Tag Archives: reincarnation

Spirit Visit Dream

Age: 32
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Language: English

Text:

“The night after my father passed away, I vividly remember seeing him in my dream. I had dreamed that I was climbing the inside of the Statue of Liberty, and halfway through the climb, I saw my father sitting on a bench. I approached him and sat next to him; all he said was two words: ‘keep going,’ and then he disappeared. That night, I believe he was visiting me before his reincarnation, reminding me to be strong after his passing and to not lose sight of my goals.”

Context:

The informant, P, shared this memorate during a heartfelt conversation surrounding grief and the intense emotions felt following the passing of a loved one. P explained that her experience occurred the night after the passing of her father, when she had a vivid dream in which her late father appeared. She believes this was not just a dream, but a real encounter with her father, who wanted to grant her strength before his reincarnation. To P, this dream provided her with emotional comfort during a difficult period of transition.

Analysis:

This is a memorate because it is telling a personal, supernatural experience that P believes to be real. Since the dream happened the night after the passing of P’s father, it occurred during a liminal period of emotional vulnerability and grief. The climbing of the Statue of Liberty reflects a journey of personal growth, and her brief conversation with her father helps provide her with both emotional closure and spiritual guidance. Her belief that her father was visiting her before his reincarnation reveals deeper cultural and spiritual beliefs about the afterlife. This memorate shows how dreams can help people cope and find guidance after the difficult transition of losing a loved one.

Fasting Period After Hindu Death

Tags: Hindu, Funeral Customs, Reincarnation, Fasting

Text

Whenever someone passes away in Hindu households, there is a fasting period of 17 days where everyone has to be vegetarian/vegan.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Indian

Age: 22

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Northwest Arkansas, USA

Date of Performance: March 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Friend

Context

AH, the informant, is of Indian descent. Her father practices Hinduism and speaks Tulu. He has been a very influential figure in her upbringing. She also studies indigenous peoples and their customs as a Sustainability major.

Analysis

This custom is symbolic of cleansing away the impurities that come with the death of someone in the family. It is also a means of celebrating their life and accomplishments as they enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Hindi Proverb

Tags: Proverb, Folk Saying, Hinduism, Caste System, Reincarnation

Text

“Do the right thing, not the easy thing.”

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Indian

Age: 21

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Arizona, USA

Date of Performance: February 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): Bengali

Relationship: Friend

Context

RB, the informant, is of Indian descent and actively practices Hinduism.

Analysis

In collecting texts from the informant, I asked him the standard questions, “what is a proverb, rebus, joke,… What was a folk tradition that was important to you growing up?” 

He responded, “The biggest thing that I believe is central to the culture [Hinduism] I was raised in was the idea of doing the right thing, not the easy thing.”

Upon doing more research, I found that Indian culture is heavily rooted in being moral as morality is strongly tied to how one would be reincarnated in the next life [in Hinduism]. Notably, Hinduism believes that doing the “right thing” is related to making sure your life’s purpose is fulfilled, also known as dharma. Having a culture of people wanting to fulfill their life’s purpose has resulted in a classist structure in India, especially amongst people in higher castes.

I caught up with the informant after doing some independent research and asked him if dharma affected his “do the right thing, not the easy thing” mindset and he said “although the caste system is legally gone, its impacts are still very much there.” Acknowledging the idea that morality is a huge standard in Indian culture, one that is heavily influenced by the now gone caste system.

Moroccan: Tino Moths and Rebirth

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/9/19
Primary Language: English

Informant (AH) Is a 22 Year old USC Narrative Studies student interested in user research for games, we traded stories over a podcast we record together.
———————————————————————————————————————
Interviewer(MW): You said you had folklore from your grandmother?
AH: Yeah, so my grandma is from morocco, there’s a lot of folklore culturey stuff and I didn’t realize it was like that until I moved away from her and was like “oh you guys don’t do that here?”
AH: But like one thing in particular is you know Tino Moths
MW: Like the plant? (Interviewer thinks AH has said Tino Moss)
AH: No the bug
MW: OHhhh Moths
AH: yeah, some people when they get into their house you think “Oh I gotta kill it or take it out of the house” but at my grandma’s house you don’t touch the moth you just admire it…because in her culture moths are kind of like ghosts when one of your family members dies they come back to you as a moth, so that was yeah.
MW: We don’t have that in my religion, but that rules
AH: Yeah, it’s sort of comforting you know, to think that the people you love are still around and stuff
———————————————————————————————————————
Analysis
Insect rebirth symbolism allows the departed agency and a fleeting return to the lives of their loved ones, this is reflected in the chance, almost random nature by which the moth ends up in your home. This belief offers a comfort in the wake of loss and serves to temporarily sate the low-level pain that comes with the loss of a loved one, that stays for the rest of your life. Likewise the respect for the moth constitutes a respect for the dead, because those two beings are intertwined. Likewise this piece of folklore serves to connect AH to his grandmother, so that every time he sees a moth he sees her, allowing her to transcend death and remain with him, a part of his life, as her loved ones did when the story lived with her.Thus here, the moth becomes a symbol for death, it’s ephemeral nature makes contact with it fleeting and therefore more valuable, as it carries the soul of the departed onward to wherever it goes next.

Haitian Reincarnation

Nationality: Haitian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: New York, New York
Performance Date: 4/20/19
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Context/Background: The informant’s parents are from Haiti which holds positive beliefs towards reincarnation. One particular encounter sticks with them within this belief.

Informant:

[Face-to-Face conversation]

“So, my family- or I think Haitian people in general just believe that if someone is born the day someone dies, the person who dies- their spirit goes inside the new baby. So like, I think my Dad had a friend who died the day my sister was born, so he’s like, I think his spirit is like, in my sister. So, that’s a nice thing we believe. Yeah.”

Introduction: Personal exposure and informed through Haitian father.

Analysis/Interpretation: This belief is seen across cultures and religions, so I find that intriguing and would love to explore further similarities around the globe with similar ideas. I remember watching different documentaries and being introduced to the idea of reincarnation from different cultures and societies which was interesting to observe and compare that to the belief systems of others. I think the ability to find peace of mind in the informant’s specific circumstance by having faith in the transfer of a soul to another body as comforting, in a way.

 

For reference to reincarnation in other cultures, reference

(2019). Basics of Hinduism: Karma and Reincarnation. Retrieved from https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/karma-reincarnation

Tsuji, T. (1996-2019). BuddhaNet Basic Buddhism Guide on Reincarnation. Retrieved from https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/reincarnation.htm