Tag Archives: Quinceañera

Sweet Sixteen Father Daughter Dance

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Title: Sweet Sixteen Father Daughter Dance

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Lindsey Beaudoin
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: First Floor Berry
  • Date: 11/8/18

Informant Data:

  • Lindsey Beaudoin, 19, was born on February 8th, 1999 in Pensacola, Florida. She then moved to Virginia for three years, then to Massachusetts for five years, and finally Bedford, New Hampshire for the rest of her childhood. Lindsey herself did not have a sweet sixteen, but she attended her close friend, Jill Tokac’s, sweet sixteen.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Lindsey Beaudoin and her friend Jill Tokac both grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire and they both attended Bedford High School, a public high school with approximately fifteen hundred students. Jill Tokac is Caucasian, and she comes from an upper middle-class background.
  • Cultural Context: Only a few people in Bedford, New Hampshire celebrate their sixteenth birthday with a sweet sixteen celebration. However, those who did have parties had very elaborate parties.

Item:

  • Jill Tokac’s sweet sixteen consisted of an elaborate party to which approximately two hundred people were invited. During the celebration, one important event that happened was the dance between the father and daughter. Before the dance party started, Jill and her father got up and danced in front of the other party guests. They danced to a song that meant a lot to both of them, and it was reminiscent of the dance that happens between the bride and the groom at weddings. Later in the night, her father was also one of the people who gave a speech about her, talking about how much he loved her and about her bright future ahead of her.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: So Lindsey, could you describe the tradition?

L: So, the tradition at this party was, it was a pretty, like, formal “you’re in dressed up” and there was a dance party, and it started out with a dance between Jill, the girl who was celebrating her sweet sixteen, and her father.

E: And can you explain how this ceremony symbolized her transition to womanhood?

L: It was kind of a, like, I don’t know, I guess very formal, like, ceremonial thing, like it happens at weddings, and her father was also one of the people that kind of, that gave a speech about, like, how she had grown up and changed and sort of, like, become an adult over the sixteen years, so like, it was kind of, like, tangible representation of her, like, becoming a woman, and turning sixteen.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The dance was symbolic of her father being the first man in her life, and it was a moment for the father to cherish his daughter one last time before she went into womanhood. Everyone was just watching them dance and it was such a great moment to witness.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This tradition reminds me a lot of the father daughter dance that happens during quinceañeras. It’s interesting to see how aspects of other cultures have found their way into sweet sixteens since the USA is considered to be a melting pot of cultures.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Quinceañera
  • Father Daughter Dance
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood

North America Initiation Rituals: The Importance of Family at a Quinceañera

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Title: North America Initiation Rituals: The Importance of Family at a Quinceañera

 General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: Latinx and Catholic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Mexico/America
  • Informant: Athina Schmidt
  • Place Collected: Kappa Delta Sorority
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Athina Schmidt, age 29, is a female Dartmouth student who is graduating with the class of 2019. She was born in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She is currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Her ethnic background is half Dominican and half German. She went to a public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Athina is in Kappa Delta sorority, a member of the club Squash team, and a member of the Gospel Choir. She is planning to major in Psychology with a minor in Digital Art.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The U.S. Latinx culture has deep roots in respecting their cultural customs, traditions, and religion from the past. The main religion practiced by this cultural community is the Catholicism. In the U.S. a way many their Latinx families continue to pass down their cultural and religious customs is through the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera is an important way for a girl of Mexican American decent to stay connected to their ethnic history. After completing theQuinceañera a girl becomes incorporated into the cultural community in a meaningful way.
  • Social Context: The Quinceañera is practiced by most self-identifying Latinx members no matter their economic and geographic situations. TheQuinceañera can vary in how elaborate the ceremony and party is, depending on the particular socioeconomic state of the individual family and community. This coming of age ceremony is not only important to the girl and her family, but also the cultural and Catholic community she is a part of.

Item:

  • One of the most important aspects of the Quinceañera is the family of the girl. The event is just as much for the girl as it is for her family. The whole extended family is invited to the Quinceañera. For my informant, that meant having over 150 people at her Quinceañera. The past generations are honored and symbolized through the candle lighting ceremony at the church. The family gives speeches at the Quinceañera about the birthday girl. An iconic aspect of the Quinceañera is the father and daughter dance. The family is just as active in the initiation traditions as the girl. The family is initiating the girl and welcomes her into womanhood throughout the ceremony. As a result, the family is involved in all three stages of the initiation rite.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “For the Quinceañera it was done in Brooklyn with my entire family. So my aunt and uncles were there and all my cousins. And all my girl cousin had matching dresses and of course we went to the first part of the service was at our Catholic church. And we did like a special mass and you know the lighting of the candles for like our dead relatives and all that stuff… And after that, then there was like a big party at a dining hall. That’s when the family, like all of the families, got together. And it had to be like 150 people. It was so crazy, I didn’t realize there was so many people in my family… They all had speeches… We did the dance with your dad, the first dance. That was really cute.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She thought that she had a small family before her Quinceañera. She was amazed by the amount of people at the Quinceañera.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I never realized just how family centered this the Quinceañera

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: Both the Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen are very family centered events. There are many overlapping family traditions that are a part of both initiation rites. For example, at both many family members give speeches about the birthday girl. One of the most iconic parts of both traditions is the father and daughter dance. Both have the meaning that the first man in a girl’s life should be the father.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvahsare rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. In all three coming of age ceremonies the family is an interregnal part of what makes the tradition special. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones,Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Quinceañera
  • Catholicism
  • Family
  • Candles
  • First Dance
  • Speeches

North America Initiation Rituals: Gifts and Dresses at the Quinceañera a Symbol of Marriageability

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Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Gifts and Dresses at the Quinceañera a Symbol of Marriageability

 General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: Latinx and Catholic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Mexico/America
  • Informant: Serena De La Cruz
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, Novak
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Serena De La Cruz, age 21, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. She was born and raised in San Diego, California. Her ethnic background is Hispanic and Mexican American. She went to a public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Serena is in Kappa Delta sorority, is a Spanish drill instructor and works at the library. She is planning to major in Geography modified with Medical Communities.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The U.S. Latinx culture has deep roots in respecting their cultural customs, traditions, and religion from the past. The main religion practiced by this cultural community is the Catholicism. In the U.S. a way many their Latinx families continue to pass down their cultural and religious customs is through the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera is an important way for a girl of Mexican American decent to stay connected to their ethnic history. After completing theQuinceañera a girl becomes incorporated into the cultural community in a meaningful way.
  • Social Context: The Quinceañera is practiced by most self-identifying Latinx members no matter their economic and geographic situations. TheQuinceañera can vary in how elaborate the ceremony and party is, depending on the particular socioeconomic state of the individual family and community. This coming of age ceremony is not only important to the girl and her family, but also the cultural and Catholic community she is a part of.

Item:

  • Receiving and opening gifts at birthdays is a common custom across many cultures. For theQuinceañera the gifts have an additional meaning associated with them. The Quinceañera originated as a symbolic transition from childhood to a status of womanhood. Thus in the community she is considered marriageable after her fifteenth birthday. The gifts brought to the girl were for her dowry. Additionally, the dress worn was traditionally white to symbolize her new marriageable status. The symbolism behind the gifts and dress are unique to the Latinx culture. Now, the customs are still used, but the meaning of the overall ceremony is not necessarily about the marriageability anymore.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “Quinceañeras I think like a lot of coming of age things for women kind of originated like this women is marriageable, she’s a women now. Like the gifts were originally supposed to be for the women’s dowry when she got married. And the dresses were always traditionally white.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She notes that though gifts and dresses are important aspects of the Quinceañera, the idea that this ceremony is a mark of marriageability is not necessarily the case anymore. The traditions are passed down and still continue but the meaning is now more about a tradition from childhood to adolescence.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It never knew that the gifts and dresses had a historical symbolic meaning behind them. It is interesting that modern the Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen use these old traditions, but did not continue the symbolism behind it.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: Both the Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen have opening of gifts and wearing elaborate dresses as a custom. Similar to the candles having different meanings, the gifts and dresses have different symbolism between the two initiation rites. For the Quinceañera, there is historical symbolism behind wearing dresses and the gifts of m But for the Sweet Sixteen these customs are just a part of celebrating a girl transitioning from a child to an adolescent.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvahsare rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. For example, all three use opening gifts as a central tradition associated with the ceremony. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones,Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Quinceañera
  • Dress
  • Gift

North America Initiation Rituals: Quinceañera a Catholic Coming of Age Rite

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Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Quinceañera a Catholic Coming of Age Rite

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: Latinx and Catholic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Mexico/America
  • Informant: Serena De La Cruz
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, Novak
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Serena De La Cruz, age 21, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. She was born and raised in San Diego, California. Her ethnic background is Hispanic and Mexican American. She went to a public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Serena is in Kappa Delta sorority, is a Spanish drill instructor and works at the library. She is planning to major in Geography modified with Medical Communities.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The U.S. Latinx culture has deep roots in respecting their cultural customs, traditions, and religion from the past. The main religion practiced by this cultural community is the Catholicism. In the U.S. a way many their Latinx families continue to pass down their cultural and religious customs is through the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera is an important way for a girl of Mexican American decent to stay connected to their ethnic history. After completing the Quinceañera a girl becomes incorporated into the cultural community in a meaningful way.
  • Social Context: The Quinceañera is practiced by most self-identifying Latinx members no matter their economic and geographic situations. TheQuinceañera can vary in how elaborate the ceremony and party is, depending on the particular socioeconomic state of the individual family and community. This coming of age ceremony is not only important to the girl and her family, but also the cultural and Catholic community she is a part of.

Item:

  • The ultimate root of the Quinceañera is Catholicism. The Quinceañera is ultimately a Catholic rite of passage, despite the party and entertainment aspects of the ceremony. For my informant, though she did not have the traditional church ceremony, she had her deacon come to her Quinceañera. This was a way to respect the Catholic traditions that are involved with the Quinceañera. The deacon made a speech in her honor and blessed her during the ceremony. These are both very important traditional aspects of the Quinceañera. When analyzed as an initiation rite, the different Catholic traditions that are involved in theQuinceañera is part of the transition stage.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “I think the hallmarks are the girls fifteenth birthday. She’s a women and I think Catholicismis still really incorporated with it. There’s a church ceremony and the party after where you invite all your friends and family. It’s a very family orientated party… It’s a lot of cultural things mixed with Catholicism things. We had our local deacon he came. And we didn’t have a church ceremony but he basically came and talked to my family and everyone that was there about me and my parents. They did a blessing over me.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She did not have a church ceremony, but she had been to many Quinceañera’s that had them. She thinks that the church ceremony is still and important aspect of the Quinceañera.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It is interesting to see how the Quinceañera’s traditions are intertwined with both religious and cultural symbolism.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In general all the informants that spoke about their Quinceañera always mentioned something about It makes sense that every informant would mention Catholicism when talking about their Quinceañera because Catholicism is the base of the ceremony. Most girls who have a Quinceañera often have a church ceremony for the first half then a party afterwards.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Both have a church ceremony portion of the ceremony that represents the transition stage of the initiantion rite. The church ceremony of both  the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are followed by a party that represents the incorporation stage of the initiation rite. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Initiation
  • Catholicism
  • Quinceañera