Tag Archives: good luck

Folk Belief

Nationality: Chicana
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Santa Cruz, CA
Performance Date: April 17, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

If you see a hummingbird, you will have good luck.

My grandmother, and then my mom would always say this when we were lucky enough to see these rare hummingbirds by our windows in the kitchen or outside in the garden behind our house. I am not very sure about why hummingbirds are lucky, maybe because they seem to be pretty rare, but they are definitely really beautiful, small and colorful, and also seemed to bring my grandma a lot of joy. I mostly think about this saying when I happen to see a hummingbird somewhere randomly and it reminds me of my relationship with these two very important women in my life and just how much I loved listening to their stories and advice when I was smaller.

Lorena thought of her grandma and mom’s words about the hummingbirds good luck blessings as more of a saying and simple story than actual truth. Having also grown up in a Mexican family with very strong females, I would also hear my grandma often say the same thing about hummingbirds. I tend to agree with Lorena’s belief that the hummingbird’s unique colorful beauty and rare presence in our daily lives seems to emphasize the hummingbird as a special bird or creature with mythical qualities.  It is definitely more common to see countless grey pigeons in the urban concrete jungle of Los Angeles, including Echo Park where Lorena’s family resides, than these charmingly bright birds that seem to captivate so many.  This may be why both of our grandmothers remind us of the good fortune to come that a “colibri” promises. (Colibri is hummingbird in Spanish).

Annotation: The Papyrus line of greeting cards, similar to Hallmark, uses a picture of a single hummingbird in flight as its primary marketing and branding symbol. This hummingbird appears on each of its greeting cards and similar products. Moreover, each of its products includes the following brief history of the legend of the hummingbird and its symbolic significance which best speaks to the significance of this storied bird;

“Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.”

Good Luck Charm – Italy

Nationality: Italian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: North Jersey, NJ
Performance Date: March 19, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian

The Mano Cornuto.

The Mano Cornuto is an Italian good luck charm that Michael owns in the form of a necklace.  He received the necklace at the age of 14 from his grandfather who is from Southern Italy.  Michael wears the necklace around his neck everyday as a form of good luck.  Specifically, Michael says that, “The Mano, which is the hand, and the cornuto, which is the horn, are good luck charms acting as protection against the evil eye.”  In general, Michael wears the necklace for good luck and in respect of his grandfather.  He found out the meaning of the Mano Cornuto from his Grandfather, who learned it from his father.  Michael, an Italian American from New Jersey, stays very in touch with his Italian heritage and this charm is a way to stay connected on a daily basis.

I believe that the horn has more meaning than just the protection of the evil eye.  The horn can be representative of an animal, and this might be a good luck charm in keeping Italian farmers’ herds of animals healthy and even a good luck charm for a good crop.  The Mano or the hand gesture is very similar to the hang ten sign of Hawaiians.  Hang ten is another way of saying “hang loose” or “keep it real”, as a form of a comment when leaving a conversation.  It’s possible that hang ten and the Mano are somehow related as a form of having good luck.

Good Luck Charm – Great Britain

Nationality: English
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 02, 2008
Primary Language: English

Fleur de Lis

“I got this necklace as a freshman in high school from my grandmother who is from Great Britain.  Fleur de lis means flower of the lily, and the symbol represents light and life.  Ever since she gave me the necklace I have worn it everyday as a good luck charm.  It also reminds me of my grandmother and my family.  In a sense it also is a representation of my family to me.  I have seen other people wear the necklace as well as the symbol used in different ways.  For instance, the New Orleans Saints football team has the fleur de lis as their team logo.  When I have children I want to buy them similar necklaces too or even pass mine down to them.”

This is the second good luck charm that I have collected in this project and both originated from Europe.  Also in both cases, the people who owned the good luck charm received it from a grandparent who was born in a European country.  Although these are only two cases, there is clearly some commonality between the two.  In both cases, the charms served to represent their original meaning as well as reminding the two subjects of their families.  Matt mentioned how the flour de lis is the team symbol for the New Orleans Saints, and I have observed that it is the symbol for the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority here at USC.  ?

Superstition – Chinese

Nationality: Chinese-American
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: April 08, 2008
Primary Language: English

“When you buy a new car, you’re supposed to take a bottle and smash it against one of the tires of the car.”

“This is an Asian superstition, particularly Chinese but I have heard other Asian cultures do the same.  If you don’t crack the bottle on the tire than you inherit bad luck with the car.  Obviously the opposite goes if you do crack the bottle.  When I first got my license at 16, my dad handing me a bottle to smash on one of the tires and it was a thrilling moment because I remember seeing my parents do the same every time they got a new car.  My Japanese friend did the same thing when he got his first car, too.  I will pass down this tradition in my family, even if I don’t marry a girl with an Asian cultural background.”

This is one of many car superstitions that I have heard, but I have never heard a car superstition linked to a culture.  One example of another car superstition is throwing change on the ground of a new car.  The common theme behind both superstitions is making the pure and new, somewhat marked or tainted as old.  The crack of the bottle does not destroy the tires, but makes the tires no longer “brand new”.  Throwing change on the floor takes away the cleanliness of a brand new car as well.  My hypothesis behind the cultural tie to Chris’ superstition is that the Asian culture values toughness, both physically and mentality.  Possibly the breaking of a bottle on a tire marks two things: the car’s physical strength and the owner of the car’s mental strength to slightly damage a brand new, expensive vehicle.

Superstition – Persian, Armenian

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: March 3, 2008
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: Russian, English

To protect a car from bad luck, an egg is placed right in front of each tire of the vehicle. Then the owner drives the car forward, slowly crushing the eggs.

Mary learned this from her Persian-Armenian neighbors in Glendale. She said this is done when you buy a new car—almost like an initiation ceremony for the car. She said she is not sure exactly how this is supposed to work, although she thinks it may have something to do with “crushing evil.”

I am not sure how to go about analyzing this, but I thought it was an interesting piece as it combines a very ancient form of superstition—magical superstition, and a very modern object—the car. No doubt this tradition has started after the invention of cars, and after the wide distribution of cars among the Persian-Armenian communities. I thought there must be some older Persian custom that involves the crushing of eggs for good luck, but was not able to find any. At any rate, this tradition is concerned with an issue that concerns us all—motor safety. If Persian-Armenians had previously crushed eggs for some form of protection, it makes sense why they would try to adopt this to the car—we now, after all, spend much of our time in cars, and we are all aware of the dangers of the road.

As for the eggs, they have been symbolically important for so many cultures. Eggs seem to usually connote good rather than evil, so I am not too sure about Mary’s idea of symbolic crushing of evil. The wheels are like the ‘legs’ of the car, and are very important to the car’s reliability and maneuverability—perhaps, then, it is an attempt to instill some of the egg’s protective power into the very rubber of the wheels.