Tag Archives: spiritual

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.


“Sukob” – Filipino Wedding Superstition

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 51
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: Naperville, IL
Language: English

Text:

Sukob is the belief that siblings should not have their weddings within the same calendar year. It’s also believed that the older sibling should get married first.

Context:

The performer grew up in the Philippines with many siblings who were born at similar times as one another. He has also been married and made sure to not to have his marriage within the same time as his siblings. His marriage has been going strong for 30 years so far.

“So it’s not competing with progress or prosperity and benefits or well-wishes. It’s like a known information like everybody knows it. Especially if you and your siblings are in the same age range, they will normally check first who is older and work with the other siblings for the dates. For example, Tito A got engaged the same year but Tito A gave way to Tito R and waited another year to get married. It’s a practicality thing. It’s also the superstition that the benefits will compete for the rest of your marriage.”

Analysis:

Filipinos are extremely superstitious with many believing that life events carry energetic, or spiritual, weight. To ensure a strong, hormonious, and propserous foundation for their lives, they must set themselves up well for life events. Apart from birth and death, marriage is the only other universal life event that is celebrated cross-culturally, putting a lot of weight on how the event occurs and how important it is in one’s life. Marriage, in particular, holds profound cultural significance as one of the few universal rites of passage celebrated across societies and is treated with a lot of intention. In Filipino culture, where family unity and respect are paramount, avoiding the overlap of weddings within the same family is seen not only as a way to prevent misfortune, but also as a gesture of deference. It ensures that each family member’s major life moment is honored without being overshadowed.

Additionally, “Sukob” superstition has risen in popularity due to the Filipino horror film Sukob which features a couple breaking this rule and the terrifying, dramaticized “karma” that ensued. Cementing a negative perception of Sukob in pop culture has lead to amplified anxieties around violating traditonal norms. Filipinos are especially superstitious due to many of them adhering to Cathiolisism. In a predominantly Catholic society where religious doctrine and folk beliefs often intertwine, the combination of spiritual caution and cinematic storytelling has reinforced the fear and observance of Sukob.

Celestial Myth- Why Does The Moon Have A Crater?

Nationality: Indian-American
Age: 59
Occupation: Lawyer
Residence: Richmond, VA
Primary Language: English

Story:

Ganesha is a god in Hindu mythology who has the head of an elephant. So one day, Ganesha was riding on the mouse in the forest. The mouse saw a snake – it got scared and ran away. Ganesha fell down. The moon saw this and started laughing at Ganesha. Ganesha got angry and threw his tusk at the moon. The point where the tusk hit the moon is where the moon has a crater. This is also why he has one broken tusk.

Context:

JG is 59 years old and my mother. She grew up in India with a very religious Hindu family, before immigrating to the USA. She still practices Hinduism to this day, and follows all of the religion’s traditions, observes the festivals, and believes in its myths to this day. She tried to pass this on to me as a child, but her religious beliefs never really connected with me. She agreed to retell this celestial myth to me for this assignment.

Analysis:

Ganesha is one of the most prominent and common figures in Hindu mythology. He is mostly known as the remover of obstacles, which is why Hindus like to worship him first before worshipping other gods or starting big tasks/activities. This myth shows Ganesha’s impulsiveness and short temper, which follows as his father is said to be the Destroyer. The origins of this myth probably come from the Indus River civilization, as its inhabitants tried to explain natural phenomenon in the sky with stories about the gods. Now, we know the factual, scientific reason why the moon has craters. However, this story remains as something that’s told to children, to entertain them and to familiarize them with the basics of Hinduism from a young age.

Eggs for a Rain-Less Wedding

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Residence: San Gabriel, California
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

M is 50, and was raised in the Caloocan area of metro Manila, Philippines, and currently resides in San Gabriel, California.

M says that “if there is an occasion in which you don’t want it to rain, like a wedding” then you should leave an egg outside. Interestingly, M couldn’t recall where she had heard this belief or the reason why it was so widely held.

Research indicated that this was indeed a common belief held among Filipino people, although there is some discrepancy whether the belief is a myth or a spiritual belief. One variation acts as an urban myth, with eggs being symbolic for new beginnings, while another variation suggests that the egg is an offering to Saint Clara for good weather. Either way, it is still interesting that there can be multiple different origins for one folk belief.

Catholic Baptism

Background provided by BR: BR was raised in Miami, Florida. They are Dominican and have experience with the Hispanic culture in Miami. They were raised in a Catholic household.

Context: BR was approached about folklore, which they shared in the middle of the day. They explain how they were baptized later on in their life. 

Main Piece Transcription of interview (contains the context of particular performance and additional background information): 

BR: “ I didn’t get baptized when I was a baby, I got baptized when I wa about 13 years old.  And … umm … that was very interesting because I didn’t think that, that many kids hasn’t gotten baptized yet, there were lots  of  kids, my age that had gotten baptized, yet … there were a lot of people. And I was in a Catholic Church. And we wore … the ritual was, we go to mass. We kinda pray a bit and we are wearing all black robes. You go to get baptized in the water with the priest, and he … like dunks us in the water three times. Takes us out and and we’re officially baptized and we go to change into white robes … and that’s the end of the ceremony, really. The meaning of the dark robes is that  you’re full of sin. You come into the world full of sin cause The Original sin … of Adam and Eve and then once you’re baptized you’re cleansed  of all sin. 

Me: “Did you have to … uhh … do anything … before the actual, baptism, ceremony …  or ritual to … uhh prepare for it?”

BR: “ Umm … not really, no.  It was kinda just a spiel on what we’re gonna … do. And just classes to learn about Catholic religion.” 

Me: “And … just … umm … a … like … a couple questions that you think that your Dominican background …  or …. maybe other influences … that influenced when… or … how you got your baptism … performed” 

BR: “Ummm … I’m not exactly sure about that, I feel like my culture did really have anything to do with it, I feel like it was my parent’s decision not to baptize me early.” 

Analysis: The use of water as a form or baptism can be considered very symbolic because water is considered a fundamental element. The baptism is a literal and figurative representation cleansing ones sins by washing them away with water. This spiritual ceremony has multiple perfomative aspects such as the classes and changing robes. The classes may aid in educating, but may not change spiritual stances. The classes also seem to have less importance than other apsects of this ceremony. The changing robes is another representation of purity. After the baptism BR was cleansed of all sin and allowed to wear the white robe, which is representative of purity.