Title: Sposa Bagnata, Sposa Fortunata

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Belief, Superstition

• English

• Italy

Informant Data:

• Nancy Canepa has been an Italian professor at Dartmouth College since 1989. She is descended from Italian immigrants on her father’s side. Her paternal grandmother is from the Lombardy region of Italy, and her paternal grandfather is from the Liguria coast. She has attended two Italian weddings. Her husband is from the Apulia region of Italy.

Contextual Data:

• Social/Cultural Context: In Italy, rain on the day of a wedding symbolizes that the couple will have good luck in their relationship and their marriage. This belief is fairly universal throughout Italy, and was collected by informants who live in Northern, Southern, and Central Italy.

Item:

• Professor Canepa read us an Italian phrase which she had written down in preparation for the interview. She noted that in her region of Italy, rain on the wedding day is tied to luck and an abundance of love in a relationship.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCKj6P5mBgA

Transcript of Associated File:

• “Number 1: Sposa bagnata sposa fortunata: A -uh- rained upon bride is a lucky bride. Um, again, I don’t know what the regional origin of this is exactly. But the metaphorical meaning of it which I think is pretty clear is that when a bride is rained upon symbollicaly it refers to her -um- luck and abundance being rained upon her entire marriage.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant believed that rain is tied to luck and an abundance of love. In this interpretation, the informant drew a connection between the two different definitions of rain, one being the physical droplets of rain, and the other being a metaphorical downpour.

Collector’s Comments:

• The informant believed that the superstition of rain being good luck for marriages is tied to luck and an abundance of love. The informant said that “rain on your wedding day symbolizes the raining down of luck in your future together”. This interpretation is different from the usual association of rain and fertility. This may be because the informant comes from a  more rural region of Italy, where rain is tied to the growth of crops. From the magical law of similarity, one could conclude that if rain has a positive effect on crops, it also has a positive effect relationships.

Collector’s Name: Peter Loomis

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary Lore, Superstitions

Title: Confetti in Multiples of Five

General Information about Item:

• Material Folklore: Food
• Customary Folklore: Superstition, Belief

• English

• Italy

Informant Data:

• Damiano Benvegnu was born in 1977 in a tiny town called Albergo, which is located in the Dolomites region in the northeastern Italian Alps. He spent most of his childhood living in Turkey and Algeria, but he returned to live in Italy at the age of 10. He is currently an Italian professor at Dartmouth College. He has attended 5-10 Italian weddings.

Contextual Data:

• Social/Cultural Context: Confetti is a type of candy that is native to Italy. These are almonds that are covered in chocolate and are usually given out at different stages of life (anniversaries, weddings, baby showers, graduations, etc). They are always given out in multiples of five, and different colors represent different events in one’s life.

Item:

• At Italian weddings, for dessert, “confetti” is usually given to the guests. These candies are usually gathered in a white lace, and are always given out in multiples of fives. These are meant to symbolize five positive qualities, and are thought to bring bad luck if they are not given out in multiples of fives. Generally, people do not eat these at the wedding. Instead, they may save the confetti, or eat them throughout the next couple of days or weeks.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRR097A2e6w

Transcript of Associated File:

• “[The confetti] are gathered together in something that is kind of laces… usually white lace. And -uh- there are 5 or multiples of 5 because they mean something like prosperity, happiness… uh love… I do not actually remember right now. But there are 5 different good qualities and… I’ve never seen to be honest anybody eating them at the wedding in itself, usually you bring them home and then you eat them throughout the next few weeks or days if you like them…. I don’t know precisely, but, yeah, usually five or multiple of fives so it’s bad luck to have -a kind of- a number that is not like that”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant believed that the multiples of five were intended to represent five good qualities such as prosperity, happiness and love. He also noted that it was supposed to be bad luck if the confetti were not served in multiples of five, because it would mean that you were missing one of the positive qualities from your marriage and relationship.

Collector’s Comments:

• The collection of confetti in a particular order follows the logic of magic: if you collect groups of five, your marriage will retain the positive qualities symbolized by each almond. However, if you serve the confetti in a different number, it is supposed to be bad luck for your marriage as you would then be missing some of the positive qualities that the almonds symbolize. This is sympathetic magic, following the law of similarity because each piece of confetti symbolizes one good trait. 

Collector’s Name: Isabella Florissi, Peter Loomis and Katie Toal

Tags/Keywords:

• Material Lore, Food, Customary Lore, Superstitions

Title: Rain on the Wedding Day

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Belief, Superstition

• English

• Italy

Informant Data:

• Damiano Benvegnu was born in 1977 in a tiny town called Albergo, which is located in the Dolomites region in the northeastern Italian Alps. He spent most of his childhood living in Turkey and Algeria, but he returned to live in Italy at the age of 10. He is currently an Italian professor at Dartmouth College. He has attended 5-10 Italian weddings.

Contextual Data:

• Social/Cultural Context: In Italy, rain on the day of a wedding symbolizes that the couple will have good luck in their relationship and their marriage. This belief is fairly universal throughout Italy, and was collected by informants who live in Northern, Southern, and Central Italy.

Item:

• The informant noted that although rain can be dismal on the day of a wedding, it is actually seen to be a sign of good luck in Italian culture. This is because of strong connections between rain, growth, and fertility.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcWKoH7wIz4

Transcript of Associated File:

• “It’s a good sign if it rains the day of the wedding, although it’s a pain for everybody, but it is actually a good sign… I think that the rain is associated still with the kind of cycle of nature, so the fact that is fertility”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant believed that since rain is commonly associated with the cycle of nature and growth, rain on the day of the wedding symbolizes that the couple will experience fertility in their relationship and will have a big, happy family.

Collector’s Comments:

• Rain is associated with springtime and new growth. Society draws a connection between rain and fertility because new plant growth in soil is similar to the development of a child in the womb.

Collector’s Name: Isabella Florissi, Peter Loomis and Katie Toal

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary Lore, Superstitions

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Rituals, Traditions

• English

• Italy

Informant Data:

• Damiano Benvegnu was born in 1977 in a tiny town called Albergo, which is located in the Dolomites region in the northeastern Italian Alps. He spent most of his childhood living in Turkey and Algeria, but he returned to live in Italy at the age of 10. He is currently an Italian professor at Dartmouth College. He has attended 5-10 Italian weddings.

Contextual Data:

• Social/Cultural Context: In Italian weddings, the guests meet the couple outside the church after the ceremony. At this time, it is traditional to throw rice, or coriandoli (confetti) as the couple leaves the church in celebration.

Item:

• At Italian weddings, as the couple was exiting the church, the guests used to throw pieces of rice as a celebration of the couple’s union. This was meant to symbolize prosperity, with the amount of rice thrown thought to equal the amount of money that a couple would acquire throughout their life. Nowadays, people tend to throw “coriandoli” (which is what Americans call confetti), in order to preserve pigeon welfare.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-VlxEgJSp8

Transcript of Associated File:

• “Yes, we do throw rice when the wife and the husband leave the church. Now we don’t do it anymore – at least we try to avoid it for pigeon welfare, or whatever... I think it’s uh… it means prosperity… If I’m not mistaken it’s as much – it’s the amount of money that you will receive in your life, throughout your life.”
• “People throw what you in the US call confetti, which in Italian is coriandoli, so they are just pieces of paper… but we use them for carnivals.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant believes that the amount of rice you throw is supposed to symbolize the amount of money that the couple will have throughout their life time.

Collector’s Comments:

• Rice symbolizes prosperity because historically the wealth of landowners in a rural society was measured in foodstuffs like rice. Professor Benvegnu mentioned that he is from a rural area, and it is natural that people in such a setting would associate rice with wealth. It could also be that the guest throw rice at the couple to signify that they will never go hungry as a result of poverty; food will always be in plentiful supply. This is an example of a superstition – the more rice thrown, the more wealth the couple will have.

Collector’s Name: Isabella Florissi, Peter Loomis and Katie Toal

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary Lore, Rituals

Title: Cutting the Groom’s Tie

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Rituals, Traditions

• English

• Italian

Informant Data:

• Damiano Benvegnu was born in 1977 in a tiny town called Albergo, which is located in the Dolomites region in the northeastern Italian Alps. He spent most of his childhood living in Turkey and Algeria, but he returned to live in Italy at the age of 10. He is currently an Italian professor at Dartmouth College. He has attended 5-10 Italian weddings.

Contextual Data:

• Social/Cultural Context: After the couple says “I do” and are pronounced man and wife, there is a tradition in Italian weddings to auction off a piece of the groom’s tie. This tradition occurs mainly in the Northern parts of Italy and is meant to symbolize prosperity.

Item:

• At Italian weddings, there is a tradition that the friends of the husband cut a piece of his tie, and hold an auction to raise money for the couple. There is also a belief that if the piece of the husband’s tie raises a lot of money, then the couple will live a prosperous and comfortable life.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4WKTmpHLk4

Transcript of Associated File:

• …The friends of the husband usually they have – uh – they cut his tie. And there is a kind of um… how should I call it? -auction! About the pieces of the tie to kind of raise some money for the couple.

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant believes that the tie pieces signify prosperity and good fortune for the couple. The belief is that the more money that the auction raises, the more money the couple will earn in their lifetime.

Collector’s Comments:

• This could be an example of contagious magic; if the tie, which was in contact with the groom, makes money from the auction, then the groom will also make money and live a prosperous life. This is an example of “If A, then good B.”

Collector’s Name: Isabella Florissi, Peter Loomis and Katie Toal

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary Lore, Rituals

Title: Italian Wedding Lunch

General Information about Item:

• Material Folklore: Food

• English

• Italian

Informant Data:

• Damiano Benvegnu was born in 1977 in a tiny town called Albergo, which is located in the Dolomites region in the northeastern Italian Alps. He spent most of his childhood living in Turkey and Algeria, but he returned to live in Italy at the age of 10. He is currently an Italian professor at Dartmouth College. He has attended 5-10 Italian weddings.

Contextual Data:

• Social/Cultural Context: In Italy, much of regional identity is tied to cuisine and the order in which dishes are served. During Italian wedding celebrations, this is evident in the long lunch following the wedding ceremony. During these lunches, as many as 25 traditional dishes will be brought to the guests, and the lunch will often continue for many hours (sometimes even going into the night).

Item:

• The informant noted that at every Italian wedding he’s been to, it has been followed by a very long lunch. In this piece of collected folklore, the informant describes some of the many dishes that are serves, and comments on the order in which these dishes are served. He noted that the dishes are usually consistent from one wedding to another and that the order is invariable.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLKmGAiE4FA

Transcript of Associated File:

• “So usually, in my part, there is something called polenta, there is risotto usually involved. Now is a kind of tradition to have, between… meat and fish, there is something that is called sgroppino, which is a mix between prosecco, which is sparkling white wine, uh and uh tonic water and uh lemons to cleanse your mouth before you eat fish. And then at the end there is a distribution of confetti, which is an almond inside covered with the sugar. And then there is the cake at the end.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant noted that Italian weddings are generally followed by “huge, long, exhausting” lunches that may last all day, and even go into the night. The informant noted that at the last wedding he attended, there were about 25 dishes served. These meals are usually brought to the guests one by one by waiters and waitresses. As a way to break up the meals, there is usually dancing in between some of the courses. The informant considers the dishes served unique to the region of Italy in which the wedding occurs, and noted that the particular dishes differ between Northern, Southern, and Central Italy.

Collector’s Comments:

• In Italy, it seems that regional identity is very closely tied to cuisine as well as the order in which dishes are served during the wedding celebration. In the above folklore item, the informant considers the dishes of polenta and risotto to be particular to his area of Italy. Additionally, the informant considers the tradition of drinking sgroppino in between eating meat and fish, to be unique to wedding lunches in his region. Therefore, the traditional cuisine may be a way of reconnecting with one’s home. This is an example of material folklore – a customary meal prepared at Italian weddings.

Collector’s Name: Isabella Florissi, Peter Loomis and Katie Toal

Tags/Keywords:

• Material Lore, Food