Title: Lucky Ring
General Information about Item:
- Ritual
- English
- United States
Informant Data:
- Lizzie Clark was born in Orange County, California, on December 2, 1997. Her father owns a landscaping company and mother her mom is a real estate agent. Lizzie is an American Caucasian, but her family origins are Mexican and English so her background is Central American and Western. She is sophomore at Dartmouth College, studying Biological Anthropology. Lizzie participates in Student Council and Ledyard Canoe Club in her free time.
Contextual Data:
Social Context:
- The data was collected during a one on one interview on Fourth Floor Berry while Lizzie was preparing for an Anthropology presentation. She described a ritual she does before every exam or presentation – a high pressure context – to outperform her peers. Lizzie stated that she heard this ritual from one of her freshman floormates and decided to replicate it herself.
Cultural Context:
- The cultural context of this folklore reflects the competitive atmosphere of Dartmouth college, where every grade impacts as student’s GPA. Students at an Ivy League do not just try to succeed in their classes, but to outperform their peers. As a result of this high stress environment, students may turn to superstitions or ritual to lessen the pressure.
Item:
- Lizzie wears three rings on her right hand before every exam for good luck. She claims they help prevent her hand from cramping when she writes long answers on exams. She heard about using a lucky ring from one of her freshman floormates, Kyra, who also wears a lucky ring on her right hand the day of an exam. Lizzie used to experience hand cramps in high school whenever she would write long answers during exams. Now, every time Lizzie has worn her lucky ring, she has never experienced a hand cramp on an exam.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Collector’s Comments:
- When wearing rings, Lizzie has never experienced hand cramps. Now she is superstitious of taking an exam without them — and wouldn’t dare to do so.
Collector’s Name: Kyle Rosen
Tags/Keywords: Physical Charm. Superstition. Contagious Magic.