Category Archives: Dartmouth College

Building a Farm – Cardinal Directions

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Title: Building a Farm – Cardinal Directions

General Information About Item:

  • Oral folklore: Magic superstition
  • Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Guiming Yang
  • Date Collected: May 21st, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Guiming Yang (杨贵名) is 76 years old and was born near the city of Jiyuan in Henan Province, China, where he has lived there throughout his life. For generations, many members of the Yang family were farmers in Jiyuan. Guiming is the paternal grandfather of the collector.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • The Yang family has been farming for many generations around the Jiyuan area. As he became the patriarch of the Yang family, Guiming was responsible for overseeing the family and their farming.
    • In supervising and planning the expansion of the farm and constructing new buildings, Guiming had to consider a variety of factors, such as location and orientation.
  • Cultural Context
    • Feng shui (风水) is a form of Chinese pseudoscience that allows individuals to harmonize with their environment. Many who adhere to this aspect of Chinese folk religion believe that, for example, by arranging their property and certain objects in their immediate surroundings in a certain way, they can harness the invisible forces that bind the universe together.
    • In a historical context, facing the north symbolizes uncertainty and danger. China was plagued by Mongol attacks in the 13th and 14th centuries, and these invaders came from the north.
    • On the other hand, the sun (which is obviously a critical element in farming) always rises in the east, making it preferable to orient buildings in that direction.

Item:

  • In the process of building a house or farm, it is important to consider which direction it is facing. The front of the building should optimally face the east, and not the north.

Associated Files: 

A Chinese Farmer

Collector’s Name: Richard Yang

The Legend of Chief Paduke

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Title: The Legend of Chief Paduke

General Information about Item:

  • Oral Lore: Legend
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Samuel Tyrrell
  • Date Collected: May 20, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Sam is a Dartmouth ’20 studying history who grew up on his family’s tobacco farm outside of Paducah, Kentucky. The farm has been in his dad’s family for three generations and Sam is very knowledgeable about the history of the surrounding area and some of the legends associated with the land there.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • Growing up in Paducah, Sam was frequently exposed to pieces of folklore such as this legend of Chief Paduke’s blessing on the land surrounding Paducah. This legend was told to Sam by his father, who received it from his father. Such legends were often the topic of conversation among schoolchildren in Paducah, many of whom were told a similar legend by their friends or family. While not taken literally by many people today, it provides a form of common knowledge for residents of Paducah to bond over.
  • Cultural Context
    • Paducah is named after Chief Paduke, a Chickasaw Indian chief from the early 19th century whose image appears today on a statue in the center of town. The legend of Chief Paduke holds that his blessing prevented tornadoes in the area and thus made Paducah more suitable for farming as farmers did not have to fear their crops being destroyed by tornadoes. Though he has never heard of any tornadoes happening in Paducah, Sam explained that Paducah sits in an area surrounded by rivers which prevent tornadoes from forming there.

Item:

  • Legend has it that Chief Paduke of the Chickasaw Indian tribe walked the lands around Paducah in the early 1800s and gave them a special blessing to prevent storms, which has the result of there being no tornadoes around Paducah.

Associated Files:

Collector’s Name: Tyler Bowen

A Homesteader’s Proverb

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Title: A Homesteader’s Proverb

General Information about Item:

  • Oral Lore: Proverb
  • Material Lore: Horse-drawn wagons
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Mary Ann McKinney
  • Date Collected: May 20, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Mary Ann McKinney was born in Reliance, SD to a family full of farmers. She grew up with her sister, Dottie, on the land her dad farmed outside Reliance, and her grandparents on her mother’s side were immigrants from Czechoslovakia who homesteaded near Reliance under the Homestead Act in 1908. In growing up on a farm and spending time with her various relatives whose sole profession was working the land, Mary Ann is very knowledgeable on farming and its traditions.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • Mary Ann and her family would often visit her grandparents on her mother’s side, Anton Straka and his wife Katrina. Anton and Katarina immigrated into the United States through Ellis Island in 1905, traveling by train to Plattsmouth, Nebraska for a few years before setting off in a covered wagon towards South Dakota for free land under the Homestead Act. They arrived in Reliance too late to receive a full 160 acres but were able to start with 40 acres which they kept adding land to. Though he passed when Mary Ann was very young, “Granny” Katarina would frequently tell Mary Ann stories about his journey to the farm such as this proverb about the buggy. Granny never learned to speak English, so her communications with Mary Ann were translated through Mary Ann’s mother Catherine. Anton’s proverb “When the going gets tough, stick with the buggy” describes how difficult his journey was but reminds of the importance of being persistent and not giving up on the journey. His mention of the buggy highlights an item of material lore by specifically describing the method of transport, which was far more difficult than travel by ship or train.
  • Cultural Context
    • Land in South Dakota was mostly unsettled at the turn of the 20th century, leaving a tough journey for settlers looking to start a new life on the plains. Anton’s journey on a covered wagon took about six weeks to cover what is now about a 5-hour drive (300 miles) through hot and desolate prairies. This journey was common for the founding members of many of the family farms still in operation around Reliance, and many farmers across America today owe their success to ancestors who braved long and difficult journeys across dirt roads in horse-drawn wagons.

Item:

  • “When the going gets tough, stick with the buggy.” –Anton Straka (1873-1948)

Associated Files:

Left: the buggy used by Anton and his wife to reach South Dakota
Right: Anton, Katarina, and their four children on their homestead (woman on left unknown)

Transcript of Phone Call with Mary Ann:

Tyler: Thanks for your time! Could you give a quick introduction of yourself and your connection to farming and then we’ll jump into the stories?

Mary Ann: Yes, my name is Mary Ann McKinney and I was born in Reliance, South Dakota in 1946. Our farm has been in the family since 1908 when your great-great-grandfather Anton settled the farm on 40 acres from the Homestead Act. He got up here too late and only got 40 acres instead of the usual 160 and had to make do with that little bit that now sits behind the old barn. When your Aunt Dot and I were kids we lived on your great-grandpa White’s—our dad’s—farm outside of Reliance where we have the hay fields now.

Tyler: Do you have any traditions, customs, or memories that stand out from your time growing up on the farm or running the farm now?

Mary Ann: After Grandpa Straka died before I was 2, we would visit Granny at the farmhouse and she would tell Dottie and I stories from Grandpa which had to be translated from Czech to English though our mom since Granny didn’t learn English—only Grandpa Straka did. His favorite quote was “when the going gets tough, stay with the buggy.” He used this quote to talk about the ride up from Plattsmouth, Nebraska to South Dakota in a horse-drawn wagon and how hard it was during the summer. It served to remind us that it was a tough journey, but he wouldn’t be where he was then if he hadn’t stuck with the buggy the whole way up. And that’s what I always think of whenever I feel stuck on something.

Tyler: Thank you so much, that was a great story!

Mary Ann: You’re very welcome, thanks for calling Tyler!

 

Collector’s Name: Tyler Bowen

Caroline S.

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Title: “The Black Birthday Song”

General Information about Item:

  • Lore type:  Song
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: The United States
  • Informant: Caroline S.
  • Date Collected: May 8, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Caroline Smith is from Long Beach, California. Her mother is from Louisiana, and her dad is from Jamaica but moved to America when he was six. She has one older brother. Caroline is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She was born on August 14, 1999.

Contextual Data:

  • This song is sung while having cake and blowing out the candles. There is usually a lot of extended family around.  Caroline’s uncle created this song by adding to Stevie Wonder’s version of “Happy Birthday.”

Item:

Informant’s Comments:

  • This is called the Black Birthday Song because it has more “pop.”

Collector’s Comments: 

  • As Arnold van Gennep taught us, rituals mark different stages of a rite of passage. Since this ritual occurs on the birthday day, it seems to be an incorporation ritual. It is incorporating the birthday person into the new year.
  • Also, and perhaps obviously, it seems like this song is meant to put focus on the birthday person and celebrate him/her.

Cattle Brands

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Title: Cattle Brand

General Information about Item:

  • Material Lore: Cattle Brand
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Tyler Bowen
  • Date Collected: May 20, 2019

Informant Data:

  • Tyler was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska; he is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College studying economics. His family has a rich history of farming and ranching; his dad’s parents live on a cattle ranch in southeastern Kansas and his mother’s parents operate their family farm in central South Dakota which has been in their family for over 100 years. He grew up visiting both farms often and knows quite a bit about farming and ranching practices.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • Tyler first encountered cattle brands at his grandparent’s ranch in Kansas as a child, where his grandparents have a unique brand registered to the Bowen Ranch. When he was 12, he helped his grandfather brand some of their new cattle.
    • Cattle are generally branded early in their lives or after being brought to a new ranch after being purchased at a livestock auction. Dark colored cattle are usually branded with a freeze iron, which is a metal iron dipped in liquid nitrogen. The iron is pressed against the cow’s hip and leaves a white mark which stays on the cow permanently. Light colored cattle are branded with a hot iron, leaving a dark brand on the cow’s skin permanently.
  • Cultural Context
    • Cattle branding dates back to the days of the Wild West, when cattle were turned loose on the plains to graze. Cattle belonging to different ranchers would intermix, and ranchers needed a way to tell their cattle apart during roundups. Brands are also used as a deterrent against cattle rustlers (thieves), as branded cattle can only be sold by the rancher who the brand is registered to.

Item

  • The first item is the brand belonging to the Bowen Ranch, seen here as a freeze brand on one of the ranch’s horses (horses can also be branded, though cattle are the primary recipients of such marks). The Bowen Ranch’s brand is derived from the first two letters in the Arabic word for “farm” (muzrah), written in Arabic as مزرعة. Tyler’s grandfather, Bill Bowen, chose the word muzrah as inspiration for his brand because him and his wife Cheryl began the ranch raising Arabian horses, one of which they still have today.
  • The second item is a blanket from the 100th anniversary of the town of Reliance, South Dakota which features all of the brands from farmers and ranchers used during the period of 1905-2005. Tyler’s great-great-grandfather Anton Straka’s brand is shown above the cow’s left horn on the blanket as , a stylized abbreviation of Anton’s name. The brand is no longer in use as Tyler’s family no longer runs their own cattle on the farm but instead rents it out to neighboring ranchers. This item represents the individual and communal aspects of cattle brands; each brand represents the identity and assets (cattle) of an individual rancher while the collection of brands symbolizes a community rooted in agriculture.

Associated Files: 

Collector’s name: Tyler Bowen (collector and informant)

Reverse Pong

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Title: Reverse Pong

General Information about Item:

  • Type of Lore: Drinking Game
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: America (Tennessee)
  • Informant: Anonymous
  • Date Collected: May 24, 2019

 

Informant Data:

  • The anonymous informant was a member of the Dartmouth Math department. They learned this drinking game during their time at Vanderbilt University.

Contextual Data:

  • The informant went to a relatively typical American college – with many students going out on the weekends to fraternities to party and drink. It was at one of the fraternities, at Vanderbilt University, that the informant observed this game.

Item:

  • “Two teams, with each partner standing across the table from the other. You have to bounce the ball against first the table, then your partner, and they use their chest to redirect the ball into the cups in front of them. If they bounce it in a cup, the opponent on their side has to drink.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “A different variant of pong that creates excitement by using one’s body as a significant part of the game”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is yet another variant of pong – this time using one’s own body as a sort of paddle to hit the ball with.

Collector’s Name: Michael Steel

Tags/Keywords:

  • Ritual. Drinking Game.

Stomping on the Glass (Anna Matusewicz)

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Title: Stomping on the Glass

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, wedding folklore
  • Language: Hebrew, English
  • Region of Origin: Middle East
  • Informant: Abby Bresler
  • Date Collected: 5-21-2019

Informant Data:

  • Abby Bresler is a 20-year-old woman from Lexington, Massachusetts and a Dartmouth ‘21. She is Jewish and identifies as Caucasian. Her immediate and extended family are Jewish and she grew up learning about Judaism from her family and in Hebrew school. On campus she is heavily involved in sustainability and currently lives with the interviewer at the Sustainable Living Center.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Stomping on the glass serves as a representation of the fragility of human relationships and also the permanence of marriage. Not being able to put the glass back together after it is smashed symbolizes that there is no turning back to your previous life after you are married. Historically, breaking the glass serves to remind the couple of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem and gives time for those present to recall the pain and loss suffered by the Jewish people and that they are in a world in need of healing.
  • Social Context:I asked my friend Abby if she knew about any marriage folklore and this is what she shared with me. Abby’s family is Jewish and her cousins are much older than her so she learned about this tradition while attending her cousins’ wedding when she was young. Additionally, in Hebrew school, at around the third grade, children learn about the lifecycle of Jewish traditions in a person’s life, including this tradition at weddings. This tradition takes place at the end of the wedding ceremony and is performed by the groom in front of all the guests. The glass can be anything, but is often from one of the newlyweds’ homes before marriage, and is wrapped in cloth or a napkin to prevent injury. Breaking the glass also ends the couple’s time under the Chuppah and is followed by everyone present yelling “Mazel tov!”

Item (Direct Quote):

  • “So there’s this tradition in Jewish weddings that, tradition of the groom. I don’t what they do in like same-sex marriages but like, and this is a very heteronormative tradition, but like the groom steps on a glass and like crushes it under his foot and I think it’s supposed to represent, check me on this, I think it’s supposed to represent the destruction of the second temple I’m like remembering that but I’m not exactly sure.“

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I think this is something that crosses most branches of Judaism… It’s like a pretty unifying tradition.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I would think that this is the most well known of Jewish wedding traditions so I really appreciated hearing more about it and getting to know what it actually symbolizes.

Collector’s Name: Anna Matusewicz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Wedding Folklore
  • Jewish Lore
  • Homeopathic Magic

 

 

Children Jumping on the Marital Bed (Anna Matusewicz)

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Title: Children Jumping on the Marital Bed

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore, wedding folklore
  • Language: Chinese, English
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Katrina Yu
  • Date Collected: 5-21-2019

Informant Data:

  • Katrina Yu is a 20-year-old woman who grew up in Hong Kong and is a ‘21 at Dartmouth College. She is very involved in sustainability on campus and currently lives with the interviewer at the Sustainable Living Center.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: This tradition is an example of if-A-then-B superstition as if children jump the bed, then the couple will have many children. The desired outcome of the ceremony plays into the desire for a couple to have lots of children and particularly boys in traditional Chinese culture. The bed setting is organized by the parents or grandparents of the groom so they can pass on their luck and fertility to the couple.
  • Social Context: I asked my friend Katrina if she knew about any marriage folklore and this is what she shared with me. She first learned about this folklore when she was around seven and was one of the jumping children on the bed, though she was eventually asked to get off the bed. This tradition generally takes place about a week before the wedding ceremony, though the informant reported her experience taking place immediately after the wedding ceremony, and is a part of a larger ceremony of preparing the marital bed. The process of setting up the marital bed is attended only by close family, including the jumping children, and is generally organized by the grandmother of the groom. The more children that jump on the bed the better as this will bring the couple even more children. Additionally, the genders of the jumping children matter and, in Katrina’s case, more boys were wanted on the bed as that is the gender of child that the couple wanted.

Item (Direct Quote):

  • “So the folklore is that once the couple gets married we go to wherever they’re living in the future specifically their bedrooms and everyone gathers in their bedroom and the children the little children probably like under 7, they all get onto the bed and they jump on the bed because it will help the couple have lots of babies and especially because the couple wanted like boys like a boy in the future like they wanted more boys to jump on the bed than girls they and they thought that could help. Obviously, I don’t believe it but it’s something fun.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I was one of the jumping children, and when I heard that they wanted more boys on I got really mad.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I think this folklore is a really interesting case of homeopathic magic and says a lot about a couple’s hopes for their marriage.

Collector’s Name: Anna Matusewicz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Wedding Folklore
  • Chinese Lore
  • Homeopathic Magic