Tag Archives: luck

“Toi Toi Toi” – Folk Speech for Performing Artists

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: California, USA
Performance Date: 04/18/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: n/a

Context:

Informant AT was a current undergraduate student at The University of Southern California pursuing their BFA in Dance at the time of this collection. AT has been training in multiple dance genres since they were young. Dancing has allowed AT to travel around the world where they have had the opportunity to perform for and learn from many different dance artists.

When speaking with AT, they described a folk speech they heard while in Europe that was said to AT and other dancers just before a performance.

Text:

“Toi toi toi”

This folk speech is similar to saying “break a leg” in that it means “good luck” and/or “have a great show.” AT mentioned that this can be said verbally or written in a card, but they have only ever heard/seen it while performing in European countries, not the United States.

Analysis:

After hearing about this from AT, believe that this particular folk speech functions to direct well wishes to performers without explicitly saying it. Wishing someone “good luck” explicitly is believed to have the opposite effect. Since performers are usually faced with anxieties or “stage fright” before performing, there became a need for a different way of expressing one’s well-intended wishes. This folk speech meets this need while simultaneously creating “insiders” (the performers) and “outsiders” (non-performers). If an outsider were to hear this folk speech it wouldn’t have any significance and might even puzzle them. As a performer, you learn and adopt the customs and sayings of other performers that you come into contact with. This allows for the transfer of the unofficial knowledge/meaning of “toi toi toi.”

Annotation:

This folk speech is similar to another that can be found in the USC Folklore Archive. See this variation here:

Keeney, Samuel, and Samuel Keeney. “University of Southern California.” USC Digital Folklore Archives, 17 May 2020, uscfolklorearc.wpenginepowered.com/saying-merde-instead-of-break-a-leg-for-ballet/.

White Duck Feathers

Nationality: Norwegian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Scotland
Performance Date: 04/27/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Norwegian, Old Norse, Old Scottish, Old English

Main Content:

I: Informant, M:Me, R: Roommate

I: My grandma has this thing, I think its duck, like very white duck feathers but if you find some of the ground she says its good luck and it’s like angel’s wings.

R: Awe

I: And if you find, and then like you have to do something like touch it or something that makes you get the good luck.

M: Awe that’s cute. Oh I like that. *Laughs* My mom would probably be like don’t touch the duck wings you’re gonna get… you’re gonna get rabies. 

I: Well like the little feathers that fall to the floor that fall off I think ducklings so they are very small and white .

R: Yeah, no yeah my mom would be like you are gonna get sick.

M: *Laughs* yeah

 I: Yeah I don’t touch feathers either 

Context: The informant’s grandmother taught him about this when he was like and told his touching white duck feathers (like the ones from ducklings) are good luck.

Analysis: One major thing that stuck on to me here was how this would never be able to be popularized in America in current day. Both the informant’s roommate and I, who have both lived in the U.S. for a substantial amount of time, agreed that our parents would explicitly tell us not to touch the feathers, for fear of disease or germs. While the informant admitted to no longer touching the feathers after learning about germs and such, it still provides quite the contrast between the US and Norway and the ways we view nature. US views nature as a force against us, while Norway views it more as a force with them. I will say that the rationale behind this with it being ‘angel’ wings kind of gave me a warm and good feeling inside until I remembered all the times my mother has told me, ‘Do not pet or touch any wild or stray animals’ every time I travel alone, especially to a foreign country and she emphasizes that even if the locals touch them, I am not to under any circumstance. I definitely understand where the worry and anxiety originates but it is just so contrasted to what my informant said that his roommate and I laughed about it.

Penny for a Clock

Performance Date: 2020

Piece
“You cannot give time”
Context
In Chinese culture, you cannot give someone a clock, watch, or any other time-keeping device as it is seen as giving the person time or highlighting how much time they have left on earth. It is especially insulting if given to someone older than you. So instead of giving someone a clock or other time-keeping device, you sell it to them. The person you are “gifting” the clock to will then give you a penny (or the lowest form of currency of that region) so that they are instead purchasing it from you.
My Thoughts
Death is terrifying for most people and thus their culture will reflect that fear of the uncertainty. This practice shows the desire to ignore the passing time, or at least not acknowledge that there time may be coming to close. It also showcases a level of respect shown to ones elders in Asian culture that is not seen in American culture.
Scholar Annamma Joy writes about this in Gift Giving in Hong Kong and the Continuum of Social Ties where on page 250, she reports on a field study where a participant said, “I did buy a clock for a friend, but in Chinese culture clocks are never given as gifts because they are associated with death. But before I gave the gift, I asked her for a small amount of money, so that it appeared as if she had bought it for herself.”
Joy, Annamma. “Gift Giving in Hong Kong and the Continuum of Social Ties.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 28, no. 2, 2001, pp. 239–256. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/322900. Accessed 1 May 2020.

Waving/Beckoning Cat

Performance Date: 2020

R: Well, we gave him a cat for luck.
C: Why? And why is it waving
R: I’ve actually heard two stories for that. One, was a long time ago, there was an emperor who was a good man. He would always greet everyone he saw as he went about his walks. One day, he saw a cat waving at him and so he stopped to wave back. Then, right in front of him, whoooosh, a horse galloped by and would have hit him!
The other one I’ve heard is that the cat is actually beckoning you. So there was an emperor who was sitting under a tree and enjoying his day when he saw a cat beckoning him to come. So he did and then right after he was out from under the tree, lightning struck it and would have killed him had he not gone to the cat.
So now when someone is starting a new business, you give them a waving cat.
Context
The informant gave their brother-in-law a waving cat when he opened a new business and shared that story to those present when prompted to by his children. To the informant, it was a way of honoring their brother-in-law’s culture and sharing stories (the informant enjoys storytelling) that they had heard from their parents when growing up.
My Thoughts
I have heard several versions of this story besides the two shared here and have seen many different waving cats in Japanese stores. This shows the cultural desire to be able to influence things such as luck and to honor the things and people that bring good fortune: a good turn for a good turn. In another version of the story [see link below] the samurai is the one saved by the cat and he then goes on to give much wealth to the temple that the cat belonged to and honor the cat upon its death.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/maneki-neko-temple-tokyo/index.html

Lifting Your Legs Over Train Tracks for Good Luck

Nationality: American
Age: 61
Occupation: Dog Trainer
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: 03/07/20
Primary Language: English

Context: The informant and I were driving in the car when we passed over train tracks and she told me the piece. The piece was collected in its natural performance setting.

Background: The informant is my mother, who is a third generation Irish immigrant. She learned the piece as a child from her parents who would say it when passing over train tracks.  

Piece:

“Lift your legs for good luck!” 

Analysis: I grew up hearing this piece from my mom every time we drove over train tracks. Neither one of us knows why it is good luck, but I believe it is an exercise in controlling something tangible to control the intangible. Train tracks can be dangerous places. By lifting our legs, perhaps we are attempting to subvert this danger. Some variants of this practice involve lifting one’s legs in order to prevent them from being chopped off by the train tracks while other variants threaten that if one does not lift their legs, they will die young.

For another variant of this practice visit:

Edelen, John. “Lifting Feet Over Train Tracks.” USC Digital Folklore Archives. University of Southern California, May 13, 2019. http://uscfolklorearc.wpenginepowered.com/?p=47643.