General information about item:
- Tradition/superstition/ritual
- Language: English
- Country of origin: United States
- Informant: WS
- Date collected: 11/9/2021
Informant Data:
- WS is a current sophomore at Dartmouth College in the graduating class of 2024. She is originally from Richmond, Virginia and currently resides in Hanover, New Hampshire. She is an Anthropology major. WS now runs mid-distance races for the track team, competing in the 600 and 800, but in high school she participated in both hurdle races.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Some athletes use alternative medical techniques which can sometimes equate to superstitious activities, as they are often unfounded/not proven by science and serve the purpose of mental preparation.
- Social Context: Athletes do whatever they can to prepare for races, and often this means partaking in activities that are simply for comfort’s sake or allow for peace of mind.
Item:
- “I had to put tiger balm (like bio freeze) on my legs right before my race […] I would put tiger balm on my shins around 10 mins before my race just as a superstition to loosen up my muscles. And the smell calmed me down, it like put me in the right mind set to race.”
Associate file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript (description of image):
- Image shows the tiger balm discussed by the informant.
Collector’s Comments:
- This ritual was interesting to me as some may not see it as purely a superstition because of the believed medicinal benefits of tiger balm and similar bio freeze products. However, when my informant was describing her reasons for using the tiger balm, she mentioned how the smell calmed her down and put her in the right mental headspace to race. This displays the more spiritual/ritualistic nature of this superstition.
Collector’s Name: Anna Brause
Tags/Keywords:
- Dartmouth
- Track/XC
- Tiger Balm
- Superstition