Author Archives: Anna Brause

Tiger Balm

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General information about item:

  • Tradition/superstition/ritual
  • Language: English
  • Country of origin: United States
  • Informant: WS
  • Date collected: 11/9/2021

Informant Data:

  • WS is a current sophomore at Dartmouth College in the graduating class of 2024. She is originally from Richmond, Virginia and currently resides in Hanover, New Hampshire. She is an Anthropology major. WS now runs mid-distance races for the track team, competing in the 600 and 800, but in high school she participated in both hurdle races. 

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Some athletes use alternative medical techniques which can sometimes equate to superstitious activities, as they are often unfounded/not proven by science and serve the purpose of mental preparation.
  • Social Context: Athletes do whatever they can to prepare for races, and often this means partaking in activities that are simply for comfort’s sake or allow for peace of mind.

Item:

  • “I had to put tiger balm (like bio freeze) on my legs right before my race […] I would put tiger balm on my shins around 10 mins before my race just as a superstition to loosen up my muscles. And the smell calmed me down, it like put me in the right mind set to race.”

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

Transcript (description of image):

  • Image shows the tiger balm discussed by the informant.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This ritual was interesting to me as some may not see it as purely a superstition because of the believed medicinal benefits of tiger balm and similar bio freeze products. However, when my informant was describing her reasons for using the tiger balm, she mentioned how the smell calmed her down and put her in the right mental headspace to race. This displays the more spiritual/ritualistic nature of this superstition.

Collector’s Name: Anna Brause

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth
  • Track/XC
  • Tiger Balm
  • Superstition

Pre-Race Fuel

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General information about item:

  • Tradition/superstition/ritual
  • Language: English
  • Country of origin: United States
  • Informant: BG
  • Date collected: 11/6/2021

Informant Data:

  • BG is a current senior at Dartmouth College in the graduating class of 2022. She is originally from Washington State and currently resides in Hanover, New Hampshire. She is a Government and Human Centered Design major at Dartmouth. BG ran the 800, 1500 and 3000 for track, and competed in 5ks and 6ks for cross country. 

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Athletes often repeat specific superstitious or traditions before big races in order to control what factors they are able to in the face of competition uncertainty. For many athletes, their food becomes part of these superstitions. Often this means athletes will repeat the same pre-race meals in hopes of ensuring they have a successful competition.
  • Social Context: Many of the track athletes I interviewed told me about food superstitions they have before races. I noticed that this trend tends to start when the athlete has a successful competition. That athlete will then try and copy everything they did in preparation for their successful race, down to specific details such as the food they ate prior.

Item: “ […] I’m super particular about eating and I always stop drinking an hour before race time. For a while, I always used to eat a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich before I raced. Also, for a brief stint I would always have burger king chicken and fries the night before a race. This started because I would beat my personal record by a ton every time I ate this meal, so it just became a habit.”

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

Transcript (description of photo):

  • Photo of the described Jimmy Dean Breakfast sandwiched eaten as a pre-race ritual.

Informant’s Comments

  • “I am not exactly sure how that one [the breakfast sandwich] started, but I am sure I continued doing it because I was seeing positive race results and making a subconscious correlation in my mind. ”

Collector’s Comments:

  • Many of my informants followed similar superstitious rituals surrounding their pre-race meals. Often, when athletes see positive race results, they will do their best to repeat all the steps that brought them those results. This includes eating habits.

Collector’s Name: Anna Brause

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth
  • Track/XC
  • Superstition/ritual
  • Pre-race food

Lucky Socks

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General information about item:

  • Tradition/superstition/ritual
  • Language: English
  • Country of origin: United States
  • Informant: CD
  • Date collected: 11/6/2021

Informant Data:

  • CD is a current Dartmouth College sophomore in the graduating class of 2024. He is originally from Hampton, New Hampshire and currently resides in Hanover, New Hampshire. CD is undecided on a major currently. He runs distance for the Dartmouth Cross Country team.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Rituals are meant to bring positivity to the individual overall mindset- if that ritual they did before an event or competition allowed them to have a positive performance, they are more likely to repeat that ritual. At the same time, if the individual realizes that their ritual isn’t brining anything positive or negative towards them, they are likely to break away from it. CD explains how his rituals used to be wearing the same pair of lucky socks before a race and having the same prerace meal (whole wheat pasta with chicken sausage and pesto). However, he slowly started to break away from his rituals since he realized regardless of if he did these rituals his performance would be the same.
  • Social Context: The goal of rituals is to bring comfort for the individual, however if there is a change of mindset, they might associate ritual with a negative connotation. As a result, that individual will might stray away from rituals as a whole or that specific ritual they conducted.

Item:

  • “I think for pre-race traditions, I had a lot, especially in high school. I kind of broke away from them when I had good races regardless of when I did the traditions or not, but I used to wear the same pair of lucky socks every race. The lucky socks provided me with a feeling of comfort and security before a race in which there is so much I could not be in control of.”

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

  • Informant requested not to be recorded.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This informants lucky pair of socks was very similar to many superstitions I heard from other informants. Lucky clothing seems to be a trend among the track/xc athletes I talked to, and I assume this means athlete across the board take some sense of comfort in “lucky” clothing items.

Collector’s Name: Anna Brause

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Dartmouth
  • Track/XC
  • Lucky socks

Lucky Crystals

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General information about item:

  • Tradition, superstition, ritual, material lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of origin: United States
  • Informant: NS
  • Date Collected: 11/6/2021

Informant Data:

  • NS is a female current Dartmouth College sophomore in the graduating class of 2024. She is originally from Colts Neck, New Jersey and currently resides in Hanover, New Hampshire. She plans to major in Environmental Studies at Dartmouth. NS runs the 1500, 3000, and 5000 for track and the 5k and 6k for cross country.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Athletes often have rituals that they follow before big events or competitions. Not only do these rituals act as an way to soothe one’s mindset before they compete, but it leaves little room for the error. These rituals originate from a desire to feel as in control as possible as to leave no variable up to chance when leading up to such a high stakes event. Rituals can be seen as a global phenomenon for athletes in order to prepare themselves.For NS, she has specific crystals that she carries around and sleeps with the night before a race- her crystals resemble luck and purity.
  • Social Context: Rituals are accepted throughout the athletic community and beyond- it is something to make one feel more comfortable in a situation that they have little control over. Additionally, rituals are an individualized action even if many people in society are involved in this act- depending on the individual their ritual can be serious or playful. Rituals are used for individuals to feel connected to something they are used to before they enter a situation of the unknown.

Item:

  • “I have specific crystals that I carry around and sleep with the night before a race. To me, these crystals represent good luck and provide me with a sense of security. I have always been a very ritualistic and spiritual person. I have a lot of rituals in my everyday life. Racing brings out a lot of these rituals. I think these rituals have a lot to do with a desire to be in control and feel a sense of comfort in a situation that is very uncomfortable. However, I have learned to become more adaptable in college because it is not possible to maintain all of the same rituals here.”

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

  • informant requested to not be recorded.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this to be a very unique ritual/superstition out of the many that I collected. While many of my items had some overlapping features, the crystals that this informant uses were extremely unique to her which I admired.

Collector’s Name: Anna Brause

Tags/Keywords:

  • Track/XC
  • Dartmouth
  • Superstition
  • Crystals