Tag Archives: homeopathic magic

Chinese New Year Food Practices

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Brooklyn, NY
Language: English

Text:

Collector: “Do you have any traditional foods that your family makes for any holidays?”

Informant: “For Chinese New Year, we make certain foods based on how they sound in Chinese. For example, we eat something called “fat choy” that sounds similar to “good wealth”. We also make oysters, which is “ho” and also means “abundance”. We always makes either 8 or 9 dishes because 8 in Chinese sounds similar to “good luck” and 9 sounds similar to “longevity”. 

Context:

My informant is Chinese American and lives in proximity to her grandparents who often cook traditional Chinese food, especially for Chinese holidays. Her mother explained to her why they eat certain dishes. 

Analysis:

These traditional food practices for Chinese New Year largely relate to cultivating good luck, wealth, and prosperity for the upcoming year. The foods are symbolic and consuming them is supposed to produce what they symbolize, such as good wealth. It is a form of homeopathic magic, in that consuming a food that sounds like a certain word will evoke that outcome. The number of dishes prepared, either 8 or 9, represent good luck and longevity, respectively. The new year is seen as the fresh start, and individuals do everything they can to cultivate success.

Basketball Magic Superstition

Text: “When I played basketball, I had this ritual that I had to do before each game. If I didn’t do it, I would be really anxious and play badly. At the end of warm ups, right before the game begins, my same teammate would have to make a right handed layup, then I would have to catch her rebound right from the net, then I would take a right handed layup, then dribble the ball to the ref/benches with exactly 5 crossover dribbles, then hold the ball for 3 seconds before giving/putting it away. I had to be the last one to take a shot before the game too. It was really obnoxious, but I had to do it. We did it before every game for all four years of high school.”

Context: The informant was a very strong basketball player throughout middle school and high school. Although she no longer plays at college, she coaches younger children and still feels that it is an important part of her identity. She says she is a very superstitious person in general, and has many little rituals that she must conduct before certain events (other ones she described included before math tests). This ritual was the most important to her though, as she needed to do it before every game, or she felt that she would not play well. She says she started the ritual in ninth grade. She does not remember the exact origin or why her and this specific teammate started it, but they had to do it before every game. She thinks that they just did it before one of the first games and they both played very well, so they had to continue. She says it was a necessity for her, and she got anxious even thinking about not being able to do the ritual before a game.

Interpretation: 

This “ritual” reflects a form of magic superstition. This is when symbolic, repeatable actions are believed to affect performance outcomes. Specifically, this is a manifestation of homeopathic magic, where an action can influence the event—“like produces like”). In this case, she believes that if she completes this ritual, she will play well in the game. Even though this method is not technically rational, and has no scientific reasoning behind it, it offers her mental control in a high-pressure environment. It is necessary for her to enter a mindset where she is ready to perform in the game. 

This superstition reminds me of how, generally, athletes can use and develop folk practices to cope with anxieties during games. Specifically, in North America, sports carry quasi-religious importance. Many players often have rituals and superstitions that they feel the need to complete in order to perform well in a game. They believe that if they do not perform this ritual, it can lead to negative outcomes, which is especially stressful in unpredictable situations, where they want to control the outcome of the game, but cannot. This also parallels how other cultural groups, in general, develop rituals to navigate liminal spaces. In this case, the liminal space is the time in between the warm up and the game, when players are most anxious. 

This ritual also functions as an identity performance. Her commitment to the ritual shows her dedication and commitment to the sport. It reflects the values of discipline, repetition, and hard work that are emphasized in sports. This shows how society creates its own forms of sacred performance.

Korean Doljabi Tradition

Text: “I’m Korean, and there is a tradition that we do on our first birthday called Doljabi. Basically, we are placed in front of various items that each represent something. For example, at my Doljabi, there was an orange to represent food, a dollar bill to represent wealth, a gavel to represent law, and a stethoscope to represent medicine. As a one-year-old child, we have to crawl towards an object and pick one, and whichever we pick, represents our future. I picked the dollar bill, of course, and growing up, my parents always reminded me that I will become wealthy just because I picked this. I’m not entirely sure if I believe that whatever you pick comes true, but I would not mind if it does.”

Context: The informant is ethnically Korean but lives in Canada. His grandparents moved from Korea to Canada, so he is a second-generation Canadian. He says he does not celebrate many Korean traditions now, especially being at college, but his mother has tried to engrain as much of Korean culture in him and his siblings as possible. He said he has no recollection of this celebration himself, since he was only one year old, but his parents often remind him of it. He has seen photos of himself in the hanbok, the traditional Korean clothing, and there is a video on his father’s old video camera of him crawling towards the money. He said it makes sense for him that he chose money, and his parents always joke that they knew he would become money-oriented because of this. He said this celebration still resonates with him, as he is a Business major and wants to go into investment banking. He said money is not the only factor that drives him, but it is important for him, and he hopes to become relatively wealthy in the future.

Analysis: The Doljabi ritual is a life cycle celebration celebrated at a pivotal point in one’s life, their first birthday. This ritual is symbolic, as the object that the baby chooses has the power to predict their future. In this sense, it is not only celebrating birth and the start of childhood, but rather, the start of selfhood, and choosing a future for yourself. The ritual shows the power of folkloric performance in terms of structuring and forming identity. The rest of the baby’s future, including their identity, can be solely based on an object that they choose. Many people put full faith into this tradition, meaning that they believe their trajectory is fixed by it.  

This ritual is also a form of homeopathic magic. This object can represent something larger. For example, in this case, choosing money means that they will become wealthy. In this case, like produces like, and grabbing an object that represents money, will imitate a result of wealth for the future. Even though the baby is too young to understand what their actions mean, the adults take it very seriously, and believe that their choice in object is a form of prophecy. It is not just about the child, but the projection of values. In Korean culture, they value success, shown through the objects (wealth, medicine, law). This shows what professions or attributes are desirable in a person. This also highlights the pedagogical aspect of folklore, especially related to culture. In this sense, Korean culture is trying to teach children, at such a young age, what traits and professions are valued in a person. This becomes a way for the child to understand their role in their cultural identity. 

Even though the informant shows that they are skeptic of the tradition, the significance of the memory, which is lived on through their family continuing to joke about it, shows the lasting power of performative tradition. Even though Doljabi may be viewed as superstitious and dramatic, its emotional resonance is what allows it to persist throughout generations. Even when these traditions may be detached from institutional belief, they still hold power. Despite people not believing in the actual “magic” of the tradition, they want to perform it because it is still fun, meaningful, and feels important, since it is a tradition.

Lastly, Doljabi also functions as a way to maintain heritage. This is especially the case because the informant grew up outside of Korea, in Canada. It is a way for people to maintain ties to their ancestry and culture. Doljabi is often performed with grandparents and accompanied with Korean food and a hanbok, which is traditional Korean clothing. This shows how folk objects can work together to serve a greater purpose of maintaining cultural heritage.

Indonesian Wedding Ritual

Text: “You know how at American weddings, the bride throws a bouquet? And whoever catches it is going to get married next. In my family, I think this originates from Indonesia, we buy a holy chicken, like a live chicken. They buy this chicken, it’s expensive, and they keep it at the house. The parents of the groom throw it and all the moms of those unmarried try to catch it. And whoever catches it, their kid is going to get married next. When I went to my cousin’s wedding back in New York, her mom insisted that she do this tradition, even though she found it very strange in Western context. I still have the video of the chicken being thrown, because we all thought it was ridiculous. But my mom told me that it is really sacred in Indonesian culture, and everyone in our family must participate in it.”

Context: The informant, KP, is half-Indonesian and has a very strong connection to her culture. She visits Indonesia with her family every summer and has become familiar with many Indonesian traditions. She describes this celebration as one that she learned when she was younger, at the first Indonesian wedding she went to. However, she has a lot of family in the United States, since her grandparents moved here, and they do this celebration at weddings here too. She said it sounds like a silly tradition to people on the outside, but in Indonesian culture, and her family specifically, it is a sacred ritual that they must do.

Analysis: 

This wedding ritual illustrates a life cycle celebration, specifically, marriage. It manifests this life cycle celebration as folk performance. The wedding is no longer about only the union of two people, but rather about showcasing cultural values, specifically surrounding family and social continuity. It is also about creating community in a sacred way, as ritualizing the act makes it much more significant. The ritual is passed down through generations, through repeated performance. 

This act is also rooted in homeopathic magic. The chicken is a representation of marriage, and catching the chicken transfers that marriage. In many cultures, animals can represent folk beliefs and hold symbolic power. The fact that the mothers are the ones catching the chicken also shows how marriage is not just about the bride and groom, but a communal affair, shaped by family and friends.

It also reaffirms the cultural belief in fate and the social pressure surrounding marriage and fertility, specifically for women. This is especially clear because the mothers are the ones catching the chicken, which reflects the cultural pressure placed on women to find their husband and start the next generation. Women are often both the agents and subjects of marriage rituals. In many cultures, women are the ones who have to perform the ritual, but they are also the most affected by the outcome. This highlights gender expectations about marriage and status in certain cultures. In this sense, the ritual is a reinforcement of patriarchal values, where women’s roles are tied to marriage, reproduction, and continuing a family.

This is also an example of an oicotype, as there are many regional variations of this wedding tradition. It is similar to the American tradition of throwing a bouquet, but it has a variation based on local beliefs. Specifically, in Indonesia, animals often hold sacred significance, which is why they have to use a “special” chicken. 

Folk Ritual: Superstition – Evil Eye

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  1. Text: Perhaps the most iconic piece of folklore to emerge out of the Greek culture has been that of the Mati, otherwise known as the “evil eye”. The motif of the evil eye is world famous, a black pupil inside a white eye which is surrounding by another circle of royal blue. The belief about the evil eye is that it can be given to certain people as a consequence of their envy and jealousy onto them. This is where the idea of the “eye” comes from – as one person stares at another with negative connotations or emotions, they will potentially impart a curse of some kind onto them that will leave them sick. In order to deter this potential evil from other people, the Greeks actually hang the image of the evil eye around their homes, believing it will keep the dark spirits away. This is considered common practice in all Greek homes, a common folkloric concept that has not only been around for centuries but remains relevant in the culturre today.
  2. Informant’s Context: The presence of mati is very real. Mati comes from people being hateful – they will look at you and snare if they you look handsome or beautiful. They might gossip about you behind your back if they become jealous of you. You can tell if someone is jealous by how ticklish they are. If someone is very ticklish, they are jealous people. Mati isn’t always something that is given to people because they’re jealous though. Some people are just bad luck, they’re a jinx, even if they don’t mean pain by anyone. For example, they say that someone who has a unibrow, one eyebrow that connects, can give someone mati even if they don’t have jealousy. My husband would sometimes compliment people in passing, but because he had the unibrow he would give them mati. Not his fault. Once someone gets the mati though, they become very ill. They might have high fever, they might have migraines. Sometimes they go into shakes in their bed. To know for sure if one has mati, a test must be conducted called Xematiasma. This is when we take a glass of water and we say a prayer over the water. We then take multiple droplets of olive oil and put them into the water. If the olive oil rises to the top of the water, the person we are testing for mati does not have it. If the olive oil sinks or lowers, maybe disappearing in the water, then the person being tested definitely has it. Water and oil are supposed to separate – if this doesn’t occur, then its clear that the individual has been cursed. If they have mati, they must remove their clothes and put them in the wash, shower themselves and clean their bed sheets. They must wash the evil off themselves and get it out of everything around them. Once they’ve cleansed themselves and taken time to rest, the dark spirits will leave them. The only way someone can learn to perform the mati test is through ritual. I am the only one in my family who knows how to conduct it. I can only pass it onto a male member of my family on the Holy Thursday before Easter. It’s only at this time that I can teach the prayer that goes with the water and the way to apply the olive oil. I tried to pass it onto my grandson this year, but he wasn’t home for the Holy Thursday. If I passed it onto him, he would then only be able to pass it onto a female member of our family, also on the Holy Thursday before Easter. That’s how I was also taught these practices. My father taught me how to use the olive oil and water and what prayer to say alongside them.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: I believe the cultural and historical connotations behind the evil eye tradition are fascinating. So much of what the informant described is a folkloric metabolization of cultural concepts regarding envy, jealousy and vindictiveness. There has long been considered an issue of in-fighting in Greek culture, dating as far back as the Peloponnesian Wars that wreaked havoc on the nation. The evil eye is a manifestation of a culture that is deeply weary of spitefulness. As a piece of magical folklore, much of what the informant discussed about the mati lore is both homeopathic and contagious. The actual act of one person impressing the mati (evil spirits) onto another person by being jealous is clearly an example of contagious magic. Moreover, the ritual in which someone diagnoses mati through water and olive oil is an example of homeopathic magic. Not just that, but the concept of mati also implies that purity is necessary for health. In order to rid oneself of the dark spirits, they must clean themselves and everything they own, almost as if to say that jealousy, envy and spite are filthy qualities. It also implies that these hateful emotions can be spread. The deeper meaning behind this might be that misery loves company, and when one person hates another its easy for those ideas to proliferate amongst communities of people.

Fields

AGE: 85

Date_of_performance: May 5, 2025

Informant Name: Confidential (EZ)

Language: Greek/English

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Greek

Residence: Canada