Tag Archives: Kansas

Christmas tree decorating technique (Julia Cross)

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General Information about Item:

  • Customary lore
  • Language: English
  • State of Origin: Kansas, USA
  • Informant: B.F.
  • Date Collected: Nov. 6, 2021

Informant Data:

B.F., now 24, was born and raised in Kansas until attending university at Stanford, where he now pursues his PhD. Religion, specifically Christianity, used to play a large part in Billy’s family, but has since taken a more minor role. B.F.’s parents and grandparents also come from the Midwest, and a lot of his Christmas traditions are specific to his family and extend back for generations. 

Contextual Data:

Cultural: As far as American Christmas traditions go, the practice of decorating a tree is among the most widely adopted. The tree is usually a pine, and gifts are placed under them prior to being opened. The tradition of decorating a tree, with lights and ornaments, has an unknown origin but is one that many families participate in. 

Social: This lore was collected in a casual conversation, and I unfortunately forgot to record it. The topic of Christmas came up and I asked further questions about the informant’s tree-decorating routine. The informant first learned this when he was little, he doesn’t remember when. The act of decorating a tree for this purpose only happens around the 25th of December (it can be up to a few weeks prior, but the reason it is decorated is for Christmas gifts). The specific technique of applying lights to the tree seems to be specific to B.F.’s family.

Item:

The item is firstly the practice of decorating a tree under which gifts are placed. This is a general practice adopted by many American families during Christmas time. This informant’s family has a very specific decoration technique in which colourful lights are added to the tree. This technique’s origin is unknown, but it has been used in the family ever since string lights were commercially available. The lights themselves need to be small, but colourful. Starting at the base of the tree, the lights are first wrapped around the base of the branch counterclockwise then worked up the branch. The wrapping of lights goes around the entire branch and then up the tree.

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

Transcript:

“How we put the lights on the tree is a big deal. It needs to be done just right, otherwise the whole tree is out of balance. I’m not sure when this method started, probably ages ago. Maybe even when our family started getting string lights. Basically you start at the bottom of the tree, pick a branch and then wrap it like crazy. The first wrap on the branch is counter clockwise, but the direction changes depending on the branch, sometimes the branch splits and you have to wrap each split individually. Basically, the whole thing takes ages, and usually involves the whole family because you get tired really easily. We usually go for a nice big bushy tree, so it can take up to 3 hours. At the end, though, it is so beautiful and bright.”

Informant Comments:

“This is a picture of my very bad attempt, but I was away from home and my mom wasn’t there to walk me through it, I’m a little ashamed that this is the only photo I have” 

Collector’s Comments:

The photo seems misleading because although he said he usually uses big bushy trees, the one in the photo is quite sparse, probably a consequence of having Christmas in a dry area such as California. Even still, you can see how the lights extend to the base of each branch. Given more time, I would see if I could get a photo from their home where the lights are done properly. This also could fall under the category of decoration, but I figured since the tree is an integral part of American Christmas gift-giving, I thought I would include it. The question then is does a technique count as folklore? I would argue yes. The origin is unknown, it’s been passed down in a folk group for generations and it is only used under a specific context. It is both material and customary.

Collector’s Name: Julia Cross

Dartmouth College

RUSS13

Fall 2021

Cattle Brands

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Title: Cattle Brand

General Information about Item:

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

Informant Data:

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

Contextual Data:

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

Item

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

Associated Files: 

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