Wisconsin’s Devil’s Lake

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Wisconsin
Performance Date: 3/13/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context & Background: 

RK has lived in southeast Wisconsin for 10 years and has visited the famous Devil’s Lake a couple of times. She tells the legend of the Baraboo monster that lives in Devil’s Lake

Performance: (via phone call)

My mom who is from Northern Wisconsin, has told me stories of Devils’s Lake. Even in the northern part of the state, this lake is famous and obviously all this legends and stuff is bullcrap, but it’s interesting to listen to the stories. So yea, my mom told me that even before the European settlers to Wisconsin, the native american people would beware of the lake and called it something in their original language that meant ‘bad spirit’. I mean now it’s called Devil’s lake, so I think they might have gotten it from them. They say that there is a monster who lives in the lake called Baraboo and it’s like the loch-ness monster, kind of. But yea, that’s basically the story and its not scary or anything, but it’s still cool to have something creepy in our neck of the woods. 

Analysis:

I lived in the same town as RK for 7 years and didn’t know the exact story of the lake. But it seems like a lot of Wisconsin history and culture is influenced by the Native American population that lived here. Unfortunately, there isn’t much Native American activity in that region in the current time period, but it’s very interesting to see how beliefs get transferred between cultures over large periods of time. 

For another source, see: Mallach, Lynn, and Lynn Mallach. “Legend and Folklore of the Devil’s Lake Monster.” Apex Adventure Alliance, 15 Apr. 2019, apexadventurealliance.com/legend-and-folklore-of-the-devils-lake-monster/. 

Indian proverb about fate

Nationality: Indian
Age: 70
Residence: India
Performance Date: 3/23/2021
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)

Context & Background:

Indian proverbs relating to death and fate. Translated from Hindi to English. Informant: an old lady from Rajasthan who is my late grandfather’s family friend.

Performance: (via phone call)

Proverb: “Jakho Rake Saiya, Maar Sake Na Koi”

Transliteration:

Jakho: Whoever

Rake: Keep

Saiya: God

Maar: Kill

Sake: able to 

Na: not

Koi: anyone

Translation: Whoever god wants to save, no one can kill them.   

Explanation: This proverb says to have faith in God or fate, and if you have that no one can kill you.       

Analysis:  

This sounds a lot like a religious proverb, but I don’t think it relates to Hinduism as much as Indian culture. India is a mix of many religions, including a lot of Muslims and Sikhs. The proverb doesn’t state any particular God, just one that you believe in. India is a very faithful country and most people have some sort of relation to a higher power. The proverb is used to reduce worry and have trust, like all faith related sayings. This proverb, unfortunately, is very prominent today in India because of the Covid-19 Pandemic and India is suffering from many deaths in its second wave. As we have family members in India, we use this proverb to keep us hopeful and trust in the higher power. This proverb is also used when to explain miracles that save people’s lives and tragedies that take people’s lives. 

Nail Clippings & Superstition

Nationality: Indian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Spain
Performance Date: 4/13/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi, Bengali

Context & Background:

Informant: Friend from south India. In India, there is a major difference in cultures of the south and north. The languages are completely different and so are the customs. It is considered that the two parts of the country can act like two different countries. Here a friend talks about south Indian tradition about fingernails and their etiquette. 

Performance: (via phone call)

I was thinking about what you told me and I’ve noticed that we have some weird superstitions about nails. Like nails on your fingers and toes. For one, we don’t cut our nails on Thursday because it’s bad luck. And also, you can’t drop your nail clippings on the ground cause that’s bad luck too. Even if your nail accidentally breaks, you can’t be lazy and drop it on the ground – you have to go and properly dispose of it in the bathroom or trash. 

Analysis:

I’ve never heard of superstition about nails and don’t know that much about south Indian culture, but when I asked the friend about why that is, they had no idea. Sometimes there are superstitions that make no sense whatsoever and this might be one of them. I can’t help but think that in western culture, when witches make their potions, nails are included in their recipes. It might be because they are a waste item and aren’t useful, hence they are associated with bad luck and witches. 

Tennis Serves

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Wisconsin
Performance Date: 3/13/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context & Background:

Informant: High school friend and tennis partner. Collected via telephone. This conversation highlights one of the common beliefs in the game of tennis. As high school tennis players, this belief wasn’t taught like the rules of the game, but rather picked up on by practice and seeing senior players play. RK – informant, SD – collector

Performance: (via phone call)

RK: One thing I remember from tennis is the time I took too long to serve the ball. I couldn’t get the toss right for the serve, so I tried like five or more times to toss the ball. Take in mind that I was a beginner, an absolute freshman, so I didn’t know the unspoken rules. But yea, basically, you’re not supposed to take more than 2 or 3 tosses to serve. I found out when some guy who was watching yelled at me, “you don’t have all day!” (laughs)

SD: Oh my god, I’ve had the same thing happen to me, and you’re right, you aren’t really aware of this until you actually start playing. 

RK: To be fair, I still do that to mess with people sometimes. Just kidding! (laughs again). 

Analysis:

When I first started playing tennis, I felt exactly like RK. I too didn’t know about the toss limit for serving, although it is very common knowledge in the sport. There are unspoken rules in many games and it is a type of folklore to know them, spread it to younger players, and keep the knowledge going. Another unspoken rule might be that, at least in girls tennis in the high school level, before the conference or match, the team captain would pat on the butt for good luck and a sort of ‘you got this’ moment. Sports folklore is there, it’s just hard to know if you aren’t part of the sports community, just like all other folklore. 

Indian Child Birth Clothing Belief

Nationality: Indian
Age: 70
Residence: India
Performance Date: 3/23/2021
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)

Context & Background: 

Indian culture relies heavily on folklore. With so many diverse subcultures within the large country, many examples of folklore can be found getting passed on and creating new oikotypes. The informant, an old lady from Rajasthan (North India) and my late grandfather’s family friend, tells me about childbirth and one of the beliefs. This information got passed down to her from her grandmother. This text is translated from Hindi to English

Performance: (via phone call)

In India, whenever a child is born, for the first few weeks, we make the child wear old, used clothes that have been on the body of other children. We never clothe them in new clothes. The reason for this is because we believe that wearing older clothes gives the child good health, passing on the luck of the previous surviving baby. After the first few weeks, we can go and clothe them however we want, this tradition only goes on for the first few weeks. 

Analysis:

I didn’t really know about this tradition, so I asked my parents if this ever happened to me. They told me that yes, I was given the clothes of my cousin, and my little brother took my clothes. I believe that this tradition and belief exist because child mortality rates were very high in the past. People had a lot of children, there were not any sophisticated medical options for many families, and I know that home births were common with the help of a midwife. The passing on of luck was needed to give hope to the mothers and families, and hence this tradition was probably born.