Title:
General Information about Item:
- Genre and Sub Genre
- Verbal folklore: Superstition
- Language: English
- Country where Item is from: South Korea
Informant Data:
- The informant (myself) is originally from Korea and have lived in Korea for 10 years but also has lived in Singapore for 8 years. My parents were born and raised in Korea so my cultural background is mostly Korean. Currently, I am a sophomore at Dartmouth College. His hobbies are watching films, reading and sleeping and his aspiration is to be successful in his professional career.
Contextual Data:
- Social Context: For the fingernail superstition, I heard it from my parents whenever I would cut my nails but have also read it from a book. For the liquor-related superstition, I have seen it in an online video and also witnessed it first-person.
- Cultural Context: Both superstitions seem to originally strongly from Asian/Korean influences. The fingernail superstition is likely to be from Confucius beliefs, where body parts are considered special since they have been passed down from our parents. The liquor-related superstition closely resembles the practice of splashing alcohol on the graves of our ancestors to appease the spirits.
Item:
- Good Luck Superstition: Spraying Korean liquor on the wheels of a new vehicle
- Bad Luck Superstition: Throwing fingernails away carelessly
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
Informant’s Comments:
- So, to give little of social context, when and how I witnessed these superstitions is for the driving one I just saw a video of someone who bought a new car and they were splashing the alcohol so that’s I have found it and I think I’ve seen it people do it actually.
- And for the fingernails one, I heard it from my parents when I cut my fingernails and I also read about it from a book.
- As for the cultural context, I think splashing liquor on the wheels kind of comes from the practice of splashing liquor on the wheels of graves of our ancestor to pay respect so I guess liquor is kind of a way of appeasing spirits or ancestors
- And for the fingernail, I think it comes from the Asian cultural belief that the nails or any body parts are important part of our body and that we treat it with respect
Collector’s Comments:
- I think it is interesting that the remains of contagious magic can be seen in Confucius beliefs where body parts, even when no longer part of us, are considered sacred objects that must be treated with respect. Furthermore, it is worth noting how the traditional practice of respecting elders with alcohol is paralleled in an urban superstition.
Collector’s Name: Kyoung Tae Kim (Tim)
Tags/Keywords:
- Superstition/Good Luck/Bad Luck/Korea/Vehicle/Fingernails/Contagious Magic