Tag Archives: water

The Nuckelavee

Leave a reply

Title: The Nuckelavee

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Culture of Origin: Scottish
  • Informant: WWM
  • Date Collected: 10-30-2021

Informant Data:

WWM was born and grew up in New York. His mom is British-Jamaican, who moved to the USA when she was a teenager, and his dad is an Austrian citizen with Scottish roots. WWM graduated from Dartmouth College in 2020 with a degree in engineering. He is fluent in 2 languages: English and German. WWM is also a talented violinist, who has attended the Juilliard School, and a skilled fencer.

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: Scottish culture has a very diverse background that was influenced by neighboring cultures and was enriched by the contact with various other European cultures. Most Scottish people are religious, so different superstitions and folktales involving supernatural creatures are pretty common.

Social Context: As a child WWM was scared of any large body of water (especially seas and oceans). Thus, in order to calm him down WWM’s dad told him a story of a sea demon and taught him how to defend himself against it.

Item: 

The Nuckelavee is a mythical sea creature that looks like a horse-like demon on the land. Its name means “Devil of the Sea”, and it is the most evil demon in and around Scottish islands. The Nuckelavee’s breath is considered to be toxic, because it wilts crops and sickens livestock. The demon also is believed to bring droughts and epidemics. Since the Nuckelavee is a sea creature, splashing it with fresh water will cause him to retreat.

Collector’s name: Amina O.

Russian Proverb: Под лежачий камень вода не течёт

Leave a reply

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Folklore, Proverb
  • Language: Russian
  • Country of Origin: Russia
  • Informant: Myself
  • Date Collected: 2010

Informant Data:

Jennifer Gadalov is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her mother’s family immigrated to the United States about 20 years ago, and her father immigrated from Russia after meeting her mother on a trip to Los Angeles. She was raised in a fairly traditional Russian household with Russian being her first language and the language she speaks at home with her family. She is completely fluent and enjoys to embrace other aspects of Russian culture as she feels a strong connection to the country despite not being born there. She also travels to Moscow, Russia once a year to visit family that still live there.

Contextual Data: 

Growing up, Jennifer would consistently hear this proverb, especially from her mother. Whether she didn’t want to study or didn’t want to play tennis, her mother would look at her and sternly repeat this proverb to motivate Jennifer. The first time Jennifer ever heard this proverb was around the age of 10 when she began playing tennis more competitively. She initially began playing tennis for fun but gradually became one of the best players in the country, which proved to be a lot of pressure for her. She sometimes struggled with the pressure and would lose motivation to play or practice, which is when her mother would speak this proverb. Her mother believed strongly in this proverb, and she wanted it to be a reminder for Jennifer that she has achieved so much because of her hard work, but the work doesn’t stop there as she needs to continue pushing herself in order to succeed the way she wants to. This proverb stuck with Jennifer because of the visual language and the motivation she got from remembering she still has work to do in order to fulfill her dreams.

Social Context:

This proverb is often spoken towards an inactive person who refuses to change anything in their life, but instead expects the people around them to help better their lives, or even simply expects their life to move forward without putting in the work. The proverb translates to “water does not flow under a lying stone,” which essentially means if nothing is done, things will not budge or move and change will not occur. There are many people who sit around and expect to still succeed in life, whether by luck or by others helping them, so this proverb hopes to encourage the person to take action in their life. Hard work is not always enjoyable work, but if you do not work in life, your whole life can go by, and you will not achieve anything. A person who is lazy, inactive, or passive will not be able to achieve the matter or goals by itself because there is no effort put in towards moving your life forward. If you do not exert effort into your goals and achieving success, then there will be no force to propel your life forward, but if you put the work into your goals, you will continue growing.

Cultural Context:

Russians, like many other cultures, praise hard work and punish laziness. From the beginning of time, Russian people had to fight for their survival. Being an agrarian county, during earlier times, everyday work in the field was extremely hard work, but it was necessary in order to feed your family. Russians worked to survive, which made hard work normal for them. They got used to dealing with the challenges consistently thrown at them, so they do not allow it when they see an inactive and lazy person. As a country, society, and culture that faced revolutions, purges, and mass imprisonment, the people had to fight through a lot in order to make it out, which is why Russia is viewed as one of the toughest countries. To this day, Russian people continue to face challenges every day but can overcome most anything because of their grit and determination. Thankfully, Russians no longer have to face revolutions, purges, and mass imprisonment, which allows them to move forward in life and achieve success. Since this opportunity is fairly new, Russians are strongly encouraged to push themselves to work as hard as possible to achieve new goals and heights that were not previously possible for them. Because of these new opportunities, laziness and inactivity are looked down upon but are still prevalent, which is why this proverb is so popular.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb: Под лежачий камень вода не течёт

Pronunciation: Pod lezhachiy kamen’ voda ne techot

Literal Translation: Under lying stone, water does not flow

Translation: Water does not flow under a lying stone

Informant/Collector’s Comments:

When I become one of the best tennis players in the United States, I lost a lot of motivation and desire to work and practice hard because the sport was no longer fun due to the pressure and expectations I felt. At the same time, I still wanted to be as good as I was. My parents recognized how I was feeling and, my mother knew she had to speak a proverb that would emotionally impact me, while also captivating me, which is exactly how this proverb makes me feel. The visual language in this proverb is fascinating and enthralling, which caused me to really think through the proverb and understand the hidden deeper meaning. The proverb has also stuck with me because the deeper meaning is hidden rather than being straightforward. You have to break down the proverb to find the lesson it is teaching you. The proverb’s lesson continues to influence my life every day because you cannot further your life or move forward without putting in the hard work that might come along in order for that to happen. The proverb’s structure does not include the typical rhyming and repetition, but the deeper meaning and visual language included have made this proverb popular in Russia.

Collector’s Name: Jennifer Gadalov

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013 Fall 2020

Tags/Keywords:

  • Russian
  • Proverb
  • Hard work
  • Water
  • Stone

Temperature

Leave a reply

Title: Temperature

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Rachael Onserio
  • Date Collected: February 24, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both of her parents were born and raised in Kenya. She is the oldest of four children. Her younger brother and sister both attend Harvard University and her youngest sister is currently in middle school. Her mother is a social worker and her father is a financial consultant. She attended a college prep school for high school.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Her parents are very focused on she and her siblings’ academics and education in general. She attended a college prep school in highs school which had a rigid set of rules and this translated into how she goes about taking tests. The also states that she has test anxiety so this is done to alleviate that. All of these elements together have shaped her test taking habits.
  • Cultural Context: African families really tend to stress the important of getting an education and doing well in the process. This could be a contributing factor to the way that she views and approaches exams.

Item:

  • She needs to be wearing layers while taking the exam so she can add and remove clothing as needed throughout the exam. She does this because her body temperature is not regulated while taking the exam, it distracts her and takes away from the attention she should be paying to her exam. She also needs to have a water bottle and a watch with her so she can keep track of the time remaining for the exam. These helps her with time management and allows her to allot the appropriate amount of time to each question. Many of these superstitions she learned from her friends at school, who had similar body temperature control issues and anxiety during exams.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Education is very important to myself and my family. I have to be prepared for anything during the exam and these superstitions make me feel prepared.

Collector’s Comments:

  • People have different ways of coping with stress, such as following certain superstitions to ease their mind.

Collector’s Name: Abigeal Aboaba

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Temperature
  • Water
  • Watch

Never Bring Bananas on a Boat

Leave a reply

Title: Never Bring Bananas on a Boat

General Information about Item:

  • Genre/Sub-genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition
  • Language: Hawaiian/English
  • Country: USA

Informant Data:

  • Sophia Domingo ’20
    • From Maui, Hawaii
    • Age 19

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Due to Hawaii’s landscape, an outdoor lifestyle is a large part of many local’s life. This includes boating and fishing.
  • Cultural Context: Various protocols and rituals are a part of life in the Hawaiian Islands. Legends and superstitions have developed over time and continued to be respected to the appreciation of the islands and ocean.

Item:

Hawaiian fisherman claim that bringing bananas on their boats is back luck. The superstition is that a banana on the boat will cause not only fish not to bite but also mechanical breakdowns on the boat. Angler fisherman of Hawaii journeyed on long fishing trips in dugout canoes in which they brought bananas as provisions. The longer the trip was in duration, the fewer the fish. The fisherman mistakenly confused the correlation between these two events for causation. Although the bananas were not the reason behind the lack of fish, the superstition stuck with the people.

Collector: Makena Thomas ’20

Tags/Keywords: ocean, water, boat, fish, Hawaii, tradition, banana, superstition

 

Water Safety (Brittany Champagne)

Leave a reply

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: USA
  • Informant: Katie Harris
  • Date Collected: 11-2-17

Informant Data:

  • Katie Harris is a member of the class of 2019 at Dartmouth.  She is from central Illinois, specifically Lincoln.  Katie described her home as super rural and full of many families. Illonois to her is a “typical mid-west state,” the families are very close knit and tend to stay put rather than have a lot of new families moving in. She is from an area surrounded by a lot of farming and a love for the outdoors. Both her parents introduced her to hiking early on. When she was 3 years old and didn’t have a choice her parents would strap her to their back and go on hikes. A family vacation in the Harris household always seemed to involve hiking and led to Katie’s love for the activity.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Clean drinking water is one of the most important parts to survival.  Learning about different techniques to clean your drinking water makes you prepared for any situation, for example if your Jetboil breaks.
  • Cultural Context:  Potable water is necessary for the survival of all people.  Water cleaning techniques are relevant to all hikers.

Item:

  • A filter pump and iodine are additional equipment capable of cleansing drinking
  • These techniques require less setting up and thus are less time consuming than boiling water

Informant’s Comments:

  • “When at the base of a mountain the water can be more polluted, so we filter our water with a filter pump and bring iodine.  Iodine is a secondary treatment that kills all the bacteria that may have been neglected by the filter pump.  Techniques for cleaning water are very important for drinking, especially when boiling techniques can take a longer time.”     

Collector’s Comments:

  • The picture depicts the filter pump used before iodine is added.

Collector’s Name: 

Brittany Champagne

Tags/Keywords:

  • material lore, water, filter pump, iodine

Mo’o Wahine and Manaua

Leave a reply

Title: Mo’o wahine (lizard woman) and Manaua (mana= spiritual energy/power, ua= rain)

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and sub genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
  • Language: Hawaiian/English
  • Country: USA

Informant Data:

  • Collected from: Marlo Mundon ’20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in 2009 from peers

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Cultural practitioners and locals keep traditional Hawaiian culture alive by participating in rituals and traditions like this. They bring the community together.
  • Cultural Context: In Hawaiian beliefs, there are many deities, most of which are connected to the elements. In the town of Waimea the mo’o wahine is the deity/protector of the town and she is associated with water. She is pictured as a mermaid bellow.

Item:

  • Waimea is a town known for being very rainy. In times of draught, people leave offerings to the mo’o wahine on a sacred rock called Manaua and often chant or pray to her and she will bring rain.

Audio Interview:

Transcript:

Michael: Hi what’s your name and where are you from?

Marlo: My name’s Marlo Mundon and I’m a 20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Waimea.

Michael: Would you like to tell me something about Waimea and perhaps some superstition or folklore from the area?

Marlo: So like in the first story, the mo’o wahine has a uh, another culturally relevant thing in town. There’s this big rock that’s connected to her and it’s kind of like an alter to give offerings to her. Since Waimea is a really rainy town we usually don’t have drought problems or anything like that, but sometimes we do and when there’s not enough rain we go and give offerings to the mo’o wahine at this rock called Manaua. Then she will recognize this offering and bring rain because she’s like a water spirit kind of. She lives in the pond, like that’s her domain, water is her thing and we ask her for rain when there’s a drought or there’s trouble with crops or something like that. It’s important to show respect to her because she has such a strong role in the town.

Michael: Alright so what would you say about cultural context of the legend and the practice?

Marlo: The deities and gods and goddesses of Hawaiian culture are very currently relevant. A lot of people still practice, it’s not necessarily a religion I don’t know what to call it, but people believe in the gods and the deities and stuff and will regularly continue the practices of ancient traditions of having ceremonies, festivals, and leaving offerings in honor of the gods and stuff. Yeah it’s an old practice but it’s still been going and still really relevant and people will go and leave offerings to the mo’o wahine.

Michael: Okay and similarly, the social context of the legend and how it sort of works in society and what it means for people.

Marlo: Well today it’s pretty normalized. Since Waimea is pretty rainy we don’t go and ask for rain all the time but it’s definitely not [out of the ordinary] and like if there are dry spells or anything like that people are like oh let’s go leave an offering or something it’s like a normal thing to think to do.

Michael: That sounds quite reasonable to me.

Collector: Marlo Mundon

Tags/Keywords: water, rain, deity, Hawaii, tradition, offering

 

Mo’o Wahine and Anna’s Pond

Leave a reply

Title: Mo’o Wahine (lizard woman) and Anna’s Pond

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and sub genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
  • Language: Hawaiian/English
  • Country: USA

Informant Data:

  • Collected from myself: Marlo Mundon ’20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in 2009 from peers

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Hawaii is generally very rural and people are often surrounded by nature and enjoy hiking, swimming, exploring and the like.
  • Cultural Context: Most areas in nature have a cultural significance which must be respected. Nature itself is considered sacred and there  many protocols and rituals one must perform in order to interact with nature in a respectful way.

Item:

  • Within the hills of Waimea on the Big Island there is a waterfall that runs into a large pond. It is a popular local hiking and swimming spot. The legend goes that the mo’o wahine lives in the pond and one must always ask her for permission before swimming. To do this, one takes a ti leaf and places it on top of the water. If the leaf floats, it is safe to swim and if it sinks, you cannot swim or mo’o wahine will drown you. Sometimes people also leave offerings for her to show respect and thank her for letting them swim in her pond.

Audio interview:

Transcription:

Michael: What is your name? Tell me about yourself.

Marlo: My name is Marlo Mundon, I’m a 20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Waimea. I didn’t grow up there but I went to a Hawaiian charter school that taught a lot about the history and the culture. So I learned a lot about all of that in that school and from cultural practitioners, and my peers, and local friends.

Michael: Do you have any Hawaiian superstitions that you would like to share?

Marlo: Yes, in my town specifically there is a lizard goddess, kind of. Her name, well not her name, but she’s called the “mo’o wahine” which means like lizard woman and she supposedly lives in this pond near my house up in the hills and like people like to go there, there’s a pond you can swim in and stuff but it is important to always check to see if it’s safe to swim because it’s the mo’o wahine’s home. So the superstition is you have to place a ti leaf on top of the water and if it floats then it’s safe to swim, and if it sinks it’s not safe, you can’t swim, she’ll drag you down to the depths of the pond and drown you. And so sometimes people also leave offerings on this big rock and uh yeah. That’s that.

Michael: Interesting. So, what is the social and cultural context of that superstition within Hawaii?

Marlo: So socially it’s something that the locals will do, one because it’s normal to do this and if you see tourists going there who don’t know about this, um, superstition. It’s always good to tell them about it, one it’s kind of fun to spook them and two, it’s culturally significant so you don’t want people to disrespect the pond and the lizard woman. Yeah that’s social, and uh cultural… there are a lot of deities, and supernatural beings in Hawaiian legends and stuff like that and they all have specific places where they live or areas that they have power over and this lizard woman lives in this pond and has a lot of influence over the town itself so it’s important for people in Waimea specifically to show respect for her.

Collector: Marlo Mundon

Tags/Keywords: water, pond, deity, Hawaii, tradition, offering, superstition