Tag Archives: river

Harvard River Run – Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 28
Occupation: Author
Residence: Long Beach
Language: English

Ritual: Harvard River Run

Context: “As a Harvard freshman, after living in what’s known as the ‘Freshmen Yard’ for a semester, we had to choose a ‘blocking group’ which was basically a group of 1-5 other people who you were agreeing to live with in one place for the rest of your time at Harvard. After choosing your group, you’re entered into the housing lottery, which determines where you and your group are housed. There are river houses, which are the most coveted because they’re much grander than the boring yard houses, and they sit right next to the Charles river, hence the name. So, in an attempt to appease what everyone called the ‘housing gods,’ freshmen will do the river run the night before housing day, which is when everyone finds out what house they got. For the river run, you get together with your blockmates, suit up, and some people will wear ridiculous outfits but most people just try to look as nonchalant as possible because if the security guards catch you trying to do this, they will kick you out. The goal of the run itself is to go from river house to river house, taking a shot in each house, usually in the room of an upperclassman you know who opens the door for you, but as long as you take the shot on the house’s premises you’re fine. The legend has it that if you successfully take a shot at each house without getting caught, you guarantee yourself a river house. My block successfully completed the run and was placed into a river house the next day so I guess there’s some truth to it.

Analysis: College is weird. Every school has their own traditions and rituals that seem utterly ridiculous to just about everyone other than the actual students of a given school. And maybe I’m wrong, but based on everything I’ve heard about various schools, it seems like the prestige of a school is directly correlated to the strangeness of said traditions and rituals. Ivy leagues, generally being in the upper echelon of prestige, always seem to be the weirdest, but I think that adds to the overall mythos they possess. Why are a bunch of highly intelligent and ambitious students running from house to house, drinking an ungodly amount of alcohol along the way? To appease the housing gods, of course. It’s a completely absurd idea, but at the same time, it’s hilariously fascinating. The fact that nearly every freshman participates in such a strange ritual speaks to the universities’ culture, as just based on what I’ve heard from my informant, Harvard has a very unique and unified culture among the student body. And for the ritual to be conducted yearly by every incoming class illustrates just how strong folklore like this can be.

La Llorona

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 55
Occupation: Chef
Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Text:

“As kids, we heard legends of La Llorona. Her story goes like this: La Llorona was a beautiful woman named Maria who lived in a small village in Mexico. She fell in love with a wealthy man and had two children with him. But after some time had passed, her husband left her for a much younger woman. Maria was so heartbroken and upset that she drowned her children in a river to get back to her ex. After realizing what she had done, she was so sad and overwhelmed with guilt, she cried along the river, ‘Ay, mis hijos!’ She then drowned herself. Now it says she wanders near rivers and lakes, searching for her children here. If you hear her crying at night, it’s a bad omen. My mom told me this story so that I could listen and be obedient and never cheat on any of my partners.”

Context: 

The informant grew up in Mexico. His mother told him this legend to be obedient and loyal and to also scare him from rivers and lakes so he wouldn’t wander and accidentally fall in. He lived along a river, and his mother was also afraid of him drowning in the river since many people in that town have died like that. 

Analysis: The legend is a moral ghost story where the supernatural and narratives blend and become a lesson for the living. In this version, La Llorona is a cautionary figure; it’s a sense of warning children to stay away from rivers but also a moral lesson about fidelity and the consequences of betrayal. It adds a layer of local specificity by my informant letting me know that “many people in that town have died like that,” which grounds the legend in real-life experiences. 

Kappa

AGE: 81

Date_of_performance: April 10, 2025

Language: Japanese

Nationality: Japanese

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Japanese

Residence: Yokohama

Context: The Kappa are river creatures that drown people and it’s a cautionary tale to be careful in water. B also naturally heard of the Kappa as she grew up in Japan. But today she doesn’t interpret it as the scary monsters they originally were, as Japanese media has made them more cute over the years.

Text: 

Interviewer is I. Subject is B

I: What’s another legend you like?

B: The one of the Kappa because I find them cute!

I: Can you say what Kappa are exactly?

B: They were originally ugly creatures but now they are cuter and even come up in that kids show that your cousin watches

I: Do you think the legend of the Kappa lost a little meaning from what it once was?

B: I think more and more people are forgetting they were meant to be dangerous creatures. But I also like the new Kappa and see no problem with them being nice creatures

Analysis:

The Kappa are interesting to me because I feel like overtime their haunting nature has been overshadowed by the cute lens that Japanese media has begun to paint them in. Kappa can be seen in kids shows and even other adult animes where they serve the roles of good characters. I’m curious if this is in a way killing the traditional folklore as their entire image is being shifted. Overall I also don’t see too much problem with it as their design and characteristics are being preserved, with the only things changing is their image from bad to good.

“Denial is a river that runs deep”

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, AZ
Language: English

Text: “Denial is a river that runs deep”

Context: “It is a reference to the Nile River. My mom used to say it when people were denying the truth. Like when you’re blindly following somebody and not seeing through them. When someone is only following one perspective.”

Analysis: This proverb uses word play to reference the Nile river with ‘denial’. Using it as a warning, the informant gives advice on the consequences of denial, which blinds people to the faults of others and leads to hurt. The pain caused by ill-intentioned people can leave lasting consequences, like how rivers leave a mark on the land. This proverb could have deeper symbolisms to the Nile river and the underworld, representing how denial may lead to deeper ruin or death. 

La Llorona

  1. Details
    1. Collected on 03/23/2024 
    2. Genre: Legend
    3. Language: English 
    4. Nationality: Mexican
    5. Relationship to Informant: Friend’s Father 
  2. Text
    1. Summary
      1. The informant’s mother told him a version of the La Llorona legend where there was a woman who lived her life in torment after her children fell into the river and died. 
    2. Direct transcription of folklore:
      1. “You are going into my memory banks here, but my mother used to tell us about this woman who was very afflicted because her children had drowned in the river. And you could hear her wailing ‘ah mis hijos’ – oh, my children. So, it was almost a tale my mom would tell us so not to do dangerous things because she would be forever depressed. It wasn’t so much that this was an evil person that did something bad because I think La Llorona – the original one – drowned her children. In the version my mom would tell us, the children fell into the river and drowned. So, she would wail forever for her children.”
  3. Context 
      1. The informant is the father of my friend. He grew up in a small town in Mexico. This story was told to the informant by his mother when he was a child. 
  4. Analysis 
      1. This oikotype of the La Llorona legend portrays the woman as a grieving mother who lost her children. This legend was told by a mother to her children to prevent them from risking their lives by doing dangerous things. This legend tells the children that if they aren’t careful, they can cause their mother to mourn for the rest of her life.