Raiany Romanni is a TA for the Slavic Folklore course at Dartmouth. She is from Brazil.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Almost everyone who celebrates Christmas has a Christmas story that they believe in. These are typically told to children around the holiday times in order to create a festive mood and make everyone excited for Christmas. As the kids grow up, they begin to lose their belief in these legends because they start to realize that there parents were the source of the gifts. However these legends remain a large source of the classic Christmas symbols and festive decorations for all ages even though the legends are no longer believed to be true.
Cultural Context: The “Father Christmas” figure varies greatly between different cultures – changing primarily due to religious and geographical differences. In the United States it is typically Santa, though people from other cultures who have parents from other cultures may also believe in a different legend.
Item:
Her Christmas legend is stolen from the French “Pere Noel” and is Papai Noel. In Brazil they also decorate with snowflakes all over even though there is no snow. There is also a tradition of having large extended family gatherings (greater than 50 people)
Collector’s Comments:
This is another version of the Christmas figure and shows how the cultural traditions begin to change as you look at different counties.
Alex is a Dartmouth 20 from London. He is 20 years old and he is not religious, however still celebrates Christmas with his family.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Almost everyone who celebrates Christmas has a Christmas story that they believe in. These are typically told to children around the holiday times in order to create a festive mood and make everyone excited for Christmas. As the kids grow up, they begin to lose their belief in these legends because they start to realize that there parents were the source of the gifts. However these legends remain a large source of the classic Christmas symbols and festive decorations for all ages even though the legends are no longer believed to be true.
Cultural Context: The “Father Christmas” figure varies greatly between different cultures – changing primarily due to religious and geographical differences. In the United States it is typically Santa, though people from other cultures who have parents from other cultures may also believe in a different legend.
Item:
Alex’s Christmas legend is the same as the classic American Santa legend except for the name. St. Nicholas brings his presents instead of Santa. However, he still is portrayed as the same large man wearing a red suit with a white beard.
Collector’s Comments:
While the body of the legend is the same, the name is different. This is due to the fact that Santa is an evolution of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas is the patron saint that all of the Christmas legends are derived from, so it makes sense that the folklore of the holiday would remain somewhat constant.
Eric is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He is from Plymouth, Minnesota and is Lutheran.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Almost everyone who celebrates Christmas has a Christmas story that they believe in. These are typically told to children around the holiday times in order to create a festive mood and make everyone excited for Christmas. As the kids grow up, they begin to lose their belief in these legends because they start to realize that there parents were the source of the gifts. However these legends remain a large source of the classic Christmas symbols and festive decorations for all ages even though the legends are no longer believed to be true.
Cultural Context: The “Father Christmas” figure varies greatly between different cultures – changing primarily due to religious and geographical differences. In the United States it is typically Santa, though people from other cultures who have parents from other cultures may also believe in a different legend.
Item:
Eric shared his Santa legend with me. His version of the legend consists of a large fat man wearing red suit with a white beard bringing presents. Santa comes in through the chimney and brings the presents in the middle of the night.
Collector’s Comments:
This is the classic Santa legend that people in the United States are very familiar with. This has also permeated into other cultures versions of the Christmas legend, but is most commonly associated with the figure of Santa.
Informant Data: Jeffrey Gao ’18 is a 21-year-old Asian-American male light-weight rower from San Diego, CA. He has rowed before coming to Dartmouth, and walked onto Dartmouth’s D150 Lightweight Rowing team.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Another legend is that of a previous rower for the D150 team. This legend is typically told by upperclassmen to the freshmen when they join, especially when the training becomes more rigorous. Because the D150 Light-Weight Crew team revolves around competition, mainly in the form of races against other college teams, it is a highly demanding sport that requires near daily practices and continual weight-cutting and exercise.
Cultural Context: This legend is passed down verbally from one generation to the next and is an effective way to create a sense of common knowledge and unity within the team. Every team member hears this legend and because the hero is someone that also was on D150, he is easy to relate to.
Item: This item is an oral piece of folklore that focuses on the passing down of a Folk Narrative, specifically a legend, that is suppose to help motivate rowers to live up to mental toughness and discipline of past rowers, and continue their legacy by devoting themselves to the sport. It is shared by every member of the D150 team.
Given that this is a legend, there are also multiple variations of this story, which makes sense given the unfixed form of verbal lore.
Var 1: Against the wishes of his coach, a previous member of the team spent a day in Boston for fun, keeping this a secret. While there, he was stabbed, but still had to return to school for training. Keeping his injury a secret, he then did a test piece on the ERG and pulled off a personal record that day as his blood soaked his jersey.
Var 2: When a previous member of the team was going home one night, he was confronted by muggers and was feeling really rattled as he ran away. When he went home, his roommate noticed that he was bleeding because he got stabbed, but he didn’t realize because his adrenaline was pumping. Rather than telling his coach about his injury, he continued normally during practice, but his wound opened up and his uni became bloody.
Genre and sub genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
Language: Hawaiian/English
Country: USA
Informant Data:
Collected from: Marlo Mundon ’20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in 2009 from peers
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Cultural practitioners and locals keep traditional Hawaiian culture alive by participating in rituals and traditions like this. They bring the community together.
Cultural Context: In Hawaiian beliefs, there are many deities, most of which are connected to the elements. In the town of Waimea the mo’o wahine is the deity/protector of the town and she is associated with water. She is pictured as a mermaid bellow.
Item:
Waimea is a town known for being very rainy. In times of draught, people leave offerings to the mo’o wahine on a sacred rock called Manaua and often chant or pray to her and she will bring rain.
Audio Interview:
Transcript:
Michael: Hi what’s your name and where are you from?
Marlo: My name’s Marlo Mundon and I’m a 20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Waimea.
Michael: Would you like to tell me something about Waimea and perhaps some superstition or folklore from the area?
Marlo: So like in the first story, the mo’o wahine has a uh, another culturally relevant thing in town. There’s this big rock that’s connected to her and it’s kind of like an alter to give offerings to her. Since Waimea is a really rainy town we usually don’t have drought problems or anything like that, but sometimes we do and when there’s not enough rain we go and give offerings to the mo’o wahine at this rock called Manaua. Then she will recognize this offering and bring rain because she’s like a water spirit kind of. She lives in the pond, like that’s her domain, water is her thing and we ask her for rain when there’s a drought or there’s trouble with crops or something like that. It’s important to show respect to her because she has such a strong role in the town.
Michael: Alright so what would you say about cultural context of the legend and the practice?
Marlo: The deities and gods and goddesses of Hawaiian culture are very currently relevant. A lot of people still practice, it’s not necessarily a religion I don’t know what to call it, but people believe in the gods and the deities and stuff and will regularly continue the practices of ancient traditions of having ceremonies, festivals, and leaving offerings in honor of the gods and stuff. Yeah it’s an old practice but it’s still been going and still really relevant and people will go and leave offerings to the mo’o wahine.
Michael: Okay and similarly, the social context of the legend and how it sort of works in society and what it means for people.
Marlo: Well today it’s pretty normalized. Since Waimea is pretty rainy we don’t go and ask for rain all the time but it’s definitely not [out of the ordinary] and like if there are dry spells or anything like that people are like oh let’s go leave an offering or something it’s like a normal thing to think to do.
Genre and sub genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
Language: Hawaiian/English
Country: USA
Informant Data:
Collected from myself: Marlo Mundon ’20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in 2009 from peers
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Hawaii is generally very rural and people are often surrounded by nature and enjoy hiking, swimming, exploring and the like.
Cultural Context: Most areas in nature have a cultural significance which must be respected. Nature itself is considered sacred and there many protocols and rituals one must perform in order to interact with nature in a respectful way.
Item:
Within the hills of Waimea on the Big Island there is a waterfall that runs into a large pond. It is a popular local hiking and swimming spot. The legend goes that the mo’o wahine lives in the pond and one must always ask her for permission before swimming. To do this, one takes a ti leaf and places it on top of the water. If the leaf floats, it is safe to swim and if it sinks, you cannot swim or mo’o wahine will drown you. Sometimes people also leave offerings for her to show respect and thank her for letting them swim in her pond.
Audio interview:
Transcription:
Michael: What is your name? Tell me about yourself.
Marlo: My name is Marlo Mundon, I’m a 20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Waimea. I didn’t grow up there but I went to a Hawaiian charter school that taught a lot about the history and the culture. So I learned a lot about all of that in that school and from cultural practitioners, and my peers, and local friends.
Michael: Do you have any Hawaiian superstitions that you would like to share?
Marlo: Yes, in my town specifically there is a lizard goddess, kind of. Her name, well not her name, but she’s called the “mo’o wahine” which means like lizard woman and she supposedly lives in this pond near my house up in the hills and like people like to go there, there’s a pond you can swim in and stuff but it is important to always check to see if it’s safe to swim because it’s the mo’o wahine’s home. So the superstition is you have to place a ti leaf on top of the water and if it floats then it’s safe to swim, and if it sinks it’s not safe, you can’t swim, she’ll drag you down to the depths of the pond and drown you. And so sometimes people also leave offerings on this big rock and uh yeah. That’s that.
Michael: Interesting. So, what is the social and cultural context of that superstition within Hawaii?
Marlo: So socially it’s something that the locals will do, one because it’s normal to do this and if you see tourists going there who don’t know about this, um, superstition. It’s always good to tell them about it, one it’s kind of fun to spook them and two, it’s culturally significant so you don’t want people to disrespect the pond and the lizard woman. Yeah that’s social, and uh cultural… there are a lot of deities, and supernatural beings in Hawaiian legends and stuff like that and they all have specific places where they live or areas that they have power over and this lizard woman lives in this pond and has a lot of influence over the town itself so it’s important for people in Waimea specifically to show respect for her.
Informant Data: Wyatt Smith ’19 is a 20-year-old male caucasian light-weight rower from Hong Kong. He is a long-time rower, having rowed competitively before Dartmouth, and was recruited to Dartmouth’s D150 Lightweight Rowing team.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Another legend, similar to that of Ian Accomando, is that of Josh Konieczny, who was also a star rower for D150. The D150 Light-Weight Crew team revolves around competition, mainly in the form of races against other college teams. In addition, it is a highly demanding sport that requires near daily practices and continual weight-cutting and exercise. As such, many rowers rely on legends to remind them of past glory and to motivate them to continue with the sport. The legend of Josh Konieczny is told to rowers as they discuss past achievements and compete at races in order to provide motivation.
Cultural Context: Similarly, the legend of Josh Konieczny is passed down verbally from one generation to the next and is an effective way to create a sense of common knowledge and unity within the team. Every team member hears this legend and because the hero is someone that also was on D150, he is easy to relate to.
Item: This item is an oral piece of folklore that focuses on the passing down of a Folk Narrative, specifically a legend, that is suppose to help motivate rowers to live up to the glory of past rowers, and continue their legacy by devoting themselves to the sport. It is shared by every member of the D150 team and is retold whenever rowers need motivation.
Associated media:
Transcript (8:59 – 9:46):
BC: “In regarding the legends for example, right, who are some legends that, um, you guys talk about? Like what did they do and why are they important? And why do you guys keep talking about them?”
WS: “Um… it’s, I think, we all think it’s really important to remember the guys who came before us. Um, especially because a few years ago ten… five, ten, fifteen years ago, we were one of the best teams in the country…
BC: “Right.”
WS: “… and we had some amazing, great rowers on our team. So it’s important – we see it as important – to remember the past rowers who came before us to motivate us to work harder and to remember who were… you know we have this kind of… we have to uphold this legacy that they left us…”
BC: “Right, right.”
WS: “… and to remember them. So some guys that I can name are Josh Sans, Ian Accomando, um, Josh Konieczny…”
Transcript (10:07 – 10:31):
WS: “… Josh Konieczny was in the Olympic boat that came fifth at the last Olympics, um…”
BC: “Right.”
WS: “… and so having him on the world stage, and knowing that he was once in our shoes…
literally in our shoes, and uh…, we’re wearing his kit, um…, is… is really motivational and makes
you work harder. Like you can be this good if you work this hard.”
Collector’s Comments:
Similar to the legend of Ian Accomando, this Alumni Legend also claims to be historical and portrays an actual person or event. Josh Konieczny is a former Olympian who prominently won fifth at the last Olympics, so it’s easy to see this legend using his image and heightening it to build motivation in current rowers.
Informant Data: Wyatt Smith ’19 is a 20-year-old male caucasian light-weight rower from Hong Kong. He is a long-time rower, having rowed competitively before Dartmouth, and was recruited to Dartmouth’s D150 Lightweight Rowing team.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: The D150 Light-Weight Crew team revolves around competition, mainly in the form of races against other college teams. In addition, it is a highly demanding sport that requires near daily practices and continual weight-cutting and exercise. As such, many rowers rely on legends to remind them of past glory and to motivate them to continue with the sport. The legend of Ian Accomando is told to rowers as they discuss past achievements and compete at races in order to provide motivation.
Cultural Context: The legend of Ian Accomando is passed down verbally from one generation to the next and is an effective way to create a sense of common knowledge and unity within the team. Every team member hears this legend and because the hero is someone that also was on D150, he is easy to relate to.
Item: This item is an oral piece of folklore that focuses on the passing down of a Folk Narrative, specifically a legend, that is suppose to help motivate rowers to live up to the glory of past rowers, and continue their legacy by devoting themselves to the sport. It is shared by every member of the D150 team and is retold whenever rowers need motivation.
Associated media:
Transcript (8:59 – 10:06):
BC: “In regarding the legends for example, right, who are some legends that, um, you guys talk about? Like what did they do and why are they important? And why do you guys keep talking about them?”
WS: “Um… it’s, I think, we all think it’s really important to remember the guys who came before us. Um, especially because a few years ago ten… five, ten, fifteen years ago, we were one of the best teams in the country…
BC: “Right.”
WS: “… and we had some amazing, great rowers on our team. So it’s important – we see it as important – to remember the past rowers who came before us to motivate us to work harder and to remember who were… you know we have this kind of… we have to uphold this legacy that they left us…”
BC: “Right, right.”
WS: “… and to remember them. So some guys that I can name are Josh Sans, Ian Accomando, um, Josh Konieczny. And Ian Accomando is now a coach at Harvard and we see him now and then, but he was known to be just this amazing rower who would go and party hard, but he would show up regardless of how tired he was…”
BC: “Uh-huh.”
WS: “… or how busy he was…”
BC: “Right.”
WS: “… and he’d show up and be the best on the team and work harder than anyone else. So it’s showing that you can balance your life, and you can show up and work really hard.”
Collector’s Comments:
These Alumni Legends are interesting because much like the typical legends we see in Folk Narratives, they claim to be historical and are meant to portray an actual person or event. Ian Accomando is an actual person who was on the D150 team, and continues to see the team as a coach at Harvard, so it’s easy to see this legend using his image and heightening it to build motivation in current rowers.
Insert Informant Data Here: Kenneth Moussavian is a 19’ in Dartmouth College. He is on the Water Polo team and has been playing water polo since high school. He was born and raised in Los Altos Hills and both his parents are from Iran.
Contextual Data:
Many sports teams, especially at Dartmouth, tell stories of legends and the greatest players from last years. During the first meeting with the players in the fall the coach tells them about stories of past players to give the team an example of someone they can look up to and aspire to be.
Item:
Insert Item Here: George Benz was a second team all ivy his freshman year in water polo. He was very well respected because of his dedication to the team. He would come to practice even when sick. One day George Benz walked up to the opposing teams captain and snarled “fear me”.
Insert Informant’s Comments Here: The players on the team still talk about George Benz and admire the passion he had for water polo. Ken Mentioned that there are some water polo players who wear the shirt that says “feat me” on the back.
Collector’s Comments:
Insert Collector’s Comments Here: George Benz’s audacity ignited pride in the team. He acts as a role model for all the water polo players. Furthermore, Legends like George Benz instill pride in future players.
James Goldszer was born in Rye, New York on October 22, 1994. He is a 21-year-old male and currently a senior at Dartmouth College. He is an executive member of a Greek organization on campus and currently resides within that fraternity. As a freshman, he had a broad and diverse social network on campus, and thus often participated in gossip regarding freshman activities.
Contextual Data:
After returning from his first-year trip, the informant spent much of his time during orientation week with other freshman who were on his trip that he had grown friendly with. Similar to many other freshman during their initial days on campus, the informant finally felt unshackled from the restrictions on social behavior that come with living at home. He was eager to engage in the college lifestyle, specifically drinking-related activities. While discussing with his friends their plans for acquiring alcohol, he was told a popular campus urban legend that discourages first-year students from potentially dangerous drinking. Freshman accounts of this legend are very similar in that students are told that a friend of a friend was “Good Sammed” (sent to Dick’s House for intoxication) before matriculation and immediately expelled from the College.
Item/Transcript:
“I remember I think it was my second night here at Dartmouth, I was in Foco with a couple guys that I had been on trips with and been hanging out with, and we were talking about how we were going to get alcohol for the night so we could go out in the dorms and have fun, and I remember one of the guys, he said, ‘There’s no way I’m doing that, I’m not gonna be doing any drinking or anything like that until we matriculate,’ and he told us that his brothers friend had been a student at Dartmouth, and he had been “Good Sammed” before he matriculated, and apparently because your not technically a student of the college at that point, they can really kick you out instantly for a little transgression like that, but once you matriculate you’re a lot more protected. It was definitely something where we weren’t quite sure if it was true or not, but it did play around in the back of our minds that we had to be a little extra careful.”
The informant felt that this legend was largely an unjustified superstition, and explicitly stated that hearing this story did not deter him from drinking during the pre-matriculation period.
Collector’s Comments:
Although this is a very popular urban legend known to most all Dartmouth students, its origins are unknown and few believe it to be true. The informants account is consistent with this.
