Category Archives: Verbal Lore

Swallowing a Grain of Rice – Turkey (Jea Mo)

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Title: Swallowing a Grain of Rice (Turkey)

General Information

  • Customary Folklore: Pre-test custom, superstition
  • Interview Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Istanbul, Turkey
  • Informant: NK
  • Date Collected: 10/27/2021

Informant:

  • NK is a sophomore (’24) at Dartmouth College who is from Istanbul, Turkey. She has lived the entirety of her life in Turkey before coming to Dartmouth College. She commented that her family is not particularly superstitious and that she has not personally experienced the item provided.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The informant said that she is not sure where this superstitious custom stems from exactly. But she commented that it may have to do with Islamic culture or rituals since the prayer that is recited while holding the object is an Islamic prayer. Islam is currently the most practiced religion in Turkey, and the history of Islam in Turkey dates back to the 11th century when the Seljuks conquered eastern Anatolia. This item might stem from notions in the Bible and the Quran that states that one becomes what they eat, and may also draw on notions of contagious magic.
  • Social Context: This item was collected in an in-person interview. The informant said that she heard about this item from her parents, but also that it is a superstition that is widely known to the Turkish population in general. It is also a superstition that is endorsed mostly by religious people in the contemporary era. The item also exists in many variants; some families will use many grains of rice instead of just one, and other families will use a candy to replace the grain of rice.

Item:

  • Before a student takes an important exam, the student’s parents would take a single grain of rice and blow on it. They would say an Islamic prayer with it in their hands. Then they would make their child swallow the grain whole.

Associated File:

Transcript

“So, um, the first thing that comes to mind is like – you know rice? So, generally parents take some rice pieces, rice grains, and pray. They do a prayer and blow onto their grain. Then they want their child whose going to take the exam to swallow it. It’s part of the culture. It’s going to help them. I don’t know what this dates back to, but I think it’s, um, a little old. Maybe from my parents’ generation? It’s weird, but it’s something. There’s also like, the same thing happens with candy. I don’t know if you have to swallow a candy because it’s big.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I’ve never really tried this, but I honestly think it would be safe to just stick to a single grain of rice. I don’t want to choke on a hard candy.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I agree with the informant in that it is best to keep the swallowing limited to a single grain of rice. Anything bigger may be hazardous. I wonder if certain families do use a large candy for this ritual.

Collector’s Name: Jea Mo

Tags/Keywords

  • Turkish
  • Customary folklore
  • Pre-test ritual

My Dinosaur (Ignacio Ortiz)

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  • Title: My Dinosaur
  • General Information about item:
    • Verbal Lore, lullaby
    • Language: English
    • Country of Origin: United States
    • Informant: J.M
    • Date Collected: 10-27-2021
  • Informant Data:
    • J.M. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2025. He was born and raised in California, USA. J.M. is very involved in the Dartmouth Outing Club and he has found a good, strong community. He enjoys spending time with his family and aspires to be a successful professional in the Biology field when he graduates. 
  • Contextual Data:
    • Cultural Context: Lullaby’s involving ancient creatures, such as dinosaurs, have been very alluring to children all over the world. Natural elements and animals are oftentimes soothing and a good subject for lullabies. 
    • Social Context: Comparing a child to a dinosaur can be a playful and endearing pursuit. J.M. was very comforted by the fact that his father saw him as his little dinosaur. 
  • Item:
    • The last passage of this picture book is very beneficial to induce a child into sleep. It is sung with soothing tones and provides a sense of closure, ideal for terminating the day and initiating sleep.
  • Associated File:

  • Transcript:
    • Good night my dinosaur,
    • sleep tight my dinosaur, 
    • soon I ‘ll see you again, 
    • my very best friend, 
    • good night, sleep tight, 
    • my dinosaur.
  • Informant’s Comments:
    • This was his favorite bedtime lullaby. It was really useful to soothe him after he had a stressful day.
  • Collector’s Comments:
    • I found this lullaby very comforting and sweet. I can see why J.M. loved it and remembers it to this day. The emotional attachment that these songs have on him are similar to the ones I have for myself. 
  • Collector’s Name: Ignacio Ortiz
  • Tags/Keywords:
    • Verbal lore
    • Lullaby
    • Mark Alan Weatherby

Boi Da Cara Preta (Ali Silva)

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Title: Boi Da Cara Preta

General Information about Item:

  • Children’s folklore, lullaby
  • Language: Portuguese
  • Country of origin: Brazil
  • Informant: JB
  • Date Collected: October 16, 2021

Informant Data:

  • JB was born in Winter Garden, Florida on March 23, 2001. She grew up with her younger brother and two parents. Her mother and father moved to Florida from Brazil in their early twenties but the rest of her family remains in Brazil. Her family is catholic and their ethnicity is Brazilian. JB and her family participated heavily in their community throughout her childhood and she participated in numerous extracurricular activities such as volleyball, soccer, and orchestra. 

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: This item is a classic brazilian child lullaby sung by many families who share a brazilian heritage. While the song is sung in a gentle and soothing tone, the lyrics to the lullaby are actually scary. Lullabies are used across the world, and in Brazil, to help a child drift of to sleep, they help foster a connection between the parents and the baby, and they also are helpful in establishing a routine for the baby. This lullaby culturally is an example of the parents role to protect the child from scary things that might be in the world. That is why the content is scary but the melody and delivery is gentle for this lullaby.
  • Social Context: For JB, this lullaby is a way for her to connect to her brazilian heritage and her family who remains in Brazil even though she and her immediate family live in Florida. JB rarely got to see her family as a child, so this lullaby is something that her whole family, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all share to connect them to their culture and each other. 

Item:

Text:
Boi, boi, boi,  
Boi da cara preta
Pega está criança que 
tem medo de careta
Não, não, não 
Não pega ele não
Ele é bonitinho,
ele chora coitadinho.		English Translation:
Bull, bull, bull,
Bull with the black face 
Get this child who 
Is afraid of frowns.
No, no, no,
Please do not get him,
He is a beautiful child and
He is crying, poor little one.
  • This lullaby has many different versions and verses, but this is a translation from the informant. The translation does not carry this, but the song has rhyming lines and short catchy phrases for ease of memorization. 

Associated File:

Informants Comments:

“This was my favorite lullaby growing up because my mom, my aunt and my grandma would sing it to me.”

Collector’s Comments: 

I have not heard this lullaby before but it has many of the same characteristics as ones I learned as a young child.

Collector:

Ali Silva

Dartmouth College

Russian 13

Professor Gronas and Professor Apresyan

Fall 2021

3FB (Annabel Revers)

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Title: 3FB

General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: RR ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/5/2021
  • Location Collected: Baker/Berry Library at Dartmouth College

Informant Data:

  • RR ’23 is a twenty-one-year-old female born in London, England. She is a member of the Class of 2023 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She is majoring in Economics modified with Psychology and consequently spends quite a lot of time in the library. RR is very involved on campus in both student organizations and athletics. She is a leader of Women in Student Businesses as well as a coxswain on the Men’s Lightweight Crew Team. She has also acted in many theatrical productions throughout her time at Dartmouth. She was recently accepted for an internship during the Summer of 2022 in consulting, which is the field she plans on having a career in.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: With ten week, fast-paced terms, Dartmouth students spend a lot of time studying and, consequently, a lot of time in the library. There is an attitude of “working hard and playing hard” embedded in campus culture, and with that comes the expectation that students are constantly running to the library to fit in work between their other commitments and social activities.
  • Social Context: This phrase is typically used exclusively by students rather than the general Dartmouth population. It is used around campus at any time of the day when one would typically be awake. It would also generally be used under the following circumstances: a student is telling another student of their plans to go study, asking another student to go with them to study, if they are going to class at one of the classrooms in the library, or if they are going to look for a book for a research project. The Baker/Berry Library is considered the main library on campus and 3FB is one of the more popular study locations on campus. This term (Fall 2021) in particular with many students returning to Dartmouth for the first time since the pandemic, the term “3FB” has been used in the context of complaints about how crowded it is given the large number of students on campus. It is also generally accepted to be a quiet study area, but has recently been louder than usual, much to the annoyance of other students who are trying to get work done there.

Item:

  • The acronym “3FB” stands for Third Floor Berry. This is a floor in the Baker/Berry library, the main library at Dartmouth College. For example, a student will say, “I’m going to 3FB to study.”

Associated File:

  • Transcript: “I spend a lot of time in the library and my favorite study spot is 3FB. It’s facetimey but also quiet enough that you can actually study there. I would use it like “Hey wanna go study on 3FB?”. It’s an acronym for Third Floor Berry, so it can’t really be defined beyond that. I first learned it freshman year, I’m not sure from who exactly, but I heard a friend say it my first day on campus and didn’t know what it meant. Eventually that same day I asked someone and they told me what it stood for. Everyone on campus uses the phrase 3FB, it’s just what it’s called now. It probably came about since its one of the more popular study spots on campus and Third Floor Berry was being used so frequently that people got tired of saying it.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • I would highly recommend 3FB whether you want to seriously study or casually work while quietly chatting with friends.

Collector’s Comments:

  • RR mentioned the word “facetimey,” which is also defined in this project by another member of our team. This slang word refers to in this context locations where one goes when they want to be seen by others and socialize. I think it is interesting to consider the atmosphere of different study spaces on campus and if they are considered more quiet or social. It is also interesting to consider how this evolves and changes throughout the years, as this affects the contexts in which this piece of slang is used.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, English, Students, Dartmouth, Slang, Libraries, Acronyms

Instructions for uploading folklore collections

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Folklore Project, Word Press Instructions

Log in onto the folklore collection web site

You might need to confirm the invitation sent to your email from WordPress before accessing posting on this site.

Your collection will consist of an Introduction and folklore items that you upload as POSTS.

The Introduction is a post that contains general information about your topic. Items are posts that contain separate items of your collection. To create an Introduction post or an item post, choose NEW and then POST ( i.e. create new post) in the menu at the the top of your screen.

The Introduction post should contain an overview of your project as a whole, a general characteristic of the genre, informants, your conclusions etc. You may use your final presentation as part of this post. 

Please use the item template  below to create at  item post.

Once you have created the content of the post, supply it with CATEGORIES and TAGS. To do so find the corresponding menu items ( categories, tags) in the post editing menu on the right side of your screen.

Your categories are predetermined for you:

Your category is  Fall 2022  and your subcategory is  Fa2022_Your group ( find your group among categories for Fall 2022).

Your tags you have to choose/create on your own. Please use the following scheme. 4-5 tags, with 

  • one tag for genre/domain (e.g. joke, tongue-twister, superstition, tost)
  • one tag for the  language/ethnic group ( if relevant) ( american,russian, german)
  • one tag for the professional/gender/age group (if relevant, e.g. programmers, doctors, students, children)
  • one tag for the region/institution ( if relevant, e.g. new england, dartmouth)
  • one or two tags for other descriptors you find relevant ( e.g. soccer, christmas, etc)

Please add the tag “Introduction” to your introduction post.

Once you’ve entered the title and added categories, tags, and a featured image in the right column, click the “Save Draft” button. Once you’re satisfied with your work, click the blue “Publish” button.

Good Sam

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General Information:

         Verbal Lore, Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informant: LG

         Date Collected: 11/4/2021

         Location Collected: Dorm Room over a FaceTime Call

Informant Data: LG is a ’23 from Maui, Hawaii. She is 20 years old, and a Government and Geography double major. She is a member of the equestrian team.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: Good sam is used when someone is under the influence to the point that medical assistance is required. It is rarely used by people on campus, as people rarely drink to the point where they need to go to the hospital. All of campus knows this word.

Cultural Context: Good sam is a program used by Dartmouth to encourage safety. If you good sam someone you are exempt from getting into any trouble for underage drinking. Dartmouth students often use this in a joking manner, saying things such as “slow down we don’t want to have to good sam you”. Most students learn this early on during their freshman year, as it is a matter of safety stressed by the college. It has a negative connotation, and can often be a source of shame if you are “good sam’ed”.

Item: Good Sam: To call 911 and request medical assistance for someone who has had too much to drink or is otherwise incapacitated. Example: “John had too much to drink last night so we had to good sam him”.

Associated File: Notable quotes

“Good sam means to call the hospital for someone who has had too much to drink at a party or a night out”.

“Yeah the term is often used when someone is drinking a lot and we want to tell them to slow down, saying something like ‘don’t want to have to good sam you'”.

Informant’s Comments: LG said she has luckily never had to use this word herself on campus.

Collector’s Comments: I have never had any experience with using good sam directly, but friends of mine have. It is certainly a negative word, and people talk about others getting good sam’ed and spread rumors about it.

Collector’s Name: Ben Ryan

Defenses against supernatural creatures (The Introduction)

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Why we chose this topic: 

  • Supernatural beings are a uniquely good insight into the morals of a culture
  • Common practice to ward off found across many cultures,  but methods vary dramatically

Our process: 

  • We each chose a specific culture to focus on and collect stories from (e.g. Chinese, Sri Lankan, Nepali etc.)
  • Each of us collected 5 examples, so the seven members of the group collected 35 pieces of folklore total

Similar themes we noticed:

  • Spirits and demons the primary cause of many evils, particularly those thought beyond ancient human control like disease and famine
  • Across cultures, objects or symbols are used to ward off evil beings.
  • Across cultures, another method used to ward off evil beings is through behavior.  For example being naughty will get you punished so do not be naughty.