Tag Archives: colonization

Summoning a Plymouth Colonist Ghost through Song (Legend, Memorate)

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Collector: “Do you have any experiences with ghosts in your childhood?”

Informant: “Yeah, I was probably about 10 or 12 years old. I was in a town called Duxbury Massachusetts, which is right outside of Plymouth. In Duxbury, there is a little memorial park [for] one of the founding colonists on the Mayflower named Myles Standish he was a military general of Plymouth Colony. The cellar hole where his house used to stand, you can kinda walk down this cliff face to this beach. I was kickin’ it there with my buddies, swimming [in the water] and such, and the sun started to set. A friend of mine started telling this freaky ghost story he had heard on the internet. It was like a song that was starting to haunt people. He got the the end of the story and then started playing the song. The sun sets, it’s dusk, we look up at the cliff face and there’s this like dark pilgrim-looking figure standing up there and we started freaking out. We all saw it. It looked like someone was standing at the top of the cliff. So we [run] up the stairs and get to our bikes, we start peddling down the streets. That’s my ghost story.”

Context

The Informant is a 21-year-old male college student who grew up in Boston Massachusetts. As a child, he would visit Plymouth to see family and frequently heard legends about the land, its bloody history, and spirits who came back to haunt it. The informant’s friends summoned a colonist spirit by playing a song. 

Analysis

The Informant’s story is an example of a memorate because this spiritual encounter was a first-hand experience. The Friend’s “freaky ghost story” about a song was a legend that the group then decided to test. What intrigued me about the story was where the test took place. There was a memorial site on the land for a brutal colonist military general, Myles Standish. The English general was infamous for the ruthless slaughter of Neponset Band Natives in The Massacre at Wessagusset. Standish lured Natives into a small building where he stabbed and hung them. The general even (my Informant shared this with me during a different conversation) stuck a well-respected Neponset Band Warrior’s head on a pike to scare the Natives. The dead bodies did not get a proper “send-off” into the afterlife. According to our class lecture, some cultures believe that the absence of a ritual or funeral ceremony for the dead means spirits cannot transition into the afterlife. Instead, the spirits are condemned to haunting the land where they died. Plymouth is not only haunted by spirits but by its history. The story of Myles Standish delegitimizes the land and calls into question rightful ownership. This supports Professor Thompson’s commentary on why Americans do not encourage or embrace the practice of folklore. 

Zozobra: The Original Burning Man

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Santa Fe, NM
Performance Date: April 22, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the performer (KM) and I (ZM).

KM: Most of my like cultural traditions I would say actually come from like, New Mexico. And not like…(Irish traditions) So it’s an interesting mix of like Native American and like Spanish culture. So like, um…We do this… I’ll give you some of the backstory. Basically, some pueblos back in the like 1600s or whatever, rebelled from the Spaniards. And like, they were like an independent country for like two years or something. And then the Spaniards took them back over, but they were like “We’ll give you this fiesta that you can hold every year in September” to like celebrate the pueblo revolt. And so what we do is we… (laughs) This is weird. So just… give me a second. We um… have about a one hundred foot puppet that we fill with our like grievances, like something bad that happened to us in the past year. And then we put it on like…We like hang it up and it’s like a marionette so it like moves and shit and we burn it. (laughs) Yeah.

ZM: Wait so, what is the puppet of? Like what does the puppet look like? Is it a peeerson?

KM: Yeah. But it’s not like a… It’s like a…uhhh… I just have to show it to you. So we call it Zozobra, which means “burning man.” So it’s like…

ZM: Is this like the music festival?

KM: (laughs) No. It’s like… We… It’s a specifically like Santa Fe thing. So, he kinda looks like… (shows picture) So, it’s like kind of a man. But, not really. And he’s like a hundred feet tall and we burn him.

ZM: Is he supposed to be scary looking?

KM: Yes! Because it’s like old man gloom. Like all of the bad things that happened to you in the past year is like… personified in this puppet. And then we burn it to say like goodbye to all of that. Like we’re starting a new…

ZM: And this happens when?

KM: This happens usually the… Usually it’s the first Thursday of September, but it’s recently been moved because too many people were drunk, on a Thursday. So, it’s recently been moved to the last Friday of August. And we also…

ZM: So, that’s just like a week earlier.

KM: Yeah. So, its… I mean, it’s just because they wanted to do it on a Friday because all these kids would like get drunk and high on a Thursday night then like go to school the next day. So, um, now we do it on a Friday, but like it’s part of this whole week where we have like festivals and like parades and all that stuff.

ZM: Oh so the whole week is dedicated to…?

KM: Yeah! The whole week is dedicated… It’s called like… just “fiestas,” like in general and like on Saturday there’s a pep parade and then Friday is Zazobra and it’s just like… And then there’s a whole council. (laughs) Sorry. So, it’s call the Fiesta Council. And so it’s like all the original members…

ZM: Is that for the town?

KM: Yeah. It’s like, all the original um members like Don Diego de Vargas. Like all these famous people, who like first… Well, I know it’s not famous to you, but like famous in New Mexico for like, the first people ever in New Mexico to like colonize. So, it’s like Don Diego de Vargas, and like you like try out for this like… So it’s like the Princess of Fiestas and the Prince of Fiestas. And so you’re on this council and what you do is you come into the schools and we…They do a little like fiesta for us, and we can like go down in the gym and like dance with all of the like, city, like the council members.

ZM: Wait, so… Let me get this straight. Are they people that go to like represent the original members?

KM: Yes. So basically, they are like… the people, but like… So, you like try out to be these members…

ZM: So, could you try out to be…

KM: Yeah. I could.

ZM: Okay. You don’t have to actually be like…

KM: You should. Like, I mean, most people are, but…

ZM: Like Native American or?

KM: Well, or mainly Spanish. Because most of the people who came over to like colonize are the Spanish. And so, it’s mostly Spanish.

ZM: Oh! The colonizers.

KM: Yeah. (laughs) Even though we’re celebrating the pueblo revolt. It doesn’t make… But, a lot of people are Native American too. And there’s like different spots on the council for… So, it’s like the main council, and then like the Native American princesses and like… There’s like, a group of twenty. Something crazy like that. And then like, they come around and they’re like “Hi, we’re this year’s fiesta council. Like, come to Zozobra. It’ll be fun.”

ZM: So is that kinda like uhh… Like um, like a Miss New Mexico kind of thing?

KM: Yeah kind of.

ZM: But, like a cultural one.

KM: Yeah. So, it’s a big deal too. And then in every school they like would call out names and be like, “Oh the QUEEN of fiestas for Saint Michaels High School,” which is my high school…and they would just like name a person. And I always wanted to be that person in like elementary school, but then I realized you just have to be friends with like the people in the council. Cause they’re just like “Oh your daughter’s name is Sarah? Okay she’ll be the princess of Saint Michaels.” And I was like, “Bitch…I deserve it.” (laughs) Like come on…

ZM: But, what do you do as  the princess of…

KM: Oh you don’t do anything. You just wear a crown for that day… in the school.

ZM: Oh. But do you get to go to the… do you get to go to the…festival.

KM: Yeah you get to go to like a certain like VIP place for Zozobra. And it’s really interesting cause we play like a bunch of New Mexican songs and there’s like mariachi bands and like it’s really fun.

 

Context: This is from a conversation with KM originally about her Irish culture.

 

Background: KM is a sophomore studying at the University of Southern California. KM was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is of Irish descent.

 

Analysis: The most interesting thing about KM’s description of Zozobra was that even though the festival was made to celebrate the pueblo revolt against the Spanish colonizers, the colonizers are also celebrated in the form of the Fiesta Council. Again, the colonizers were put into positions of power over the others as members of the Fiesta Council nominate a Prince and Princess of Fiestas. It seems counterintuitive.

 

 

 

Abu khan Ki Bakri

Nationality: Indian
Age: 68
Occupation: Electrical Engineer
Residence: Carlisle, MA
Performance Date: 3/19/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Gujarati, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, French

Informant Bio: Informant is my father.  He was born in Mumbai, India and moved to the U.S . when he was 22.  He still remembers many of the poems and songs from his childhood.  He is fluent in over five languages and recounts a translated tale below.

 

Context: I was interviewing the informant about childhood traditions, rituals, songs sung and tales performed.

 

Item: “Abukhan was an old, lonely man living in the village of “Almoda” in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains

He would keep one or two goats at a time and spend his time walking with them around the village and farmland.

At night, he would tie the goats with a rope in his yard.

One after the other, in matter of days he would lose the goats as they would run away into the mountain and be killed by a coyote.

Finally, he got tired and decided, no more goats! I will spend the rest of my life without any goat, he thought.

A few days passed and he was very sad and lonely without the goats.

Yes, he went and bought a very pretty little goat and named her “Chandni” (meaning “moonlight”).

He thought if he gave her nice feed and grains and showered her with lots of attention, this one won’t run away.

But sometimes he felt that the goat was getting bored. Time to make her life more interesting.

He thought and thought and then decided to move her from his small yard to his much larger fenced-in farm. There he would tie her with a long rope. She had much larger area to run around in and it was safe.

Chandni seemed happy with this greater freedom seemed to have bonded with the old man

They bonded so well that they could as if talk and understand each other like human beings. Abukhan was really happy that this goat was a keeper and would never run away.

More time passed and Abukhan slowly realized that Chandani was showing fresh signs of boredom.

Secretly she was longing to go up the mountain. He knew this because he had seen her gazing in that direction for hours. She was definitely more restless.

And then she started eating less and less. She wasn’t happy to be confined in that farm – as big as it was, it was no longer big enough for her…

She was all grown up and wanted to explore the world – that mountain -seemed as if it was beckoning her

All of a sudden the rope around her neck felt like a noose. She’d gaze at the top of the mountain and think the air there must be so fresh, the scenery from there… the greenery around there…  the smell of freedom and here I am confined in this small, pitiful little farm… Yes, Abukhan is nice to me but mountain is calling and I have heard the call now…

She kept looking at the mountain all the time. She was smitten. Nothing else would make her happy.

This went on for a while. Abu was very unhappy. Chandni was very unhappy.

Abu talked to Chandni everyday telling her that it is not a good idea to go to the mountain. There are dangers and a certain death. What more can I do to make you happy? Longer rope? Better feed?

Nothing seemed to work. Finally, Abu told her, if you go to the mountain, coyote will surely kill you. How are you going to fight him?

Chandni showed her horns and said these… these will fight the coyote…they have grown in the past few years and I am strong…

Abu said your horns are no match for the coyote. I just can’t let you do this.

Abu said to himself, this is it. Chandni must not be kept here in this field. It is time she is put in the cabin on the farm with the door locked.

That afternoon Chandni was taken to the cabin and the door was shut and locked.

Little did he realize that the back window of the cabin was wide open. Well, that was the opportunity Chandni was waiting for.

Night fell and Chandni escaped running straight to the mountain.

She reached there and the smell of freedom… Her beloved mountain… she was finally there… all that greenery.. So much to eat… so much to see… so much to enjoy..

She enjoyed herself beyond her wildest dreams. Ever so slowly heading towards the top of the mountain. She had enjoyed a few days of freedom.

She was re-invigorated, she felt young again and there she met a herd of other mountain goats. They welcomed her in their herd. They roamed together for a while. A male goat even showed some interest in beautiful Chandani, even she felt the attraction. But she didn’t want to jeopardize her freedom being tied to a life in a herd with other goats.

She was a true free spirit. There was no time for emotional attachment. She had to go her own way wherever her heart was leading her – to the top of the mountain.

But Chandani was a smart goat. In her new found life, she was still ever so vigilant of the coyote. Goats in the herd didn’t have to remind her. The encounter was destined to happen at any moment.

And came the dusk. Cool breeze felt ever so pleasant on the skin. In the valley she could see the village and Abu Khan’s hut, his yard, the farm and the cottage. It looked wonderful from far away…

In the distance, she even could hear Abu’s pleas for her to return home. For a moment, she felt maybe she should return, but then she remembered the rope, slavery, dependency and her life there – may be more comfortable, but certainly not as sweet as this freedom. Whatever the price – she couldn’t – she wouldn’t give up her newly found freedom

She is deep in thoughts as she heard some noise in the leaves behind her… yes, coyote was closing in on her… Should I run down the mountain and back to loving Abu Khan or face this deadly encounter!!

The decision was made in a split second. She chose to fight and die rather than live in comfort of Abu’s home and rope tied around her neck

She saw the coyotes shiny eyes in the darkness. There was no other option left. Coyote gave her a look as if saying, Oh, here we go again. This one looks like Abu’s well-cared for goat. They have all been special and delicious and such easy kill…

Chandani kept her head down, straightened her horns and in a split second charged straight to the coyote at lightening speed and bam!! Smack into him…

Coyote didn’t expect this, he had never been attacked like this before by a goat! Yes, this was an attack…

He was truly taken aback. In a moment, he regained his balance and composure and the fight was on..

As the fight went on, Chandani was gradually losing ground, but earned a healthy respect of her opponent. Coyote has never had to work so hard to overwhelm a goat prey.

Chandni was bloodied but kept on fighting. The dance of death went on into late night. Stars were disappearing one by one in the sky. Dawn was about to break thru.

She was taking her last breaths. She fell to the ground. A moment more and it was going to be over. Million thoughts raced thru Chandni’s mind. It was over… Ground was bloodied… Chandni had taken her last breath but in freedom. Fully aware of this outcome as the final price. She did have a smile on her face as she lay dead.

Up on the tree, a whole group of birds were watching this fight almost since it started. Coyote won the general consensus declared. Said “No” an old bird, “Chandni is the winner here.”

 

Analysis: This tale came to popularity during the time of British occupation of India.  It is a tale describing that for the self-aware, freedom must be the ultimate goal.  No matter how nice the accommodations are under the oppressor, one will always wonder and always be drawn to freedom.  The desire of the sheep to fight against the coyote despite knowing the eventual outcome shows that freedom is worth any cost, even one’s life.  The initial surprise of the coyote at the attack from the seemingly week sheep parallels what colonizing countries exhibit in the face of a rebelling colony.  The coyote, or colonizing country exhibits judgment and prejudice against the subject, much like colonizing countries do of their subjects.  This idea of resorting to fighting was not held by all in India.  The famous Mohandas Gandhi advocated nonviolence and an approach of demonstration and sacrifice to show commitment and enact change.  Obviously in the animal world, in which you are either a predator or you are prey, these issues have to be simplified, as they are in this tale.

 

Note: This tale is also recounted in the publication Abu khan ki bakri dusri kahaniyan by Zakir Hussain.