Sweet Sixteen Speeches (1)

Leave a reply

Title: Sweet Sixteen Speeches

General Information about Item:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Chetana Kalidindi
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: First Floor Berry
  • Date: 11/2/18

Informant Data:

  • Chetana Kalidindi, 19, was born on August 4th, 1999 in Mountain View, California. She lived there for all of her childhood with her parents and her sister Divya. Although Chetana did not have her own sweet sixteen, she attended her sister Divya’s sweet sixteen and many of her friends’ sweet sixteens. She is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Both Chetana and her sister Divya grew up in Mountain View, California and they both attended The Harker School, a small private school. They come from a south Asian/Indian background and their family is upper middle class.
  • Cultural Context: Sweet sixteens are a very common celebration to have in Mountain View, California, and most girls celebrate their transition to adulthood by throwing one.

Item:

  • At Divya’s sweet sixteen there were many special traditions that happened including a dance where the birthday girl was lifted up by her friends, cutting the cake, and the presentation of speeches about the Divya by her family members and her close friends. The speeches were the most important event of the night. For the speeches, friend and family members went up one by one and each spoke about how they have watched her grow up and about her journey to womanhood. They also speak about why she’s special to them and about their hopes and goals for her future.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: Could you please describe the tradition?

C: Yeah, so I think the main, like, the biggest part of the night was dancing, and then we had a photographer, so, taking pictures with all of her friends, and they all lifted her up, and I think that was a big part of it, and then right after that we all cut the cake and my parents had speeches.

E: And could you please explain why these ceremonies were important as far as her transition into adulthood.

C: I think, yeah, I think the speeches were the biggest, like, symbol because my parents talked a lot about that and just her growing up, and I know that a lot of other sweet sixteens that I’ve been to are kind of the same situation, but specifically for that we had a lot of speeches. Actually, I gave a speech, and we basically just talked about how she’s grown and I think my dad actually did mention that this was like a symbolic event and she’s now a young woman, so.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The speeches are symbolic as they are meant to reminisce on the birthday girl’s childhood and to hope for a bright future. Everyone who gave a speech was someone that was very close to the birthday girl and was someone who had watched her as she had grown up.

Collector’s Comments:

  • When I was younger I went to a family friend’s sweet sixteen and she had a very similar ceremony where her family and friends gave speeches about her. It really was a special moment for everyone involved.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Speeches
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood

Insulting Gestures: Japan: Gesture 1 (Finger Across the Throat Gesture)

Leave a reply

Finger Across the Throat Gesture (Young Jang)

Title: Finger Across the Throat Gesture

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Facial and Hand Gesture
  • Language: Japanese
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Rina Yaita
  • Date Collected: 11-06-18

Informant Data:

  • Rina Yaita is a sophomore student at Dartmouth College. Both her parents are Japanese. She was born in Chicago, United States. She moved to New York City when she was three years old, and went to pre-school in the States. Her family moved to Japan when she was six years old, and Rina attended a Japanese public elementary school in Japan until 5th grade. In the middle of her 5th grade year, Rina’s family moved to New Delhi, India due to her father’s job. She attended the American Embassy School until 11th grade in India. At the end of her 11th grade year, Rina and her family moved back to Japan, where she attended the American School. Her family resides in Japan.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Japanese society often has strict set of social norms that people should not act too silly or offend one another publicly. As such, insulting gesture are mainly found in the children demographic where acting silly or doing something very “rude” or “offensive” less frowned upon and more accepted. Moving the hand in a fist with only the thumb extended is a way children make fun or tease one another. It means “go to hell,” and carries a lighter tone than what it may seem like. While the meaning does mean “go to hell,” elementary school children sometimes do this gesture in order to joke around or tease each other.
  • Social Context: This gesture was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about any insulting gestures that exist in Japanese culture. Rina stated that when she was in elementary school, some of her friends would jokingly slide their finger across their throat as a means of communicating “go to hell.” The gesture was joking and childish in nature, and it does not really mean to show a serious or malicious intent. She said that she learned the gesture directly from friends at Japanese public elementary school.

Item:

  • The gesture begins with the actor holding out one of their hands in front of their throat. The hand is in a fist with the thumb sticking out to the side horizontally. Then the hand moves across the throat, which makes it seem as though the thumb is sliding across.

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

Transcript:

  • “You put your hand in this way and move it across like this… It means ‘go to hell.’ Some children did it when I was going to school in Japan…In Japan, you’re supposed to be polite all the time, right? You’re taught that from a young age, so I can’t imagine most adults doing this kind of gesture. ” -Rina

Informant’s Comments:

  • While children do this kind of gesture to one another as a joke, in almost all cases Japanese adults or even young adults would not perform this gesture.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this gesture to be interesting. While the finger sliding across the throat seems to be a gesture that is also recognized in the United States, the specific meaning does not seem to be the exact same. While in the United States the finger across the throat communicates the meaning of “watch out, I’m going to get you,” in Japan it has the direct meaning of “go to hell.” This folklore was an interesting one to compare how similar acts of gestures could potentially have different nuances in their meanings.

Collector’s Name: Young Jang 

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Finger Across the Throat
  • Japanese Insulting Gesture

Blonde Joke

Leave a reply

Title: Blonde Joke

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Joke
  • Language: Hebrew
  • Country of Origin: Israel
  • Informant: Eval Zimet
  • Date Collected: 11-3-18

Informant Data:

  • Eyal was born and raised in Kibbutz Ein Hamifratz, Israel. He is currently the assistant coach of the Dartmouth women’s varsity volleyball team. He competed on the Israeli National team for many years, attended the University of Hawaii, and played a professional beach volleyball player in the AVP . Hebrew is his native language, but he is also fluent in English.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The state of Israel is located in the Middle East, with Hebrew being its primary language. Over 9 million people speak the language worldwide. Humor has been present here in this location, historically through works of Judaism, but in today’s culture primarily expressed in a mainstream, anecdotal form, most frequently mirroring American humor.
  • Social Context: The interviewee is a native Hebrew Speaker, who learned English while growing up and preparing to serve in the Israeli military. He later graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Hawaii. The joke was told to him by a native Hebrew Speaker back in Israel. The interviewee said this joke was a ‘family friendly’ joke he had learned from friends when growing up.

Item:

  • This is a joke in Hebrew making fun of blondes. It targets the American stereotypes of blonde women being dumb and ditzy. The joke pokes fun at the blonde’s ability to decipher a confusing situation, such as a card that says to flip it over on both sides.

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

Blondejoke-10g087x

Hebrew Transcript:

“ECH ME’SHA’G’IM BLONDI’NIT: NOT’NIM LA PE’TEK VE’BE’SHNEY HA’TSDA’DIM “TA’HA’FCHI”

English Transcript of Translation:

  • “How do you drive a blonde crazy? You hand her a note that has the word ‘flip’ written on both sides.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • When I asked the informant for some jokes he had learned as a teenager, this was the first one he gave. He said it was one of the few ‘family friendly’ jokes he could share. He also noted that in Israel the ‘blonde’ stereotype is widely known, and often times included in much raunchier jokes and comments.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This joke is a funny example of a short joke, which provides a normal context, then finishes with an unexpected punch line. The fact that the informant had to think of ‘family friendly’ jokes and came up with this one felt like he was trying to relate to me as an American. Although there are no specific references to the Jewish culture or life in Israel, the joke still provides insight in to the type of witty and sarcastic humor often found in modern Jewish humor.

Collector’s Name: Zoe Leonard & Bun Straton

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Joke
  • Blonde

Husband and Wife Driving

Leave a reply

Title: Husband and Wife Driving

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Joke
  • Language: Hebrew
  • Country of Origin: Israel
  • Informant: Eval Zimet
  • Date Collected: 11-3-18

Informant Data:

  • Eyal was born and raised in Kibbutz Ein Hamifratz, Israel. He is currently the assistant coach of the Dartmouth women’s varsity volleyball team. He competed on the Israeli National team for many years, attended the University of Hawaii, and played a professional beach volleyball player in the AVP . Hebrew is his native language, but he is also fluent in English.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The state of Israel is located in the Middle East, with Hebrew being its primary language. Over 9 million people speak the language worldwide. Humor has been present here in this location, historically through works of Judaism, but in today’s culture primarily expressed in a mainstream, anecdotal form, most frequently mirroring American humor.
  • Social Context: The interviewee is a native Hebrew Speaker, who learned English while growing up and preparing to serve in the Israeli military. He later graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Hawaii. The joke was told to him by a native Hebrew Speaker back in Israel. The interviewee said this joke was a ‘family friendly’ joke he had learned from friends when growing up.

Item:

  • This is a joke in Hebrew about  a husband and a wife. The joke ends by poking fun at the wife and her driving abilities, implying that she looses control of the vehicle and is driving all over the sidewalks, and the pedestrians should watch out as they are in danger of her bad driving.

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

WifeDriving-21gnkjh

Hebrew Transcript:

“AL TID’A’GI MAMY AT NO’HE’GET ME’U’LE. MI SHE’YESH LO BA’A’YA IM ZE SHE’LO YE’LECH AL HA’MID’RA’CHA.”

English Transcript of Translation:

  • A husband and wife are talking. The husband says to the wife, “Oh don’t worry dear, you are driving excellent! Anyone who has a problem with your driving not should walk on the sidewalk.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • When I asked the informant for some jokes he had learned as a teenager, this was the first one he gave. He said it was one of the few ‘family friendly’ jokes he could share. He also noted that in Israel there is a stereotype that women are terrible drivers, and that they should not be on the road at all.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This joke is a funny example of a short joke, which provides a normal context, then finishes with an unexpected punch line. The fact that the informant had to think of ‘family friendly’ jokes and came up with this one felt like he was trying to relate to me as an American. Although there are no specific references to the Jewish culture or life in Israel, the joke still provides insight in to the type of witty and sarcastic humor often found in modern Jewish humor.

Collector’s Name: Zoe Leonard & Bun Straton

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Joke
  • Husband
  • Wife
  • Driving

Saints and Martyrs

Leave a reply

Title: Saints and Martyrs

General Information:

  • Verbal lore, Proverb
  • Informant Name: Meg Costantini
  • Location: Meg’s office, Aquinas House, Hanover, NH, 03755
  • Date: October 18, 2018

Informant Data:

Meg Costantini is a campus minister at Dartmouth College’s Catholic student center, Aquinas House. She describes herself as a “cradle Catholic,” meaning that she was born and raised Catholic her whole life. She went to public school for grade and high school, Villanova for her undergraduate degree, and got her Masters of Divinity from Notre Dame in 2015. After that, she started her current job. She is married to her husband Shawn, has a one-year-old daughter Lucy, and a baby on the way. (And her dog, Rey, who you’ll hear barking in the audio recording.)

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

Meg said that she heard this proverb from many Catholics, and could recall most recently the priest that she works with saying it in a homily. Homilies take place during Catholic mass services, after the day’s gospel reading, and are intended to preach a message with deeper meaning. Otherwise, they were casual conversations.

Cultural Context:

For Catholics, saints are people who lived out the Church’s teachings to the fullest extent, and martyrs are people who died for the faith. Both serve as role models to modern-day Catholics. This proverb pokes fun at one person needing to act as a martyr in order to live with someone who is a saint—or thinks that they are one. Meg mentioned that this proverb has a special meaning to her in her relationship with her husband; that they take turns being the martyr and the saint to each other. In her mind, this proverb exemplifies that there’s something about interacting with other people that makes us better versions of ourselves. When we interact with real people, with difficult or different personalities, we develop our own selves. The proverb is a reminder that when we feel frustrated with the people we live with (especially in marriage), that is a call to respond in a way that will bring us closer to God.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“It takes a martyr to live with a saint.”

Audio Recording:

Volume Warning: Meg’s busy life includes a young baby who liked to stand near the computer and a dog who likes to bark–they are audible and loud on the recording! Listen with care as to your volume.

This portion of the interview concludes about halfway through the second audio recording.

Collector’s Comments:

The formula of this proverb is two parts, with a statement and a condition. The image is intended to be humorous, though with a heartfelt/serious message behind it. This proverb uses metaphors of Catholicism to diffuse tension, inject humor, and poke fun at humility, while showing that martyrdom and sainthood are valued within the Church. This is one of two proverbs that I collected that focus on sainthood, which seems to be an important goal to strive towards, and certainly imparts morals, as well. Additionally, my informant chose to explain this proverb through her own life as well as through church history, showing a very personal connection.

Collector:

Alexandra Norris, 20
3305 Hinman, Hanover, NH, 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Fall 2018

Tags:

  • Proverbs
  • Catholic Proverbs
  • Family
  • Relationships

Menstruation in Hindu Temples

Leave a reply

General Information about Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition
  • Language: English/Hindi
  • Country of Origin: India
  • Informant: Aashika Jhawar
  • Date Collected: 11-5-2018
  • Interview was done over phone

Informant Data:

  • Aashika (Aashi) Jhawar is a 19 year old college student from Bellevue, WA. She was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and currently attends the University of California, Berkeley. She is second generation American and her family is from Northern India.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: In Hinduism, menstruating women are considered ritually impure and therefore are restricted from doing certain traditions. If a woman were to participate while menstruating, it would typically be deemed as an impure practice that would result in the opposite of the ritual’s intent. A formal ban was placed on Indian women in certain places of worship by the Kerala High Court in 1991 but was lifted in 2018 after numerous protests.
  • Social Context: Aashi learned this superstition from her mother, who describes this as one of many Indian traditions that is antiquated and routed in sexist ideals.

Item:

  • Menstruating Indian women (or anyone deemed “unclean”) cannot enter a place of worship or the ritual will not be successful or the gods will be angered.

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

Transcript:

  • “Another bad omen/superstition in Indian culture is that it’s very bad luck and considered very disrespectful to enter a temple or even pray if you haven’t showered or if a woman is on her period, so for that reason if you are considered ‘unclean’ then you can’t enter into a place of worship.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Aashi was well-informed on this superstition because the ban on menstruating women was recently lifted in India, which is a great stride for gender equality. Aashi didn’t know the specifics of what exactly will happen if a woman prayed/entered a temple while menstruating, but she knew that it would bring bad luck and that the ritual being conducted would not be successful or as effective.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought this superstition was interesting because it is highly reflective of traditional ideals within a culture. It seems like this superstition was formed from a societal bias against women in India, and practiced to encourage a gender divide. This superstition, paired with the fasting practice on Karva Chauth, indicates a trend of sexism in Indian culture that can be observed through these superstitions.

Collector’s Name: Derek Lue

Insulting Gestures: American Children — Gesture 10

Leave a reply

The Thumbs Down Gesture (Eitan Vilker)

Title: The Thumbs Down Gesture

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Hand gesture
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Daniel (last name withheld)
  • Date Collected: 10-21-18

Informant Data:

  • Daniel was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 2004. His father is an attorney for the state of Rhode Island, and his mother is a psychologist who operates a private practice. Daniel and his family are Jewish. He has lived in the small town of East Greenwich for most of his life. Daniel attends Cole Middle School. His family hails from both Western and Eastern Europe.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Children often use gestures that can be perceived in a neutral or negative light depending upon the situation. Gestures that are universally offensive are more likely to be considered taboo, like the middle finger, so gestures that are insulting sometimes but not always are a favorite of children.
  • Social Context: This hand gesture was brought up as a result of the interviewer asking what insulting gestures Daniel knew. He learned it from his parents and siblings. Most insulting gestures children make are used in school settings, physical activities and games, casual conversations, and at home- in short, the situations in which children spend the majority of their time.

Item:

  • Making this gesture merely involves holding the fingers of one hand into one’s fist and extending one’s thumb. This gesture indicates disapproval with a course of action, an opinion, or another person in general. It can be used as a shorthand for just saying “no” or it can be used in a dismissive fashion.

Associated File:

 

Transcript:

  • “I put my thumb down to sort of say ‘no’ or ‘you’re wrong.'”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is one of the most open-ended gestures observed. It can be very negative or neutral, and it can have many different meanings and apply to a large range of situations.

Collector’s Name: Eitan Vilker

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Thumbs Down

 

Family and Sainthood

Leave a reply

Title: Family and Sainthood Proverb

General Information:

  • Verbal lore, Proverb
  • Informant Name: Mike Carlowicz
  • Location: Aquinas House Library, Hanover, NH, 03755
  • Date: October 17, 2018

Informant Data:

Mike Carlowicz is a freshman at Dartmouth College. He was born and raised Catholic, went to Catholic school for all of his education before college, and now is involved in the Catholic student center at Dartmouth. He regularly attends Catholic mass at home. His parents are married and he has siblings.

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

Mike heard this proverb separately from a few different priests at his home parish while they were saying a homily, the reflection on the gospel reading for that day’s mass. He later was in the same space as all of those priests, in an informal gathering room like a study or lounge, and asked them if they had all heard it separately or from each other. They had all picked it up on their own, and it was a coincidence that they each preached about it.

Cultural Context:

Mike says this proverb is meaningful to him because as a Catholic, he believes that we should all strive to become saints. He knows that he’s not perfect, but he thinks this proverb exemplifies how much easier it is to be of a saint-like nature around people who aren’t family. Additionally, he says that this proverb points out that while it is more difficult, family may be a more valuable setting in which to try to emulate those qualities. He outlined two reasons for his interpretation. First, it’s easier to be saint-like around others because family members know your past and the motivations behind your actions; for example, if you’re acting with kindness in order to get your way later or gain something for yourself. Family members can more easily recognize your common sins. Second, the family is a more valuable setting in which to try to become a saint, because they can encourage you, support you, and see your progress. Since it is all the more difficult, it is even more impressive to be able to emulate the saints among people who know you deeply and may also know how to provoke you.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“It’s harder to be a saint around your family.”

Interview Audio:

Collector’s Comments:

This is a two part proverb, with a statement and a condition. The image is humorous, but with serious implications, as emphasized by the informant with personal connections to his own life and faith journey. This proverb stresses the importance of sainthood to Catholics, and suggests a method of achieving it (by being most saintlike when it is difficult to do so). As the informant inherited this proverb from several sources at different times, it also seems somewhat ubiquitous.

Collector:

Alexandra Norris, 20
3305 Hinman, Hanover, NH, 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Fall 2018

Tags:

  • Proverbs
  • Catholic Proverbs
  • Family
  • Relationships

Red Ink (Will Graber)

Leave a reply

Title: “Red Ink”

General information about item:

  • Bad luck superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Korea
  • Informant: Sunglim Kim
  • Date Collected: 11-5-18

Informant Data:

  • Sunglim Kim was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea until the age of 17. Her family origins are Korean. When she was a junior in high school she moved to the United States, and went to high school in Seattle, Washington. She then went to UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree, went back to work in Korea for a few years, and then came back to the United States to get her masters degree at the University of Kansas, and then went back to Berkeley for her PHD studies. Currently, she is a professor of Korean Art and Culture, in the department of Art History at Dartmouth College. This is her 7th year teaching at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Professor Kim shared that she was first taught this superstition at a very young age by her grandmother. She thought she was probably about three or four years old when she learned this superstition and shared that she learned it when she was learning to write her own name. One day she picked up a red pen and began to write with it and her grandmother warned her that she should never write anyone’s name in red colored ink because it would bring very bad luck.
  • Cultural Context: Although Professor Kim was not certain about the origins of this superstition, she thought that in pre-modern times death sentences were written in red ink and that frequently the names of people who had been arrested were also written in red ink. This explains why writing names in red ink is so strongly connected to death in Korean culture. Even today this superstition is strongly followed in Korean culture. Professor Kim shared that she will take notes or highlight in red but would still never write someone’s name in red ink.

Item:

Collector Comments: This superstition seemed to be a very common one in Korean culture since several of our informants told us about this superstition. Another interesting note is that this is an example of a magic superstition (homeopathic magic).

Collector’s Name: Will Graber

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Bad luck
  • Korean Culture
  • 18F

Insulting Gestures – France: Gesture 10

Leave a reply

Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Cristoforo Coppola

Name: Raising your index finger below your eye and pulling slightly to say “you’re lying”

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Cris was born and raised in Italy but attended a boarding school in Switzerland with students from all over Europe. Cris is a Government major senior at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
  • Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture to say they are done with a conversation.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Cris demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Cris about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Cris.

Transcript: Cris was at school with his buddies during a break between classes. Cris and one of his French friends were having some banter with each other, and Cris seemed to have gotten on his friend’s nerves. He threw his hands up like in the gesture above, told Cris he was done with him, and walked away.

Informant’s Comments: This gesture is meant to exclaim that the words coming out of someone’s mouth are egregious or appalling. It is meant to show that they are displeased with that the other person is saying and they don’t want the conversation to continue.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because there is no immediate similar one in the U.S. that comes to mind, except for perhaps a facial expression that indicated discontent. It is also interesting because I would have had no idea what the gesture meant if it hadn’t been explained to me. I most likely would have thought it was symbolizing someone with a beard.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

  • Gestures
  • France
  • Insulting
  • Hand
  • Throat