Title: Lucky Ring
General Information about Item:
- Ritual
- English
- United States
Informant Data:
- Ali Vannett was born on September 22nd, 1997 in Bismarck, North Dakota. Her family currently resides in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a ’20 at Dartmouth studying Government and Music. Ali would love to pursue a career in Politics. She considers herself a very superstitious person.
Contextual Data:
Social Context:
- The data was collected in person in the Berry Library on the first floor. Paul asked Ali if she had any pre-exam superstitions or rituals and gave her a minute to think before responding. Ali responded that she wears the same ring on her middle finger during exams that her mom used when she took exams in college. It helps her to relax and cannot take an exam without the ring on her finger.
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:
- Ali claimed to be a very superstitious person. She wears a lucky ring on her middle finger of her left hand. She claims the ring “grounds” her and gives her good luck. Ali says that whenever she takes an exam without the ring, she is super fidgety and out of place. This is a great example of contagious magic in modern day; Ali genuinely believes by wearing the ring, she will have good luck.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Interview:
Last week I took a test and I didn’t have it on and I would catch myself sitting there wanting to play with it while thinking and it wasn’t there so I thought about it and I think it messed with me a little bit. But since then I’ve had it on and I’m not going to take it off.
Collector’s Name: Paul Cane
Tags/Keywords:Physical Charm. Contagious Magic. Superstition.