Informant: Anonymous
Place Collected: Hanover, NH
Date Collected: October 21, 2020
Informant Data:
Anonymous was born in Brazil in 2000, and lived there her entire life before attending Dartmouth College. She is an undergraduate studying Biophysical Chemistry and Neuroscience.
Contextual Data:
The 15th birthday in Brazil does not represent any official, legal changes (adulthood and all the rights that come with it are reached at 18), but it holds symbolic significance in a society that is still very much patriarchal.
Item:
The 15th birthday party marks a girl’s transition into womanhood. Typically in Brazil a girl would host a large party in a rented venue, with catered food, decorations and invitations – much at the same level as a wedding party. The birthday girl wears a dress with a big skirt and there are some rituals that happen throughout the party: exchange of flat ballerina shoes for high heels, giving away a doll, and a dance with the father, brother and boyfriend/best friend. Alternative celebrations include a Debutante ball with other girls of the same age, or choosing a trip instead of a party. Nasthas chose a trip to Europe for her 15th birthday, but her parents still threw her a surprise party. It was a lot simpler than the traditional party, hosted in her own house and without the fancy dress, but she still partook in the dance tradition.
Informant: Anonymous
Place Collected: Bologna, Italy
Date Collected: November 5, 2020
Informant Data:
Anonymous was born in Bologna, Italy in 1997. She has lived there her whole life and is currently a masters student in Management Engineering at the University of Bologna.
Contextual Data:
In Italy, 18 is the age that marks adulthood, when people acquire most of their rights and duties, such as voting, having a driver’s license, and buying alcoholic drinks.
Item:
A big celebration is held in Italy for the 18th birthday. People usually host a big arty with friends, which is usually called the“diciottesimo”. For the informant’s 18th birthday, she rented a hut by the hills outside of Bologna. There were food and drinks, and for the first part of the party people talked and hang out, while the second half was more of a dance party. She invited one of her friends who is a deejay to play, and at the end she had to give a toast and speech. Gifts are usually nicer than for other birthdays – friends usually contribute with small amounts around 15 euros to buy a big gift, instead of several small ones.
Informant’s Comments:
The informant was not aware of any other milestone birthday celebrations in Italy other than the 18th. She mentioned that other Western European countries have similar celebrations for the 18th birthday.
Collector information: Dartmouth College, RUSS 013, Professors Mikhail Gronas and Valentina Apresjan, Fall 2020. Informants 11-20 collected by Gavin Muir
Informant 11
Title: Lucky Number 14
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: J.A, Male
Date Collected: October 16, 2020
Informant Data:
J.A is a 22 year old from Florida and is a junior at Dartmouth College. He transferred to Dartmouth from University of Florida and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living at home, now Georgia, because of the Pandemic. Both his parents are American.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was in-person because the informant is my roommate. J.A’s lucky number is 14, and this is because his birthday is April 14. Also, when he was younger he would watch his cousin play football in #14 and the cousin was a role model to J.A. This is a personal preference for liking this number, and he does not have any unlucky numbers.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that his culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: J.A’s personal lucky number is 14, which is also the number he wore in high school and is also his birthday (April 14).
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
I have found a common trend of people’s lucky numbers being worn for their respective sports teams because they think it gives them good luck. I think that there is an added level of “luck” for this number because he also had a role model wear the number, which would definitely affect his mindset while wearing the number.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 12
Title: Lucky Number 3
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: S.O, Male
Date Collected: October 16, 2020
Informant Data:
S.O is a 19 year old from Tennessee, is a sophomore at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living off-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are Irish.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was in-person because the informant is my roommate. S.O’s lucky number is 3 because he has 3 siblings, it has been his sports # for a very long time and he always takes 3 deep breaths when he feels stressed out.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that his culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: S.O’s personal lucky number is 3, which was also the number he wore for sports in high school.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
I thought that it was interesting that S.O correlates his stress relieving tactic with a lucky number. I wonder if the number became lucky before or after he developed this technique.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 13
Title: Lucky Number 21
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: R.M, Male
Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
R.M is a 20 year old from Virginia, is a junior at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living off-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are American.
Social Context: This interview was in-person because the informant was in close proximity to me at the time. R.M’s lucky number is 14, and this in 7th grade when he had a close friend unfortunately pass away. The kid always wanted to play football at Dartmouth and wear #21, so when R.M got the opportunity, he took the number as a tribute to the kid and his family.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that her culture plays a role in his selection of this lucky number.
Item: R.M’s lucky number is 21, which is the number he wears for the Dartmouth Football team.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
I thought that it was interesting how R.M uses his lucky number to pay a tribute to his friend, as well as motivating himself to perform better.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 14
Title: Lucky Number 14
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: RJ, Male
Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
RJ is a 21 year old from NY, is a junior at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living off-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are American.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. RJ’s lucky number is 14 because he wore the number all throughout high school for his football team, and his favorite NFL player Sammy Watkins wears number 14.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that his culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: RJ’s personal lucky number is 14, which was also the number he wore for sports in high school.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
While most football players wear their lucky number for their football team, it appears that there are a multitude of reasons behind the significance of it.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 15
Title: Lucky Number 1
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: J.K, Male
Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
J.K is a 21 year old from New Jersey, is a junior at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living off-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are American.
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. J.K’s lucky number is 1, and this is because he chose to wear it for his high school football team.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that his culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: J.K’s personal lucky number is 1,which was also the number he wore for sports in high school.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
While some people have lots of significance behind their lucky number, some are as simple as randomly choosing it their freshman year of high school and sticking with it.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 16
Title: Lucky Number 12
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: B.K, Male
Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
B.K is a 21 year old from Washington, is a junior at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living on-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are American.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. B.K’s lucky number is 12, and this is because he is a Seattle Seahawks fan. The number 12 holds lots of significance for Seahawks fans because the fans of the Seahawks are considered the “12th man”.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference, but it could be argued that the culture of his favorite sports team is the reason that he chose 12.
Item: B.K’s personal lucky number is 12, and this is because of a connection to his favorite NFL team the Seattle Seahawks.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
This was interesting because he doesn’t wear his number for any sports team that he plays for.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 17
Title: Lucky Number 7
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: C.N, Female
Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
C.N is a 19 year old from California, and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is currently living off-campus at Dartmouth. Her mother is American and her father is Russian.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. C.N’s lucky number is 7, and this is because she is a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and the number 7 is the recurring number in Harry Potter.
Culture Context: She picked this number due to a personal preference on a book series that she enjoyed. She does not believe that her culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: C.N’s personal lucky number is 7 because of her favorite book series — Harry Potter.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
C.N developed her lucky number through pop culture, which I thought was unique based on my interviews.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 18
Title: Lucky Number 9
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: K.M, Male
Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
K.M is a 21 year old from Maryland, is a junior at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living off-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are American.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. K.M’s lucky number is 9 because he always wore it for sports games since he was a young child, and he originally chose the number 9 because his lacrosse idol, Paul Rabil, wore number 9.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that his culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: K.M’s personal lucky number is 9, which he had always worn for his sports teams. It is also the number of his idol, Paul Rabil.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
I thought that it was interesting how K.M’s lucky number came from a famous lacrosse player but translated to all of the sports that he played, which includes football at Dartmouth.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 19
Title: Lucky Number 36
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: A.S, Male
Date Collected: November 16, 2020
Informant Data:
A.S is a 22 year old from Philadelphia, is a junior at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living on-campus at Dartmouth. Both his parents are American.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. A.S’s lucky number is 36 because he always wore it for sports games, dating all the way back to Pop Warner.
Culture Context: He picked this number due to a personal preference. He does not believe that his culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.
Item: A.S’s personal lucky number is 36, which was the same number he wore on his jersey in youth football.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
At this point, I am not surprised that the lucky number has a lot to do with the number they wear in sports. They go hand in hand.
Collector’s Name: Gavin Muir
Informant 20
Title: Lucky Number 11
General Information about Item:
Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: J.B, Male
Date Collected: November 16, 2020
Informant Data:
J.B is a 19 year old from Washington, is a sophomore at Dartmouth College and is a member of the Dartmouth Football team. He is currently living at home in Washington due to the pandemic. Both his parents are American.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This interview was done remotely due to the pandemic. J.B’s lucky number is 11 because it is his birthday, May 11.
Culture Context: There is not a cultural aspect to this lucky number because it strictly has to do with his birthday.
Item: J.B’s personal lucky number is 11.
Recording:
Collector’s Comments:
This is another person who had the same lucky number as the day they were born on. Based on my interviews, this was a fairly common reason to pick that lucky number.
S.M. was born in Virginia on March 15, 1999. She was raised by a single mother who works as a high school arts teacher and administrator in Windsor, Virginia. Her family origins are Puerto-Rican and Western European, primarily Irish and Scottish. She is a senior at Dartmouth College studying Theater, English, and Russian.
Contextual Data:
S.M. downloaded TikTok in January of 2020 and uses the app for at least twenty minutes everyday. It is a way for her to pass the time.
Item:
This dance is to the song “Attention” by Todrick Hall. This dance is different from many other TikTok dances because it involves a lot of gymnastics moves, including splits and flips.
S.M. was born in Virginia on March 15, 1999. She was raised by a single mother who works as a high school arts teacher and administrator in Windsor, Virginia. Her family origins are Puerto-Rican and Western European, primarily Irish and Scottish. She is a senior at Dartmouth College studying Theater, English, and Russian.
Contextual Data:
S.M. downloaded TikTok in January of 2020 and uses the app for at least twenty minutes everyday. It is a way for her to pass the time.
Item:
This dance is to the song “Motion Sickness” by alternative artist Phoebe Bridgers. Among other moves, it involves raising your hands to three different levels on the body and throwing your hands down.
S.M. was born in Virginia on March 15, 1999. She was raised by a single mother who works as a high school arts teacher and administrator in Windsor, Virginia. Her family origins are Puerto-Rican and Western European, primarily Irish and Scottish. She is a senior at Dartmouth College studying Theater, English, and Russian.
Contextual Data:
S.M. downloaded TikTok in January of 2020 and uses the app for at least twenty minutes everyday. It is a way for her to pass the time.
Item:
There is a choreographed routine that is based on the lyrics of the “Cannibal” audio. It involves moving hands from your shoulders to your waist, serving an invisible platter like a waiter, and then drinking from a tea cup formed by your thumb and pinky fingers.
I.T. grew up in a small town in Northern California called Orinda. She attended public elementary, middle and high school. She is first generation Vietnamese and a senior studying at UC Santa Cruz. She is twenty years old.
Contextual Data:
I.T. does not have a Tiktok account or the Tiktok app downloaded, however has still been involved in making Tik Tok videos through her friends accounts. She however, is still exposed to the app through her explore page on a different social media app, called Instagram. Instagram reposts Tiktok videos through ‘Reels’, which is Instagrams implementation of Tiktok within their app.
Item:
This dance is about 20 seconds long. It involves shaking your hands out to the side twice, then pretending to knock the top of your head. The dancer then punches the air, making a circle with their fist. The dancer then rolls their body before doing the hand shakes again.
Mainly knows the moves involving the punch and roll.
Collector’s Comments:
This dance is of a moderate difficulty. The song’s dance was picked up by the original recording artist Doja Cat and used as a catalyst to create a music video for the song. The video features Doja Cat performing the TikTok dance.
S.K. was born in December of 1998 and has lived in Rockville, Maryland her whole life. She is a current senior at Dartmouth College studying Biology and Anthropology. She is white, specifically Ukrainian, and a first generation American.
Contextual Data:
S.K. downloaded TikTok in the summer of 2020 following the coronavirus quarantine. She considers herself barely a user of the app, spending less than fifteen minutes on the app a day. However, she still enjoys watching TikTok dances and has even learned some of them from repeatedly seeing them on her For You Page.
Item:
This is a simple dance incorporating three hand raises throughout the course of this ten second audio. Step one: Take your right hand from your left shoulder, to the right shoulder, raise it in the air, and then move side to side. Step two: Take your left hand from your right shoulder, to the left shoulder, raise it in the air, and then move side to side. Step three: Take both hands and repeat the actions of step one and step two at the same time.
