Pierino and his grandma

Nationality: Italian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Bologna, Italy
Performance Date: 04/26/2021
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English

Main piece:

“Un giorno Pierino esce con la nonna e Pierino raccoglie una moneta per terra e la nonna gli dice: “Pierino non si raccolgono le cose per terra”. Allora Pierino la rimette dove stava. Ad un certo punto la nonna cade e dice a Pierino: “tirami su” e Pierino dice: “non posso nonna hai detto che non si raccolgono le cose per terra”.

Transliteration and Translation: 
One day Pierino goes out with his grandmother and picks up from the ground a coin, and his grandmother tells him: “Pierino, you must not pick up things from the ground”. Therefore, Pierino puts it back. At a certain point, the grandmother falls and tells to Pierino “lift me up” and Pierino answers:”I can’t grandma, you told me that I must not pick up things from the ground”

Background:

L.L.: I used to tell this to my grandmother all the time. At elementary school, everyday a different classmate of mine would come up to the others and tell “guys I absolutely have to tell you this new joke I have learnt, so that we then can tell it to our parents”. Often, these jokes had things like curse words within them…and, I don’t know, it was a form of rebellion, like something a bit transgressive so to obtain a shocked reaction from adults.

Context:

My informant told this joke this over a dinner, in which other friends were present, and, after the performance of the piece, they all started to talk about their infants memories related to this kind of humor.

Thoughts:

As many other categories, jokes as well are a big part of children’s folklore as they often represent -as my informant highlighted- a tool through which shocking or simply outsmarting parents and adults. Jokes are, indeed, ‘by definition’ a practice commonly used to sign a rite of passage, and, in the case of kids, they were and still are a means to approach adulthood and the liminal ages of growth. This joke, if read or heard by an adult, won’t probably be as funny as a child perceives it, and this is attributable to the fact that what makes it especially hilarious to the youngest is the sense of rebellion, audacity and ‘adulthood’ they gain from it.

Many are the childish jokes which portray this Pierino as main protagonist, and this shows another indicative aspect, which is the one of recognition in a specific figure by multiple members of a peer group. Pierino is, in fact, a nickname for Piero, which is one of the most common Italian names of all, and this makes of him a sort of spokesman for every Italian children going though his age. 

Ambarabà ciccì coccò

Nationality: Italian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Bologna, Italy
Performance Date: 04/26/2021
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English

Main piece:

«Ambarabà ciccì coccò
tre civette sul comò
che facevano l’amore
con la figlia del dottore;
il dottore si ammalò 
ambarabà ciccì coccò!»

Transliteration: 
Ambarabà ciccì coccò, three owls on the dresser, which made love with the doctor’s daughter; the doctor got sick, ambarabà ciccì coccò.

[there is not a proper translation as also in Italian it does’t have a metaphorical or deeper sense, as the main purpose is the one for the words to rhyme one with the other and sort of articulate and give rhythm to the count children should do with it]

Background:

My informant is a 19 year old girl who was born in Crotone, Calabria(Southern Italy), but who spent most of her lifetime in Bologna (Italy). She claimed this piece to be an “integral part” of her up-bringing and childhood, and while recounting this to me, she naturally started to intone this rhyme, while pointing the fingers to me and the other people present. In fact, this nursery rhyme is usually performed with hand-gestures, in which fingers point people in a group so to ‘do the count’. 

Context: (the context of the performance)

My informant performed this over a dinner, in which other friends were present, and they all started to participate in the ‘practice’.

Thoughts:

This nursery rhyme is extremely interesting from multiple perspective. 

First of all, it is something which, despite being directly associated to infantry and childhood, is used by adults as well, especially in the context of folk-speech. For example, if you do not know what to choose between two options, people will say to you “do Ambarabà ciccì coccò” which basically mans ‘do the count’ —something similar to what in English would be toss a coin. 

Another curious aspect of it, it’s its evolution throughout time. I have, indeed, recently discovered that, in the original version, the verse “tre civette sul comò che facevano l’amore con la figlia del dottore” actually was “tre civette sul comò che facevano timore alla figlia del dottore”, which translated would be “three owls on the dresser which intimidated the doctor’s daughter”. This gives a complete new value to the song, as it shows how some means of expressions and communication young children have -like folk-songs or rhymes- are used by them in the attempt of approaching the adult’s world. Int his case, the fact that the three owls, from frightening the girl, make love with her, (beside the strange and quite perverse connotation) transform and include a grown-up thematic into a playful song. In this way, children not only indirectly get closer to a new and mature topic, but they can also be directly advised against certain behaviors. Particularly, little girls are advised not to act like the doctor’s daughter did, who, by making love with the three birds, made his father become ill. 

Childhood Riddles

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Residence: Oxford, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/23/2021
Primary Language: English

Main Text: 

Childhood Riddles 

Background on Informant: 

My informant is a current student who has shared with me his experiences of childhood folklore and traditions that he grew up with. In a series of interviews he has shared with me his knowledge. 

Context: 

He explained: 

“Riddles are such a huge part of my childhood. We were exposed to them everywhere, I remember my school used to do a weekly contest where they would have us compete to solve a riddle and whoever got it first would win a prize. So you can say I might be a bit of an expert on them. 

Some I remember are:

Riddle: If two’s company, and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?

Answer: Nine!

Riddle: What begins with T, finishes with T, and has T in it?

Answer: A teapot.

I don’t know if this counts but 

Why are ghosts bad at lying?

Answer: Because you can see right through them.

Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old, what am I?

Solution: A candle.

I could go on for hours but riddles are always good fun, I remember the popsicles used to have them on the stick and the Laffy Taffy candies. See we’ve been exposed to riddles in almost every aspect of our childhood.”

Analysis/Thoughts: 

Riddles are truly a giant part of growing up. From being exposed through family or school, riddles have played a major part in childhood. They are an integral part of children’s folklore and have continued to remain a major part of our childhood past. It was interesting to see the one’s he remembered because I could recall so many as well. Riddles have always been important, especially as society’s means of evaluating cleverness and intelligence, but for me I’ve always viewed it as good fun. These connections to our childhood past are important in order for this folklore to remain alive and continue to thrive for the next riddle experts to experience. 

Szekely and Hungarian Proverbs

Nationality: Romanian, Hungarian
Age: 47
Residence: Oxford, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: Hungarian
Language: English; French; Romanian

Main Text: 

Szekely & Hungarian Proverbs

Background on Informant: 

My informant is originally from Romania, specifically the Transylvania region that is intermixed with Romanian and Hungarian roots. They came to the United States at 24 and have been here since. They are very knowledgable with the cultural context of Romania and Hungary, having grown up in Szekely tradition (a subgroup of Hungarian people living in Romania). They have graciously shared with me parts of their folklore and heritage. 

Context: 

They explain:

“You know a lot of these phrases stem from long traditions of proverbs and jokes, and I can remember as far back as my great-grandparents using these, but obviously many have evolved since then. 

A few I remember are: 

Sok lúd disznót győz. 

A rough translation would be like ‘A lot of geese can fight a pig’. It means that if someone is fighting against another person, if a lot of weaker people team up together they can take down the strongest opponent — hence a pack of geese against a pig is stronger than a single goose standing against a pig. 

My grandfather would tell me this a lot, he always had a fighting spirit. I guess in an American version it would like— united we stand something along those lines. 

Another one is

Itt van a kutya elásva

It kind of means ‘this is where the dog is buried’. We have this superstitious belief in our culture where if someone trips, it means that where they tripped is where a dog under the spell of the devil is buried. They also say that it might also have precious gems buried along with it. 

My mother would use it in a sort of more modern sense, to represent telling the truth, especially when we were younger to warn us about lying. 

Elszaladt vele a ló. 

This means ‘the horse ran away with him,’ it kind of means when people get carried away, it can be in pride or success — anything getting too much into someone’s head. The symbolism is that a good rider can control his/her horse but if they lose control they get the consequences.”

Analysis/Thoughts:

Listening and learning about these phrases allowed me to get some insight into Szekely ‘wisdom’ and expressions. I had never heard of these but even with the context they are very reminiscent of expressions I have heard in my own life. A lot of the phrases are attributed in a cultural context to the typical historical past of Hungary/Romania as a lot of them are associated with farm animals like horses and pigs that are very typical of the ancestral past and even in today’s traditions. 

I like how they all offer different insight into situations and how they evolved over time. I also like how they have been phrases that the person has experienced first hand themselves on several occasions and it was enjoyable to learn about. Overall, it was interesting to observe the cultural context of these proverbs and sayings and connecting them to the ones that I grew up listening to and observing how each culture has the same wisdom just said and established differently. 

Annotations: 

For more examples visit: 

https://dailynewshungary.com/famous-hungarian-quotes-vol-1/

Family Christmas Traditions

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Residence: Trumbull, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/20/2021
Primary Language: English

Main Text: 

Family Christmas Traditions 

Background on Informant: 

Currently a student, she grew up in an American household with heritage links to her Polish and Irish backgrounds. She has shared with me her many traditions and the folklore she has been exposed to through her experiences. 

Context: 

She explains:

“For Christmas every year, we have a small tradition. 

So on Christmas Eve, pre-COVID, we used to have the entire family gather, extended and all.

So we gather the presents together and they get handed out from oldest to youngest. We don’t open them but they sort of get complied into piles per person, which we’d open in the morning. I’m the youngest in my family and I’m 18 so we don’t do the Santa thing anymore unfortunately, so we know who got who what. 

Then we sit down for dinner and say grace. Grace? Grace died five years ago. We pray basically. Dinner is traditional Christmas food, maybe just for us, I’m not sure? But we eat roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and vegetables, with small desserts after (it usually varies).

The funny thing is that we still leave out cookies for Santa, it’s a bit outdated for us but I think it’s cute, although my dad usually ends up eating them in the middle of the night. 

I think it’s a very American Christmas for us but I love it and don’t see much changing in terms of our customs any time soon. Although making Santa cookies will continue to crack me up.” 

Analysis/Thoughts: 

I love learning about people’s Christmas traditions and the importance of familial customs that always stand out. I grew up in an Eastern European household so our Christmas was accustomed to those traditions, so I always find it fascinating to learn about the ’American’ way of celebrating Christmas. 

I like how old-fashioned it is, with the traditional Christmas food customs and saying grace before dinner. I know the person I interviewed is not religious but they still adhere in order to continue the traditions. Christmas is so universal and because so many people celebrate it, it is always so interesting to see the variety and various ways it is enjoyed. Overall, I loved learning more about her traditions and always love finding out how Christmas customs are such an essential part of cultural identity.