Tag Archives: Familial folklore

Black Milk Tea

Text: Below is a performance describing the consumption of black milk tea family ritual.

The Interviewee was asked to recount any folklore or superstitions he remembered.

Interviewee: Another, I guess, family tradition or superstition we have, you can also call it a superstition, like, uh, my Grandpa on my Dad’s side of the family always, he would always make black milk tea, brew, almost boil, these black tea leaves, concentrate it super, super hard, and then, like, add evaporated milk to it, and would alway add two cubes of sugar to it. That was just like his tradition.

Interviewer: And what was that supposed to bring, or, what is the purpose of that?

Interviewee: So, actually, like my Grandpa, and especially, like, my Dad’s side of the family, like, they, uh, suffered a lot during the Cultural Revolution in China. I’m not going to go through that, but there’s, like, a whole thing you can look at it. Um, it was also even hard to get black tea leaves during the Cultural Revolution during that time, so like for them, those black tea leaves that they had was, like, almost like sacred to them. Even though now it’s like fifty years later, and, like, that chaotic time is now passed, even I still, like, brew black tea leaves the way my Grandpa used. So, it’s like, I guess it’s like a tradition that, like, I’ve held on to even though he’s passed it on.

Context:

This excerpt is from a conversation with a grad student studying Biology after a MMA (mixed-martial arts) practice. The student was raised in Walnut, California, and has parents that are Chinese immigrants. Currently, the ritual consumption of black milk tea is performed by his father and grandfather whenever they want to bring about good luck, but historically, during the Cultural Revolution in China, it was performed rarely, only every once in a while, when they could find black tea leaves, living in extreme poverty.

Analysis:

This example illustrates how tradition can endure as context and place change. The original habit of consuming black milk tea was informed by extreme poverty, where the consumption of the tea’s ingredients could only happen rarely due to the circumstances of famine. Now, the tradition endures as a ritual consumption of the black milk teas, to recall that time in the past, and signify the surviving that took place. The original creation of this black milk tea could only happen when interviewee’s father and grandfather were lucky enough to find the ingredients, so now, even though the ingredients now take no luck to find, the tradition has held on to that feeling, as it now conveys good luck and fortune.

Royal Family Legend

Text: The excerpt captured below is a folk performance of a student’s legend about their family being of royal lineage.

Interviewer: Do you have any family legends?

Interviewee: Yeah, I think, it’s more, like, of a thing if we believe it or not, but essentially my dad tells us we are actually descendants from, like, a royal family, and I think it is true because I think my dad’s mom’s dad’s mom was a princess of, like, this area and they were really well off, and, yeah, it’s just a legend that we are like kinda descendants from, like, a pre-royal family. We, as kids, can’t really confirm.

Context:

This interview arose from conversation with a fellow Forms of Folklore student, when discussing family legends and folk beliefs. I asked him if there were any family stories he recalled and he responded with the excerpt above. When asked about the details of this royal family lineage, the conversation went as written below:

Interviewer: Do you have any idea where this family is from and what they did?

Interviewee: Yeah, it’s in India. These are like my, kind of ancestors, and they’re located South of India. It’s like a city, that they ruled, used to rule— not like a city, like a town. They used to have like a huge house, kind of palace, type of stuff. Yeah, there were kind of just royalty. It’s like a legend though, because I don’t know if it’s true. I wasn’t there.

Analysis:

This story showcases the shifting power structure prevalent throughout India over the last century, under British rule. Under these chaotic conditions, it is plausible that the interviewee’s family was in power over a town or small district, but changing political currents displaced them from their position, and resulted in an emigration to America. This narrative also follows the format of old family legends, describing the family either coming from rags to riches or riches to rags. The story also showcases the exaggeration that can take place as legends spread over time. The legend of being from a royal Indian family is very different from the possibility of being a ruler of a small Indian town.