Tag Archives: christian

Ellen White holds up a Bible

Nationality: American
Age: 55
Occupation: Marriage and Family Therapist
Residence: Forest Falls, CA
Language: English

Text: “Okay, so I think I was told this story by my parents when I was a kid, maybe they told it in Sabbath school. There was this story of Ellen White when she was a teenager, and she held up her family Bible for 30 minutes while she was having a vision — I originally thought it was one or two hours, but it was just thirty minutes, I guess. And Bibles were much more substantial back then, you know. And she also quoted verses from it without looking. So it was held up to be some kind of supernatural act. I don’t know if I believe it or not, I don’t think it really matters — I think a lot of figures get sensationalized in religious traditions after they die.”

Context: Informant JB was raised in Montana in a Seventh-day Adventist household, a religious identity which she still identifies with today. Ellen White was an American author and co-founder of Seventh-day Adventism, and she lived from 1826 to 1915. Ellen White is known in the Adventist church as a “modern-day prophet,” and much of Adventist tradition and theology is based on the visions and messages that she allegedly received from God and published as books. She is also known for her health challenges, including chronic pain, weakness, and mental health struggles.

Analysis: In the Adventist church legends such as the one described above are popularly circulated throughout Adventist church communities, despite doubts as to their validity. Other written accounts specify that White picked up the eighteen-pound Bible while “in vision” and held it open with her left hand, arm raised at a right angle from her body. These stories serve to reinforce the authority of White’s writings in the church community by presenting her as a historical figure with supernatural powers. This story in particular also reflects the strong Protestant belief in having a personal relationship with God and reading the Bible for oneself — ‘if this young and frail teenage girl can literally uplift the Bible and receive a message from God, so should we!’ More broadly, the story also points to a cultural emphasis on print as a ‘sacred’ and essential medium of communication in the U.S.

Easter Tradition

“A tradition I have is every year for Easter my whole extended family goes to Cabo. Since Easter is on a Sunday and most of us have school the next day, we celebrate Easter on Saturday because we have to leave on Sunday. During the day we hangout and paint and decorate eggs which will be turned into deviled eggs in a couple hours. Then, we get ready for our easter egg hunt which only involves the grandkids. There are eggs sitting on the grass on the floor, however those eggs are only for the very very young kids. Each of us has a basket we need to find and as well as candy eggs and baskets there are golden eggs that contain different amounts of money. Since we are getting older, it is starting to get competitive because we all want the money. My grandpa always gives us some hints and sometimes our parents do too. After the hunt, we all open our baskets then get into teams and play croquet. After croquet, we all have a nice dinner together at the house.”

The informant does this every year on Easter weekend in Cabo, Mexico. Her whole family is involved, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Her grandpa helps hide the eggs and gives them hints when necessary. Her parents get all of her siblings small baskets, the other parents give their kids baskets as well, which are full of small gifts like bracelets and chocolate. She believes Easter egg hunting has always been a thing for Easter, and her family has been doing this for as long as she can remember.

The tradition is part of the widely held celebration of Easter, the Christian day on which Jesus Christ was said to have risen from the dead after his crusifiction. On this day, it is common for children to hunt for Easter eggs, which are colorful plastic eggs full of candy. This holiday is often spent with family and friends and is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full Moon that occurs on or after the Spring Equinox. Although the holiday is now a large part of the holiday economy and is very consumerist, it started as a celebration of the coming of Spring before it was Christanized. It is celebrated around the world as an important Christian holiday.

Baptisms for the Dead and Spirits – ghost story

Nationality: White
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: California
Performance Date: 04/06/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but ok so in my religion we have a practice called Baptisms for the dead. It’s not about like forcing anyone to join the religion, but it’s about giving people who have passed the opportunity to be saved if they accept it [the baptism]. So, I did one for my grandparents, and they were like very present. I don’t know how else to describe it. My grandma had the sweetest spirit when she was alive, and while performing the baptism, just this sweet presence come over me, I can’t really describe what it felt like, but I knew it was her.”

Context:

T is from Joshua Tree, California. She told me this story while we were in our dorm room together. She is Christian, along with the rest of her family. Baptisms for the Dead is a common practice at her church. This practice she learned from her church, but she experienced feeling the presence of her relatives herself.

Analysis:

This is an example of a personal narrative, specifically a ghost story. She does not use the word ghost, but instead utilizes the word spirit. This phrasing shows how this story is held close to her. Often when we are talking about ghosts, it is in a much less personal context and is discussed with less reverence. When we use the word spirit, it is often in relation to a family member or an important figure, however both are essentially referring to the same thing: some sort of apparition of someone who has died. This connotation can help distinguish how truthful and unbiased a personal narrative is. Every event a person experiences is influenced by their emotions and beliefs, especially one as personal as seeing/feeling family members who have passed. Personal narratives are an important part of folklore, because they often blend many aspects of a cultural group into the narrative. For example, if there is not an already strong held belief in spirits or the soul within the cultural group, then it is less likely someone will experience seeing a spirit.

“If the good Lord say’ the same”

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Houston, Texas
Performance Date: 02/21/2023
Primary Language: English

1. Text (dite)

“If the good lord say’ the same”

2. Context

My informant grew up in the south hearing this phrase and picked it up along the way. When asked “are you going to the game?” his father replied, “I’ll be there if the good lord say’ the same.” He explained how this means “if I’m still alive and well” and am not yet with the Lord, then the answer is yes. Another way of simply saying yes, so long as I’m still alive. He chuckled when enlightening me about this piece as it is often said in a joking manner. As he, grew up in a Baptist Christian household, this saying is representative of the belief in God and that our life and death are both up to the Lord’s will. He explained how his familial beliefs growing up centered around Christianity and how ultimately things in our lives are out of our control and in God’s hands.

3. Analysis/YOUR interpretation

When I first heard this saying, I wasn’t sure what it was referring to. After the context behind the saying, it made a lot more sense as there is a strong relation between the people in those communities carrying and passing this piece of folklore on and their shared religious nature. Growing up in the south myself, it’s no surprise that old sayings emerge out of a shared religious belief. The majority of people that I know from the south as well, all share a religious belief of some kind. This saying, however, puts a (dark) humorous spin on a conversation insinuating that you may or may not die before you see that person again, and that regardless, it is out of your control. So if  “the good Lord” says so, meaning if the good Lord hasn’t taken you (i.e. you’re still alive), then all is well. This seems to stem a lot from Christian beliefs popular in the south and the idea that God is an overarching being that may or may not decide life, death, the afterlife, etc. The way that this phrase is stated also gives an inclination toward southern slang and a slight accent that many southern colloquialisms have. According to Von Sydow, these dites are often sayings for personal narratives that typically involve a supernatural being of some sort. In this case, that being is God and the dite gives a narrative to answer the question that could’ve otherwise been answered with a simple “yes”.

Eritrean Wedding Day 2: Melsi

Background provided by DG: DG was born and raised in Redlands, California. Both of their parents were born in west Africa, but more specifically Eritrea. Eritrea is located on the Horn of Africa and adjacent to the Red Sea. They belong to a specific tribe of Eritrea, called Blen (spelled Blien). DG also identifies as being part of the Habesha ethnic group, which describes Roman Orthodox Christians in West Africa. After the war broke out, both of their parents migrated to America.

Context: DG was approached about folklore, which they shared in the middle of the day. They were very enthusiastic about sharing parts of their culture because not many people are aware of Eritrean tradition and culture. They explain some general details about Eritrean weddings, which span for a minimum of three days. The first day is known as the Day of Blessings.

Main Piece Transcription of interview (contains the context of particular performance and additional background information):
DG: “The second day is … like the actual thing … they go to church. Umm .. cause we’re all Christian (laughs). And then, at the end of mass, they were like a crown … and like … a cape … like bridal cape … and they walk out of church wearing this. It’s like … more religious thing. They wear that thing and … take photos. This is like … the most American part of the wedding … like the bride is wearing like … a typical American gown.  Uhhh … when the bride … groom … walk in … they don’t have .. like a typical announcement. Like … the men … all the men enter … and the women stand in … like a procession and there’s like … a procession into the venue. Like everybody is standing outside and everybody enters … together. The men begin … then its the groomsmen … then the bridesmaids … then the bride and groom come in, together.  All the women are holding flowers as they … like  enter, so … like that procession … it … ALWAYS happens … like in American weddings I’ve seen they say “ Welcome, Mr. and Mrs.”, but … they never do that. It’s … like somebody always has like a … drum … it’s like a big drum and it goes like (rhythmically taps the desk to make a baaa-dumm baaa-dumm noise), then they sing … like … uhhh “Marshala, Marshala” (in sing-song voice). They always sing that song … it kinda means … like … umm welcome … or something. They sing and they dance, then they sit.  Then the bride and groom eat, and everybody eat.  And then everybody dances to Tigrinya music, the WHOLE time. And then … also … typically… they don’t do this so much anymore, but in a lot of weddings it’s called a gorshaw (spelled gorsha) … in a VERY traditional wedding they do gorshaw, where like … the bride and groom eat … the maid of honor … and the like … ummm … best man, they feed the bride and groom. They don’t touch their food, and that’s like called gorshaw … like …when someone else feeds you … is called gorshaw … cause its like a hand food … so like … they feed them. It doesn’t normally happen on the first day … cause like  … its much more traditional for the second day, cause that’s much more traditional. And then …  when there’s like … cake … in a VERY traditional … like when I see wedding videos from Eritrea … the bride and groom stand up after they eat the cake … and feed all their guests, and their guests feed them. Like that’s a very traditional thing, in the Eritrean culture, everybody is always feeding everybody. The second day it’s called a Melsi (proceeds to spell it M-E-L-S-E) … and like on that day … the majority of that day … the women are getting ready … because they have to get their hair … like braided … in traditional braids. And they also get … like henna. Like traditionally, you’re not supposed to get henna until … you’re like married … so he bride gets it all over their hands and feet … but like … the most someone who is not getting married can get is like a little dot right here (uses index finger to point to the center of their palm) … but like … yeah. They get their hair braided, henna, and like everyone wears sooyahs, which are like … cultural dresses. And that’s like the bridesmaids … and the groomsmen. You can also … I went to a wedding … where we were … like chiffon … it was my cousin’s wedding … and we wore like … chiffon. That’s like … much more fancy than … like a Sooyah. It’s kinda … like another party … with the same procession, but like … the bridesmaids at a certain point … do like a boon ceremony (spelled bun), which … is … like … coffee … and like the bridesmaids .. we  do … like a … dance … we’re supposed to do like a dance around the bride. We … uhh … carry  … like all the materials to make coffee. Everybody … like … dances around the table … and the … like older women make coffee, for like … the bridesmaids and the bride, not for the men. ONLY for the women. It’s like very traditional. Then … yeah … they’re married … and people party … Also people drink a lot of … uh soowah (spelled siwa),  Habesha alcohol.  Typically, someone … like … in the family makes it, before time. And they put it in bottles, and the bottles have … like stickers that have … have photos of the bride and groom. Then we eat ingerat (spelled injera), that’s like a traditional Eritrean dish.”

Analysis: Weddings are often big events. DG explains many of the intricacies involved with Eritrean weddings. The second day, Melsi seems to be the focal point of Eritrean traditions. The subtle variations of the traditions DG mentioned demonstrates the dynamic nature of culture as it relates to nuptial ceremonies. It seems like Eritrean weddings are occasions that involve the whole community in an extremely intimate event. The wedding also emphasizes the various stages of maturation, especially with the Bun and henna.