Tag Archives: Religion

Mezuzah

This informant shared a tradition their family follows due to their Jewish heritage. In the Jewish culture, it is very common to find a small piece of wood in the doorway of any home. This wood has an extremely important purpose as it is a symbol of blessings which sanctifies the house which it hangs on. A Mezuzah is a small, decorative piece which specifically hangs on the right of a doorframe from the perspective of the entrance of the home. Mezuzah actually means doorpiece in Hebrew, embodying the message that Jews proudly live in this home and are not afraid to show it. Mezuzahs have been around for thousands of years, connecting, protecting, and uniting Jews around the world. 

The Mezuzah tradition highlights a significant aspect of Jewish culture, deeply rooted in religious practice and family heritage. Usually the Mezuzah bears a parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah which serves as a symbol of blessings and sanctification for the home.  As individuals pass through the doorway adorned with a Mezuzah, they are reminded of their connection to God and their obligation to uphold the teachings of the Torah. The Mezuzah carries both spiritual and symbolic weight, embodying the Jewish people’s pride in their heritage and their commitment to living in accordance with their beliefs. Despite centuries of dispersion, Jewish communities worldwide have maintained the practice of affixing Mezuzah to their doorways preserving a tangible link to their shared heritage and faith.

Purim Jewish Religious Festival Celebration

Text 

Collector: “In your childhood, have you participated in any specific rituals or festivals?”

Informant: “I did a lot of Jewish religious holidays as a kid. During Purim at my temple — Temple Israel of West Hollywood— we eat different religious foods. There’s a cookie called the Hamantash which is like a triangle-shaped shortbread, filled with jelly. It’s so good. And then you have to do certain prayers and like community activities. The celebration is obviously like about one of the many genocides of the Jewish people, we overcame that, let’s party. And part of it has to do with this woman named Esther. Basically, she had to disguise herself as like, not being a Jew. So part of the ritual is to dress up in costume. So it’s like the Jewish Halloween!”

Context

The informant is a female Jewish undergraduate student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Los Angeles. She regularly attends on-campus Jewish religious events at Hillel. 

Analysis

Learning more about my friend’s religious traditions showed me how different my religious celebrations are in comparison. The costume ritual stood out to me the most. To make a Purim feel like a distinctly special day, inverted social rules are applied. People are expected to dress differently than in their everyday life. The Hamantash cookies were another tradition that piqued my interest. Indulging in this treat is reserved/associated with this special holiday. In my religion, I can’t recall any treats that have the same significance.

Madonna Della Cava Feast

“Growing up in Boston we had a lot of festivals, and a few jump to my mind–there’s an Italian feast that everyone goes to in late August, like in middle of the streets in Boston, and you can get Italian food and listen to live music! It’s great. It’s called the Madonna Della Cava Feast, and my whole neighborhood (the North End) is totally transformed during the festival. I think the festival coincides with one in Pietraperzia, Italy, which is cool because an immigrant community halfway across the world has this intimate thing in common with its roots!”

Context:

This conversation was conducted in person at a dining hall, and I transcribed as faithfully as possible our conversation into written form.

Interpretation:

This also highlights how festivals can have a cultural element where even in another nation, similar aspects are celebrated. Boston has a significant Italian population, so this isn’t surprising, but it does illustrate how these immigrant/motherland communities might be closer than one may imagine, given that immigration to a new cultural context might induce changes in the way festivals are celebrated.

A Nat’s Malevolent Dream

Nationality: Burmese

Primary Language: Burmese

Other Language(s): English

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Baltimore, WA

Performance Date: 03/19/2024

Y.Y. has been my friend since Kindergarten, and is also a Burmese person who is originally from Yangon, Myanmar. He recounts the time P, his grandma told him a horror story about Burmese spirits. Their relationship is very close knit, as his grandma would regularly tell him Burmese legends and superstitions that she has learned about. 

“In Pyi Oo Lwin, there are a lot of cave pagodas and this one family went on a vacation there. They visited a cave pagoda one morning during their trip and later that night, their son had a dream. In the dream, he was in the exact same cave pagoda they were at earlier that day. In caves like these, there are usually ponds that are created since water would drop and seep through from the top of the caves due to humidity. There was a pond in that cave pagoda and it just so happens that there was a lot of treasure in that pond. Somehow, he ended up in the cave in real life the next day, to search for the treasure in the pond. Days later they found his corpse floating with chains tied around his body on top of the pond. P. Told me that sometimes Nats (god-like spirits) try to seduce people into the areas that they are chained to, because they are finding a replacement. Nats are usually found in sacred places like those ponds and they attract humans using dreams and hallucinations so they can leave the place once a replacement has been found. I interpret the story my grandma told me as a way for her to make me respect or at least fear the Nat. This is because my family usually doesn’t believe in spirits like the Nat but she does, so she says that although we don’t have to worship them, at the very least we should respect and acknowledge them when we visit pagodas so they don’t harm us. 

I personally found this story really terrifying, and interpret it as an unrealistic legend made to incite fear in us. I think these stories usually have a motive that is trying to push a certain narrative or lesson on to us. For this story, I think it teaches us to not wander off and be greedy. Since P. told Y.Y. this when he was quite young, it might be her way of protecting and warning him from danger whenever they visit sacred places like temples. In Myanmar, it is very important that we are respectful when we visit sacred places like pagodas and temples. We would have to be dressed a certain way, and not do much else other than pray and walk around there. This type of story makes sure people are not doing anything that can be considered greedy or sinful, when they are at sacred places.

Proverbs Catholic Grandmothers Say

“Dios Por Delante, Todo Sale Bien” (God in control, all will be well).

My mom told me that my great-grandmother would often say this phrase. It is obviously based deeply within religion and proverbs like these were ones often told and frequently said. They were said in a hopeful context centered in the belief of a higher power. And with said belief and manifestation of faith, good fortune would also be summoned.

I’ve heard very similar proverbs be said be my grandma, my mom, and other relatives indicating that same sense of hope according to their faith, something that’s very big amongst Latinamerican cultures. These are said very often and in many scenarios. For example, one would say “I hope I get the job” and then someone would say one of these proverbs indicating luck and good things.