, mix it together with a whisk and you mix, mix, mix until it turns into, like, a nice light brown and it’s like fluffy, like whipped cream. Then you spoon that stuff on top of a glass of cold milk and drink!

It’s kinda like a latte, I guess? I don’t know. It’s a lot of work, whipping the coffee.”

FINAL THOUGHTS/OBSERVATIONS:
Around this time last year, I distinctly remember calling EF, along with other friends, over FaceTime or Zoom and seeing her drink this beverage. I also recall seeing this trend all over my own TikTok feed as well. It’s fascinating when you take a step back and consider how this South Korean coffee trend kind of blew up thanks to the widespread and global reach of the internet. I feel like Dalgona coffee is something so simple and easy to make, which only contributed to its popularity and mass consumption by people online. I think people also wanted to regains some semblance of socializing in a coffee shop setting, and by making Dalgona coffee, it was like recreating that kind of pre-COVID social environment.

Horchata

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 56
Occupation: Construction Field Manager
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: March 2021
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND:
The interlocutor (MP) grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico before immigrating to the US in his early twenties. I collected this recipe from him as he was making it.

DESCRIPTION: (told in person)
(MP): “You have to put a cup of white rice with some cinnamon sticks. I put two in there. You gotta let that sit overnight. When it’s time to make it, you put half in a blender and puree until it smoothens and becomes pasty.

Pour into a pitcher, but you gotta use a fine strainer to take out the liquid part and then repeat for the rest of the mix.

So you do this next part in the same pitcher as the mixture. Put in a can of evaporated milk and a can of condensed milk for the base and add a little bit of sugar for sweetness. I also use vanilla. Then you put in some water. Like 4 cups.

I like to put chunks of melon, pecans, and grapes in it too. very delicious.”

FINAL THOUGHTS/OBSERVATIONS:
Horchata is a very popular and refreshing Mexican drink! I’ve been drinking this since I was a kid, and in my opinion, it’s best to drink it paired with something spicy. I appreciate this recipe a lot since MP learned this from his grandmother and makes it on occasion for the family. Yum!