Tag Archives: proverb

Marine Proverbial Saying

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Marine
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 2, 2019
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“There are no atheists in a foxhole.”

Context: This proverb was first collected in a philosophy of religion class when the class was going over religious belief. The student stated this proverb during class to which I questioned about after class was finished. The student is a 25 year-old male who has been in the United States Marines and has grown up in Los Angeles.

Informant Analysis: “So, when you are in the Marines this is something that you hear pretty commonly. I take it to mean that when you are in a really tough situation and think you might die, you are gonna start to believe in God. There’s like a fear about death, you know, like what happens after you die. It’s a little bit easier to put yourself in situations like that if you think there is a heaven, you know?”

Collector Analysis: Although this proverb may be said among marines and varied in different situations, the most iconic use of this idea came from Dwight D. Eisenhower, although this is not the first time this idea has appeared. The idea is a quick and more figurative way to state that in times of extreme stress or danger, even people who once considered themselves atheists convert to believe in God. This quick conversion to religion is often called a foxhole conversion. It is possible that the use of foxhole within this proverb came from World War I in which there was use of foxholes that have been recorded as being some of the worst conditions for soldiers in war to date. We can also look at how religion plays a role in the United States and in particular, how it is indoctrinated into the soldiers who serve. Around the time when Dwight D. Eisenhower brought the idea of this proverb to the American populace not involved in the military, there was a fear, philosophically speaking, about atheists. It was difficult for people to actively state they were atheists because there was much stigma around people who did not believe in God. The use of this statement of there being “no atheists in foxholes” can almost function as an argument against atheists, the argument being that no person is ever truly an atheist.

“Over, Under, Through” Horse Riding Proverbial Phrase

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Residence: Washington DC.
Performance Date: 4-22-19
Primary Language: English

Main Piece: “Over, Under, Through.”

 

Background: GR is a horse rider, and spends a large portion of her time riding horses on a ranch and training them for upcoming events. Additionally, she also trains horses so that other people can buy them, and use them for themselves in high end events. GR is from just outside of Washington DC., and would spend her time at a barn in silver spring Maryland. Because GR’s family all rode horses, and the people at the barn spent so much time riding horses, this proverb was super important to her. GR said that this proverb originated from a woman named Coleen Rutledge who was the first American eventer to ever run all three four-stars in America in one year. The type of riding that GR does is similar to Rutledge, and the events consisted of lots of jumps and “hits.” So GR said that this proverb was a way to get riders to focus and not doubt themselves, because any kind of apprehension on the event or in the country will screw you over. GR said that this proverb helped her to focus and when it came time for the jumps in the events she would think to herself, “We are going over this jump, under the next, and through the other.”

 

Context of the Performance: GR told me this proverb, while we were talking about the things we would do in our free time, and what types of hobbies we like to do. Since GR is from an area where horse riding is far more popular than in California, GR was very excited to share this proverb and some of the other horse related folklore that is somewhat new to me.

 

Analysis: I had never heard this type of proverb before, as I am rather ignorant when it comes to the folklore of the rural countries and especially as it relates to horses. But this seems to be a very important proverb especially in the horse event riding world, especially given how much GR knew about its inception and how seriously GR takes this proverb. As someone who isn’t very familiar with horse riding, this proverb seems like it certainly seeks to push riders into trusting their instincts and not get too much in their own head when riding the horses. GR said that the type of riding she does is very dangerous, and so this proverb makes even more sense in that context as if you are a rider who does not make a snap decision, and you second guess yourself instead of simply deciding to go “Over, under, and through,” you could not only get seriously injured but you could also seriously injure your horse.

Proverb “Birds of a Feather, Flock Together”

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 21
Residence: South Korea
Performance Date: 4-17-19
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Main Piece: “The birds of a feather flock together. This is big in Korea, because there were a lot of celebrities who had drug problems and would be seen with bad people. Koreans are judging them, and saying that nasty low class people who just got rich still hang out with low class people, but all the smart people hang out together. Family from good background will tend to hang out with similar background family.”

 

Background: MP grew up in South Korea, and he said that he recalls hearing this proverb the most frequently of any other proverb. He also mentioned that when he got into the United States, he heard this very saying from other people in his friend group and he found it interesting that this saying was as meaningful in our culture as his. He recalls that his parents would tell him this to remind him of the importance of you who surround yourself with. In Korea he said it was very important to make sure that not only you were honorable and did good deeds, but that the people who you spent time with had similar motivations and character traits. He saw this proverb as a way to remind him that he needed to choose his friends wisely, so that he don’t get roped into bad deeds. He also mentions that the idea of “friends” is very selective in Korea, so there are far more close knit groups of friends in Korea than what he found in America. Additionally he said that when choosing his friends at USC, he was very cautious about who he trusted and who he wanted to be friends with as a result of that proverb’s meaning.

 

Context of Performance: MP told me this proverb while we were at my apartment discussing the different cultural stories and proverbs we remember when we were kids. As I grew up in America, it was interesting to hear a proverb that I too was familiar with and had seemingly no different elements to it. MP was also interested when hearing that I was familiar with it, and he seemed to really enjoy the fact that there was a level of connection between us, even though we are from two very different parts of the world.

 

Analysis: Hearing this proverb form MP was super interesting to me because I was expecting to hear stories and proverbs that were entirely different from my culture. However, I remember hearing this very same proverb, verbatim, when I was a child as well. I too believe that this proverb is stressing the value of choosing your friends wisely and making sure that you do not sacrifice your own values for the sake of making friends. It is very interesting to see that while South Korea and America are two very distinct cultures, this one proverb seems to have been able to cross that cultural barrier seemingly unscathed. I believe that it is a testament to the fact that both cultures have a very heavy emphasis on the importance of the image you present to people, and the company you choose to keep is a direct reflection of that image. Similar to the proverb “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are,” this one seems to emphasis that no matter how good of an image you put out, your friends and your company speak far louder than you do.

Chinese Proverb About the Farmer and the Rabbit

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 02/05/2019
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Context: The informant, a 19-year-old Chinese-American college student, shared this proverb with me on the Lunar New Year. We were discussing how her parents raised her to embrace her Chinese-American culture. She explained how the lessons she was taught as a child still impact her outlook on life today.

Text:

Informant: I know an old Chinese proverb. Um… it’s from, I think, a famous philosopher. Basically, I learned it from my parents and then again in Chinese school. I can’t remember the Chinese translation, but basically the gist of the proverb, or what the proverb literally means is… um “waiting by the tree for the rabbit.” And the story behind it, because all Chinese proverbs kind of have like a story behind them, um… is that there’s this farmer who um basically lived off his land and sold his crops and sort of lived that way. But one day, while he was plowing his land, um a rabbit ran into a tree and died. So, the man got his dinner that day and he had the bright idea of basically… he decided, “Screw farming! I’m just going to wait by this tree for more rabbits to crash into the tree, so I can eat, you know, rabbits for the rest of my life.” And then, he waited for a really really long time and, no surprise to anyone else, no rabbits crashed into that tree again. And, it’s kind of confusing, but basically the proverb means that you can’t wait for things to fall in your lap. Like all good things that are like worthwhile um… take a lot of work and a lot of dedication. And if you sit around and wait for that rabbit to come, it will never come.

Informant’s relation to the item: The proverb is important to the informant because it was taught to her by her parents and then again in Chinese school as a young child. Thus, the proverb has both significance within her family and also cultural/educational significance. Additionally, the proverb, which stresses the important of hard work, continues to impact the informant’s work ethic today.

Interpretation: This particular proverb does not make much sense to a listener who does not have much knowledge of Chinese culture. Without the context of the folk tale surrounding it, the proverb seems like an insignificant phrase. However, knowing the story as well as the importance of hard work and industriousness within many Asian cultures, the proverb clearly holds a lot more weight. This is a common occurrence when analyzing proverbs, which are usually very hard to translate across cultures due to language and cultural barriers.

 

Proverb: “This, too, shall pass”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 04/01/2019
Primary Language: English

Context: The informant, a 20-year-old female college student who was enrolled in ANTH 333 during a prior semester, was eager to participate in my folklore collection. She shared some folklore with me that she has collected throughout her childhood and her time at USC. The following is an excerpt from our conversation, in which the informant relayed a personally significant proverb and the legend associated with it.

Text:

Informant: Okay, so I’ve heard this story told a lot of different ways because like apparently Jewish people tell the story as part of a Jewish religious moment, but I’m not Jewish and my mother used to tell the story and she would take all religion out of it. So, what I know is that basically this king was on a journey to find a ring that would make a happy man sad and a sad man happy. The king eventually finds this ring with the words “This, too, shall pass” engraved on the inside. And so, for the happy man, it’s supposed to remind the happy man that bad things can come at any moment, so you really need to be like in the moment and present and enjoy that and try to extend it. And it makes the sad man happy because it’s also supposed to tell you that bad things come to an end, so like good things will eventually have to come. So, I don’t know… I just really like that proverb: “This, too, shall pass.”

Informant’s relationship to this item: Though the informant is unsure of the proverb’s true cultural and/or religious origins, the proverb’s meaning and the legend surrounding it has remained with her for years. The proverb almost appears to be a family mantra, as it was taught to the informant by her mother. The informant appears to refer to the proverb during times of happiness, as a remainder to savor every moment, and during times of sadness, as a reminder that her misfortunes will also end.

Interpretation: The proverbial phrase is simultaneously metaphorical, rhetorical, and short — all the criteria for a proverb. It is interesting to hear the tales and legends surrounding such phrases, as many of them would lack the same impact or clarity without the context in which they first originated. While proverbs are usually fixed phrases, the double meaning of this proverb demonstrates how they typically do not have fixed meanings, and their significance can readily change in different contexts. Additionally, the fact that the informant was told the proverb by her mother shows how proverbs typically hold a lot of vernacular authority. Her mother likely could have taught her the same lesson using different wording, but the history of the proverb and the fact that it is commonly heard in society gives the impression that her mother is imparting community wisdom on her daughter.