Category Archives: FA21

Content created by Russian 13 students, fall term 2021

Hockey Tournament

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General Information About Item:

  • Material Lore, Hockey
  • Customary Lore, Family tradition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: A.M.
  • Date Collected: 11-10-2021

Informant Data:

  • A.M. is a senior at Middlebury College located in Middlebury, Vermont. He was one brother and a mom, and has a large extended family all of whom live in the area surrounding him. He was born in Sherborn Massachusetts, and has lived there his whole life. He grew up in a Catholic family and noted that Christmas is his favorite holiday of the year.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The cultural context of A.M’s family hockey tournament relates back to his family’s heritage in Canada. His grandparents Immigrated from Canada in the 1940s to start a family in the Boston area. Hockey is the national sport of Canada in the winter so it makes sense as to why the Marinello family honors this tradition every year.
  • Social Context: This tournament is a means for his family to gather as they don’t see each other nearly as much as they used to. Now that A.M. and his brother are in college, this tournament is one of the few times each year that they come together as an extended family.

Item:

  • Every year, A.M’s family gathers at a local pond to play Hockey. Initially it started as a family tradition where his brother and he would go practice for their upcoming tournaments, but ever since it has been a way for their extended family to come together and catch up. Hockey is something which has always been a common denominator between his family- all of his cousins grew up playing from a young age and get competitive about it.

Transcript:

  • “You know how much my family loves hockey. While we go to church the day of Christmas, the hockey tournament which my family hosts is the centerpiece to our Christmas spirit. To me, Christmas is about coming together with your loved ones and spending time with them. While there are many settings in which this can be accomplished, something which connects my family with our heritage is the game of hockey. It’s something which I look forward to every year and am devastated when we can’t play. When the weather is too warm for the ice to melt on the local pond, we try our best to recreate this environment but it truly doesn’t compare. Everyone wears some sort of Christmas attire- last year I dressed as Santa and Michael(his brother) dressed as an elf. I guess in this way we relate it back to the westernization of Christmas, but this tradition doesn’t revolve around the religious aspects of Christmas much.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “As much as my family is Catholic- and we do practice our religion on a regular basis. I don’t think that people can come around to Catholicism during the holiday season and claim to be truly dedicated to Catholicism. So I’d say we don’t focus much more on our religion during the holiday season any more than we would in June. The hockey tournament is more about family than religion.

Collector’s Comments:

  • A.M. had interesting insight into the Christmas season. He explained that what makes the Christmas season special is not the gift giving or the hanging of the ornaments on the Christmas tree. It’s the traditions and folklore like his family hockey tournament which are specific to his family that make it special. It’s because they take ownership over the holiday that makes it truly special.

Collected By:

Daniel Hincks

Boston, MA

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS013

Fall 2021

Painted nails or dyed hair (Pedro Campos)

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Title: Painted nails or dyed hair

General Information about Item:

  • Contagious Magic Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: United States
  • Informant: J.C.
  • Date collected: 11/4/2021

Informant Data:

  • J.C. is a male student from the class of 2024. He was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Julian is part of the fencing club team at Dartmouth, a sport he practices since he was 16.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: During a bout (a game of fencing), the whole body of the fencers are covered by their armor. Therefore, any physical characteristics the fencers may have will not show to their opponents.
  • Social Context: J.C. said his previous fencing team in Columbus did not have any team rituals or superstitions. He mentions how having a team superstition at Dartmouth brings the team closer together.

Item:

  • Before competitions, the members of the fencing team will paint their nails or dye their hair for good luck.

Associated files/pictures:

Transcript:

  • “As a team, before competitions we dye our hair or paint our nails. It is a tradition that’s supposed to bring us good luck. I think that’s been going for quite a few years now.”

Informants Comments:

  • J.C. mentioned that personally he didn’t believe in the magic of the superstition but that it became such an intrinsic part of the team that if he didn’t do it he would probably do worse in the competitions.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It is interesting how the superstition will modify physical characteristics of the fencers but that will not appear for the opponent. They really do this superstition for themselves, not to intimidate adversaries.

Collector’s Name:

  • Pedro Campos

Tags:

  • Superstition
  • Dartmouth
  • Fencing
  • Dyed hair, painted nails

Entering the field with left foot and untied shoelaces (Pedro Campos)

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Title: Entering the field with left foot and untied shoelaces

General Information about Item:

  • Sympathetic (Contagious) Magic Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Willingdon, England
  • Informant: T.C.
  • Date collected: 11/2/2021

Informant Data:

  • T.C. is a male student-athlete from the class of 2024 who plays soccer at Dartmouth. He was born and raised in Willingdon, England. T.C. has been playing soccer since before he could walk and is a fan of the West Ham United FC.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Soccer (or football, as it is referred to in England) is a major part of English culture, especially for boys. Kids at a young age often look up to professional footballers and try to emulate them (dress code, hairstyle, style of play, and so on).
  • Social Context: T.C. explained his superstitions to me right before a game, which is when he performs them. At first, he did not seem to remember where he picked up his superstitions from, but after further questioning he agreed that he was attempting to emulate professional player’s rituals.

Item:

  • Before a game, T.C. will enter the field with the laces in his soccer boots untied and will take two steps on his left foot before taking one on his right.

Associated files/pictures:

Transcript:

  • “I don’t tie the laces on my boots until I’m out in the field. And also, when I get on the field I take two steps on my left foot before I take a step on my right. I might have picked up my superstitions when I was 13 at my club back in England.”

Informants Comments:

  • He later remembered that the shoelace superstition was based on a ritual performed by former England national team left back Leighton Baines.

Collector’s Comments:

  • As a 13-year-old, T.C. was obviously emulating professional footballers and their superstitions, as an attempt of being a more integral member of the footballers folk group. Walking into the pitch on foot is a very common superstition among soccer players.

Collector’s Name:

  • Pedro Campos

Tags:

  • Superstition
  • England
  • Soccer, Football
  • Shoelaces

Nativity Scene

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General Information About Item:

  • Customary Lore, Religious Tradition
  • Material Lore, Nativity Scene
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: B.L.
  • Date Collected: 11-08-2021

Informant Data:

  • B.L. is a senior at Tulane University. An avid reader and one who enjoys the arts, these parts about him were borne about as a result of his family. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts and has one brother. B.L. was brought up in a devout Catholic family.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The nativity scene is the portrayal of the birth of Jesus Chirst. It is something which is celebrated by the Christian faith especially during the Christmas season. It represents the birth of the Lord and Savior, Jesus, and the gifts which he was brought as a young boy which represent the power and authority he had since birth.
  • Social Context: B.L’s family commemorates this event each year through acting out the nativity scene. This scene is sometimes represented in Church, with children playing the majority of the roles, but B.L’s family has adopted this tradition and continues to do it to this day as adults.

Item:

  • Every year on the night before Christmas, B.L’s extended family partakes in a nativity play which represents the birth of Jesus Chirst. Each member of his extended family, cousins and all, dress up as a different role and act out this scene in front of his grandparents. Each member of the family has their own unique part to play and plays the same role every year. B.L. noted that from a young age he was chosen to play the role of Jesus, something which he looks forward to every year.

Transcript:

  • “I don’t completely remember how far this tradition goes back but I think that says something in itself- we’ve been doing this since I can remember. As you know, my family is quite religious and sees Christmas as an opportunity to remember the life of Jesus Christ and all that he sacrificed for us. At times during the year I forget just how involved I am and should be with my religion, and this is a means of connecting back with that part of myself and my culture. Since a young age, I have played the role of Jesus, and while it surely used to be a lot cuter with all the young cousins doing their best to act out the nativity scene, it’s still something we all take very seriously. I’d also say it’s a great way for my family to connect during the Christmas season and spend quality time together. I don’t get to see my brother and my parents nearly as much as I’d like to these days and the nativity scene is something which connects my family.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “Acting out the birth of Jesus is a great way to connect with my religious background. In this way I am both actively able to commemorate his life, and also teach myself a bit about how to be more like him each and every day.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This interview was definitely different from a few of my others, but I knew coming in that B.L’s catholic background would provide some religious traditions. While this event is rooted in religion which is shared, the event of acting out the nativity scene is somewhat specific to B.L’s family- he is the only one of my five interviewee’s whose family participates in an event like this. I would argue that this in fact makes it a piece of folklore due to the fact that it is a tradition specific to his family.

Collected By:

Daniel Hincks

Boston, MA

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS013

Fall 2021

Miracle (Pedro Campos)

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Title: Miracle

General Information about Item:

  • Sympathetic Magic Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: United States
  • Informant: Isaac Spokes
  • Date collected: 11/1/2021

Informant Data:

  • I.C. is a male student-athlete from the class of 2022. He was admitted into Dartmouth as a regular student and became part of the men’s heavyweight rowing team on his freshman year. He was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: During a competition rowers should work together to assure a good performance. It is essential that every rower in the boat stays on the same page regarding their movement’s intensity.
  • Social Context: I.C. became a rower in college, so he didn’t have any superstitions of his own before joining the team.

Item:

  • The team watches the movie Miracle before big races.

Associated files/pictures:

Transcript:

  • “Our one main superstition is that we watch Miracle before major races. It originated because it’s a sick movie and it gets us excited to row. In terms of believing in it, I do believe it gets us pumped as a team. Now, do I believe it really gives us good luck? Yeah, I think I do.”

Informants Comments:

  • I.C. said that he was skeptical about the superstition at first, but that once he participated in it for the first time, he started believing it gave them good luck.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It is very interesting how someone is more likely to believe in something when there’s a group of people inciting that person to believe In it.

Collector’s Name:

  • Pedro Campos

Tags:

  • Superstition
  • Dartmouth
  • Rowing
  • Movie

Time Goal (Pedro Campos)

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Title: Time Goal

General Information about Item:

  • Sympathetic Magic Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: United States
  • Informant: A.L.
  • Date collected: 11/5/2021

Informant Data:

  • A.L. is a male student from the class of 2024. He was born and raised in Herndon, Virginia, a city just outside Washington, DC. A.L. is part of the triathlon team at Dartmouth. Alex have done long distance running since he was 15.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Endurance sports such as triathlon involve a competition against others. But, perhaps more important than that, these sports are about competing with yourself. The objective of every race is to beat a time goal you set for yourself.
  • Social Context: Not all athletes in the team perform this superstition but Alex said he tried it once and it worked so he kept doing it ever since.

Item:

  • During the week of a race, some athletes in the triathlon team will write their time goal for the race on a piece of paper and tape it to the wall in their rooms.

Associated files/pictures:

Transcript:

  • “This is a superstition some of us do: we write down our time goal for the race and tape it to the wall because we will look at it every day and think “I have to beat this time”. It works for me.”

Informants Comments:

  • A.L. said he considers this as a superstition but maybe also as an exercise for his mind. So not only it gives him some sort of good luck, but it also keeps him motivated.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is a great example of the obsession triathlon athletes have with getting better and better. I found this superstition very inspiring.

Collector’s Name:

  • Pedro Campos

Tags:

  • Superstition
  • Dartmouth
  • Triathlon
  • Time goal

Christmas Tree Hunting

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General Information About Item:

  • Customary Lore, Family Trip
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: B.G.
  • Date Collected: 11-10-2021

Informant Data:

  • B.G. is a senior at Bates College in Lewiston Maine. He grew up in Westwood Massachusetts in a rather large family with two brothers and a sister. B.G. is a member of the Bates College baseball team and was brought up in a catholic household.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The tree is vital to the celebration of Christmas. Decorations and gift giving are both heavily intertwined with it. However, few people truly know the importance of the Christmas tree and why people bring one into their homes each year. It is a representation that spring is just around the corner and that the darkest days of winter are fleeting.
  • Social Context: This practice annually taken part in by B.G’s family is one which originated in their household when he was a child. While it has developed over the years, the reason behind doing it- to spend time with each other over the holiday season has remained the same.

Item:

  • Every year, B.G’s family makes a trip out to rural Western Massachusetts to find their own Christmas tree. When B.G. was a young boy, his parents decided that this would be a great facet for their family to spend time together outside the home. It has turned into an annual tradition and they have even gathered extended family and friends to join into this tradition in recent years.

Transcript:

  • “Every year since I was a boy, my family and I have hopped in a car and headed out to the plains of Williamstown. While its quite a far trip and I must admit something which I have at times dreaded, the overarching theme of the ride is one which I am very thankful for. Aside from of course getting the tree which can be a very fun search, I get to spend time with my loved ones- something which comes fewer and more far between as the days pass. Since I’ve been in college, I haven’t spent nearly as much time with my family for obvious reasons and this is a great way to come together during the holiday season. While it started off as something which was specific to my family, we have brought along family friends as well as extended family into this tradition.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “It’s become something which I look forward to and quite special due to the fact that it is specific to my family- at least it was before we invited others to join along. I would say that it still remains something which all of my siblings and I take agency in and find something which kicks off the Christmas season the right way.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • It is important to recognize that while B.G’s family is catholic and does participate in many of the religious aspects surrounding the Christmas season, this was the most important topic which he wanted to discuss surrounding his family’s traditions. I think this points strongly to a resounding theme amongst my interviews that what makes Christmas special is not necessarily the substance of the holiday, rather the individual traditions and folklore which are heavily intertwined with it.

Collected By:

Daniel Hincks

Boston, MA

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS013

Fall 2021

Stepping on the Field (George Altirs)

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Title: Stepping on the Field

General Information about Item:

Genre: Customary Lore, Superstition

Country of Origin: Israel

Informant: OY

Date Collected: 10-28-21

Informant Data:

OY is a player on Dartmouth Men’s Soccer team in the Class of 2022 at Dartmouth. He was born in Israel and lived there until he was 10 years old. He played on a recreational soccer team there. He then moved to Boston when he was 10 with his family. He went to Brookline High School, but he played on a separate professional youth team called New England Revolution. His younger brother and sister also play soccer.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: One day, OY was watching the professional team Maccabi Haifa in Israel at the age of 9 (2009). He saw that a player ran onto the field with a little stutter step, where he stepped onto the field with his right foot and hopped on it again before stepping onto his left. That player scored the winning goal in the game, and OY admired him. OY started doing the same thing, believing that it will make him play well like that player. He had been doing that ever since when he steps out onto a soccer field, and he still does it in his Dartmouth games. I noticed that OY does this before games, and I asked him about it, which is where I collected this piece of folklore.

Cultural Context: In Israel, soccer is the most popular sport, in contrast to the US. OY used to play soccer in the streets and in school with his friends. Oftentimes in soccer, children see professional players doing things, and they want to be like them. This is the case with OY and other kids in Israel during that time. They saw that a player was doing something, and they did the same thing. They then will keep that ritual or superstition going for the rest of their life.

Item:

When OY runs on to the soccer field for the first time before a game, he always steps over the sideline with his right foot first, then hops again on his right foot before stepping on his left. He needs to do this so that he can play well.

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

Ohad Yahalom - Men's Soccer - Dartmouth College Athletics

Transcript:

“When I was younger, I saw this player step onto the field in a certain way, and I really liked the way that player played. I really wanted to be like him, which is why I started to do this routine when stepping on the field and believing in the superstition.”

Informant’s Comments:

This is something that I’ve done for almost my whole life. At this point, it’s just something that I do to make me feel comfortable. I know that it probably doesn’t affect my performance, but I just feel weird if I don’t do it.

Collector’s Comments:

I know, firsthand (as a soccer player), that this is something that happens a lot in soccer. Children always love imitating the routines and mannerisms of their favorite professional players and let these routines adapt for themselves over the years as they get older.

Collector’s Name:

George Altirs

Dartmouth College

Russian 13: Slavic Folklore

Professors Gronas and Apresjan

21F

A kiss of good luck (Pedro Campos)

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Title: A kiss of good luck

General Information about Item:

  • Sympathetic (Contagious) Magic Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: McLean, Virginia
  • Informant: E.T.
  • Date collected: 11/8/2021

Informant Data:

  • E.T. is a male student-athlete from the class of 2023 who plays golf at Dartmouth. He was born and raised in McLean, Virginia. E.T. has been playing golf since he was 10 with his father, who is a lover of the sport.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Golf is usually a mental game since you have no interference from other competitors. Being confident with yourself is an essential part of the game.
  • Social Context: E.T. at first said he didn’t have any superstitions but then realized he had an obvious one; the superstition is so intrinsic to his game now that he forgot he had it.

Item:

  • Before his first drive of the day, E.T. will give the ball a kiss.

Associated files/pictures:

Transcript:

  • “I give the ball a little kiss before my first drive. Yeah, I learned it from my dad, it’s for good luck.”

Informants Comments:

  • He mentioned his father also learned this superstition from his respective father (E.T.’s grandfather).

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is a classic superstition in soccer too. Interesting to see it in a different sport

Collector’s Name:

  • Pedro Campos

Tags:

  • Superstition
  • Dartmouth
  • Golf, ball
  • Kiss

Serving Routine (George Altirs)

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Title: Serving Routine

General Information about Item:

Genre: Customary Lore, Magic Superstitions

Language: English

Country of Origin: Germany

Informant: DP

Date Collected: 11-6-21

Informant Data:

DP was born and raised in Munich, Germany. He is in the class of 2023 at Dartmouth College, and he plays on the varsity tennis team. He has played Tennis since he was 12 years old in 2011. He didn’t play on a high school team in Germany as they didn’t have one. His high school was called “Institut für Lernsysteme.”

Contextual Data:

Social Context: DP once had a Tennis coach when he was 16 that he really looked up to. Once during practice, DP was serving the ball poorly. His coach pulled him aside and told him to take a few breaths and focus clearly on the serves. He told him about something that a lot of professional tennis players in Germany do before their serves. They bounced the ball three times with their right hand and three times with their left hand. DP tried this method before his serves, and he served the ball well for the rest of practice. Now, before every serve, DP focuses as hard as he can, takes a few breaths, and bounced the ball three times in each hand. He doesn’t know which player started this pre-serve routine, but he knows that it has been going on for a long time in German tennis. I learned about this routine when I called DP to ask him about his pre-match rituals.

Cultural Context: Serving in tennis is almost all about focus. If any little thing throws off the person’s focus, then the serve will be bad, and the player will lose the point. If a player is serving bad, they will lose the match. This is why a players routines are so important.


Item:

If DP takes a deep breath, and bounces the ball 3 times in each hand, then I won’t serve the ball poorly.

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

Transcript:

“My coach taught me this routine, and I have stuck to it ever since. I know that if I don’t do exactly this before I serve, then my serves for that match will be bad.”

Informant’s Comments:

I know that it sounds weird that I have to bounce a ball a certain number of times in each hand. I have been doing this for so long, and it just feels like something that I must do at this point in my career. It has become second nature.

Collector’s Comments:

I notice that the role of three is at play here. This is like how this number is often present in fairy tales. It is interesting that three is the number of times he needs to bounce the ball.

Collector’s Name:

George Altirs

Dartmouth College

Russian 13: Slavic Folklore

Professors Gronas and Apresjan

21F