Tag Archives: folk beliefs

Soda as Medicine

Text:

The subject informed me that drinking soda could help someone recover from a sore throat or other kind of throat infection.  The subject was told that the carbonation from the soda was deadly to the viruses that cause sore throats, and that therefore, drinking a soda whilst having a sore throat could help them immensely with alleviating the symptoms and giving them some relief from the pain.  Furthermore, they were told that different sodas could benefit them more than other sodas when it comes to sore throats; while sodas like Dr. Pepper and Coke could help somewhat, Sprite and 7-Up helped significantly more, and even could help cure sore throats within a single day.

Context:

The subject, L.D., learned of this cure from their parents, and first learned of it from them when they were young and had a sore throat.  During this time, the subject was told that drinking some soda would be able to help with a sore throat, and that they can have some if they wanted to.  The subject also noted that they were often only given soda during these times when they were young, and that their parents were more lax when it came to them drinking soft drinks and eating junk food when they were sick as compared to when they were healthy.

Interpretation:

It is likely that giving the subject soda when they were a kid was a way for the subject’s parents to provide their child some comfort and support whilst they were sick so that they would be able to feel better whilst being so sick.  Because of their desire to keep their kids from asking for soda more often, the parents likely told them that soda would help with their sore throats so that their kids would only expect them whilst being sick.  They likely also wanted to make sure that their kids had some kind of medication that they could accept that they’d know well, would believe that it would help them, and would be something they would want to drink, as opposed to medication they wouldn’t want. 

Eggs for a Rain-Less Wedding

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Residence: San Gabriel, California
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

M is 50, and was raised in the Caloocan area of metro Manila, Philippines, and currently resides in San Gabriel, California.

M says that “if there is an occasion in which you don’t want it to rain, like a wedding” then you should leave an egg outside. Interestingly, M couldn’t recall where she had heard this belief or the reason why it was so widely held.

Research indicated that this was indeed a common belief held among Filipino people, although there is some discrepancy whether the belief is a myth or a spiritual belief. One variation acts as an urban myth, with eggs being symbolic for new beginnings, while another variation suggests that the egg is an offering to Saint Clara for good weather. Either way, it is still interesting that there can be multiple different origins for one folk belief.

Tabi Tabi Po

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Residence: San Gabriel, CA
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

M is 50, and was raised in the Caloocan area of metro Manila, Philippines and currently resides in San Gabriel, California.

Growing up, she was always told that “when you pass by a mound of dirt in the Philippines” you must say “tabi tabi po”. This translates to something along the lines of “excuse me” or “I’m passing by.” This was to show the “nuno sa punso” that you respected their home. Upon asking why this was done so frequently, M responded that you are “not supposed to kick it or trample it or something bad will happen to you.”

Upon further research, I read that the nuno sa punso was a catch-all term for any folkloric spirit that could be dwelling within the mound. Additionally, “tabi tabi po” is the shorthand term for “tabi, tabi po baka kayo mabunggd” which translates more formally to “excuse me, sir, lest I bump into you”. In addition to this phrase, it appears that there are different variations of the same phrase uttered in similar situations that vary in different regions and dialects, perhaps suggesting that there is a general reverence/fear surrounding the figures of Filipino folklore.

Gifting Shoes is Bad Luck

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Residence: San Gabriel, California
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

M is 50, and was raised in the Caloocan area of metro Manila, Philippines, and currently resides in San Gabriel, California.

M says my grandmother told me that “If someone gives you shoes” you are supposed to “give them coins or pennies” in return. This is because it is meant to ward away bad luck that gifting shoes brings. I asked M why gifting shoes is bad luck. M responded that it symbolically means the equivalent of the gifter asking the person they are gifting shoes to to “go away, or walk out of your life.” So the coins are to make sure that they do not “go away”.

Further research led me to believe that this was a general belief/superstition held by Filipinos. This is an illustration of objects having symbolic meaning attached to them. For instance, instead of shoes, which would symbolize a drifting relationship, a better gift to give a Filipino would be a belt, to “tighten” the relationship.

Ghost Parties in Thailand

Nationality: Thai American
Age: 24
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: April 30 2020
Primary Language: English

Informant: So, like, my family is kinda, like, the official designated ghost family in my village. And my family is from this very small, um, place, kinda outside of Chiang Mai, like 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Um. And so my mom, even though she was adopted– so she doesn’t have this official designation, but it’s my family, they basically take care of all the ghosts in the village. And the ghosts are like the ancestors of all of the families that live there and each generation, they have a special woman that they picked out, that’s like part of the bloodline, and.. it can’t be a man, it has to be a woman, and she’s like the keeper of the ghosts. Um, and so it used to be my grandma, and now it’s, um, its fallen to, like, one of my aunties, and now it’s with my cousin who– lemme tell you about my cousin, her name is {name}, and she has like a very severe, like.. learning disability.. So she’s the new keeper of the ghosts. And its, its, kind of interesting because, like, she can’t work, she can’t have a job, she can’t marry.. She’s very, very frail and very thin, but.. It’s kinda nice, cuz now she’s the one that has this responsibility. 

Collector: Right, right, she doesn’t need to… Does she makes money off this?

Informant: No, no, it’s not– it’s more of like a communal village position. But the village is like one big extended family. Y’know. And all of our ancestors are everyone else’s ancestors. And we have one little temple in the very center, y’know, we go to like, mass– it’s like Buddhist mass, basically, on Sundays. Um, so.. But anyways, every eight years there’s what we call like a ghost party. I missed the last couple cuz I was in school, um, but basically every eight years it’s like throwing a big party for all of the ghosts. Like, all of the ancestors, and you get, like, all the food gets spread out.. Spirits in Thai culture are very hungry.. They’re basically like, the ultimate hedonists, they just wanna consume everything. And so you give them, like, entire spreads of like chicken, and food, and like carnations, flowers, they love cigarettes, you get them a lot of cigarettes, they really like, um, whiskey, so you give them a lot of whiskey. Um, and it’s like, everyone gets drunk and gets together, and the process of getting drunk with your family members and your village, its like the spirits come, and they’re getting drunk, and they’re eating with you. 

Collector: This is all so interesting.. When, when you say taking care of the ghosts, you mean like giving them offerings, and keeping the altars clean? 

Informant: Yeah, so it’s kinda like that, it’s also kinda like, part of the spirit lore is like, they’re ghosts, so its like human ancestors, and another part of it is like, like, a lot of high-elf fantasy stuff, like, kind of speaks true to Thai culture, where like before the humans came, there were spirits in the forest. And these spirits are very old, and they had been there for like millennia. And they owned the forest, that’s their domain, and like, in Thailand, you know, we cut down the forest, we lived there and we farmed, and so we need to like, give back to the spirits. 

Context: The informant is a close friend of mine, and is a Thai-American young woman. She lived in Thailand for several years with her mother, before they both moved to Southern California.

Analysis: This is possibly my most exciting collection, seeing how I have a friend who has thrown a ghost party before. This experience is obviously personal to not only my informant, for also for the entire village. They do not differentiate their own ancestors from the village ancestors, which ties the entire village together, even after death. It is interesting that Thai spirits are considered to be hungry, as I have seen previous examples of hungry ghosts in Korea and Japan, all of which stem from Buddhism. I also find it interesting that only woman can serve the ghosts, as previously mentioned.