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Tianyu (Ray) Li – Chinese New Year Belief

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Chinese New Year Belief (Ray Li)

Title: Chinese ‘Nian’

General Information about Item:

  • Material Folklore: Chinese Supersition – Evil Spirit
  • Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Ray Li
  • Date Collected: May 25, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Ray is a male student at Dartmouth College in the Class of 2020. He was born in Beijing, China and lived there all of his life. He came to the U.S. for school. Currently, he plans to major in Computer Science. Ray travels between New Hampshire and China for major holidays, such as Chinese New Year.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: In Chinese folklore, the ‘Nian’ was a sea-monster who would rise each year, devouring livestock and any people. People would hide until it was found that the ‘Nian’ was afraid of the color red and loud noises. On Chinese New Year, communities are decorated in red and fireworks are set off, in addition to loud sounds made by playing drums.
  • Social Context: The superstition was relayed through an in-person interview with the informant at Dartmouth College. The Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in China, and the focus is on family. Ray celebrated Chinese New Year with his family when he was in Beijing. However, since it occurs in mid-January, he cannot fly home since he is in school.

Text and Texture

  • Nian

年

Nian

knee-an

Sea Beast

Zodiac (There is not really an English equivalent for this word.)

  • Fu

福

fú

foo

Blessing, happiness

Item:

In order to prevent the ‘Nian’ from bringing evil to a family, the family will hang an inverted ‘fu’ on the door. This symbolizes the ‘Nian’ has already been there, so the ‘Nian’ will not come.

Image result for chinese inverted fu

(Source: https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-chinese-characters-on-door-mean-1494980)

Audio File:

Transcript:

A: Alex Leibowitz

R: Ray

A: Okay, so, why don’t you introduce yourself, where from, your year…

R: Okay. So, my name is Ray Li. I’m a ’20 from Beijing, China. Yeah, that’s a little bit about myself.

A: So, yeah, I guess were curious to hear if you have any folklore about evil spirits, evil eyes, that kinda stuff that comes from Chinese culture.

R: Oh for sure. For our Lunar New Year, we have this tradition. We have a monster called ‘Nian,’ which comes here and eats the children and make the village all empty and destroy the harvest for next year and all that stuff. So, to prevent that, we hang this thing called ‘fu,’ which is the Chinese character for, you know, like happiness, prosperity, and all that. And we reverse hang it so we like hang the character but in reverse, like upside down, so it looks like, like nian but in reverse. So when ‘Nian’ arrived, so when we hang it, it means the monster has already arrived so when the Lunar New Year came the monster would not show up. That’s the whole spirit, the whole idea.

A: So is this still something you do today? Is it something that’s very traditional?

R: Yeah, I think it’s the most wide, most ubiquitous thing in China. You see people hang this red picture with the black character with that fu in an upside down manner. It’s still a tradition people still do nowadays.

A: So, what happens, for example, lets say you don’t hang the character upside down?

R: It has a very bad connotation that you have bad luck in the next year.

A: Okay and does this thing have a name? Does this tradition have a name, or…?

R: I think it’s just one of those Lunar New Year traditions, but it’s one of the most important ones. It’s one of the most ubiquitious, most common, and it’s still well perceived, still a tradition that every family have to do.

A: Okay. Awesome. Thank you very much.

Informant’s Comments:

“So when ‘Nian’ arrived, so when we hang it, it means the monster has already arrived so when the Lunar New Year came the monster would not show up.”

Collector’s Comments:

The inversion of ‘fu’ reverses the concept of blessings and happiness, signifying that the family has already incurred the evil spirit of the ‘Nian.’ The material folklore has symbolic significance for the community, where the celebration can occur only if the evil spirit is proteted against.

Collector’s Name: Alex Leibowitz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material Folklore
  • Chinese Superstition
  • Lunar New Year

Jeeseob Jung – South Korean Chuseok Belief

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South Korean Chuseok Belief (Jeeseob Jung)

Title: South Korean Chuseok Superstition

General Information about Item:

  • Material Folklore: South Korean Supersition – Chuseok
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: South Korea
  • Informant: Jeeseob Jung
  • Date Collected: May 24, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Jeeseob is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2020.  She was born in South Korea and attended boarding school in the United States. Before school, Jeeseob lived in South Korea with her family. Her family still lives there and continues to practice the tradition we collected.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Chuseok is a very important tradition in South Korean culture. It occurs in mid-August and many individuals travel to be with their family to celebrate. Family plays a very important role, and it is believed that a connection must be made to both living and deceased family members to uphold the familial connection. The tradition stems from autumnal harvests, where the family would connect with their ancestors and celebrate the conclusion of the agriarian season.
  • Social Context: The superstition was relayed through an in-person interview with the informant at Dartmouth College. The superstition is practiced by the informant and her famiy each fall.

Text and Texture

  • Chuseok

추석

Chuseok

Chew-sok

Autumn Eve

Thanksgiving

Item:

Chuseok is celebrated by preparing a large feast for the family. However, before anyone can eat, the family must open the doors to allow their ancestoral spirits into the home. If one does not open the door, then the ancestors will be angry and is bad luck.

Audio File:

Transcript:

J: Jeeseob

S: Saif

S: All right, so you can start your name and a little bit about your background.

J: Okay. My name is Jeeseob Jang. I’m from South Korea, and I am currently a ’20, and I went to boarding school in the States. But before that I lived in Korea like for my entire life, I guess.

S: And are there any like, you know, superstitions you guys have or beliefs in like bad spirits or traditions you do to ward off bad luck?

J: I guess like during during Korean or Chinese New Year, or like that’s also when we celebrate Korean New Year, I guess. Like if you… so it’s basically just honoring your ancestors like every year, we have like a large feast, and we put out all the food, but before we eat it we have to like cut all the fruit a certain way and like kind of arrange all the different foods like in different sections and then you always have to open the door so that the ancestors can or like the spirits can kind of come in and like feast on the food before we do, and so if we don’t do that, it’s technically bad luck because the ancestors will get angry. And so you always have to make sure to do that.

S: Is there a name for this tradition?

J: It’s called chuseok. Okay. Yeah.

S: All right. Awesome. Thank you so much.

Informant’s Comments:

Family is a very important aspect of the tradition, since all members of the family need to be present. We open the door so the ancestors can come.

Collector’s Comments:

The opening of the door is an item of homeopathic magic, since the open door symbolizes the welcoming of spirits into the home for the family meal.

Collector’s Name: Saif Malley

Tags/Keywords:

Isabela Velasco – Colombian Good Luck Superstitions

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Colombian Good Luck Superstitions (Isabela Velasco)

Title: Colombian Good Luck Superstitions

General Information about Item:

  • Material Folklore: Colombian Supersition – Good Luck
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Colombia
  • Informant: Isabela Velasco
  • Date Collected: May 25, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Isabela is a Dartmouth Class of 2021 from Colombia. She grew up in Colombia and came to New Hampshire for college. She plans to major in Government.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Many superstitions center around money in Colombia. The current state of inflation has increased adherence to monetary superstitions, as the insecurity present reflects a need to secure what one does have.
  • Social Context: The superstition was relayed through an in-person interview with the informant at Dartmouth College. The superstition was practiced by the informant’s family during New Year’s celebrations throughout her childhood. She still practices this superstition with her family today.

Item:

The lowest denomination bill is tied and given to each member of a family by their parents on New Year’s at midnight. The bill cannot be untied for the remainder of the year, or else the person will face bad economic luck.

Audio File:

Transcript:

S: Saif

I: Isabela

S: Okay, so if you can just start with your name and where you’re from.

I: I’m Isabella and I’m from Colombia. And, okay, so basically during Christmas everyone like, when it’s 12, everyone gets like a bill of 1000 mil peso, which is basically our lowest bill and it’s worth like $3 because of inflation but that’s fine. And it’s tied, and it basically represents good luck because like abundancy and like we do it to like be rich basically. And so I don’t really know why we tie the bill, but like it basically is supposed to like bring us good economic luck during the new year.

S: And if you don’t tie it to they say you’re going to get like bad luck?

I: So like if you untie it, so like you get it tied and if you untied you’re supposed to like get bad luck and really like if you untied the stuff. Yeah, so like don’t… and you keep it like in your wallet. I guess like each year you change it so like you can untie it at the end of the year, but like if you untie before you lose… you’re screwed.

S: Is there a name for this tradition or like belief?

I: No, I don’t think so.

Informant’s Comments:

“I don’t really know why we tie the bill, but like it basically is supposed to like bring us good economic luck during the new year.”

Collector’s Comments:

The tying of the bill is both a piece of material folklore as well as an instance of law of similarity, as the tying of the bill ‘secures’ the money. The significance of the year is that it provides a transition point on which the economic calendar ends. The lowest denomination bill is tied, symbolizing abundance as well as providing an assurance that one will never be without money. Additionally, the note is tied as an instance of stability, and the knot cannot be undone for the entire year.

Collector’s Name: Saif Malley

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material Folklore
  • Colombian Superstition
  • Money

Emmanuelle (Emma) Loulmet – French Bad Luck Superstitions

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French Bad Luck (Emma Loulmet)

Title: French Bad Luck

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: French Supersition – Bad Luck
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: France
  • Informant: Emma Loulmet
  • Date Collected: May 24, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Emma is a female student at Dartmouth College in the Class of 2019. She grew up in France and attended school there. At Dartmouth, she is majoring in Economics.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: French culture of today knows of many superstitions, but the superstitions do not seem to warrant any preemptive action. Through a rapid development of culture and society, France has held on to some superstitions while forgetting their underlying meaning or holding any real significance in modern day. This is a generality, as the item collected reflects the beliefs on superstitions of a female student at Dartmouth College.
  • Social Context: The superstition was relayed through an in-person interview with the informant at Dartmouth College. The superstitions were generally known to the informant; however, she did not trace any specific importance to the item collected.

Item:

Bad luck occurs when someone walks under an open ladder, throws salt on a table, opens an umbrella inside, or does not look into someone’s eyes when saying ‘cheers.’ Black cats are also bad luck.

Audio File:

Transcript:

E: Emma

S: Saif

S: So if you could just start with your name and background.

E: My name is Emmanuel. I’m from Paris, France.

S: And do you have any, like, superstitions about bad luck or evil spirit, evil spirits in France?

E: Okay, black cats are seen as bad luck, walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella inside, throwing salt on the table, and also not looking into people’s eyes when you cheers.

S: And is there something like specific that occurs like if you don’t do or if you do or do not do one of those things?

E: If you don’t look into people’s eyes when you cheers it supposed to be seven years of bad sex. And… and then if you break a mirror, it’s supposed to be seven years of bad luck in general.

S: And is there like a name in French for any of these beliefs or no?

E: A name? I don’t think so. I don’t know.

S: Alright, perfect. Thank you so much.

Informant’s Comments:

The superstitions are not really followed, but rather they are passively understood to be instances of bad luck.

Collector’s Comments:

The superstitions are also known in the U.S. The item collected lacks depth on any historical or cultural importance; however, we have decided to include this item as it may be further developed later within another context.

Collector’s Name: Saif Malley

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • French Superstition
  • Black cat

Bryan Manzi – Rwandan Naming Superstition

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Rwandan Naming Superstition (Bryan Manzi)

Title: Rwandan Names

General Information about Item:

Customary Folklore: Rwandan Superstition – Names

Language: English

Country of Origin: Rwanda

Informant: Bryan Manzi

Date Collected: May 20, 2019

Informant Data:

Bryan Manzi is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2021.  He is from Kigali, Rwanda. At Dartmouth, Bryan studies Computer Science.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: Rwandan traditions center on the community and the natural world. Animals are seen as predators, as the rural landscape of Rwanda in history has given locals close interactions with animals and the natural world. In light of this, evil spirits are best warded off through a connection to nature. Since names are very powerful items in Rwanda, a community may invoke the name of an animal in order to fend off possible evil.

Social Context: The superstition was relayed through an in-person interview with the informant at Dartmouth College. The tradition was learned by the informant in his native village, where people who he knew were named after fierce animals.

Item:

When there have been multiple deaths in a family, a child will be named after something ‘bad’ in order to ward off evil for that child.

Audio File:

 

Transcript:

B: Bryan Manzi

L: Alex Leibowitz

L: So why don’t you tell us your name, background, school, class year, what you study, et cetera, so we can kind of jump into it.

B: I’m a ’21. I’m studying computer science. I’m from Kigali Rwanda. Hmm.

L: Gotcha. Okay, and I guess kind of as you know, we’re doing this collection project mainly about folklore around evil spirits, you know, including evil eye, just basically anything to do with evil spirits. I know you said you had some stuff kind of from Rwanda be really curious to hear

B: Yeah. So we have a weird culture on evil spirits. It’s like kind of split depending on how rural  the community of come from is. On my dad’s side, there’s this belief that there always people who want to curse you. There’s like this belief that someone out there some evil person exists who wants to put some kind of evil curse on you so they would name people. On my dad’s side of the family after, after ugly things and terrible things because they believe that would make it less likely for the evil spirit to come after them. So my great great granduncle is named ‘hyena,’ the Lannada version of hyena. Okay, and the hyena is the most terrible animal in Rwanda and I don’t know why. I have another friend who’s named ‘termite.’ Yeah. Well that’s like a really really low, a bad thing to name someone in Rhonda as well, because it’s like the dirtiest thing possible. The reason is that it typically would happen in a family where someone has already died. So many people have died already. So it’s like they have evidence that evil spirits are coming for you and so they want to name me after something terrible because of that. Yeah.

L: Interesting. And I mean that something is that something that I mean, I think you were naming examples from today. Is that something that people kind of in your generation like the younger generation would do for their own kids or…?

B: I probably wouldn’t in my kids after something like that, no. People… people do believe in evil spirits. Yeah, people do believe in evil spirits. No one, no one would test it. No one would test whether or not it’s true. For example, there are witch doctors who exists outside of Kigali. Kigali is the capital. Yeah. So there are people who practice witchcraft outside of Kigali but no one, I wouldn’t go and mess with them. Like maybe it’s not true. But I want to find out if you don’t find out and they’re definitely stories of like in like the tabloids of Rhonda which talk about, like witches flying over churches and reaching a force-field of churches and like falling down. Wow. Yes. There’s a lot of Stories the people do believe this. Yeah.

L: Great. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Informant’s Comments:

“So, it’s like they have evidence that evil spirits are coming for you and so they want to name me after something terrible because of that.”

Collector’s Comments:

The invocation of a name in order to ward of evil spirits exemplifies the law of similarity in which two similar things are related. The name protects the individual against evil spirits, since the bad thing one is named after gives that person power against the evil.

Collector’s Name: Alex Leibowitz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Rwandan Superstition
  • Names
  •  Law of Similarity

Brian Muleri – Kenyan Family Superstition

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Kenyan Family Superstition (Brian Muleri)

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Family Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Kenya
  • Informant: Brian Muleri
  • Date Collected: May 22, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Brian is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. His family is from Kenya and moved to the U.S. when Brian was in elementary school. Brian grew up learning the customs of Kenya from his parents, yet he was also influenced by American culture throughout his childhood.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Family plays an important role in Kenyan culture. A village is a community in which all members must respect the elders and their neighbors. While it is permissible to have multiple wives, the village must take part in assimilating the children with a father’s new family. This assimilation occurs within an elder’s home, as the elders of the village are the authority for all matters.
  • Social Context: The interview was conducted in-person. Brian does not remember specifically learning the traditional ceremony, but he believes he learned it from his parents speaking of Kenyan culture.

Item:

  • When a man has children with two different wives, the first wife’s child must be integrated into the father’s new family through a ceremony. It is considered bad luck if the child of the first wife meets the second wife’s children before the ceremony has taken place.

Audio File:

Brian Muleri 1

Brian Muleri 2

 

Transcription:

S: Saif

B: Brian Muleri

Part 1:

S: All right. So if you can just start with your name and a little bit about yourself and background.

B: Yeah, my name is Brian Muleri. I’m a ’21, so a sophomore. I was born in Kenya and so is the rest of my family. We’ve been there for generations, moved here to America very recently, like probably elementary school.

S: So do you guys, do you have any folklore or you know specifically superstitions, you know that having to do with like evil spirits by any chance, you know, in Kenya that you might have, you know brought back to Dartmouth or not?

B: Yeah. So, definitely there’s a lot. My family is Christian, but there’s still a lot of folklore and like traditional tribal things involving spirits that we have to deal with. It’s like a major one is if the kids of your current wife meet the kids of your past wife, your ex-wife, before like a whole ceremony, is done at home. This is like Marigola and Luhya tradition. If it isn’t done, then your firstborn child will die, and it’s just generally a bad luck, even though like you can have multiple wives. It’s generally just bad luck to have an involvement of the kids around multiple wives.

Part 2:

S: Back to the first thing about the children. Is there a name for that ritual or that superstition?

B: I don’t know the name. I do it, it’s something in traditionals Luhya, which is like a sub-dialect of Swahili, but I forget the name, but it is ceremony. So yeah, the ceremony involves all of your current kids from one wife and the child which you are trying to introduce to the family, meeting up at the local Village and generally in the household of Elder. The elders have to speak on a lot of these issues. It’s like very traditional, even marriage and name changing, and then they have to slaughter a chicken together. So, it’s just considered good luck and dispels the demons if you’re sacrificing this other life in order to bring someone else in to meeting your Other life. Because after divorce, it’s sort of considered separation.

S: Let’s say like they never did the ceremony. Is there any way to avoid the curse from being carried out any precautions you can take or something like that?

B: Yeah, so generally it has to be done before. I don’t know of any instances where it’s like… obviously like, this is very, if you believe in the tribal Heritage and a lot of things like that, then for you it carries more weight. I know some people who have met them and it’s just been fine, but it’s generally just brought along with this, and like a lot of people are firm believers of it happening.

 Informant’s Comments:
  • Brian said the dissolution of a marriage is an act of separation. Therefore, the children have to be brought back into the new family by a ceremony in which the connection is reestablished and recognized.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The requirement of sacrifice in order to introduce one child to the other is telling of human intervention and evil spirits. The sacrifice of a chicken demonstrates that evil must be appeased through some offering, which then allows a child to transition and integrate into the new family. This can be viewed through Arnold van Gennep’s rituals, where a divorce first separates the child from the father. The child transitions to the new family by meeting the others within the Elder’s house and is incorporated when the ‘unnatural’ separation has been negated through a sacrifice. This grants meaning to the child in light of their family ties.

Collector’s Name: Saif Malley

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Family Superstition
  • Sacrifice

Bertan Gulsen – Turkish Evil Eye and Envy

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Turkish Evil Eye and Envy (Bertan Gulsen)

Title: Turkish Evil Eye and Bad Luck

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, Evil Eye
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Turkey
  • Informant: Bertan Gulsen
  • Date Collected: May 21, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Bertan Gulsen is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2021.  He was born in Istanbul, Turkey and came to the United States for college. He attends Dartmouth College and plans to major in Engineering modified with Economics. Bertan has been strongly influenced by his Turkish upbringing, and he continues to uphold the superstitions he has learned by bringing them to his friends at Dartmouth.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Turkey has a culture focused on respect and family. Because of its location, Turkey has been influenced by the cultures and superstitions of the surrounding Mediterranean countries. One important impact of this is the influence of Arab culture on evil eye superstitions, where the ‘nazar’ is known. Additionally, the importance of respect also relates evil to the envy of others as seen in Omani culture. Turkish culture is also heavily family-oriented, where families are expected to live together when location permits. Given this, instances of folklore often pertain to maintaining good relations with one another.
  • Social Context: The item was collected through an in-person interview at Dartmouth College.  Bertan learned the superstitions from his family, which he remains strongly connected with. While Bertan does not necessarily believe in all aspects of the folklore presented, he continues to honor the superstitions out of respect for his heritage.

Item:

  • Evil Eye

Bad luck can be given by someone envying another person. A ‘nazar’ is worn to protect against envy. Additionally, if someone gives you a compliment, a person will say “Mashallah” to protect against envy.

Image result for turkish nazar

(Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjG1beExs7iAhWtnuAKHVXPDHgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsg.carousell.com%2Fp%2Fturkish-nazar-pendant-38591131%2F&psig=AOvVaw1uxwWTyQ9uyCbbokoSn7dg&ust=1559693713872562)

  • Knife Superstition

When exchanging sharp objects, the sharp object (such as a knife or scissors) must not be handed directly to the person. Instead, the object is placed on a nearby surface and then picked up by the other person. If there is not a nearby surface, then the person receiving the object will spit on the blade and continue to use it.

Audio Recordings:

Bertan Gulsen 1 – Evil Eye and Knife Superstitions

 

Bertan Gulsen 2 – Knife Superstition Continued

 

Transcript:

Interview 1:

Evil Eye 

B: Bertan

S: Saif

S: And so do you guys have any do you have any superstitions from Turkey?

B: So like, there are like common superstitions for sure. One that I can think of right away is ‘nazar’ which is like, like kind of someone giving you a bad luck because of envying you and it’s like what you would like…it’s it’s part of like Turkish culture. And I’m pretty sure it’s like prominent in many other Islamic cultures, too, but it’s basically like you… your basically protected by this bad luck of someone, that someone, some others… like some other envious person by this evil eye bead, which many people know. I said that’s like probably the biggest, the biggest superstition and like usually my mom would like tell me like whenever like when like someone like gives you a compliment or something or like she was always like come up to me and she was like telling me like, “Mashallah Mashallah” to like kind of get that bad luck away, you know calling upon Allah as if like, it may be like thinking that it would help so I was like that’s like the one of the biggest superstitions in Turkey.

Knife Superstition

B: Oh, one other thing is one that in my family that I can think of is just the something that I see from my maternal family just like whenever I like when they asked me to pass them an knife for like or scissors. They never take it right away from hand because they think that what if they do it’s gonna like it’s going to like hurt our relationship. So they’d be like, yeah, just leave it on the table and I’d take it from there. So yeah, there’s that kind of thing like any sharp object with kind would basically just hurt the relationship between the two person are passing the like the sharp thing to from one another so it’s just like you don’t want to like pass it from hand to hand basically. So yeah, I would say those are like the top two that I could like think of right away.

S: Yeah. All right. Awesome. Thank you for telling me, Bertan.

Interview 2:

Knife Superstition, Continued.

S: All right. This is with Bertan again. He’s going to elaborate a little bit more on the last knife superstition.

B: Yeah, so like what would happen is just like usually I mean you’re obviously that you would obviously prefer to give the knife, passed a knife to the other person by like, you know, putting it on a flat surface, but if there isn’t one it nearby and you just like don’t want to leave the knife on the floor just like and you just pass it to the person. My grandma for example, whatever like we have to do that kind of a thing where she takes the knife. She just like spits on it and she like makes like such like with it, like starts chopping onions and like shopping like carrots and stuff. So it’s kind of funny like even though like there’s a kind of superstition. She’s like not that into it, but she’s also like very into it. So yeah, there’s that as well.

S: Is there a name for this belief or the superstition?

B: It’s just like no, but it’s just like common, like known. Like you don’t want to like pass like the knife or like… like it’s just like it’s like it would hurt our relationship. Like if you say that everybody would like get This just like commonly known

S: Like symbolic?

B: Yes, like really symbolic, but I don’t think there’s like any like saying for that Superstition. It’s just like how it’s like… look like any other like I don’t know like the what was it like the four leaf thing, the plant that the four leaves like

S: A four-leaf clover. front of clover.

B: Yeah, four-leaf clover, like it’s just it’s just like any sharp object basically kind of.

S: All right. Thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Evil Eye

“…nazar’ which is like, like kind of someone giving you a bad luck because of envying you and it’s like what you would like…it’s it’s part of like Turkish culture.”

  • Knife Superstition

“…you don’t want to like pass, like, the knife or like… like it’s just, like, it’s like it would hurt our relationship.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • Evil Eye

The use of ‘nazar’ demonstrates the Islamic influence of superstitions on Turkish culture. While Turkish, not Arabic, is the official language, Turks still identify the evil eye and use ‘nazar’ to ward it off.

  • Knife Superstition

The importance of family explains why the knife superstition is widely held. The knife could ‘sever’ the relationship between family members, an instance of the law of similarity as the knife cuts through something which is originally whole. Additionally, it shows the law of contact in that the object cannot be physically passed, since handing the knife over requires on person to be on the sharp side of the object. If an object must be passed, a person can spit on the knife, thereby getting rid of any evil embodied in the knife by reasserting power over it.

Collector’s Name: Saif Malley

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Material Lore
  • Evil Eye
  • Knife Superstition

Assel Uvaliyeva – Kazakh Evil Eye and Evil Spirit

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Kazakh Evil Eye and Evil Spirit (Assel Uvaliyeva)

Title: Kazakh Evil Eye and Evil Spirit

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: Kazakh Supersition – Evil Eye and Evil Spirits
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Kazakhstan
  • Informant: Assel Uvaliyeva
  • Date Collected: May 24, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Assel is a graduate student from Almaty, Kazakhstan. She works as a teacher’s assistant and studies comparitive literature. Assel speaks Kazahk, Russian, French, and English. 

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Evil eye superstitions have been informed by the various Russian and Arab/Muslim influences on the Steppe. Some aspects of the superstition pre-date foreign influences, such as ‘tumar.’ Despite disparate influences, the evil eye superstition has formed an identity of its own. Kazakhs employ a variety of methods, such as the use of a horseshoe on a door or the recitation of a saying, in order to ward off the evil. 
  • Social Context: The informant was interviewed twice in-person. The first interview gave an account of the historical context of the evil eye in Kazakhstan, while the second provided Russian examples that are used for evil spirits. 

Text and Texture:

  • Tumar

тұмар

Tumar

too-mar

Amulet

Bracelet to protect against evil eye

  • Shaitan

Шайтан

Shaitan

Shy-tan

Devil

  • Köz

көз

Köz

Kouyz

Eye

  • Glas

глаз

Glas

Glahss (like ‘Glass’ but the ‘G’ is prounced “Guh” and the ‘a’ is prounced ‘ah’)

Eye

  • Podkova

подкова

Podkova

pod-koh-vah

Horseshoe

(Used contextually by the informant as an item of material folklore to protect against evil)

  • Russian Saying

туш туш туш так не глазить

tush tush tush tak ne glazit

Tisk tisk tisk so not to look

Tisk tisk tisk don’t stare

(туш does not have any specific meaning but is just a sound. The useage of ’tisk’ is meant to convey a phonetically similar sound, since there does not seem to exist an English equivalent.)

Item:

The existence of evil spirits and the evil eye has been developed throughout Kazakh history. ‘Tumar,’ an item worn to prevent evil, pre-dates external influences but has since taken on new dimensions with Islamic influence. Evil spirits are thought to exist, and the people generally identify the incursion of evil with the symbol of an eye. 

Tumar:

Image result for kazakh tumar

(Source: http://aboutkazakhstan.com/about-kazakhstan-national-features)

Audio File:

Assel Uvaliyeva – Kazakh Evil Eye – Interview 1

Assel Uvaliyeva – Kazakh Evil Eye – Interview 2

Transcript:

Interview 1:

A: Assel

L: Alex Leibowitz

S: Saif Malley

S: So yes, if you can just start with, like, your name and where you’re from.

A: My name is Assel Uvaliyeva. I’m from Kazakhstan.

 
 
S: So do you in Kazakhstan, do you have any traditions of, like, evil spirits or bad luck
 
superstitions where, you know, something happens, you’re supposed to take precautions,
 
anything like that?
 

A: Yes. But first I probably need to give you a context. I think in Kazakhstan we have strong Arabic Muslim influences and also Russian and actually many inter-cultural influences, but definitely Islam and Russian traditions. And some for the evil spirits, I’m not sure. I think it’s hard to trace the origin, but, for example, we do have the evil eye and, and it’s interesting like for… to protect like yourself from the evil spirits you wear ‘tumar.’ It can be made of silver or leather and it’s actually a shamanic tradition that existed before like Arabic or Russian invasion. And… and so inside you now people put a prayer or like Surah from Quran or something like that to protect themselves from evil spirits and then, and so I think it’s an example of the syncretic tradition and then will tell us the evil spirit, the main evil spirit, is called ‘Shaitan,’ but it’s also exist in the Arab world. Also like after the Arabs came to the steppe. We also have the influence like of different, not Arabs, but different Muslims. And for example, we have the influence of birth traditions and like jeans. I mean, I can talk about it a lot more. I just don’t know how much information do you need.

L: That’s really good. Yeah. Thanks. Appreciate it.

S: Thank you. 

Interview 2:

A: For example, I think you talked about ‘international forms’ (unclear audio) of good luck. I think Kazakhs exported from Russian, but like in order to not to jinx someone you knock on wood but  it’s probably universal, right? And like Russians say to ‘toosh toosh toosh’ that new glasses and safety to Christian jessen, and in Kazakh version, it’s like, köz, the eye, like doesn’t touch like this person cause… eye, in Russian too its “glaz.’ It’s actually has like the eye, so I think the image the symbol of the eyes is universal. In Russian you also have a horse. I’m not sure what it’s called in English. (To a nearby person) A: ‘Steven, what is “podkova?” Steven: Like a horseshoe? (Return to interview)  A: Yeah, like a horseshoe. So they put on… oh, we saw it in Viy (Russian horror film based on Gogol’s Viy), I think, on the door and we don’t and so  to prevent the evil spirits from entering the house, for example.

L: Thanks so much.

Informant’s Comments:

“I think the image the symbol of the eyes is universal.”

(Stated within the context of evil spirits and evil eye superstitions). 

Collector’s Comments:

Kazakhstan has served as an intermediary in historical trading routes. The influence of a variety of cultures has led to an aggregated evil eye belief. This belief ultimately reflects the presence of evil spirits, and the actions an individual must take when they are encountered. 

Collector’s Name: Saif Malley & Alex Leibowitz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Kazakh Superstition
  • Russian Superstition
  • Evil Eye
  • Tumar

Andreas Louskos – Greek Evil Eye

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Greek Evil Eye (Andreas Louskos)

Title: Greek Evil Eye

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: Greek Supersition – Bad Luck
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Greece
  • Informant: Andreas Louskos
  • Date Collected: May 23, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Andreas Louskos is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2021.  He was born in Athens, Greece and went to an American high school there. At Dartmouth, Andreas is involved in Camp Kesem and the Quant Trading Club. Both Andreas’ parents and grandparents are Greek, and he was strongly influenced by Greek culture through his family.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The evil eye is a common superstition in Greek culture. The superstition relies on the belief that another person has cursed or ‘jinxed’ you, resulting in a physically or mentally negative effect on the jinxed subject. The focus on the eyes is culturally understood as the method by which individuals interact, so the gaze of one relates to the altered state of another.
  • Social Context: The superstition was relayed through an in-person interview with the informant at Dartmouth College. The superstition is passed down through one’s family, usually to a woman, on a certain day of the year. The superstition requires a few lines of prayer to be recited in order to negate the evil eye’s effect. The prayer need not be performed in front of the person to whom the evil has been given.

Text and Texture

Mάτι

Ma-ti (Mah-tee)

Eye

Evil Eye (the word literally means eye but has significance beyond the literal word)

Item:

A person is jinxed by someone else through a conception of the evil eye. The person knows they have been jinxed when they feel ‘under the weather,’ relayed as physical effects such as persistent migraine or bodily fatigue. When the person feels this way, they tell the family member who has been told the prayer which wards off the evil. The person acknowledges the evil, and then he/she performs a prayer to reverse the evil.

Audio File:

Transcript:

A: Andreas Louskos

L: Alex Leibowitz

L: We’re started. Okay, what’s your what’s your like background. among the residues

A: I’m Andreas Louskos. I’m a ’21. I’m from Athens Greece, and I’m 19 years old. I’m involved in Camp Kesem and the Quant Trading Club, and I’ve lived in Greece all my life. I went to an American High School, but both my parents are Greek and my grandparents.

L: Right. And you said that you like had some Superstition. So you’re an international student obviously and you said, you know being at Dartmouth there was some like superstitions involved with kind of your international student group or whatnot.

A: Uh, yeah I have one superstition about jinxing in Greece. We call it, kind of relates to the evil eye that maybe somebody saw you and Jinx you, and sometimes I do call my grandma too if I’m feeling under the weather, and I think like somebody jinxed me so she can unjinx me and that’s like a very big superstition that always a woman in the family says these few lines that can only be passed down on a certain day of the year and with that hopefully she like frees your soul of like any jinxes and evil spirits.

L: And when like, when would you call her when you’re feeling under the weather like give a hypothetical example.

A: It’s you feeling under the weather but not exactly sick. You’re not feverish. You don’t have any like physical problems, but it’s almost like it’s similar to a migraine feeling or you just feeling weak and tired.

L: And what’s it called again?

A: It’s called… in Greek it directly translates to ‘eye’ in Greek, but it refers to like the evil eye like evil spirit.

L: And what does she do on the phone exactly, like when you talk to her?

A: She does nothing. I just tell her, she hangs up, and she just goes and just says the few lines of prayer by herself. There’s nothing like direct interaction between me and her apart from me telling her that.

L: And is this widely done in Greece?

A: Oh, yeah ,everybody. I know there’s always like a woman in the family and sometimes a man that like knows these few lines, and they’re the go-to person for like getting rid of the evil spirits.

L: Gotcha. Okay. Awesome. Thanks.

Informant’s Comments:

“Sometimes I do call my grandma, too, if I’m feeling under the weather, and I think, like, somebody jinxed me, so she can unjinx me and that’s like a very big superstition”

Collector’s Comments:

The evil eye superstition is a pervasive phenomenon that occurs in society and is gotten rid of through one’s family.

Collector’s Name: Alex Leibowitz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Greek Superstition
  • Evil Eye