Tag Archives: religious

Adam’s first wife.

Main Text:
Myth: Lilith Adam’s first Wife

Background on Informant:
My informant is my younger brother he is 26 and is a college graduate from UC Davis who is currently working as a longshoreman. He has a close friend who is Jewish, and his friend told my brother about the Kabbalah, a book about Jewish folklore and mysticism. He told him that Adam had a wife before Eve, my brother then shared that story with me. I found it especially interesting because it presents a slightly different version of events than the traditional Christian narrative.

Text:
Interviewer: Tell me the story of Adam’s first wife

Informant: Yeah, Lilith. She’s supposed to be Adam’s first wife before Eve. So God made Adam out of dust, right, like from the dust you are born and to the dust you shall return
Interviewer: yeah

Informant: ok well we were always taught that Eve was created from Adam’s rib, right? Not from the same dust that Adam was created from, have you ever wondered why?
Interviewer: Why?

Informant: Because, God made Adam’s first wife from the same dust as Adam and so she saw herself as equal to Adam, like she refused to be subservient, this is made obvious to Adam when they were having sex, she was on top of him and he said, “what are you doing on top of me get below me” and she said with disdain, “I will never be below you”. Adam said to God that he did not like Lilith and he did not want her near him anymore, so then God is like bros before hoes and Lilith is kicked out from the Garden of Eden.

Interviewer: for clarification, God didn’t say bros before hoes, right, because I have to record what you say.

Informant: haha, No, he just like told her to leave the garden and she does then becomes a powerful demon. Meanwhile God makes Adam a new wife from his rib so she would be like him and love him more and be subservient.

Interviewer: How does she become a demon?

Informant: I don’t know, I don’t think it says how? but some say if you live a life too corrupt you become a demon and serve the evil that damned you in the after life.

Interviewer: What where did you hear that.

Informant: online.

Interviewer: so unrelated to this story ok, So what do you think this story is trying to say?

Informant: Honestly, I think it’s a control tactic. Like, its always been male dominated world and if you have a story like this in the very beginning you know, Lilith didn’t want to be beneath Adam, she wanted equality and that caused the whole problem. It kind of shows how her way of thinking, like feminism, autonomy and whatever is being portrayed as like divergent or problematic and it makes sense if you’re trying to manipulate and control people. Its all about who controls the narrative.

Interviewer: So you don’t think it actually happened?

Informant: Are you serious right now? No, I don’t but it is pretty interesting.

Analysis:
This myth deals with religious beliefs and ideologies from Christianity, Islam and Judaism but with a twist. The story of Lilith tells a different story about women, offering a more subjective explanation for gender roles. It reinforces the idea belief is social, and not fixed, since some people believe these stories, while others see them as symbolic representations of the expectations from man . The story also shows how folklore is passed between different groups, since the story is primarily Jewish tradition but is being shared through conversation. This story shows how myths can reflect cultural values like the desire for subservient women within Christianity Judaism and Islam, challenge existing beliefs by offering an alternative story or a prequel, and continue to spread through informal transmission such as word of mouth.


Religious Riddles

Main text:
Religious riddles

Background on informant:
My grandmother is a deeply devout Christian whose faith is woven into her everyday life. Much of the folklore she shares is rooted in her faith, whether it’s Christian riddles or her love for worship music.

Informant: Ohh, I have a good one for you.

Interviewer: Ok, let me have it.

Informant: What is more powerful than God, more evil than the devil, all poor people have it, and if rich

people ate it, they would die?

Interviewer: I don’t know, what is more powerful than God?

Informant: NOTHING!

Interviewer: Ok..

Informant: Nothing….

Interviewer: Ohhhh I get it. Dang that’s a good one.

Informant: My congregation liked that one too.

Analysis: This riddle does more than just make you think, it’s a way for my grandma’s faith community to reinforce their belief in their community values centralized around God’s power. In class, we talked about how folklore keeps group values alive, this is something fun that also reminds everyone that nothing tops God. So, through a simple riddle, they’re passing down what they believe, in a clever and engaging way that wont be forgotten.

Festival: Christmas

Date of Performance: 04/30/2025

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles, California

My informant describes the importance of his family’s Christmas celebration every year growing up. He notes that it isn’t necessarily unique, but that his parents made it a point of emphasis in his childhood, and that to this day he fondly remembers the effort they put into making it special for him and his brother. He also notes that while was raised culturally Catholic, he is not particularly religious, and regards the holiday as having more of a personal than spiritual significance in his eyes. His family tradition went as such: every year, they would decorate the tree together on the first of December. His father took care to always buy a real, fresh, pine tree, because he enjoyed the smell of it throughout their house. The biggest day of the Christmas holiday, he describes, was the night before Christmas, when his cousins, who only visited about once a year, would come over with his uncle and aunt, and his parents would cook a large dinner. This was followed by a screening of A Charlie Brown Christmas, after which they were all allowed to open one present before going to bed. The next morning, they would find the milk and cookies they’d left out eaten, and their stockings stuffed with one or two items from their Christmas list. After this, they’d eat the leftovers of the night before, and watch Christmas movies with their parents and family. 

My informant describes this practice with much enthusiasm – I could tell he really enjoyed reminiscing about his childhood. He notes that his parents’ treatment of the Christmas holiday was likely due to his father, who grew up as the child of immigrants, always envying the “classic” Christmas experience he peers had. 

On another note, my informants’ perception of Christmas as less of a religious event and more of a family celebration  is pretty similar to the experience of my other friends. Regardless of if they were raised religious or not, many describe the winter holidays with similar fondness, likely because of globalization and the cultural prominence of the “classic” Christmas holiday. Interestingly, this practice is less community based as it is familial, perhaps reflecting the dominance of the nuclear-family model amongst Western countries and cultures.

“Christ on a Cracker!”

Nationality: American
Age: 60
Occupation: Writer
Language: English

Context

Over the summer, I had said this phrase in front of a friend on a long walk back home. Given that my friend had never heard it before, I thought I had come up with it! I couldn’t remember where I had first heard it. Cut to a conversation with my mother about a month later and, lo and behold, I am not as original as I thought. My mother had heard it before, but where, she couldn’t say. We’ve certainly heard it said before, either to or around us. Otherwise, how could we have known it?

“Christ on a cracker” is an expletive phrase, used to express frustration or shock. It also serves as a minced oath, a watered-down form of more tabooistic wording, in this case a form of “Christ” or “Jesus Christ.”

Analysis

Unlike other minced oaths, which use euphemism to mask taboo words, this one doesn’t fully embrace euphemism to hide the societal taboo, in this case taking the Abrahamic God’s name in vain. “Christ” leads the phrase front and center, perhaps even “Jesus Christ” if you feel so compelled. Rather, it relies on humorous alliteration to compensate for the taboo it’s trying to avoid. The use of “cracker” brings to mind communion bread, so there’s another possible religious connection for the exact wording.

There’s also an element of absurdism in this phrase. It immediately puts an image of the Messiah on a piece of cooked grain in your mind. Is this another tactic the phrase employs to distract from the taboo language it uses, or is it meant to further violate social conventions?

Sleep with Jesus and the Angels

Nationality: Mexican-American
Occupation: Student, Business
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Language: English

Informant: “My mom would say ‘sleep with Jesus and the angels’ ever since I was a kid. It definitely has roots in Christianity; my mom is pretty religious. I think it made her feel better having put us to bed saying that. But also to get us to think about god and have it on our minds when we go to bed. She used to always say the first thing you should do in the morning and the last thing at night is pray. The Jesus and the angels part, I guess, has to do with the guardian angels watching over us. Knowing that we’re protected and taken care of.”

Context: The informant’s mother would say this to him when tucking him into bed. Both the informant and his mother are Christians, and his mom is fairly devout. He interprets it as his mom’s way of blessing him before bed and getting him to become closer to God. He also believes that a piece of this was rooted in his mom’s own worry. She wanted to ensure their safety and entrusted it to God.

Analysis: This seems to be a religious saying that the informant’s mother would use to bless their child before bed. However, this saying also serves the purpose of teaching children that they can trust God to watch over them and put their faith in him for protection. It lovingly solidifies the family’s belief system.