Tag Archives: god

El Conejo en la Luna (The Rabbit on the Moon)

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 48
Occupation: Business
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: Spanish/English

Text:

(transcribed from Spanish)

“My mom told me this tale when I was a kid. She told me that a long time ago, the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl explored the world. So he came down and turned himself into a mortal man. He was so amazed by how big and beautiful the Earth was that he got distracted and forgot to eat and hydrate himself. Quetzalcoatl started feeling faint and decided to rest on the road. Then a rabbit appeared to him and asked him if he was okay. Quetzalcoatl told him that he was very hungry. Right away, the rabbit offered to share his food with him, but Quetzalcoatl refused and told the rabbit that he didn’t eat plants. The rabbit thought for a moment and decided to offer himself to Quetzalcoatl and said, “I am an insignificant creature; you must recover and return to your travels. Please eat me.” Quetzalcoatl was moved by the rabbit’s noble gesture, so he returned to his godly form and held the rabbit high to the moon. He then placed him back on the ground and told him, “You will be remembered all around the world, and when everyone looks up to the moon, they will see the print of you on the moon.”

Context: 

The informant was my father. He is from Michoacan, Mexico, on a small ranch. He grew up off the grid, and his mother told him this tale. 

Analysis: 

This is a myth that is deeply rooted in Mesoamerican tradition. It centers on one of the most important deities in Aztec belief systems. The story reflects core mythological themes such as a godly figure interacting with the mortal world. The rabbit is an example of sacrificial heroism. The rabbit has become immortalized, not because of power or money but through compassion and generosity. This shows the cultural values of Indigenous Mexicans. The myth has also been shared across multiple generations, especially in East Asia, yet it might differ from the Mexican version. 

‘El Cadejo’

Age: 48


Date of performance: 4/5/25


Language: Spanish


Nationality: Latino/a


Occupation: Caregiver


Primary Language: Spanish


Residence: United States

Text:

‘El Cadejo’ are two huge dogs, one white, the other black, one representing good and the other evil.

Context:

My informant heard the story of ‘El Cadejo’ from their father who encountered one of the two dogs returning from work at night. According to their father, upon walking back home from a long day of work, he encountered the huge white Cadejo. Aware of the tales of the creature, he remained calm upon its presence, turning away from it and walking forth home as it guided him back through the night.

Deriving from their father’s story of ‘El Cadejo,’ my informant interprets the white Cadejo to reveal themselves to people in place of their spiritual animal companion, there to guide them through difficult times. On the other hand, they interpret the black Cadejo to reveal themselves to those who do wrong in the world, present to punish them for their actions.

Analysis:

I agree with my informants interpretation, as I’ve personally heard the Cadejo were sent down to manage and help balance the world from the malice accumulating from peoples actions. Nevertheless, I believe it is also another folktale about being careful at night and to avoid at all wandering at night from factors that can be unavoidable.

Korean story: The Woodcutter and the Axes

Nationality: Korean
Primary Language: Korean
Age: 68
Occupation: retired, former pastor
Residence: Seoul, South Korea
Performance Date: 24 March 2024

Tags: woodcutter, ax, god, greed, lake, gold, silver

Text:

Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who would chop down trees and sell them for firewood and such. One day, while he was chopping logs, his ax slipped out of his hands and into a lake. As the woodcutter went to retrieve his ax, a god appeared out of the lake, with the woodcutter’s ax in hand as well as a shiny new gold and silver ax. The god asked the woodcutter which ax he had lost, and though the woodcutter was enamored with the gold and silver axes, he truthfully said that he had lost his normal one. The god was pleased with the woodcutter’s honesty and gave him all 3 axes as a reward. Word of the woodcutter getting the new axes spread throughout the village, including to the ears of a rival woodcutter, who got jealous and sought to do the same. Thus, one day while cutting logs, the greedy rival woodcutter threw his ax into the same lake, where the same god came and asked him the same questions as the other woodcutter. The greedy woodcutter lied and said that he had lost the gold one, so the god got angry at his dishonesty and drowned him in the lake.

Context:

H. is a born and raised South Korean citizen, and has had experience with telling stories through giving sermons in his church. This was simply one of the stories he told me when I was young in Korea. H. was aware that there were other versions of the story, and just said he told me the one that he knew the best, thinking about whether he should include the part with the greedy woodcutter.

Analysis:

Obviously, this story is derived from the story of the Woodcutter and Hermes, adapted in a Korean setting where the god is unnamed and some small details are changed. The aspects of being honest and not being greedy are pretty common lessons that still hold up in modern Korean society, and this is another good example of a story being changed throughout time and place from its original version.

Namaz E Janaza

My informant is Pakistani and has lived in many countries worldwide, yet has deep knowledge of his culture and is very associated with certain events and occasions that occur in Pakistan.

Funeral Ritual:

This prayer, typically known as “Namaz E Janaza” is a common type of prayer “performed at funerals”. It is a ritual that has “existed in Islam for a very long time” and is “very important to our religion and culture.” The ritual is illustrated by a “group of people that are praying as the body is put in front of them” He states that it is because “everyone is praying towards god when the body is also there” conveying the influences of religion on their life. The informant also states that it is “the same Islamic prayer from the Qur’an that people read.” It is a widely known tradition in South Asia, specifically Pakistani culture when it comes to funeral rituals and events that must take place in order to properly bury a body.

Context:

The ritual is “always performed by men in a room separate to the women,” and the informant continues to assert that “they cannot be together and a woman cannot speak the prayer to the body” highlighting the strict nature of this ritual and the specific cultural customs on death and funerals. It is usually done in Pakistan but also occurs in other Muslim countries that still honour this method of performing the funeral ritual. It is a very important aspect of how the body is sent to heaven and is a pivotal step in “family healing using religion and ensuring they continue in heaven”

Analysis:

The religious aspect of funerals is very common in many cultures, however, in Islamic culture, the split of the men and women into separate rooms signifies the power that the prayer holds as it is part of their tradition. Death and prayer being portrayed in a ritual allow families to use the religious scripture provided to them as a mode of grieving their loved ones in a structural manner, making it easier on the family that is closer to them. Although, the formality of the occasion eliminates personalisation of the funeral and family members when burying and honouring the dead as they must follow the known written words instead of making them uniquely theirs, which is seen in other cultures. However, it is a religious and important part of their cultural identity, therefore, the prayer does not solely mark the death of an individual but paves a path to their god that they are praying to, following the practices of their culture and tradition as it is passed down.

The Ax Farmer – Tale

Nationality: Korean American
Age: 18
Occupation: Hotel Clerk/Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 03/06/2023
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Context: R is a Korean American who was raised in Hawaii. She moved to Los Angeles to attend USC and is currently a freshman studying Computer Science. Her mom told her this story, and R herself has heard from multiple Koreans each with their own variation on what the tale sounds like. According to R, it’s a very popular folktale.

Text:

The story of the ax farmer begins with an axman who had a very poor quality ax. It was wooden and broken. He dropped in this lake one day, and there was a god living in the lake and the god appears with two axes in his hands, one gold and one wooden. The god asks the axman “Which one is your ax, the golden one or the wooden one?” The axman answers honestly with “the wooden one.” The god, impresses by the man’s honesty, gives him the golden ax.

However, there was another man listening to the ax man and god’s conversation. He then purposefully threw an ax into the lake and the god appeared. The god asks the man which ax is his and the man chooses the golden ax. The god knew he was lying, so he punished him. The punishment R never specifies, but she implies that the god severely punished the other man for lying.

Analysis:

Like any tale, the god and man interaction and the golden ax is clearly not real. There is no real lake that this story was at nor would there be a god living it who can give golden axes to passersby. But, due to the context in which these motifs are placed, the audience is able to learn a very real and applicable lesson about honesty and punishment. From Oring’s definition of a tale, the inherent falsehood of the narrative makes it easier to digest; the linear path the plot takes and the extreme contrast of the characters allow the logical and real-world solution to the story, the man’s punishment, to be impactful and relatable. From there, the two-dimensional and predictable story can be adapted into metaphor, and then motif and then life lesson. A god living in a lake and the existence of a golden ax are metaphors for a high power or authority in life and rewards. By pleasing the authority figures with honesty and good morals, rewards will be given. Lie to power or manipulate selfishly, the punishment will be severe and no such rewards will be yielded. Tales like these are usually told during childhood, so this tale gives a young and innocent audience a hard truth about living in society without it being overwhelming or stressful. The tale is blaring entertainment, yet perfectly subtle in the delivery of morality and ethics.