Tag Archives: tradition

Folktale: Tale of Two Tengu

Date of Performance: 04/01/2025

Nationality: Japanese

Primary Language: English

Residence: Manila, Philippines

My informant, who is half-Japanese, recounts to me a folktale from a children’s book his parents would read to him as a child. The story revolves around two Tengu, Japanese supernatural creatures who resemble demons, their most notable feature being their long noses, which can extend and retract at will. The tale begins as one Tengu, sitting atop a mountain far from civilization, extends his nose to extreme lengths until it reaches a farming village. The people of the village don’t know what it is, but the daughter of the village’s head uses his nose to hang her expensive laundry, leaving several kimonos on it. When the Tengu retracts his nose, he discovers them, and is overjoyed at his good luck – he is then met with jealousy from his friend, another Tengu, who, watching his success, extends his own nose to the village. Instead of expensive clothes, however, when he does so, he gets nothing but bruises and welts, as the children of the town have used his nose as a plaything, climbing, hitting, and toying with it. He retracts his nose, and much to his dismay, has received nothing for his jealousy but bad fortune.

My informant tells this story with a humorous tone – this was his favorite story growing up – and explains its message as “pretty simple”, probably created as a cautionary tale against the pitfalls of envy. He says it aligns with similar Japanese folktales that preach humility, that portray characters who, out of greed, try to replicate the good fortunes of others at their own expense.

My interpretation of this story is quite similar – I think it reflects the cultural and social values prioritized by a community oriented society like Japan. Mirroring its traditionally Buddhist, antimaterialist cultural history, the emphasis on admonishing qualities such as greed and envy make sense. Interestingly, after researching the story further, I found it to be quite unique – it can be traced back exclusively to one storybook (likely the one my informant was shown as a child), the author of which claims the tale has been passed down in their family. Like my informant, the author is part-Japanese, and as some note the Tengu’s description in the story as having unusual, foreign qualities, and so I believe it is likely to have been corrupted from another older tale into something more reflective of the author’s personal background and heritage.

GRAPES ON NEW YEARS

The informant eats a dozen grapes every year before midnight on New Year’s Eve underneath a table for good luck in the New Year and to manifest true love. Each grape represents a month in the year, and they must be finished before midnight.

Age: 24

Date: April 1st 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of tradition, and has been trending on social media (particularly the platform TikTok). This Tradition originated in Spain in the late 1800s, when farmers who dealt with a grape surplus needed to sell their product and used this tradition to popularize it. Over time the tradition turned into a way for single people to try and manifest a partner, and has become popular in recent years because of videos online.

CAPTAIN LOOT

The informant’s family has a tradition where every April, “Captain Loot”, a fictional pirate, comes and visits the family’s home and hides presents. He leaves clues around the house, and the children of the family would then go follow the clues and embark on a scavenger hunt. This tradition has been going on for thirty years.

Age: 21

Date: March 20th, 2025

Informant Name: Michael Butcher

Language: English

Nationality: White

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This falls into the category of tradition and family lore, and this tradition has been passed down among the generations. Although it is a made up holiday and will stay within the family, it is practiced every April in the informant’s family.

The UCLA Fountain Legend

Students at UCLA have a tradition where they touch their hands into the inverted fountain on campus, which is twelve feet wide and five feet deep, during their freshman orientation. The informant told me about this tradition over a phone call, and it said that if you touch your hand into it again before you graduate, you will be cursed to spend another quarter at UCLA and graduate late. This story has been passed down from the older generations of grades to the current generation. The informant is a student at UCLA in his junior year, and he is apart of a fraternity. He heard this legend from an older student at his fraternity.

AGE: 21

DATE: February 18th

Language: English

Nationality: White

Occupation: Student

Residence: UCLA

ANALYSIS: I believe that this story was made to both bond students together during orientation to participate in a tradition that is specific to the campus and UCLA, and to also act as a superstition that can scare the freshman into not touching the fountain. It is apart of the culture at UCLA, and the story is also a way for the students to make a memory during orientation when it is their turn to touch the fountain, as well as when they graduate and get to partake in the tradition again before they leave.

There’s a snake in my… Pocket?

Nationality: African American

Primary Language: English

Other language(s): French

Age: 65

Occupation: Management Consultant

Residence: Upstate, NY

Performance Date: 4/20/2025

Context: 

My informant, WB, is a family member of mine who lives in the Hudson Valley area of New York. They used to tell me a lot of riddles as a child, and loved to play games with riddles all the time. One day I decided to ask them if they ever heard of an original riddle that stuck with them personally, one they had not yet shared with me. This is what I got: 

Text: 

“‘What do you get when you put a snake in your pocket? You get bit.’ The meaning of this is to beware of trusting and getting too close to scrupleless people. While I hate that it puts snakes in a bad light, this saying has always taught me to take the time to get to know people who may become a business partners. AND, even then, you may still get bit!! I think this is one that my grandfather created, perhaps it was passed on from an experience his parents had who were in the restaurant business back in the 20’s and finally lost the business to their business partners.  This means a lot to me, it has taught me to pay close attention to the motives of people in general when it comes to finance, positive or negative. I know most people say ‘I trust people until they prove otherwise’ but for me, ‘I don’t trust people I meet until they prove trustworthy.’”

Analysis: 

Okay, so, this proverb they exemplified, I personally had never heard before, and upon looking it up, I found next to nothing, which is great! This might actually be unique to WB’s family (or at least not widespread) adding to the idea that it was coined by their grandfather or adapted from an older phrase. What’s interesting is how it uses the symbol of the snake, which in many global traditions (from the Bible to African trickster tales to Greek mythology) represents deceit, danger, or moral testing. In this case, the snake stands as a metaphor for untrustworthy people, especially in financial or business settings, with the “pocket” standing in as a symbol for closeness or vulnerability. It’s also compelling how the proverb serves not only as a warning, but also as a reflection of a real, generational experience. I think it’s cool that the personal history gives the phrase emotional weight and makes it more than just a casual saying, almost becoming a tool of survival and a form of inherited wisdom. What I find most fascinating is how WB uses it to define their personal philosophy on trust, flipping the more common belief that trust is given until broken. I honestly lean that way too. Plus, WB seems to approach trust as something earned, which they frame not as cynical, but as careful. It’s a great example of how even a small, family-rooted piece of folklore can carry over an entire worldview.