Tag Archives: rabbit

Waving Hare

CONTEXT: DM is a current USC student who attended a North Carolina Christian sleep-away camp in the summer of 2011. This is a narrative joke that she heard from the head of camp, Jimbo. She heard this during Jimbo’s “Breakfast Club” during which he talked about God and told jokes. DM interprets this as a funny story specific to her camp.

TEXT:
Alright, this story starts out with a mom in a very, very expensive neighborhood in a
place called Buckwood, in Atlanta. And Buckwood, like across the American South is
just known as, like, THE, THE Heights, like the most rich suburban neighborhood in that
entire area of the US. So, if you say Buckwood, people know what it is, so… It starts
with a Buckwood mom, who is driving back from dropping off her kids at school and
she’s like a good Christian Mom. She’s described as going to the same summer camp
as we went to, super moral, upright character, has really good kids, godly woman, like…
family…. All this stuff. And she’s driving down the neighborhood, and one thing that she
really, really cared about was animals. Like, she volunteered at a vet clinic, and had a
bunch of dogs in her own house, just really, really loved them. So, it was super
unfortunate that when she was driving home, she hit a little bunny with her car. It just
ran right across the road, too fast, before she could stop. And she frantically gets out of
the car, runs over to the bunny, and it is just not looking good. He is just lights out,
y’know, and there’s no signs of damage but she doesn’t know what to do and she freaks
out. And she runs back into her car and is frantically looking around for something to
help this bunny, something that she could do, and she grabs a bottle from her car
console. And right as she’s running back to the bunny, she can see that its’ not going
well. She doesn’t really have a lot of hope, but she’s like “let me try this one last thing. I
think I have this magical trick that I think really could work.” And she sprays the bunny
all up and down. At this time, another parent in the neighborhood pulls over, ‘cause they could see that there was a dead animal and a mom in distress. So, the neighbor pulls over on the side of the road, right as she’s spraying the rabbit. And they get out of the car, and they’re like “what is going on?” And she’s like “just wait for it, wait for it.” And the other person is really confused ‘cause they’re like “why does it smell like cosmetics out here, and what is she spraying this rabbit with?” And suddenly, before they can think more about what’s going on, the rabbit suddenly… the leg twitches. Just a little bit, but it’s enough for them to both stop talking and just notice it and look at it. And the leg twitch kinda keeps on happening and is getting stronger and stronger and suddenly, both of its legs are kicking, and suddenly one of its ears picks up, and then two, and then the entire bunny perks its head up and springs back to life like nothing happened. And it starts to run away from the road and starts to run back into the bushes. And as it’s running away, it was doing the most bizarre thing. It ran away, would turn around to the both of them, and then wave. And then it would take a couple more steps, turn around, and then wave. And then do the same thing, until they couldn’t see it anymore. And they go “Oh my gosh, that is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. What did you spray that rabbit with?” And she reads the label, and it says, “HAIR [hare] SPRAY – PERMANENT WAVE – REVITALIZING EXTRA POWER.” And that’s the joke.

ANALYSIS: Something I noticed in the structure of this narrative joke was the use of the word “and.” The narrative uses the word frequently, which I believe helps the audience stay engaged because it removes any breaks in the story. It is also interesting to me that the woman in the story is given a lot of personal traits that seem to have been meant to speak to the personal experience of the audience where it was told at this camp. The emphasis on religion and the use of a specific location would make this story and character even more lively in the minds of the audience. This joke is an example of a play on words, with “hair” and “hare” sounding the same when spoken aloud.

Woman and Rabbit: A folk tale

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Southern California
Performance Date: 4/1/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Text

“One folk tale I know is a Chinese one– about the lady and rabbit on the moon. I don’t remember it that well.” The informant racked their brain for the information. “There was an immortal lady who was in love with a human man. Because of this, they weren’t meant to be together, though. So she was banished to live on the moon with the rabbit to keep her company. There, she waits for the man to come to her, but since he’s mortal, he died on earth. This is why you’re able to see a woman and a rabbit on the moon.”

Context

RELATIONSHIP –
“I don’t have much of a relationship with these pieces. It’s cool, but it was something I had to study. Everyone I knew, knew the story. It’s very much a Chinese folk tale that a lot of people here [in the U.S.] don’t tend to know or study.”

WHERE THEY HEARD IT –
“I had to study a lot of folk tales in Chinese school. They teach it everywhere. I had to read it a bunch then.”

INTERPRETATION –
“It’s just a cute fairy tale that people tell children. I don’t really think there’s a lesson, or says much about morals. It’s just an origin story explaining a part of the world people back then weren’t able to explain. Worldbuilding.”

Analysis

This folk tale seems very similar to one that I know about a woman named Chang’e and the love of her life named Houyi; and I think that they either are the same story, but my informant didn’t remember all the details, or they are different stories that derive from one another. While this story seems to serve primarily as the reasoning for why people can “see” the image of a woman and rabbit on the moon, it also works as a lesson. I think that an important part of this story is the fact that the woman stays, waiting on the moon for the man even though he has died long ago. She seems to be trapped in a denial stage of grief, refusing to move on. Because of this, she’s perpetually stuck, waiting both physically and emotionally.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Nationality: White American
Age: 56
Occupation: Media relations specialist
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/20
Primary Language: English

Context:

I received this tradition and superstition from my mother, who grew up in a white suburban household in Colorado during the late 20th century. She learned it from her father, an English professor, who read it in a student paper about superstitions. When I was younger, she used to practice this little act of magic, but she does not do it anymore.

Text:

If the first words you say in the month are “rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,” you will have good luck for the whole month.

Thoughts:

Rabbits symbolize good luck in various cultures. I have seen rabbit foot keychains, which are intended to endow their owners with good luck. The word comes in threes, another example of the primacy of the number three in American folk belief. This piece of folklore was transmitted through the written word and stuck in my own family. To attach a special incantation to the beginning of each month gives the start of the month some special significance. It helps to mark off the months as distinct from one another, each as an opportunity for a new beginning, a renewal of luck. Rabbits are also associated with procreation and fertility, so their evocation at the beginning of each monthly cycle could signify renewal, new birth, and fecundity. This incantation is a way to be ‘reborn’ each month, as if to say: “no matter how difficult or painful last month was for me, here’s a chance to start one anew.” This little act of superstition can help people to maintain their faith in the future and retain a spirit of hope and growth going into each new month.

Determining Marriages from the Chinese Zodiac Calendar

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 55
Occupation: Registered Nurse, Teacher
Residence: Lake Oswego, Oregon
Performance Date: 2/22/2019
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Context:

My informant is a 55 year old woman that immigrated from China to America in her early 30s. She is a mother, a registered nurse, and also a teacher in nursing school. This conversation took place in a hotel one evening, and the informant and I were alone. In this account, she explains the significance behind the Chinese Zodiac calendar in relation how marriages or compatible partners are determined. I asked for the story behind this folklore because I know the Chinese zodiac calendar holds a lot of importance to the informant, for she has discussed it a lot with me in the past. She told me that she doesn’t remember how exactly she learned all of this; rather, it’s so integrated into Chinese culture and talked about so often that it almost seems like common knowledge that everyone will learn one way or another. Because her English is broken, I have chosen to write down my own translation of what she told me (while still trying to stay true to her performance), because a direct transcription may not make as much sense on paper as it did in conversation (due to lack of intonation and the fact that you cannot see her facial expressions or hand motions in a transcription). In this conversation, I am identified as K and she is identified as S.

 Text:

S: “In China, we have these zodiacs to, um, see what type of animal you are. For example, this year is the Year of the Pig, so everyone born this year will… have the Pig as their zodiac animal. I don’t remember exactly how it works, but, um, like, the Zodiac calendar lines up with the lunar year—everything we do and believe is connected to what point of the lunar year we’re at. So you can see why this zodiac calendar is so important. We even use it to, um, determine marriages. For example, if a person’s zodiac animal is a Chicken, they can’t marry someone who’s a Dog because chickens and dogs always fight in real life; symbolically, this means that these two, if they get married, will fight for the rest of their lives. Eventually, all of this fighting will break their marriage. Basically we turn to the zodiac calendar to look at, uhh, compatibility. Before Chinese people couples get married, they want to look at each others zodiacs and then look at this other thing called a ‘huang li,’ which determines which years and days they should get married.”

 

K: “Who else can’t get married?”

 

S: “I know that Pigs are considered perfect matches with Tigers, but, um, though I honestly can’t tell you why. I do know that Pigs, in Chinese culture, represent wealth, riches, and, like, will bring lots of happiness, so most people want to marry someone who’s zodiac animal is the year the Pig. People also want to get married the Year of the Pig, and especially want to have children the Year of the Pig.

 

Thoughts:

When I was a kid, my parents would always talk about our zodiac animals—my father is a sheep and my mother and I are rabbits. They would always talk about how their love was meant to be because, in the Chinese Zodiac calendar, sheeps and rabbits are considered perfect matches. Because it was so integrated into my childhood, I think I started to take on the characteristics and personality traits that were expected of a “Rabbit.”

After being told this folklore, I looked up what the expected traits of a Rabbit were, and the weaknesses include “timid” and “hesitant”—though I’ve grown out of it now, as I child, I rarely spoke to anyone because I was too nervous. Strengths of a Rabbit include being polite, generous, and responsible, which were all things that I was (and still am) known for among my family, friends, and peers. Because these traits of our Zodiac animals are so true to who we really are, it’s hard not to take these animals so seriously. As I’m getting older, the concept of marriage is becoming more and more relevant, so it’s natural that my Chinese parents, relatives, and the informant (who is also a Chinese relative) are starting to talk about my Zodiac in the context of marriage. Rabbits are apparently extremely compatible with most other Zodiac animals, according to my family, so perhaps that’s why they’re so confused as to why I’m not in a relationship yet/ thinking about marriage yet.

 

Chinese New Year Doll (Tu’er Ye)

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2019
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Informant:

M, a 21-year-old, Chinese male who grew up in Beijing until he turned 17 before moving to the United States. He now lives in Los Angeles, California, and attends the University of Southern California with his girlfriend who is from Southern China.

Background info:

M’s first language was Mandarin. His family spoke Mandarin and he only learned English before moving to the United States. Because he grew up in Beijing, he believes himself to be fairly knowledgeable about the folklore that every day people participate in. This is one of the Chinese traditions in their household.

Context:

This is a Chinese tradition that M’s family would participate in during the Lunar New Year in Beijing. Because he was close with all his family, he and his younger sister would often have to do these traditions twice a year, once with their mother’s side of the family and again with their father’s side. This was told to me during a small get-together at his house. The following is a transcript of the piece as told by M.

Main piece:

“This is also about Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year like spans for two weeks. By the end of that… this is specific to Beijing… you’ve got something called Tu’er Ye (in Chinese: 兔儿爷). Basically, this means uhh… ‘lord rabbit’… Um, so essentially, it’s like a little doll made from porcelain… a porcelain doll… and the tradition is that you are supposed to get one at the beginning of the year and get rid of it at the end of the year. Essentially, it is still like a paganism folklore thing that is supposed to serve as protection for your family. I remember that in the traditional folklore, you needed to like break or shatter the doll at the end of the year, but we don’t really do that anymore, we just get rid of it and get a new one. We would never really do this as a family, you would sort of just know it was there. It’s always the same chubby rabbit who is like riding on a tiger. It’s kind of weird, but people still do it. I think people would break the doll to represent kind of breaking all the bad fortune from the previous year, and you get a new one to have a fresh start.”

Thoughts:

I found it interesting that the tradition involved breaking the glass/porcelain doll to dispel bad fortune. In a lot of other folklore that I have seen, the breaking of something as fragile as glass is considered bad luck. One example of this is the folk belief that breaking a mirror will result in seven years of bad luck, a popular belief that I heard numerous times as a child. Doing a little more research on this topic, I found that Tu’er Ye is actually related to moon worship, and he is considered to be the moon rabbit of the goddess Chang’e. The keeping of a porcelain doll visible in the house all year reminded me of various scary stories involving dolls that came to life. Because the Tu’er Ye doll is supposed to represent, or shield from, the family’s bad fortune, I can see a slight connection behind the horror story dolls being an embodiment of evil.