Author Archives: f001yft

Keg Jumping

Winter Carnival Keg Jumping

Informant info
- Junior fraternity member at Dartmouth College
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Customary
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- Banned tradition of fraternity
Informant’s comments
- It was a tradition of our fraternity to have a keg jumping contest every winter carnival. Empty kegs would be lined up in the lawn and people would put on ice skates and a jump would be created to see who could jump the farthest. This was banned prior to my arriving at Dartmouth, but is a story that is always shared when joining the fraternity and is a defining story of our fraternity.
Collector’s comments
- The fraternity is kept anonymous in order to protect the fraternity and the informant.

Greeting Handshake amongst brothers

Informant info
- Junior Fraternity member at Dartmouth College
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Customary
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- This handshake is done at meetings, all fraternity events, and when brothers see each other around campus
Informant’s comments
- The handshake is relatively easy to perform. The handshake is 4 fingers over, and the pinky under. We learn this handshake during the initiation ceremony and it continues as a tradition amongst brothers even after college.
Collector’s comments
- The fraternity is key anonymous in order to protect the fraternity and the informant

Required dress code during initiation

blue bow

Informant info
- Junior sorority member at Dartmouth College
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Material
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- During the week of initiation we are required to dress certain ways
Informant’s comments
- During the week of initiation, all new members are required to wear blue bows. Every new member has to always be wearing a blue bow, but we each are also assigned a theme we have to dress up for that week such as goth. This is a very fun way to interact with our new sisters and get to know the older sisters in a light hearted, fun manner. I really enjoy this tradition and thing it is a great welcome into the sorority.
Collector’s comments
- The sorority is kept anonymous in order to protect the sorority traditions and the informant.

Sister Greeting Handshake

Informant info
- Junior sorority member at Dartmouth College
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Customary
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- This handshake is performed at meetings and often when sisters see each other around campus
Informant’s comments
- The handshake is very tough to describe. What we do is we interlock our two bottom fingers with a sister and it creates a K with the interlock fingers to represent our sorority. This has been a longstanding handshake for our sorority and each new member learns it when they accept their bid to the sorority
Collector’s comments
- The specific sorority is anonymous to in order to protect the sorority traditions and the informant identity

Post meetings song/chant

Informant info
- Junior sorority member Dartmouth College
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Verbal
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- this song/chant is performed to end meetings every week
Transcript (if verbal lore)
- “OHHHHh Pat said she what said he tell me the truth said he what do you think is the best fraternity oh said he that’s easy, easy to see said he nobody’s better than KKG. Oh kappa kappa kappa gamma Im so happy that I amma kappa kappa kappa gamma nobody knows how happy I am”
Informant’s comments
- This song has been performed for as long as anybody currently in the sorority can remember

Initiation ceremony tradition
Informant info
- Junior sorority member at Penn State University
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Customary
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- These are some traditions performed every year to start and during the initiation ceremony
Informant’s comments
- Every year for the initiation ceremony we have a candlelight ceremony where all members have to dress in all white and decorate the suite with candles and white curtains. Each potential member has to enter the house three at a time in alphabetical order, and is then sworn in. It is taken very seriously and is a big tradition for us. It is assumed when you pledge the sorority you will also take these longstanding traditions.
Collector’s comments
- the specific sorority is kept anonymous in order to protect the traditions of the sorority and the informant

Bid Day Chant

Informant info
- Junior in sorority at Penn State University
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Verbal
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- This chant is sung at Bid Day to attract new members to the sorority and a bonding experience with all of the younger girls who have received a bid.
- Transcript (if verbal lore)
  - “Pi Pi beta phi p-i-p-h-i Pi phi. P for I for beta phi for I just love pi beta phi”
Informant’s comments
- This is chanted continuously on Bid Day every year. It is a sense of pride for our sorority as we try to attract new members amongst the crowd of all sororities
Collector’s comments
- The sorority and the informant are kept anonymous. Similar folklore was recorded at Dartmouth.
- This version of verbal folk is seen throughout the country as a traditional welcome into the house. Over the years and across national organizations, the location of performance, song choice, and dances used during the recruitment process vary greatly, but they all contain key reoccurring components such as full house involvement, matching outfits (potentially material lore), and synchronized dance moves (Texas A&M video below of examples of Bid Day “Door Chants” from 2014 and Colorado State University from 2009).

Initiation/Greeting Handshake

Informant info
- Junior at Penn State Sorority
Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
- Customary
Language
- English
Country of Origin
- United States
Social / Cultural Context
- Pennsylvania State University Sorority
Informant’s comments
- Taken very seriously. In order to get fully initiated in the house, we had to knock on the door and the Vice President of Administration of the sorority was standing there waiting for us. We have a secret handshake that only sisters of the house know that we had to do with the Vice President in order to enter. Once we successfully do our handshake we are fully initiated and the handshake becomes a greeting amongst sisters at meetings and around campus.
Collector’s comments
- anonymous as to not give away the identity of the sorority and informant