Appalachian Culture: *Cultural Contributionsthnic Heritage Studies Program Act: Folklcre Collection; *Ohio

Home , Carrying On, Family folklore, Hillbilly, Is That Love, Rhyme, Saw V

SOCONENT PESOS!!

SD 182 102 NC 011 862

AUTHOR Mullen*, Patrick B.: Place, Linna Funk

TITLE . Collecting Folklore and Folklife in Obio. INSTITUT/OW Ohio State Otiv., Columbus. :AKINS AGENCY Office of Education (DREW), Washington, D.C. Ethnic Heritage Studies Brar.ch, ?BB DATE 78 NOTE 197p.; For a related document, see RC 011 863.

EDRS PRICE MFOI1PCOS Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Blacky; Cultural Awareness: *Cultural Background; Cultural Environment; Cultural Factors: Data Collectitt; 'Descriptive Writing: Ethnic Groups; Family Environment: *Folk Culture; Folklore Books; Humor; Language Arts: *Mexican Americans; Minority. Groups; Narration: Proverbs: Rural Population: *Social History: Teacher Education: Teaching Methods IDENTIFIERS Appalachian Culture: *Cultural Contributionsthnic Heritage Studies Program Act: Folklcre CollectiOn; *ohio

ABSTRACT While many people think of folklore as part of the culture of rural, isolated, uneducated people,folklore has a such broader definition -nd can encompass all areas andbe found among all people. Folklore tradition cam include school fight songs,ghost storiesv cialdrents games, ethnic jokes, jump rope rhymesand family recipes, as well as quiltitg techniques, ballads, or tales.All of these types of folklore are discussed andillustrated in this lengthy 4manual. Although designed specifically forcollecting folklorl and 4folklife in Oh5o, the manual would be of interest tc anyone interested in American folklore. The first portion isdevoted to folklore collection and discusses the equipment needed, waysto approach people, kinds of folklore that mightbe collected, and interview techniques. A chapter on how to set up acollection project describes field techniques, release forms, notations t circumstances surrounding each interview, transcription methods andanalysis. Two _ chapters suggest the family and children asgood places to begin collection because of the rich quantity of materialavailable. Much of the manual is devoted to folklorealready collected by both high school and college students. Thiscollection includes chapters on the folklore of teenage and college students,occupations, the general population, rural and Appalachian people,African-Americans, and other ethnic groups, including the MexicanAmericans and Italian-Americans. (DS)

********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by MPS are the best that can bemade fres the original document. *********************************************************************** .51

'Collecting Folklore and Folklife in Ohio

by. 21, Patrick B. Mullen and Linna.Funk Place

Summer Institute on the Folklore and Traditions of

MexLcan-Americans, Black: and Appalachian People

Ohio State University, 1978

Ethnic Heritage Studies Program Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

CL, 00

emmi U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH I'k lN I( )'41 11. I WI!. EDUCATIONS. WELFARE N 0(10111 IT HY NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

T HO) DO( OW. NI HAS BF UN Pt Puo OW xAk liv AS PECE POM THE PE Fr/SON OP okc,ANI1AT.ONOWor,iN .)1 c1)1al..)

ING T OI VIEW OP OPINIONs STATE (1 00 NOT N( I ( ',SAW( V WI PP( St NT 01 Al NA TIONA1 NsT.kl If Of t DII: All ,NAL S I OM AI tON P()54 7 ION OW PO1 Y !() !HI iNt OHMAHON kt NII H Hit 2

NOTE TO THE READER

Persons interested in Ohio folklore might want to join the Ohio Folklore Society. Membership dues (as of Spring, 1978) are $4.00 a year which includes a subscription to the isartiLll of the Ohio Folklore Society. Annual meetings are held in the Spring at various locations. Those wishing to joi/should send their dues to Hank Arbaugh, Secretary-Treasurer, OhioFolklore Society, 3567 Medina Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43224; or contact the Societyin care of the Department of English, Ohio StateUniversity, Columbus, Ohio, 43210. For information on current folklore activities in the state (festivals, school programs, etc.) write Timothy Lloyd, Director, Traditional Arts Program, Ohio Foundation on the Arts, 630 South Third Street, Columbuss, Ohio 43206. A long-playing record of Ohio folk music is beingproduced by the Ohio Folklife Group, c/O Department of English, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210.The record contains fiddle dance tunes, banjo pieces, spirituals, string band music, and un- accompanied ballads gleaned from Library of Congress field recordings made in Ohio in the 1930's and 1940's. 3

List of StUdent Collectors.

Names of collectors and informantshave been omitted or changed to protect their anonymity. However, we wish to give credit to the following studentcollectOrs vhose efforts made this manual possible:

Emily Abramowitz Suzie Keasey Belinda Bailey Timothy Lloyd Melanie Beck Barbara McNaughton David Bertram Rick.IMArrison Jean Black Lynell Morr Holly Boone Kathleen Myers Comilla Bowens Tina Myers Dorothy Branscom Cstrol Odenwalder Mike Brian Karen O'Quin Lynn Buchan Alan Panke Gloria Caprino -Dudley Radcliff Joanne Captain Walt Ramseyer Nancy Catalaao Denise Remy Bill Coleman Deborah Reynolds Linda Davd.s Richard Rose Abbe Feder Katherine Seiek Thomas Fraelich Nedra Stimpfle Joan Gibson Kristie Taube Marsha Gutgsell Leslie Tilton Kristine Hatas John Waibel Beverly Hawkins Ann Wangler Amy Hyler Lora Whitby Ellen Jones Barbara Williams Cristina Karmas Thomas Williams 4

COLLECTING FOLKLORE AND FOLKLIFE IN OHIO

INTRODUCTION

Ohio is a state rich in many folk cultural heritages. In the northern part of the state many European ethnic groups havesettled, bringing their folk costumes, dances, music and lore with them. In the southern part of the state there is a strong Appalachianfolk culture with a continuous tradition stretching back to the early mountain settlers from England, Ireland. and Scotland.Migration from Kentucky and West Virginia has brought Appalachian culture in- to Ohio's cities as well. Migrating from the south since before the Civil War, blacks have maintained Afro-American expressive culture in the state, especiallyitturbanareas. Folklore also exists among the mainstream culture. in Ohio, among occupational groups, among children, college students, the elderly,and even among the educated and affluent. The folklore students at Ohio State University are always amazed at how much folklore they find-in their own families and from their friends. This is usually because they have a misconception about what folklore is.Most people think of folklore as something from rural, isolated, uneducated people which is dying out. A folklorist has a much broader definition of it and finds folklore in all areas and among all people. Oral traditions continue to serve important functions for people today, and as long as this is true, folklore will continue to be aviable part of our 0 culture. Another misconception aboutlolklore is that it is always negative or untrue. ("Oh, that's just folklore.") Folklore can be true or false and is often a combination of both. In one sense folklore can be thought of as the traditional wisdom of the people. Proverbs contain concepts that we accept as fundamental to our way of life. "A penny saved is a penny earned." A folk recipe passed down from mother to daughter means a great 5

Aeal within the family sense oftradition. The knowledge of traditional barn building was important tofarmers in Ohio, and some traditional barns still stand in the state. Studying them can tell us something about anearlier way of life, suggest migrationpat- terns, and give us a sense ofheritage. Folklife is positive and continues to be positive. The study of folk cultures meansdelving into the past and also observing the present. Ultimately, the most important result ofstudying, folklove is an understanding ofpeople. Folklore reflects the values and beliefs of our cultures; it indicatesunderlying social attitudes and behavior patterns. This is why folklore is an important sourcefor

the behavioral sciEmces:anthropr.dogy, sociology, and psychology. Through our flklore, we unconsciously revealthings, about our culture and society. Children's games, for instance, reveal patterns of aggression and comi)etition which are apart of our overall American society. Folklore is also of interest to thehumanities---modern languages, English, comparativeliterature and so forth---because folklore is also literature, folk poetry,ballads, tales. These can be studied for thebeauty of their-composition and forwhat they tell us about the creative process. But folklore is not the property of universityprofessors. It comes from the people and is a partof the people. The purpose of this manual is to stimulate interestin folklore and folklife among all people inthe state. You do not have to have an academic background to be a good collector of folklore. The folklore is accessible, it is all around you, and it cantell you something about yourself, your neighbor, and about the man or womanacross town whose culture differs widelkfrom your own. Adults can collect folklore in their spare time.The elderly will find it a Fascinating way to spend leisure time. School children can become excited about a project which relates directly tothings they know

firsthand. 6

Since this book emphasizes folklore as a product of people, it is organized and oriente4 toward folk groups and communities rather than toward the items of folklore. Instead of dividing the took into the various genres of folklore (proverbs, riddles, songs, crafts, cookingo`dance, etc.), it is divided into some of the groups in Ohio who have strong traditions, but an attempt has been made to give examples of every genre of folklore in the process. Collect- ing experiences will be different for each individual, but examples of the authors' and their students' experiences are given in the hope that some basic methods and techniques will appear. Since the manual is not item-oriented as much information as"possible is given about individual tradition bearers and the culture from which they come. The manual attempts to be.a book of Ohio folklore and folk cultures as well as a collecting guide. 7

Introduction Selected Bibliography

Eddy, Mary O., Ballads and Son $ from Ohio, 1939.

Halpert, Florence, "BellingAn Ohio Custom," Journal of American Folklore, 61 (1948), 211-212.

Laubenfels, Jean, Ethnic Studies Annotated Bibliography., Ohio Education Association, Columbus, 1971.

Laubenfels, Jean, Ohio Folklore Annotated Bibliography, Ohio Education Association, Columbus, 1972.

Mumaw, John R., "Mennonite Folklore," Pennsylvania Folklifet 11 (1960), 38-40.

"Ohio Folklore," Midwest Folklore, 3 (1953), 5-57.

Porter,Daniel R., "Folk Humor in Ohio," Journal of the Ohio Folklore Society, 3 (1968), 3-18.

Winkelman, Donald M., ed., Buckeyes and Buckshot, Bowling Green, 1971. a 8

CHAPTER I I. SOME ADVICE ON COLLECT/NG

It --rder to c.ollect folklore and folklife efficiently and effectively, you must prepare yourself in advance. Before you set foot out of the house, you have to consider somebasic problems. First of all, what sort of equipment'will you need? It is not ab- solutely essential to have a tape recorder, but it is certainly ad- visable. The availability of small inexpensive cassette recorders today makes them a valuable tool in the folklorist's field equipment. They are unobtrusive and easy to operate, and cassettes-are available at discount stores and drugstores even in remote areas. It is possible to collect short items of folklore(Superstitions, proverbs, short rhymes, etc.) by writing them down exactly as they are told, and you should carry a notebook and pencil with you at all times; but for longer items(tales, legends, songstetc.) it is almost impossible to get them exactly as they aretold without slowing down the natural pace of delivery. Some unique individuals can remember everything in an interview even hours later, and a photographic memory iscertainly the ideal way of collecting; but how many of us have thisability? Thus, the tape recorder is the bestmeans of accurately taking down Many . items of folklore, but the recorder must be used with care. people freeze up at the sight of a microphone and become so conscious of being recorded that they cannot relax andrelate folklore freely. When you meet en informant for the first time, do not attempt to record him until you haveestablished rapport and a relaxed atmosphere. Then be sute to ask his or her permission to record. With some people you may not need to record atall; they may not have many traditional items, or the onesthey have may be short enough to write down. In that case, there is no need to take the recorder out. n

Photographs are also a valuable part of acollection. Picture* of a storyteller in the middle ofrelating a tale reveal detailg of his or her style of delivpry such asfacial expressions.and gestures. The same istrue1464a singer or musician.To fully understand crafts and material folk culture,Photographs are essential. For instance, pictures are the best way toindicate traditional quilt patterns and colors. Besides taking photographs of the finished product, you should alsoshow various stages in the process of crafts and folk art. If you are interested in folk architectures you should have close-ups ofconstruction detail as well as shots which show the overalldesign. Professional folklorists prefer 35 mm. equipment toobtain the sharpest image for possible duplication and publishing, but if youdo not wish to invest large sums of money inphotographic equipment, inexpensive cameras will suffice for yourfield work. Photography manuals are widely available for moreiinformation on earner/sofilm, lenses, and techniques. After giving the problem of equipmentconsideration, there are still other areasof:preparation which must be done before you set out. What are you looking for? What kinds of items of folklore can you expect to find?One way to find general answers to these questions is to do somebackground reading before you venture out into the field. We recommend that you read some general textbooks on folklore to familiarizeyourself with the broad kinds of folklore in cral circulationin America. Two recent books for this purpose are JanBrunvand's The Study of Ameri- can Folklore(second edition, 1978) and Richard M.Dorson's Folk- lore and Folklife: An Introduction,1972.. Other general textbooks are listed in thebibliography at the end of this chapter.These books contain examples of folklore and folklife aswell as general approathes to the study of folklore. Besides general reading, it is alsoadvisable to read about the specific area or group in which you areinterested. This would 10

include not only folklore .collections and studies, but also histor- \, ies and social studies. Books and journals of a regional nature can usually be found through local libraries. For books on specific ethnic or racial groups see the bibliographies at ihe end of the appropriate chapters in this manual. The importance of reading such books as preparation is that'they will give you the information which will make the folklore you collect more understandable-to you. For instance, if you are collecting local legends, they can be understood better in relation to their historical context. Now, say that you'are adequately prepared ahead of time with the appropriate equipment and the appropriate knowledge for collecting, how do you approach people? We tlid earlier that before you "set foot out of the house" you need certain preparation; actually to begin collecting you do not even need to set foot outof'your own house. You can collect folklore within your own family, fram your friends, from the people with whom youwork or go to school: In fact, if you have never collected folklore before, it is probably best to start at home or close to home. By collecting from people you know, you can develop your techniques of collecting ir a relaxed, natural atmosphere before youventure out among strangers. You may wish to remain completely within the circle of your family and friends for collecting, and this has produced some excellent collection projects in the past from students. It all depends on your own personality and inclinations. When you first begin to collect, it is best to be very broad' in what kind of folklore you expect to collect. Early folk song scholars were so intent on collect...1g ballads that they overlooked ot4r kinds of folksongs and tales, legends, proverbs, and crafts. Until recently most collectors concentrated on verbal lore and ig- nored material folk culture (crafts, quilting, folk architecture,

etc.>. In order to make sure that you do not miss anything important at first, keep your eyes open for any kind of traditions whether they be verbal, dance, games or material. As you-collect 11

you might want toconcentrate on orie particularkind of folklore or folklife,but you will be in a muchbetter position to understand it if you, have acquired abroader view of the folk culture from the beginning. Many of the problems of methodsand techniques of field collecting will he dealt with in thespecific chapters which follow, but we can give somegeneral pointers here. You will probably have poor results if you approach a personfor the first time and ask for "some folklore."First of all his concept offolklore may not be the same as yours,and he may Unowmany traditional items which he does not think of asfolklore. This is where the background reading will come in handy. If you know the kinds of folklore usually associated with the group you areinterviewing, 'then you can be more specific. But even here asking for a specific genre may notprod;ice good results. For instance, if you ask a person for his superstitions,he may resent that term sinceit implies a negative value judgement. If you ask for folk belie's, that may have no real meaning forhim. The approach used by one of the authors with commercialfishermen is to ask for thingswhich might cause bad luck on board a boat. "It's bad luck to bring a black suitcase on board." This is a response often obtained, and it is a traditional folkbelief. Once a conversation had started in this areas it would lead to manyother types of superstitions and beliefs. You might ask a farmer for"old weather signs" or "traditional means of planting" in order to getdifferent kinds of

folk belief. Sometimes if this does not work, you can"prime" the person you are talking to bygiving him or her one or two specific examples. For instance, if a farmer does notrespond to the above queries, you might say, "I've heard that the moonhas an effect on planting," and hopefully he would respond with sometraditional moon lore. Or you could mention a specificweather sign such as "A halo arourid the moon is a sign ofrain" in order to get the

1 12 person to give more signs. This technique will work with other types of folklore as well. .Telling story or joke can bring out other narratives; singing a song might put tne person you are collecting from,in the mood to sing herself; or describing a particular quilting pattern might remind awnman ofcthers she used to know. We have found that before seeking specific items of folklore it is best to converse on 1st general level with an informant. This will accomplish several things. It will put the person at ease and also give you a better understanding of the character, personality and background of the person. This general conversation can be about many things, the person's business or occupation, his pastimes, the weather --- whatever seems appropriate and relaxing. It is also important to tell the informant something about yourself. You should'always explain what you are doing as a collector and why you are collecting. Information should not be taken from people under false pretenses. If you are collecting as part of a school project, then say so. If the materials you are collecting are to be placed in an archive then you should definitely tell your sources so that they can have a choice of contributing or not. Also, they should be given the right to remain anonymous if they do contribute. Explaining exactly what you are doing ahead of time is not only ethical, it is also a.good way to alleviate people's suspicions so that they will more readily contribute their

items of folklore.. In collecting in many parts of the United States and from many different radial, ethnic, occupational and age groups, we have met only a few people who were too suspicious tolet us interview them once we had clearly explained what we were doing and why. Most people were friendly and cooperative. Collecting folklore can be a very rewarding personal experience as well as a means of understanding cultures. It is a good idea to talk to an informant more than once. Many times after one visit a person will think of many new items 13

there. A of folklore that_hecould not recall while you were second visit one or tWoweks later willoften prove more fruitful than the first one. And, of course,i: you find an especially inter- good tradition bearer, you cancontinue to have productive and talk to a particular views for years. The more times you see her and how folk- person, the more you cometo understand him or lore functions in his orher life. luck plays Finding good informants is notaccidental although approach to collecting, some part in it. If you have a systematic For instance, when you are morelikely to turnuP good. sources. cards and collecting extensively manyfolklorists carry index talked jot down the name, address,and phone number of each person always ask for the namesof to. After talking to one person, growing other people who mighthelp. Thus, you will have an ever helpful list of possibleinformants. This method is especially to have a reputation in locating goodstorytellers since they tend will continually re- within a particularcommunity, and their names cur as youinterview differentpeople. the items of folklore To this point, umhave been discussing that the items areonly to be collected,but it should be stressed much one aspect of what you .arecollecting; you must -lso get as interviewed and also Information as you canabout the person being the person's atti- about thct sltuation inwhich the item occurs and order to understand anitem of tude toward it. In other words, in in which it folklcri? you must alsodetermine the detailed context facts which exist around exists, f:ow.extual information means any This includes an item 3ffolklore which relate to it in come way. personal information on theinformant, facts about thebackground item of the item itself, and thecircumstances within which the

tlxists and under which it wascollected. You must try to obtain apersonal history for everyinformant: status, ddte of birth, birthplace,education, religion, marital occupation, travels, ethnicbackground, etc. All of this personal 14 information has a bearing on what kindof folklore the informant knowe and how it operates in his or her life.Sometimes this sort of data is hard to obtain because people maybe suspicious of your motives, but personal information is so important tothe full meaning of folklore that it is essential to get asmuch of it as possi-

ble. An informant can remain anonymousif she wishes to, and this fact may convince a person to give moreinformation since her name will not be attached to it. After you have collected an item, you should try tofind out certain facts about it. Where and when was it first heard or seen? Who was it learned from? In what context was it first heard or seen? Have other versions been heard or seen? Is the item believed to be true? How many times has it been repeatedby the in-

formant? Does it have a strong traditionalexistence or was it remembered with difficulty? If it involves performance, howoften is it performed? If it involves beliefand action, how often is it practiced? Only after finding out all of this data can yoube- gin to understand the itemcompletely. Other kinds of contextual information,are necessary,depending on the nature of thefolklore. If you are collecting items cffolk- lore which contain some beliefelement (superstition, weather sign, folk cure, legend, proverb), then you mustdetermine the degree of belief. For instance, if you collect a commonsuperstition such as "If you walkunder a ladder, it's bad luck," itdoes not have much meaning unless you know ifthe person practices it.Perhaps he or she has simply heard it buttotally rejects it in practice, or perhaps he orshe would deny believing it butpractice it anyway. You should ask a person if he or shepractices a particular beliefl but even better is to observethat person or get another's comments on his or her behavior. Kenneth Goldstein has worked out a convenientshorthandfor indicating degree of belief(see collection project form at the end of thischapter). The actual circumstances of anitem of folklore are even more 15 important when a performanceis involved. If you are collecting a folk song or tale during aperformance, then there are certain things you shouLl note. You should describe indetail the manner of presentation of theperformer---fAcial expressions, gestures, attitude toward the audience,remarks between songs or tales--all of this information isimportant to an understandingof the performer, his or her songs ortales, and the culture. You must also observe the audience--how do theyrespond to the songs or tales, what parts of the performance causespecific reactions--laughter, shouts, etc., are there anynegative reactions? All of this information in important for anykind of folk performance,whether telling folk tales. it be singing, playinginstruments, dancing, or Another important area ofcontextual information is your own influence on the collecting.You should be aware whatthe circum- , the stances of the collectingexperience are. Axe you a member of group or are youconsidered an outsider?Thts will have a bearing particular direc- on what youcollect. Do your questions lead in a Axe tion which might notreflect the person's owninclinations? folklore which might you making negativejudgements about items of alienate your informant? These questions mustbe considered as you are collectingand noted for futurereference. The study of folklore, ashas already been stated, concerna Material more than songsand tales---that is, theoral traditions. major area of culture traditions, too,have increasingly become a folk culture had been a interest. Until very recently, material largely neglected field ofstudy within the discipline. Henry Glassie's Patterns in the MaterialFolk Culture of the Eastern offer a United States, (1968),'was oneof the first major works to large scale analysis of houseand barn types, tools,outbuildings, and some craft traditions. Ironically, field research inmaterial culture is often an for the be- easier, though sometimesphysically more vxduous task ginning folklorist than is thestudy of oral traditions. According 16

,to Richard.Dorson, "The questions that concern the student of material culture" are "how men and women in tradition-oriented societies build their homes, make their clothes, prepare their food, Zit= 'and fish, process the earth's bounty, fashion their tools and implements, and design their furniture and utensils..." (Dorson, Fallq2ze. and Folklife, p. 2.) The folklorist in Ohio has ample opportunity to study all these areas. Why is the Pennsylvania bank barn so prevalent in the southern part of the state, while the English style is more popular in the north?What are the recipes and traditions surrounding the preparation of apple butter, still a popular delicacy with people cf German background. Is the bagel maker in Cleveland truly a folk cook?What can we learn from a study of the distinctive "plain style" of dress of the Amish in the southeastern pat of the state? As with oral traditions, 'material culture study is not directed exclusively toward the past, although many of thet)raditions have-succumbed to the impact of modern technology. There are still people who quilt and weave, who make furniture and musical instruments using traditional tools andtechniques, who process their own food. The researcher must be concerned with what happens to these traditions when confronted by the popular or mainstream cultura--- what adaptations and changes have been made? With the current re- newal of interest 8,n craft traditions and simpler lifestyles, other considerations are also important. Has the craftsman learned his techniques in a traditional manner through oral transmission, observation and imitation---or through formai schooling?What are the inspirations for his design, who constitutes his audience? Material culture is traditional and tends to fall into general categories, patterns, Lypes, or, to use Glassie's term,"forms." So we talk about the "I-house" being a popular type of domestic dwelling carried westward from the south and middle Atlantic states. Often such a house will have appendages and modifications that might make it indiscernable at first glance, but when the floor plan is 17

.studied we can see that the basic, traditionalpattern has been followed. When looking at our region of the country,Glassie noted that "north of the Ohio the patterns are notneat." (Classie, Pat- terns in Msterialtuftgre, 1968 edition, p.154) However, it is still possible to see several broad streamsof influence into the region that have affected the materialculture traditions-- in particular the migrations from Pennsylvania(Pennsylvania-German influence being especially strong) and theNbrtheast. Speaking very broadly, the PennsylvaniaGermans tended to settle the southern part of the state,while New Englanders moved into thenorthern Tegions. There are, of course, many exceptions. Seneca County, especially the town of Tiffin, has a largeGerman-Catholic popula- . tion; not far south of Tiffin, near NewRiegel, is an A-Ash settle- ment. Thus the careful student of materialculture must consider the individual object or structure--itsparticular folk heritage--

, as well as thebroader context in which it might be placed. Certainly one of the most important skills,todevelop when studying the material culture of an areais learning how to look.

What the tape recorder is to the ccllectionof oral traditions, , the camera is to the careful study ofmaterial culture. Again, the same kind of advice holds true---a35mm. is great, but an inexpensive model will usually give good service. A sketch pad can also be useful. As with oral traditions, the researcherof material culture must make careful records---both wTittenand pictorical--- giving a description of the object, structure, orbuilding and as much of its history and origins aspossible. It is necessary to ask questions of the object as well as anyinformant who might be

available. What materials were used, what are thedimensions, the shape, the overall desIgn? Is it possible to determine whattools and local resources were used? Does it follow a certain pattern, one thaL seems tobe evident elsewhere In the region?What oral traditions, beliefs surround the object andits preparation and use? Are you talking with a craftsman? Now did he learn his skills; 18

*what tools does he use; has he made changesin techniques over

time? How does he view his product? For whom is he making it? All this information must be documented;in the appendix is a form very similar to that usedfor oral traditions. What follows in the next chapters isby no means an exhaustive study of material culture in Ohio. Rather, examples are given as suggestions of what can be found. In some cases, detailed descriptions are offered as a means ofpointing up the kinds of questions and consideration:, a researcher mustapply to each situa-

tion. Now that you have collected thisextensive amount of\information, whether for oral or material traditions,how do you organize it into some form which can beused more easily by you or other researchers?The form we use at Ohio State hasevolved out of the basic form used at Indiani University, theUniversity of Californ- ia at Berkeley and other universitieswhich have large folklore archives. It permits the inclusionof the item of folklore plus all pertinent informant and contextualinformation. If more collectors in Ohio use this form then someday it may be possible to catalog and cross-index thevarious collections around the state. This first chapter should give you ageneral idea of how to start collecting. The following chapters will give more concrete examples of what to look for in collectingfrom specific groups. F

FOLKLORECOLLECTION PROJECT FORM

As the following outlineis designed to properlyorganize fieldwork techniques, to increaseunderstanding of the folklore collected, and to facilitatefuture use, it should befollowed as according to how closely as possible.The project will be graded completely and how well the followinginstructions are followed.

I. General Instructions andControlling Data 1. The collection is to betyped on WI" by 11" white paper. Each.item and each page should benumbered.Use a loose- leaf form; do not bind the collection. Every page should include the collector's name in thelower /eft corner. 2. Each collection shouldinclude the following: title page, informant and collector information,texts (separately or within interviews) 'contextual information(separately or within interviews) and analysis. 3. The title page should includethe table of contents, the instructor's name, the course number, thequarter the course was taken,the collector's name, thecollector's permanent address and phone number,and the release. 4. The following release is to betyped on the title page and signed by the collector:

The following material is released and maybe subject to public use and publication. In the event of publication, I would/would not prefer thatactual names be withheld. In order to understand fully thefolklore you collect, it is necessary to know as much aspossible about the person who trans- mits the lore, the immediate circumstancesof the folkloric event, and the culture or groupfrom which it comes. Thus, the collecting process involves much morethan acquiring items of folklore. The following sections givesome indication ofthe other kinds of information you need in order to have anin-depth and complete col-

lection. 20

II. Informant and Collector lnformaiion Include detailed information about every person from whom you collect. Start with the vital stcUstics: address, phone number, age, ethnic or racial background, education, occupation, religion, etc. Give a brief biographical sketch of the person's life including the background of parents and grandparents if pertinert. Des- cribe each informant's personality and character based on your own and other's observations. Include the same information about yourself.

III. Texts (Individual items or interview) It is important to transcribe the exact words of an item or interview. You may give the text of items separately or include them in interview form. On each page of texts include the informant's name in the upper right corner, the genre or genres (proverb, riddle, tale, etc.) id the'upper left, and the date the item was collected in the lowtr right. You should also number items (in parentheses) within an interview.

IV. Context 1. History of Items When, where, why, how, in what context, and from whom did the informant hear the item? Has the item been consciously changed in any way? Does the informant know different or additional versions? How often and under what circumstances ia the item usually transmitted? How active is the item in the community or group?These questions help to establish the traditional background of the folklore as it is understood by the person. 2. Style and Manner of Presentation Based on your own observation describe the manner or style in which the folklore is performed, transmitted or communicated. If the item is an artifact, information as to construction techniques and methodology should be included. Consideration should be given to such matters as body position and movement, facial expressions, gestures, dynmics, dramatic emphasis, delivery, opening and clos- 21 ing formulae, th.: use of dialect, sbund effects, special props,and any other details which illuminatethe performance. 3. Other Contextual Data Contextual data should be documented as carefully andcomplete- ly as possible. Describ- the circumstances under which the folklore was collected (time of day, locale,surroUndings, atmosphere, persons present, nature of the grolT, reasonfor the gathering, duration of the session, etc.); the relationship betweenthe collector, informant and others present; the manner inwhich the item was elicited (interview, natural context,etc.); and the recording technique employed. Also include descriptions of responses to the folklore (positive, negative,indifferent, incredulous, etc.) as well as descriptions ofthe interaction between the participants (encouragement, disapproval, rapport, etc.) What is the perfOrmer's attitude toward theitem (approval, contempt, belief, etc.)? Especially in regard to superstitions, weather signs, cures, planting signs, legends and otherbelief lore, you should ascertain thedegree of belief (total, partial, humorous incredulity, rejection, etc.) - If the item is collected in an artificialinterview situations then you should find out the natural context in whichthe folklore arises and describe it in detail. 4. Other Pertinent Information The above directions are suggested guidelines tofollow while collecting and documenting folKloric events ratherthan a complete checklist. Ideally, every aspect of the event ihould be recorded. Any other information which is important to afull understanding should be included.

V. Analysis Look at all of the information you have gathered andattempt to discover what it means to the personand participants and what it reveals about their culture and abouthuman nature. Comment on, interpreeand analyze thefolklore and all of the surrounding 22

be used (structural, com- context.Various analytic approaches may literary, parative, classificatory,psychological, sociological, will be dis- anthropological, etc.). Different methods of analysis cussed in class. 23

Chapter 1:' Some Advice on.Collecting Selected Bibliography

Aarne, Antti and Stith Thompson, The Types of theFolktsle, Helsinki, 1961.

Baughman, Ernest W., T e and Motif Index of the Folktales o ItgAnalno North AmertCa, The Hague, 1966.

Bauman, Richard and J)el SheTr-ir, eds., Riploatimamp_th Illawaythy of Speaking, i.. 'York, 1974.

Ben-Amoi, Dan, ed., Folklore Genrest*Austin, 1975.

Ben-Amos, Dan and Kenneth Goldstein, eds., Folklore: Performance and Commanication, The Hague, 1975.

Brunvand, Jan, Folklore:A Stud and Research Guide, New York, 1976.

Brunvand, Jan, The Study of American Folklore, New York, 1978.

Coffin, Tristram Potter, Our LivinTraditions, New York, 1968.

Coffin, Tristram Potter and Hennig CohenFolklore in America, Garden City, New York, 1966.

agh, Linda, Henry Glassie and Felix Oinas, eds., Folklore Today, Bloomington, 1976.

Dorson, Richard, American Folklore, Chicago, 1959.

Dorson, Richard, Buying. the Windj Regional Folklore in America. Chicago, 1964.

Dorson, Richard, Folklore and FolklifeAn Introduction, Chicago, 1972.

Dundes, Alan, Analytic Essays in Folklore, The Hague, 1975.

Dundes, Alan, ed., The Stud of Folklore, Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1965.

Farrer, Claire, ed., Women and Folklore, Austin, 1975.

Finnegan, Ruth, Oral Poetry Its Nature Si nificance and Social Context, Cambridge, 1977. 24

Glassie, Henry, Pattern.in the MaterialFolk Culture of the Eastern United States, Philadelphia,1969.

Goldstein, Kenneth, A.Guide for Fleld Workersin Folklore., Hatboro, Pa., 19(4.

Gumperz, J. J. and Dell Hymes, Wds., TheEthnovjahatuni.- cation, Washington, D. C., 1964.

Leach, Maria, ed., Standard Di,sli2.91a_aulaInIaLjtaklaa_ and Legend, 2 vols, New York, 1949-1951.

Lessa, William and Evon Vogt, eds., Reader inComparative Religion, lnd ed., Evanston, Ill., 1965.

Liithi, Max, _OaceUotime On the Nature of Fairy Tales, Bloomington, 1976.,

Nettl, Bruno, An Introduction to Folk Music in theUnited States, 1960.

Nettl, Bruno, Folk and Traditional Music of theWestern Conti- nents, Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1965.

Paredes,Am4rico and Richard Bauman, eds., Towarcersec- tives in Folklore Austin,. 1972.

Propp, Vladimar,Morphology of the Folktale,Austin, 1968.

Thompson, Stith, The Folktaie, New York, 1946.

Thompson, Stith, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature,Revised ed., 6 vols., Bloomington, 1955-1958.

Vansina, Jan, Oral Tradition, Chicago, 1965.

White, Newman I., ed., The Frank C. BrownCollection of North Carolina Folklore, 7 vols., Durham, N. C. 1952-1964.

Yoder, Don, ed., American Folklife, Austin, 1976.

American Folklore Journals:

Journal of American Folklore Journal of the Folklore Institute Southern Folklore Quarterly aystone Folklore

9) a

Westcrn Folklore Indians Folklore Folklore Forum Jou al of the Ohio FolkloreSociet Publications o the Texas Folklore Society New York Folklore Quarterly

Midsouth Folklore . 26

CHAPTER Il

FAMILY FOLKLORE

'Perhaps the easiest way to begincollecting folklore is to know start within your ownfamily. By working with people you well, you can avoid the problemsof collecting from strangers. have been Some.of the'best folklorecollections we have received by based on the collector's family. One excellent collection

TriSha Madden was centered on her father,Mr. Simmons, as the.only . the end of this chapter as informant. Her proSect is included at art example of anin-depth family folklorecollection. Every kind of folklore can befound withinthe'family unit, . but there are certain typeswhich are more likely tobe found in a fimily because they give a senseof family identity andtradition. Some of the genres of folklore you arelikely to find in a family are folk speech,proverbs, family anecdotes, andlegends. Folk speech as defined by JanBrunvand in the Study of Ameri- expression, usage, can Folklore(p. 28) is "the traditional ,viords 'region." or name thatis current in a folk group orin a particular Folk speech can be found inparticular cultural groups orregions and also in smaller groups such aschildren's "clubs," a group of friends, etc. A family often developscertain words or phrases which have meaning only withinthat famlly. These are sometimes found in a broader tradition buttake on more specific,meanings within the family, or the wordsand phrases may be foundonly within the family. Often these are passed downthrough several generations. These "in" termsgive the family a senseof group identity They also and exclude outsiderswlio do not understand the terms. give a sense of the family pastif they survive from previous several examples of generations. The Madden collet:don contains family folk speech, such as the term"dootsing" for making trouble or being a pest. Studying family folk speechgives us clues to patterns in larger groups. '

Proverbs and proverbial sayings are, according to'Roger D. it% Abrahams, "short and witty traditional expressionsthat arise as part of everyday discourse as well asin the more highly structured situations of education and Judicialproceedings." ("Proverbs and, Proverbial Expressions," in ,Folklore and Folklife, AnIntroduction, edited by Richard M. Dorson, pp. 117-127.) Within a family situation proverbs would function "as part ofeveryday-discourse." Prom verbs are especially useful to parents who want todirect their children's actions in a subtle way or to.instill traditional values in them. For instance, a mother we know always used proverbs toin- fluence her daughter's actions when she was an adolescent.When there was to be a dance where the girls asked the boys, and thedaugh- ter would hesitate to call the boy she wanted toask, her mother would say, "Faint heart never won fair lady." Even though this traditional proverb is usually addressedtomaes, it serves a direct purpose in this instance ofencouraging the person to make the phone call. Family anecdotes are short oral narratives aboutfamily members or ancestors which have beCome partof family tradition. Mody Boat- right calls them "family saga" and poincs out theirimportance in revealing social values (The !Amax Saga and OtherPhases of American Folklore, p. 2). These stories are rwt widely distributedoutside the family, but they do tend to follow traditional patterns. For instance, many stories are based oneccentricities of family members. These stories continue after a person has died andfunction to keep memory of him or her alive. The story of Mr. Simon's absent- minded father-in-law at a wedding in the Maddencollection is a good example of t4s. Also prevalent in the "family saga" arestories of embarrassing things that precocious childrenha've said or done. Some families have passed on stories of ancestors from severalgenerations back---stories of how they first settled in the region orstories of adventure which point out the courageous qualitiesof the family. Since these family anecdotes are usnally appreciatedfully only within the 28

family, they tend to establish famnyidentity and pride. At the unit within a larger society, these . same time, since families are a anecdotes also reflect general societalvalues and attitudes. Such is the case with the story of theDutch boyfriend in the Madden collection. It is very stmilar to ethnic jokesand reflects attitudes toward other cultural groups. Legend is an oral narrative which isbelieved to be true by the people who tell it and which is setin the recent or historical past. Often legends deal with the supernatural,and if a supernatural event has occurred to a particularfamily member then a story about this maycirculate within the family and at times pass into generaltradition. This is not to say that all or even most supernatural legends originatewi1thin family folklore, but it is a kind of folklore which is oftenfound in a family. Many times these legends can be classified as memorates,stories told as first or secondhand accounts. The story Mr. Simmons tells of the death dream of Paul Revere is a memoratebased on a seemingly supernatural event. Since it has a strong narrative interest,it has become traditional in the family, andthere is evidence that it has passed outside the family circle. Many families have one person who stands out as atradition bearer; it could be a grandfather, an aunt, or amother, but this person is usually a goodstoryteller or has a strong memory of the family history and is interested in passing it on. This family raconteur usually has an outgoingpersonality and is thus easy to get stories from, Often it is an older person in the family,but sometides younger members have a strong sense offamily past. A collection of folklore from such atradition-oriented family member makes for a living portrait of thatperson--character, wit, and relationship to the rest of the family. Trisha Madden's collection of folklore from her father,Luke Simmons, painted such a portrait. The total collection i al.s a warm, humane person, much loved and respected by his family. He uses folkloric forms 29 as avehicle for his wit and for carrying on familytraditions. The material at the end of thischapter is part of her collection project intluding the introduction, theinformant information, and several selected items. Sometimes collecting one's familyfolklore leads to a deeper study of family or even communityhistory. .Often some of the best documents of that history will be found inthe local cemetery where examples of both folk and mainstreamculture can bp found. Older cemeteries particularly will have stonesthat were cut by local masons (that is, traditionalcraftsmen) using traditional motifs. Sometimes, although rarely, the stones, asin a German cemetery near Tiffin, will be signed. As items that interest thefolkloriit, tombstones often fall into the gray areabetumen traditional and mainstream culture occupied bysuch'dubious artifacts as so-called ft schoolgirl" art (mourning pictures, painting on velvet,etc.) and autograph book rhymes. Yet, like the autographrhymes, some epi- taphs become traditional by virtueof long and repeated use: Dearest son thou hast left us Here thy loss we deeply feel But 'tis God that hath bereft us He can all our sorrows heal. (1858, Seneca County, Rt. 53) or this variant: Dearest son You last left us Bothered by loss um deeply feel But in God that has bereft us He can allow us sorrows tobear. (1860, Seneca County, Rt. 101). The verytxaditional cherub's head is morecommonly found in old New England cemeteries than in thelater Ohio graveyards. Here the urn, the willow, the claspedhand are frequently seen, inspired perhaps by Victorian sentimentality(i.e. popular cultvic)

but acquiring a traditional"rightness" and stylized form with , the passage of time. One can, of course, document communityhistory by a careful ; 30

analysis of tombstone information.Social custom,-religious belief, evidence of disease, criminalbehavior (and punishment), familial relations and roles, sizeof family---all considerations of importance when studyingfolklife history---arerecorded, if sometimes obscurely. Here is a simple form which canbe greatly expanded, for recording tombstoneinformation:

'Cemetery Record

Location: Church affiliation:

Tombstone: Name: IBAEARLini Motif s full of partial? Manner of-Verse: Materials Size/ kinship indicated? dating Biblical Shape Poem Sketch

3 1 31

COLLECTION PROJECT OF TRISHAMADDEN

INTRODUCTION

I chose to do this collection on my father, Luke Simmons. I - had originally intended to collect folklore from my whole family; however, whenever I Asked for a story, everyone directed me to My father with a "You know your father is the official family 'B.S.er'." My father is quick to pick up an unusual phrase or idea from friends, mollies, radio, children or situations, and continue to use this phrase or idea to capture the essense of new situations. He has his very own unique folklore. Surprisingly, this personal folklore has spread, and I, his daughter have heard "Simmonsisms" as my pother calls them, from people who have never met4 father (i.e., friends of friends). These people often do not even know the original intention of these Simmonsisms. Many of these Simmonsisms are "uncollectable" because they would never be brought out during an interview or even during a bull session. Some 6f these Simmonsisms are a part of life---they occur only spontaneously, without prompting. They occur at home, under natural living conditions. As a Simmons daughter turned folklorist, I have a firsthand opportunity to see folklore in the making and in the transmission. This is not to imply that this collection is of no major importance. These items were collected from only one man, in a very small community, with very little universality of theliteral'mean' ing. However, all of thiswas collected within the realm of the larger society, and the items are shadowed and illuminated.with many social and cultural valuss, attitudes, customs, and ideas.. For this reason, this collection is of impressiveuniversal consequence. I also feel that collecting from one person, especially a person so rich in folklore and a person to whom folklore is so important and intrinsic, is of value to understanding that person himself. A lk 32

friend read over this collection, and although she had never met my father, she felt that sheknew him. It is worthwhile to see, then, blow Simmonsisms are really just peoplisms.

Informant Information Luke SiMmons, age 59, Ohie. Mr. Simmons manages a printing company inOhio. His father was a many-generation Americanof German ancestry. '.His maternal grandparents were born tn Germany, solis familyculture was well laced with German customs, traditions, and evenGerman phrases and words. His family took great pride in their Germanheritage and instilled this pride in their children.Althoughlft. Stmmons' father has been dead for close to forty years,and his motherllims been dead for fifteen years, Mr. Simmons remembersand .haa continued. many of the German cultural traditionsof his family, as, has his older sister and older brother. Mr. Simmons is a witty and intelligent manwho his Yecome very successful business-wise within the past twenty years. Although- his economic situation artd his recent promotton to anofficership within his company affords him a place amongthe social elites of the community, he spends his time among old friendsin the "old Neighborhood" and amuses himself with their culturalentertain- ments: bowling and beers rather thanbridge and martinis. Mr. Simmons is an unusual informant in the wayhe not only con- tinuer. passing on the folklore others havegiven him, but he creates his very own-brand of folklore that has becometraditional in his family, his children's families and even within thecommunity.

Folk Speech: "Halibut" Just after we moved out of a government housingproject and into the suburbs when I was six yearsold, my parents let me get a dog. They took me to a pet store and I now think that they wanted to get some sort of pedigreedog, like our new neighbors had. But the final decision was mine, so

9 j 33

picked out the friendliest pup---1007. pure mutt. My father became a little disgruntled with that, but hebecame even

more *mbarrassed whet I namedthe ugly little dog Black . Beauty.

About that time he starteed to call the dog Halibut. When the neighbors asked why he called her that,he said, "We got her for the halibut, we keep her for thehalibut, so I call her Halibut for the halibut."

This functions psychologically.for him as an excusefor owning such a mutt. It also gave him an alternative to having to yell "Here, Beauty" whenever he had tocall the ugliest dog in the neighborhood. It also functions for entertainment.

Folk Speech: "Zep-so-tay" A "zep-so-tay" is a flighty, socialbutterfly type person, a pseudo-cultured,pseudo-educated person, usually a woman. I used this word all my life among our family; Ijust now began to wonder where the word came from.There is a story behind it.

My older sister, then four years old, had beentaking ballet lessons on Saturdays. My father picked her up one afternoon and asked her what she had learned. She replied, "Oh, we learned to zep-so-tay and turn abahsum." She practiced a little step all week to the chant. My father was so intrigued, he arrived early the nextday when he picked her up from dance class, and he asked the teacherwhat it meant. The teacher had taught the girls to chant,"Step, heel, toe and turn about then."

The reference to the story serves as entertainment. This story serves to bring.back pleasant memories ofchildhood. The characterization of a flighty, phony woman as a"zep-so- tay" refers to the misinformation that my sister was so proud to pass on, and her false feeling of superiority re- sulting from the fact that only she knew what it meant.

Folk Speech: "Put a little schnitla on it./ "It needsschnitla." Whenever someone dislikes a food, my father always says, "Put a little schnitla on it."He had learned this word from his mother, who in turn had learned it from her mother.My father never knew what it referred to; he suspected that schnitla is a spice. I wTote to my Aunt Marilyn, my father's 34

older "lister, and she replied that schnitla is theGerman word for chives. She remembers that their maternal grandmotherhad a chive plant on herkitChen window sill, and she snipped a little of it into just about everything. Their motheralso had chive plants, but she rarely used them. However, the family jokingly referred to the overuse of the schnitla plant in this phrase.

Since my father never knew what schnitla Was, hebegan to suggest that schnitla could aid anyunpleasant thing or situation. After watching a recent play rehearsal, he commented, "It needs a little schnitla." He meant that the play lacked pizazz, spunk, life, schnitla.

This is an example of an item associated with a person; the recollection of that item reminds one of the person. For this reason the collection is perpetuated. My father's use of the term, schnitla, has a somewhat differentfunction& He doesn't even,know what the term really means, but he uses it to re-identify himself with hisfamily and to teach his children to identify themselves with their ancestorsand their German heritage. The function is entertainment; this phrase always rates a chuckle.

Folk Speech:

Situation: one knock at the back doar.The door opens. My father, from another room says, "who dat?" The reply is: "Who Dat?"My father: "Who dat, dat say 'Whodat' when I say 'Who dat?'" Whenever someone close to our family comes to visit, they usually knock once, then come on in. There is a little re- initiation ritual that my father puts such visitorsthrough. (Above) This is an initiation situation. If someone were to reply to the first, "Who dat" with,"Why this is ..." or some other inappropriate response, ourfamily would know that we had better straighten ties and putshoes on and get up to greet company.

This functions for entertainment and for information; um find out, by the sound of theanswering voice, "who dat" really is. There is also a subtle racial slur attached to the dialogue. The implication is that black people, as evidenced by the Southern accent, really answer the door with such an abrupt phrase. Therefore, this dialogue functions to perpetuate existing pLejudices and stereotypesabout the black race. 35

Folk Speech: "Quit dootsing around." There is a traditional family word for making trouble; or fudding or being a pest; the word isdootsing. A child would be'admonished to quit dootsing around.This is es- petially useful when company is aroend, for it tan express to the child exactly what he is doing wrong quickly.and precisely without being ostentadous.

my father-remembers-his parents using it, and he has applied it to his children. He speculates that it is a German word that had no English equivalent, so his German grandparents adopted it into their Engrish vocabulary. However, when I was born, it developed a variant meaning; it changed from a, verb to a proper noun. I am, and will alweys be to my family and close family friends, "boots." At first my mother.objected to the picknamethowpyer appropriate it must have been. For this reason,: another variant arose Just to perturb her, my father attached this objectionable nickname to my middle name, which is also my mother's familyls traditional namefor their women. He began to call me "ffoets Marlene." This aloo developed a variant, and shortened itself to "Dootsma."

This functions as a.unifying force fot our family. It is a special vocabulary unknown td "outsiders." It 'also functions by reinstating our German ancestry and by provi- ding a bridge over the generations of our family..

Proverbial Phrase: "Roast duck and applesauce."

My father has a standard reply to the question,"What's for dinner?"That reply is, "Roast duck and applesauce."

My father had frequented a restaurant where the specialty was toast duck and applesauce, and the waitersall pushed the special plate dinner because the chef always made too mueh'of it. Whenever my father asked what was good that night, he always got the same.reply: "Roast duck and applesauce."

This functions as entertainment. Although I never knew the history behind "roast duck and applesauce" I always thought it was funny because of its obvious falseness and incongruity.

It functions socially as a subtle hint not to ask poten- tially aggravating questions. It implies, "You'll eat what you are served, without anyquestions." 36

Proverbial Saying! "Wear your organdy chiffon ginghamwiththe rick- racks down the back!"

my father lives with my mother, my two-sisters,and myself. He usually doesn'it complain about hen talk---I supposethat he's used to it. However, he doed become impatient with the"Oh, what shall I wear?" dialogue that preceeds every outing. His standard reply is the saying above. In this little nonsense phrase, he sums up and beautifully imitates femaleclothes jargon. Psychologically, this phrase is a put-down for the hens and a reestablishment of the separateness andsuperiority of the rooster. .Socially, it works for the"hens" in the exact': opposite way; it positively xeinforces their role 4sfrivolous people concerned with banal trivialities. It also gotks to, subtly change this foolish behavior.

Its function is,to get theiwomen going, and to stopthe in- , decision over what to wear.

Proverbial Saying: "When the money's gone, love flies out the window; so keep the windows closed." Just after I became engaged, my father warned me,"When the money's gone, love flies out the window."This admonition functions to make me reconsider the hardshipsof marrying young and poor. The meaning is that love cannot flourish in an atmosphere of tensionresulting frOm.lack of. money. There is nothing romantic about being broke,it says.

Just after I married, too young and too poorfor many people, my father warned me, "Remember, whenthe money's gone, love flies out the window, so keep the windowclosed."

This is the typical way my father had ofpersonalizing a traditional saying. However, I learned earlier that this same personalized addition was attached to the admonitivesaying by my grandfather when myfather married. This knowledge softened the warning. It indicated that love, in fact, canbe kept from "flying out the window" when themoney's gone. This is-an example of a family phrase bridgingthe generations. It is al-' most ritualistic because it is told only atthe event of a wedding.

I. functions socially to prevent"too early" marriages.

Proverb: "Who would buy the cow whenhe's gettifig the milk free?" In high school I had a girlfriend who wassaid to be "fast." She had been dating a guy at least six yearsolder that she 37

was, and she planned to marryhim after she got out of high school. When I told my father that they were going to be married, he replied, "He'll never marry her. Who would buy the cow when he's getting the milkfree?"

Thll functions socially .to reimoyess- the value of continence befov.e marriage; the girl is the one who should not"sell herself" prior to marriage, or perhaps for any price below that of marriage. There is also the implication here'of "used goods." Marri- age, according to the proverb, is a verypractical institution. It completely dismisses love. Although I know that my father feels that love is of major importance in marriage, he assumes here that love has nothing to do with a pre-marital affair.'

There is an implication hereof prostitution because of the monetary parallel to buying milk.

Psychologically, my fathef 'wasassuring himself that he had done the right thing by marrying. He was not the type to take advantage of a young girl, the implication.is.

Family Anecdote:

I guess I was a little trouble-maker when I Waslittle. Your Aunt Marilyn, you know, is ten years older than mesoI was.just a little guy when she started bringing boyfriends home. We were all sitting at the dinner table one nightwe always ate at exactly seven o'clockand there was a knock atthe door.and my father got up to answer it. It was a young man for Marilyn, and he was real embarassed for interrupting our dinner. His family was Dutch or something, so they always ate earlier in the day. My father was trying. to make him feel, at home, so he said,"Won't you join us for dinnet?" The boy was' really embarrassed. He said, "No thank you, sir. I just got off the table from eating myself."

I don't remember it, but later I heard myfolks'1/4p,:pt1ng how.my eyes just about bugged out of myheacryhen he said that. I looked around and everyone was mighpred, I guess from trying not to' laugh. They were afraid I might say something to him about it.

Your Aunt Marilyn didn't bring that ont home again!

*ow This story was tol&after a series of "Pollack" jokes. I sup- pose the ethnic slur on the Polishreminded my father of this ,story. It functions to reestablish the identity of thefamily by excluding the young man from the joke; he is a"foreigner" ahd a non-member. The young man's mischoice of words shows that he is an outsider. Even the' fact that his family ate dinner at a "different" hour reinforces the young man's separateness. 38

The fact that the family concealed theirlaughter, least they hurt the boy's feelings,shOws that they are considerate, well-bred people. However, since they did not in any wayshow the boy that he had made a mietake;they excluded him from the group. This vas not in any way aninitiation-type situation.

I also collected this story from my;Wilt, who told just about the same story, only with the focus onherself and her reactions rather than on my father.

Family Anecdote: When your mother and I were married,her father "gave her a- way" at the wedding. Pop (my mother's father), you krow never got terribly excited aboutAnything, even his daughter's wedding. He was nonchalant to the pointof boredom at the rehearsal, and we were scared thathe didn't know his part. So we told the minister that he might prompt Pop to place yourmother's hand in hie hand by reaching out for it.

Sure enough, the day of the weddingthe minister said, "Who ; giveth this woman in.marriage?" andPop's looking around sort of dreamily. So the minister says it again andreaches out toward Pop so Pop could place yourmother's hand in his. Pop comes to life all of asudden, and thinking that it's all over with, grabs that minister's hand in ahandshake and starts pump- ing his arm up and down. We could have died!

This legend-functions as entertainment. My father is genuine- ly amused with not only the memory, butalso with my mother's flustered embarrassment whenever he tellsthis story. It func- tioni also to perpetuate the memory of mygrandfather, and to make him real to those of us who were very youngwhen he died. It also functions as a sort of warning(I heard this story for the first time just before my ownwedding) of all the unpre- dictable things that can go wrong at awedding.

Legend (Memorate): I was about twenty years oid, I guess, wile! I was in that car accident and broke both my legs. (H4 refers here to a previously told story.) I had been in traction for along time---a couple of months, when they finally sent mehome. I got pneumonia from lying on my back for so long, so yourgrandmother and your Aunt Marilyn watched meall day, and then they hired a private nurse to watch me allnight. The nurse was a good one all other line or so, right. She would read the paper, but every she'd look up and make sure I was O.K. I dozed off and on, 39

so I reallydon't remember much about this, but I guess I dozed off---I learned better later---andI had this weird dream that I was on this horse tearingdown a dirt street and over cobblestones, whippingthat horse's butt and scream- ing, "The British are coming!" I woke up and your grandmother and Aunt Marilyn and that nurse were allstanding, ovtr me, sort of worried. You see, that nurse had noticed that I had stopped breathing, and my hearthad stopped, so she plunged some adrenalin into myheart and got it going again.

'Maallyn said,"Lukey, how are you?" and I told them.about that dream and sort of l'ughed. She turned feel pale, and .my mother almost fainted You see, my great, great, great, great uncle was Paul Revem, and I neverknew it until that night.

This story has been widely spread throughthe family and among the familyfriends and community. Members of our family like to tell it because it is anunboastful means of telling th.t we are related.to Paul Revere. I told this story to my two freshmanrdommates when I was at a small university in Ohio. Before the year was over, I had twice heard the story from other students in aslightly variant form, with the attribution to my family missing. My father says thit the story has comeback to him in Much the same way. Of course, we can't be sure that allthe variants we hear originated with our story, but we can befairly sura ' since the geographic area of transmissionis fairly limited, as is the time element.

My father told this stor, only toclose friends and to family. He says that many people would"think I am crazy" if he told it to them. He believes it totally, but hehesi- tates to try to explain the dream; all hewill say is, "Who knows?" The implication, of course, is that thebeing dead did reveal to him his spiritual union with hisancestor, Paul Revere. This story functions as a means toelevate 'our family status in our eyes, as well asin the eyes of the people who hear it, because of thereference to Paul Revere: it functions as entertainment; itfunctions socially in almost a religious manner to supportlife after death theoriea; and it fuections psychologically to,voicethe fears of the whims of fortune (this all happenedwhen the nurse, the alert, knowledgeable person wasthere and not--- thank God, it implies---the mother or sister whocouldn't have saved him).

It amazed me how closely thistale follows Joseph Camp- bell's outline of the hero experience (The HeroWith A 40

Thousand Faces). In the legend about my father, the,entrance into the extraordinary land or thenand of the gods" as Camp- bell calls it, is attained through a deathand a resultant dream. This "death" is the means for crossingthe.threshoLd. The initiation is the revelation of theexperiences of Paul Revere.*The return is obtained by the shot ofadrenalin. 41

Chapter 2: Family Folklore Selected Bibliography

Baldwin, Karen L., "Down on Bugger Run:Family Group and the S:.-Aal Base of Folklore," Unpublished doctoral diss., Un.Lversity of Pennsylvania, 1975..

Boatrighc, Mody, The Famil Sa a and Other Phases of Americ n Foli,Jore, Ulbana, Ill., 1958.

Cutting-Bakcr, Holly, et al., eds., Family Folklore: Family

Traditions Memories an11 Anecdotes, F'amily Expressions, . Fantasi.A.bzansLlot2:a. niniscentHistorFanLt_a_m. Etataapja,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., 1976.

Garrett, Kim, "Family Stories and Sayings," Publications of rhe Texas Folklore Society, 33 (1961), 273-281.

Hawk;ns, Beverly, "Folklore of a Black Family," Journal of the 01.io Folklore Society., 2 (1973), 2-19. WPM.. NYIF Hunter, Edwin, " My Grandfater's Speech," Tennessee Folklore Soj.e:.ty Bulletin 8 (1942), 5-22.

Morgan, Kanryn, "Caz2dy Buffers: Legends of a Middle Class Negro Famv in Philadelphia," Keystone Folklore Quarterly, 11 (19.)!:, 8-88.

Mullen, Pat:ick D., "Folk Songs and Family Traditions," Publica- tions of the Texas Folklore SocittL, 37 (1972), 49-63.

Taylor, Archer, A Dictiona of American Proverbs and Proverbial Phras.ls, Cambridge, Mess., ).958.

Taylor, Archer, The Proverb and Index.to the Proverb, Hatboro, Pa., 1962. 42

CHAPTER III

CHILDREN'S F6LKLORE

Children halre a strong group identity, shared beliefs and valueso.common behavioral patterns, and a body of shared folk expressions; they are, in other words, a folk group. They are also one of the most accessible folk groups as far as folklore collecting is concerned. You can walk out in your own neighborhood, find a group of children playing, and listen to their taunts, their rhymes, their jokes, their game...a; this is their folklore, and although much of it has a contemporary sound to it, the folklore of children is actually very traditional in many ways. What is the value of collecting children's folklore?Most people think of it as trivial and pay no attention to,it. (Brian Sutton-Smith, a folklorist and child psychologist, calls this "the triviality barrier," which students of children's foil3re must overcome.) But the folk expressions of children do have importance.

For instance, the games played by children prepEire them for adult . life by teaching them about competition, aggrevsion, and coopera- tion in a controlled situation. Rhymes of derision enable them to vent hostilities verbally thereby wiloiding physical confrontations (sometimes). Children's folklore exhibits the same underlying attitudes and values of adult society, and they are expressed un- selfconsciously, making them easier to study. When adults take children's traditions for granted, they are missing out on an entire realm of experience. When folklorists ac- cidentally overhear a group of children playing, we always try to listen intently to what they are saying, and are always amazed by this glimpse into their world. There are good and bad things expressed through their folklore. Their rhymes are often refreshing and imaginative comments on the world around them, but they may also express racial prejudices which have already been learned from adults. 43

Children's folklore should be of special interest toteachers. By studying the lore of children,teachers can better understand how they think and'why they behave the maythey do, And this in turn should help teach them moreeffectively. Teachers, of course, have an excellent situation for collectingfolklore from students, and there are several differentmethods which can be used. One of the best ways is to have a class discussionabout a particular kind of folklore. First tellihema little of thebackground and give them some examples you,tiave read or heard. Usually the group will respond immediately because you have touched on an areathat they are familiar with already,and the only problem will bekeeping everybody from trying to speak at once. To avoid.missing any items, record the entire session.This group approach is especiallyef- fective with superstitions, riddles,rhymes, and jokes. Another method is to have a writingassignment based on folk-

lore. This would also require someexplanation ahead of time and a group discussionafter you had read the material. The written material may not be as spontaneous or evenin the same words as the verbal expressions, but it couldbe used as a basis for making later recordings. An even better place tocollect is outside of the classroom because the playgroundsetting lends itself to more spontaneous expressions so that you as acollector can not only obtain the item of folklore but also thecontext from which it arisesand thereby ba in a better position tounderstand the folklore complete- collected in the classroom would ly. For instance, a jump rope rhyme not have the activityassociated with it, but on theplayground you could get a complete descriptionof the jumping activityincluding how many children are involved,if they are boys or girls,if the game tests skill,endurance, or speed and howthe children inter- act while engaged in the game. This will make the rhyme much more maaningful. These tips which we have beenaddressing to teachers can be applied to any person interestedin collecting children'sfolklore. 44

Perhaps you know a teacher who could arrange for you to meetwith a class; otherwise,-observationand interViews on playgrounds are very good ways to collectchildren's folklore. It is usually a good idea to get permission from the principal orsupervisor before going on a school yard or a surrrner recreation area. But there ate many opportunities to observeunsupervised children at play without permission in your own neighborhood. No matter what the setting is---school playground, or neighborhood---children are probably the easiest group from which to a collect folklore. They are rarely suspicious, and after they find out what you want they are usually eager to help asmuch as possible. The only material they might try to withhold isobscene folklore. If you want obscene folklore in order to have acomplete picture of the group's traditional expressions, then it is usually possible to collect it if you have established the right rapport with the children. This will probably take more than one visit, but as with any field collecting project you should returnagain and again to collect from the same group orindividual. There are many different kinds of folklore andfolklife to look for among children, and you should seek all the.various genresbe- fore deciding which you are most interested in. One brief kind of lore is folk naming and epithets. Iona and Peter Opie found a wide variety of folk names and epithets among childrenin England (The Lore and Language of School Children, pp.154-174); many of the names and taunts they collected are also found in the United States:"Geor- gie Porgie," "greedy gue "blabbermouth," "four-eyes," and soforth. The Opies talk about the importance that children place ontheir names; names are so significant that there is atraditional rhyme to keep a child from revealinghis name; "What's your name?" "Puddin' an Tame. Ask me again and I'll tell you the same."According to the Opies, this traditional rhyme can be traced back to1603 in England, and you can probably hear it right outside your door inAmerica today. 45

Rhyming is a favorite,verbal activity among children, and there is a seemingly endless variety of traditionalrhymes still circulating today. Mani function as taunts and jeers: "Fatty, fat-; ty, two by four./ Couldn't get through thebathroom door./ So he did it on the floor."And of course there is a traditional rhyming rebuttal for the jeers: "Sticks and stones may break mybones, but names will never hurt me."The taunts and jeers of children serve to make fun of anyone who is different in any way; and this certainly reinforces the Value of homogeneity in our society.

First grade, babies. Second grade, tots. Third grade, angels. Fourth grade, snots.

Fifth grade, peaches. Sixth grade, plums. All the rest are Dirty bums. (Collected from a ten year old girl in Bellefontaine in 1973.) This is a good example of the social attitudes that grade- school children have about the separateness and superiorityof their own grade. Each grade is categorized and segregated from the others. I think that this rhyme is said mostly by third graders, and seems to be from their view point. They are the superior, perfect ones, and they lonk down on the first and second graders as inferior, but the fourth graders, who may look down on them in the same way, are "snots" for it. The fifth and sixth graders are so far removed from them as to be nothing more significant than "peaches" and "plums."The much older kids and adults are all lumped together and referred to with a derisive term, probably as the ones who oppress and control children---the "bosses."

Of course, children in other grades say this too. It is a source of identity for them, more or less. Probably even the "babies" and "snots" and "plums" are somewhat pleased with their titles because it is their title and binds them together with the rest of their group.

I think that a rhyme like this would appear only in traditional, highly-structured type schools where children in different grades are segregated from others. In open classrooms 46

where there is mixing of grades, and in old-fashioned one- room school houses, I don't think that this would happen, although.any child who heard the rhyme would be likely to repeat it, even.without attaching any'significance tolt.

Mary and Herbert Knapp's One Potato, Two Potato contains many varied examples of American children's rhymes.. There are many other kinds of children's rhymes to collect: jump rope rhymes, hand clapping rhymes, counting out rhymes, autograph rhymes, and rhymes recited just for fun. Roger Abrahams in his Jump Rope Rhymes, A Dictionary lists 619 different rhymes indicating the wide variety and rich tradition available to collectors. The following example illustrates the kind of description of activity which should ac- company jumprope rhymes.

Blue bells, cockle shells, Evy ivy over my head. Here comes the teacher with a big black.stick I wonder what I got in arithmetic. One, two, three, ten, twenty, thirty, forty,... (until jumper misses) (Abrahams, p. 18) (Collected from a twelve year old girl by her sister in Columbus in 1973.) During the beginning of the rhyme, the girls do not turn the rope in a complete sphere as is normally done but they turn it only half way or in a semi- sphere. When they sing "over my head," they turn the rope in a complete spherical fashion. When they begin counting, the rope turners turn the rope j_it a faster and faster rate; which is called doing hots or peppers. Peppers makesjumping the rope more and more difficult and competitive. The line about a teacher carrying a big, black stick expresses the girls' concept of a teacher being a disciplinarian who will punish them if they are not good. When the girls sing "I wonder what I got in arithmetic," they aro expressing their anxieties about getting good grades. The competition among the girls when they count and jump to peppers to see who can reach the highest numper is symbolic of the competition among the girls in receiving good grades.

Many times the same rhymes are used for different activities so that one rhyme might be collected with jumping rope, hand clapping 47

or counting out. Rhymes provide the rhythm for the children's hand clapping games. Counting out rhymes help them ,to choose who will be "it" for various games. An example would be "One potato, two potato, three potato, four, five potato,six potato, seven potato, more."Also there are many divination rhymes todetermine such things as.boyfriend's name, marriage date,number of kisses, etc.; for example:

Button-counting rhyme:

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief. Doctot, lawyer, Indian chief.

As you say this rhyme, pointto abutton on the clothes you are wearing for each person yousay. Whatever you say for the last button indicates who you will marry. (For boys it indicates what you will be when you growup.)

(Collected from a sixteen yeai old girl fromLisbon in 1973.) The informant remembers this rhymefrom childhood saying that girls played it much more frequentlythan did boys. She recalls that many times a person would be so unhappy with the outcomeof the rhyme that she would put on a sweater or someother item of clothing with buttons to change the outcome of therhyme and of her future. This.counting rhyme reflects children'sinterest in adult life and particularly an intense interestin what one's own adult life and future will hold. This universal curiosity about adult life and the desire to be"grown up" account for its widespread popularity.

The idea that buttons can predictone's future shows a degree of belief in fate. The fact that children added buttons to change fate shows abelief one can control his fate. (Abra- hams, #489)

Autograph rhymes are transmitted in writtenform rather than orally, but they are traditional andexhibit many qualities of orally transmitted lore. Children still carry autograph books to school, especially at the end of theschool year, to have their friends write messages in them, many ofwhich are traditional rhymes. 48

Most children are willing to showthese books to adults so that youean collect directly from them. Many people keepihese autograph books all of their lives and wehave seen some dated in the late 19th Century. It is quite interesting to compareautograph books from different generations; the rhymeshave tended to change - from a serious sentimental to a mockingsatiric quality.

Roses are red Vioblets are blue Toilets are stinky And so are you. -June 1965 (From the album of a college student fromOxford.) The 11 year old girl who wrotethis had written in parentheses"not true," next to the rhyme. She obviously realized that her poem contained a ratherunacceptable (at least to 'adults) display of aggression and hostility which she wasexpressing through.this rhyme. Therefore her guilt feelings compelled her to say that it was not true, in order tomake it more. acceptable. This rhyme does function as a releaseof anxiety about hostility and aggressive feelings. Her excusing it indicates that she is already aware of certainsocietal values concerning this. (M6rrison, Yours Till p 2)

There are many other kinds of rhymes which arenot connected with games or autograph books. These might be recited while walking home from school and comment on a varietyof subjects. One heard from two boys walking down the streetin 1972 was "Nixon Nixon he's our man./Matovern belongs in agarbage can." Of course, the words can be turned around depending onthe political point of view. A favorite basis for rhymes are parodiesof existing songs---patriotic songs, songs in T.V. commercials,religious songs, etc. Children love to make fun of established adultexpressions.

(Sung co the tune of "McDonald's Is Our Kind ofPlace") McDonald's is our kind of place, Hamburgers in your face, French fries between your toes, Dill pickles up your nose, 49

With ketchup running &own your back, I want my money back, \ Before I have a heart at ack. A heart attack.

(Collected from twelve year old bo from Lisbon in 1973.) This song makes fun of the.advertisemet song "McDonsIld's Is Our Kind of Place," by changing the wor Sbut keeping the . tune. This parody reflects the absurdity of theclaims by some hamburger joints ofdelicious foodind happy times for very little money.

It is interesting to note thatauck'sfav rite past-time is eating and that McDotald's and similar.ham urger joints are his favorite"kind of place." He prefers a hamburger at McDonald's to a steak dinner. In this light, i seems more likely that for Chuck, this song is just afunny.version of the regular song. Even though it makes fun of McDonald's, it's still about his favorite thing---FOOD.

The games which are played along withthe chanted rhymes can be collected also. The best approach is.to describe the gamein detail and also record any words that accompanyit. Brian Sutton- Smith in his book Theaik Games ofChildren describes many kinds of games and the various ways of inte.rnretingthem. There are simple games played by children from four to sevensuch as "Ring Around the Rosy" and "Farmer in theDell."There are chasing and tagging games also played by youngerchildren such as "hide- and-seek," and "red-rover."There are kissing games playedby sub-teens such as "Spin the bottle" and"Post Office."There are ring gamesplayedby children Seven to eleven such as"Donna died" and "Punchinella."All of these are usually learnedfrom older children and passed on in atraditional manner unaffected by adults or game books.

Strut Miss Lizzie, Strut Miss Lizzie, StrutMiss Lizzie, all day long. Here comes another one, just like theother one, here comes another one, all daylong. This way Valerie, that way Valerie, this wayValerie, all day long.

' L 50

(Repeated until everyone has a turn.)

(Collected from a 30 year old third grade teacherin Marion in 1973.) Jean observed her third gradegirls playing this game while she was onplay-ground duty.The girls played through the game three times before discontinuingthe game. She describes the game as follows: ,Thegirls stand in two straight lines with each girl in.one linefacing a girl standing in the other line. Thus,"each girl has a partner. 'One girl at the end of one line begins downthe middle of the two lines with the girls singing the first lineof 4e song. Dur- this time the girl may do anything she wishestg/do (i.e., struts in a particular way or hops,etc.). Next, her partner comes down the line doing whatthe first girl has dime while the others are singing the second line ofthe song. Then, each girl with her pertner grasps oppositehands and elbows in rhythm with the last line. The game continues in the same way until each girl hashad a turn.

Games of chance, skill, and strategy arealso very popular among children. Skill games include ones played withjack knives such as "mmbley-peg," or marble games, or"jacks." .Some games involve the entire family such as'Speaking with eggs":

At Easter, a game called"Speaking" is played by two people using.colored, hard-boiled Eas.:er eggs. One person holds his egg still with only thepointed end sticking out. The other person, using the pointedend of his egg, lightly tapsthe other's egg to see whose will crack. Then, the one who tapped holds the rounded end of his egg up, andthe other person, using his rounded end, taps. The person whose egg is cracked on both ends first,loses and must eat his egg. Many times a person will gei a"good" egg that always wins or he has a favorite color or size that worksbest for him.

grendad once said about the timehis dad snuck a wooden egg into the basket-andused it to 'Speak.' He went all arcund the table and cracked all the eggs. Then somebody said, 'Hey, let's see that egg,' anAl it was wooden."

(Collected from a 23 year old man fromColumbus by his sister in 1973.)The informant was eager to describethe game. He used gestures to show how the eggis held and how the tap- ping is done. The game is one he has playedall his life as part of Easter tradition. He laughed as he told theincident 51

of hisgreat-grandfather's of the wooden eggand seemed proud The game obviouslyserves theinstrumental.func- ingenuity. participates and en- tion of entertainment. The whole family joys playing orwatching othersplay. functions as a sourceof family pride. The game further eagerly taught Visitors who have neverheard of the game are amount of skillinvolved in how to play. Since there is an it, and sincenovices how to tap the eggand how hard to tap hard, membersof the usually tap much tooeasily or much too family usually win. "Speaking" is a gameof competition. Within the family, others to proclaim himselfchampion which leads One person may that the game may challenge that position. Alan speculates "I guess they werepretty have been learnedin Austraiia. they'd do anything to com- competitive. Maybe so much that Although the sourceof the game is pete, even'Speaking.'" feeling Ofcompetitiveness Syrian, this revealsthe family's connected with the game. pride in that "Speaking" also serves aF, aSource of family repeated yearly. family anecdotes such asthe one included are Alan's family lives on asmall farm andraises Also, since "Speaking" are "home- chickens, and the eggsthey use for of the game tothem- grown," there isfurther identification of life.(White, v. 1, p. selves personallyand to their way 231.) pencil and papersuch Strategy games areoften played with sports Other games arespin-offs of organized as"tic-tac-toe." children and teenagershave such as taseball orbasketball, but enough folk versions ofthese games if a way ofcreating their own equipment are notavailable. With a players or theright kind of baseball, "Flys and basketball, they play"HorEe;" with a bat and de- of these games,give a complete Rollers." When collecting any activity involved. tailed descriptionof all the

to play lines upand the first "HORSE" Everybody who wants kind of shot hewants. If he misses, in line triesto make any shot but if the first the next in line'is free to try any after him has gotto make the guy makeshis, then everyone When letter (in theword "horse"). exact sameshot or get a left of the gameand the last guy a guy getsHorse he is out he had to front of youmisses the shot. wins. If the guy in 0

make, you are free to make any shot you choose.The,game just goes on like this until only one'guyis left. He!s ajood shot, you cap be sure of that; a guy ddesn't winthisAbf he isn't.

(Collected from a twenty year old college studentfrom Berea in 1973.) The informant and I played this game for manyyears in our-neighborhood and have passed it on tothe younger members who have since begun to play it without ourimpetus. The informant was very adept at this game, the best in the area, mainly because of the time he spent practicing.The game was played along with "Round the World" and "One onOne" anytime, but mostly when the ground was too wet to playfootball r baseball. Other times were when it was too hot to do anything real active or so cold that to keep warm requiredtoo many clothes to move quickly. Irwthese cases, "Horse" and "Round the World" were chosen over the more active"One on One."

A shorter version of this game wascollected and known as "PIG." It is not connected to any protest movement atthe present time as the informant indicatedthat the game existed before the word became associated with policemen.

Riddles and jokes can be considered.together sincemost of the riddles found among children today arejoking riddles. Jan Brunvand in The Study of American Folklore gives manyexamples of the joking riddle, especially ones which are a partof joke fads which periodically sweep across the country. "What's purple and conquered the world? Alexander the Grape." "What is grey and dangerous? An elephant with a machineguu." These are nonsensical jokes and are actually parodies of t.raditionalriddles, but they are firmly established as part of the lore of children. Students of Ohio State collect numerous riddlesand joking riddles every year from Ohio children.

When is a blue book not a blue book? When it is read (red).

(Collected from a ten year old girl from Athens in 1973.) Christine told me this riddle when I went home with her sister. She was excited upon telling me this riddlewhen I told her .why 1 needed it. The humor.and entertainment of this riddle Nr

is shown when used in oral tradition. It can also serve as an educational purposebecause the punch line of the riddle., enables a child to distinguish between wordsthat sound alike and are spelled differently.They also show a child how they are distinguished from eachother. A child can

have great fun learning things like this. This riddle can . be classified as a conundrum because it isbased on punning or wordplay. The pun may occur in either question or answer form by asking why one thing is like another. Christine wes very helpful to me uponcollecting riddles for my collection.

What did the light bulb say to the switch? You turn me on.

(Collected from the same ten year old girl.) This riddle was told to me by Christine upon avisit to her home. She is always full of laughter and excitementwhen telling any riddi,s, etc. This riddle serves as Tn entertainment purpose among children her age. It was very common in her neighborhood at this time because everyone was telling differentriddles. The humor in this riddle is found in the fact that apopular slang expression is used out of context.This riddle probably only circulates in that age group which uses thisslang expression, since without the understanding of the expression,the humor would be entirely lost.

The jokes of children can be classified as akind of folktale because they have a narrative structure andoften have a long traditional life behind them. Many popular children's jckes are a generally accepted outlet for sexual repressionsof society. When collecting jokes from children, you should try to getinformat4on on their attitude toward thejokes, where they heard it, how often they repeat it. All ef this will help you to understandithejoke better and what it means in the life of the child.

This kid was being bad, and he also had to goto/the bath,4N, room. So, the teacher made him read off the alphaet. He \ said:"A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-0-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z." ) And the teacher as)sted him where the"P" was..And he says: "It's running down my leg." C 54

(Collected from an eleven year old girl from Dayton by her sister in 1973.) This is a joke that every child hes heard at ond time or another, and in fact, this collector has heard four year olds telling it. It seems to be patticularly funny to grade,school children; they can empathize with the boy. Betsy said she was tired of hearing it, but she still %%muted to tell the collector.

Material folk culture is a neglected part of'children's folklife, but there are many ways in which tradition is expressed through non-verbal means. Toys are one examPle. Children still make some of their own toys or have adults make them for them. Of- ten the toys are based on traditional designs remembered from another generation. Boys still make wooden toy guns which shoot strips of inner tube rubber. Girls in some areas still make their own dolls ott of old socks. Many ebllege students remember making folded paper devices for telling fortunes. Parents still fold handkerchiefs into doll,s and cradles and newspapers iato boats and hats for their children.

TWO twins in a r.radie:

[;;;;;;77 1) Fold a handkerchief 2) Roll each corner until they meet diagonally at the center. Put the rolled ends between your teeth and pull one point up and one point down.

3) It should look like 4) Pick up the two ends and rock the this. two twins In a cradle!

(Collected from an adult woman who remembered it from childhood.) This was taught to Gertie by her mother, and was taught to her by her mother. The informant has taught this to her children and to her -,randchildren. Originally, this probably served a functional putpose; to provide childtenwith an inex- pehsive toy. 55

The precedinei twelve.examples of children's folklife were collected by folklore students at Ohio State University. Some items were collected from adults or teenagers who were remembering lore of their own childhood. This can often be a fruitful way to collect children's folklore, but a fuller picture of the lore can be gained by collecting directly from the age group where the expressions are actively a part of their lives.

ij 56

Chapter 3: Children's Folklore Selected Bibliography

Abrahams, Roger, Jump Rope Rhymes, A Dicti _.ory, Austin, 1969.

Anderson, William, "Fairy Tales and the Elementary Curriculum or 'The Sleeping Beauty' Reawakened,"AlmmtamatLLih, 46 (1969), 563-569.

Bolton, Henry Carrington, The Countin -Out Rhymes of Children, Detroit, 1969.

Botkin, Benjamin A., yhe American Play-Party Song, New York, 1963.

Brewster, Paul, American Nonsingiagjaames, Norman, Okla., 1953.

Caillois, Roger, Ik112,1222,a_anA_Games, New York, 1961.

Comme, Lady Aliee Bertha, Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland, New York, 1964.

Howard, Dorothy Mills, "Folklore in the Schools," New York Folklore Quarterly, 6, 2 (1950), 99-107.

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara, ed., .afech_play_L_Research Resources for the Study of Linguistic Creativity., Phila- delphia, 1976.

Knapp, Mary and derbert, One Potato Two Potato The Secret Education of American Children, New York, 1976.

Morrison, Lillian, A Diller A Dollar: Rhymes and Sayings for the Ten O'Clock Scholar, New York, 1955.

Newell, William W., Gar...2.c.I.F.,isnesatonericanchildren,

' New York, 1883,

Opie; Iona and Peter, Children's Games in Street and Playground New York, 1969.

Opie, Iona and Peter, Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, Oxford, 1959.

Studer, Norman, "The Place of Folklore in Education, New York Folklore Ouarterly, 18 (1962), 3-12.

Sutton-Smith, Brian, The Folkames of Children, Austin, 1973. 57

Tallman, Richard S., "A BibliographicReview for Folklorre and Education: A Selected Bibliography," AmericanFolklore Society Annual Meeting, 'Austin, Texas,1972.

Taylor, Archer, En lish Riddles from'OralTraditionBerkeley, 1951.

Withers, Carl, A Rocket in My Pocket: The Rhymes and Chants o Young America, New York, 1948. 58

CHAPTER 4

TEENAGE AND COLLEGE FOLKLORE

As children gaes into adolescence their4ntivats and attitudes change, and naturally there is a corresporiang change-in their folklore. The rhymes and games of childhood are dropped and replaced by popular.music, organized sports and sOtial dancing. But jokes continue to be told, only on.a more sophisticated level. The most striking new area of folklore is in belief loremsuper- stitlions and legends. These form a minor part of children's lore and a major part of teenage and college lore.' Mbere is a gradual- change in the lore from high school to college, but many of the underlying concerns expressed thiough folklore remain the same. Collecting from teenagers is not difficult, especially if the collector has an understanding and empathy with them.As with children, teachdlik can collect from adolescents in a classroom situation and also make folklore a part of the curriculum.Angus K. Gillespie has been teaching folklore on the high school level for Several years, and he has had very successful results from his experience. In an article in Keystone Folklore guarterly. 15 (Sum- mer, 1970), entitled "Comments on Teaching and Collecting Folklore" he discusses students collecting from other students and includes five examples of student collections. In a later article, "Teach- ing Folklore in the Secondary Schools The Institutional Setting," Journal of the Ohio Folklore Society, 2 (1973), he analyzes tte different problems encountered in teaching in private and public schools, and he outlines how his own folklore course evolved, including assignments for papers and collection projects. Eliot Wigginton is another high school teacher who successfully incorporated folklore collecting into the curriculum. He was Leach- ing English and Journalism in a small school in the southern Appa- lachians of Georgia and was so discouraged by the lack of response of the students that he suggested they start a magazine of their 59

own. The magazine evolved tnto a collection of folklore and folklife from family and neighbors of- the students, and it WAS called Foxfire. The students' imaginations and creative abilities were' sparked, and Wigginton was able to teach Oem the basics of English and Journalism at the same time they were learning about the local folk culture. The results of this remarkable educational experi- ' ment are the Subject of The Foxfire Book (1972), -which includes an introduction by Wigginton describing how the project came about; other Foxfire books have appeared since. These books have special application for teachers in Southern Ohiowlere a culture stmilar to Appalachian exists, but its application is not limited to Appalachia since.the educational principles behind the book are valid in any region. Ohio has its own Foxfire project in the Thistledown program at Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala(43062). David Nungesser started the program at rataskala, and his students have been producing a fine magazine on area folklife, oral history, and traditions for several years. Another valuable educational source is Jan Bruavand's On the haOlija of American Folklore which is an instructor's manual for his textbook, The ptudy of American Folklore: An Introduction. The Manual is available free to teachers from the publishers, W. W. Nor- ton and Company, 55 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y., 10003.The manual is useful for both college and high school courses. An article in Brunvand's The ,Study of American Folklore, J. Barre Toelken's "The Folklore of Academe," is quite effective in revealing the kinds of folklore existing on college campuses; in fact, in some folklore classes this is assigned at the beginning of the course so that students will become aware of their own folklore. High school and college students are usually excited by the collecting and study of folklore. When they are collecting from other students, it is exciting because they are seeing themselves in a new light and at the same time they are dealing with something familiar and accessible. Teachers can use folk materials in many 60

ways, but one of the most important is to gain a better understand- , ing of their own students. Thus, the teacher can collect directly from students or have the students collect from each other; either way new educational possibilities are opened up in and out of the classroom. There are many kinds of folklore associated with this age group, but certain types stand out as being especially reflective of their concerns. One surprising area is superstitions. Most people associate superstitions with the uneducated, but in actuality superstitions are found at all levels of society and education.The most important factor is the element of chance or uncertainty, not the amount of Oucation. Superstitions arase in those areas of life which have greater degrees of uncertainty. This is why card pfayers are notoriously superstitious; the element of chance is seemingly controlled by following certain rituals---shuffling the cards three times, looking at your cards one at a time) and so forth. There are many areas of uncertainty in a teenager's life and a corresponding number of superstitions, rituals and magic devices. Sports is one area where this occurs: a player will wear his favorite lucky sweater to insure good luck, a baseball player will touch third base everytime he runs to the dugout at the end of an inning, or a basketball player will always bounce the ball three times before he takes a foul shot.Another area of uncertainty in a student's life is examinations.To insure good luck on an exam students will use a favorite pen, sit in a particular desk, anything to give them a sense of security---especially if they have not studied adequately. Teenagers probably have more uncertainty over dating and relations with members of the opposite sex. As might be expected, there are a myriad of folk beliefs expressive of this concern. Some of them seem to be equivalent to modern "love potions" such as putting salt in someone's shoes to insure his undying love. An- other belief involves a ritual of walking on the same side of a 61 telephone pole or post to avoid bad luck or the spliting up of the couple involved.

A friend of mine told me this a couple of years ago, while walking down the street. He said don't split the pole, and he said that if you walk down the street and walk on the vpposite side of a pole it brings bad luck.

(Collected from a teenager in 1972 in Columbus.) My informant said that he "sort of believes it," I have heard a similar version. When my mother and I used to walk-holding hands-if a pole came betweel us and we Twere forced to drop hands she would say "bread and butter" as a conversion ritual to get rid of the bad luck. 'This could also mean a symbolic separation from the one you are walking with.

There are many devices for making wishes often involving a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you find a loose eyelash on someone's face, take it between thumb and finger and each person makes a wish and guesses thumb or finger. If you guess which the eyelash sticks to when you separate them, your wish will come true.A popular wishing device for girls occurs when the clasp on a necklace slides around to where the pendant hangs:

Make a wish when the necklace clasp gets down to where the pendant hangs. But it has to touch. It can't just be near there; it has to touch the pendant or your wish won't come true.

(Collected from a seventeen year old girl from Jefferson in 1973.) She always does this, and that surprised me because I didn't know she practiced superstitions. I asked her if she wishes on anything else and she told me she always wishes on stars. She added, "I do a lot of wishing." She has a strong belief in God, so her wishes are half wishes,half prayers. She is concerned about boyfriends and love now, so wishing and prayers form an important part of her thoughts.

There are many more such magic folk beliefs among teenagers, and they are especially popular among girls who reinforce the beliefs because of their traditionally more open concern with ro- 62

mance. Folk customs also arise as aresult of concern over datingand circulating for many years(since one' sex. One custom that has been of the authors was injunior hig.h.in the mid1950's and probably longer) is the wearing of circularpins that mere known as"virgini-

. sign that she WAS ty.pins." Supposedli if a girl wore one it was a indeed a virgin:

Virginity Pins- Oh yeah. Remember the circle pin? If you weren't a virgin, you wore acresent or something, not acircle.

(Collected from a twenty-one yearold woman student at Ohio State in 1973.) Circle pins were very popularin junior high and early higlschool. I never knew that theyhad any particular meaning. I was reading Brunvandand in the section about custom I ran across thediscussion of the virginity I asked Amy if she ipin. I had never heard of such athing. had ever heard of them. She said that the circle pin so popular in high school was an exampleof a virginity pin. I had several and wore them often,but to me they were justanother piece of jewelry.

Junior high and early highschool aged people are very awakened and curious about sex. Their interest is just being they are exploring a whole new areaof life.At this age just about anything can carrysexual connotations. There is a psychological function behind thiscustomconnected to this new awareness. The thought processis at times dominatedby the exploration of this newconcept and this customhelp of keep sex in the foreground. It can be a subtle suggPstion sex or and overtdisplay. Basically for those participating, it is a fun endeavor, likethe old custom of wearing green intentionally to cause on Thursday. Some people would wear it pin a stir. Thus, the wearing or notwearing of the virginity becomes muething of a game. (Brunvand, p. 201)

Another well-known custom iscalled "pididdle." If a boy sees a car withonly one head-light, heyells out "pididdle" and gives gets to kiss the girlhe is with. Of course, this tradition These customs are learned an excusefor kissing, if one is needed. from others in the same age group,and are passed on in atradition- 63

al manner going back years as witnessed by thefact that one student \. collected "pididdle" from a 19 year old friend andthe'oollector's 48 year old father.

A pididdle is a car with one headlight out. If you are driving with a girl and you see a pididdle, you are supposed to kiss her.

(Collected from a nineteen year old student from Euclid in 1973.) This has a social function.He spoke like if a guy was having a hard time breaking theice with a girl, this provided a good excuse. But it was also an excuse to use this behavior with any girl. A girl would be less likely to re- sist if she was assured that this was a tradition.

Many of these dating customs and beliefs are dropped inhigh school and college, but the legends which circulate among teenagers continue to be a strong part of college life. Many of the legends are unpleasant since they deal withanxieties of this age group, such as the anxieties of girls concerning rape andmurder. Female babysitters alone in strange houses have many unspokenanxieties which come to be expressed in legends about murderersbreaking into the house.

Dr. Hargrove was a dentist who lived in a newsuburb in South Cleveland. He had three children, a wife and a beautiful house in a wooded area.Although there was a large dis- tance between homes, they got friendlywith one family with a daughter who babysat for them. The girl's name was Tricia. Tricia was fifteen years bld at that time and onenight the Hargroves were going out with some other dentists andasked Tricia to sit. About 9:30 she was watching T.V. and the phone rang. All she heard was laughing. It happened again an hour later so she decided tocall the operator and have it traced. TFe operator called back and told her to leave as fast as possiblebecause the man was upstairs.When the police came, they found the three children strangled.

(Collected from a twenty-one year old male collegestudent from Cleveland in 1973.) Dennis claims this is a true story that he heard from Tricia's sister. He even changed the names because of this. Dennis said that Tricia is now 21, and has 64

been in an institution for six years.The killer is supposedly a friend of Dr.Hargrove's who has a personal vendetta against him from the Korean War..Expression of fear of babysitters is definitely a function of this legend asit has been expressed in countleWversions similar to this one.

This legend is usually totallybe)ieved by the girls who pass it on, and it has many local detailsand names to make it believem . ble, but it has been collected in several areasand has not been iverifiedas actually happening. Another anxiety of teenage girls isbeing picked up while alone on the street. One bizarre story from Cleveland hasthe frightening description of a girl beingattacked, and ends years later with the punishment of her attackerand the one who had coverecrup 4is crime.

Susie wOs ten years old and in thefifth grade but extremely mature/looking. One day she WAS walking homefrom school and a car-pulled up and tried the usualthing of offering a ride. She refused. Finally he grabbed her, took her to a secluded area and told her todisrobe. She said no, and he said that she would get expelledbecause he was the principal's son. She still refused. He then ripped off herclothes and began to attack her. She fought and managed to get away,but he grabbed her. She fell and cut her throat on arock. He got scared and left. Susie ran home and told her father. He went to speak to theprincipal who got indignant at the accusa- tion. Nothing became of it until years laterwhen Susie was 18. She saw the son in a bar and went upto him and asked if he remembered her. He said no, but then saw her scarand ran out of the bar. As he was rvining across the streethe got hit by a car arid killed. Thedriver of the car was his father.

(Collected from the same college student as the previous example.) Dennis heard this story from a friend ofSusie's sister. This happened three years ago on the westside of Cleveland. Both the principal and his son got their just desserts. The principal would not take actionbefore, but without knowing, he does in the end. The son got his punishment as well. Susie got her justice even if it didtake eight years. An obvious moral is of course,don't take rides from strangers. 65

Many of these stories function to give wbrnings and point morals: lock all doors and windows when you Are babysitting alone, be careful of strange men while walking alone. Some of them warn of the dangers of parking. Since the automobile became widely accessible to teens, the practice of parking in isolated areas has become a common dating activity. Many legends point out the dangers of this by recounting violent horror storIes. One of the most widespread is called "The Hook" and tells of a narrow escape by two parkers from an escaped mental patient (Linda Degh, "The Hook," Indiana Folklore 1(1960, 92-100). Another is "The Boy-' friend's Death" in which there is no escape from the mad man so that the moral against parking is even stronger.

I heard a story about a week ago from my science teacher. I forget whether he said it was true or not. OK, there was a girl and a boy driving down a dark road late at night andthey out of gigs. So the boy told the girl that he was going to go get some gas and he would be right back and to keep all the car doors locked and not to open them for anybody. So he told her that when he got back he would knock twice on the window, so that she would know that it was him.

So time went by and it was getting later and later. Her boyfriend neve r came back. Finally she heard some scratching on the back of the car goingscratch...scratch...scratch. Well, by this time, the girl was really getting scared, so she got down on the floor. She fell asleep still with the scratching going on.

The next morning she was awakened by people pounding on the car. She looked up and there were police outside. So finally she opened up the door. The police told her to walk straight ahead and not to look back. She couldn't understand why she shouldn't look back. So she looked back and she saw her boyfriend hanging by the feet with his neck slit and his arm hanging down. The scratching was from the class ring on her boyfriend's finger.

(At the beginning of the story I forgot to put in that there was a rapiiit on the loose!)

(Collect(d from 8 fift,:en year old girl from Columbus in 1q73.) This particular story camc to me in three different versions. 66

When Julie told this one,the'class reacteajavorably. She told her story first, with thelights.downp.and ,ttIe use of her eyes and drawn-out"scratch...scratch...scratch!' made it quite suspenseful. Apparently thisjegend is a common cne, because I heard it in my home ,town,Clrvelard.

There is'also an implicit.moral inthese*.legends against pr9-marital sexual relations. HorrorA. legends also deal withviolent danFer'or death in a realistic way, others are'supernaturaland part lf AnoLher kind.of legend, the ghost story, which is notquite as readily believed today although lisuOly some degreeof belief is present. Ghost stories may also attach themselves tofavorite parking places so that they peiform the samefunction as setme horror legends. There is a stre9t in Columbus thatis used by,parkers on whichis an unusual house and statue. The statue has given rise to aghos!- story which may scare some, butitsoverall effect is to attracthigh school and college students tothe street at night o.,:tof curio-

sity.

On the night of July 13, on astreet called X about 12 years ago, there lived anold lady and her husband. On this particular night.a nightmare took place. The old lady killed herhusband with an wce and cut off hishead. She took his body and buried it &Iderneath a statue inher front yard,

One night when it wasstorming outside, the oldlady heard some strange noiseslike something dripping,and someone moaninz. She looked out her windowand saw that the statue wasoverturned and its head was painted green. Thk, next day she went outside and found blood on theground where the statue wasstandiw,, and the grove she buried herhusband in was no. His body wa:; gone, and to thisday has never been found. She thought at first that his body had been stolen,hut she now realizeg thather husband has come back to haunt her.

The house on the hill of X stillstands and the old lady still lives there. The statue with the headof green still stands and the blood aroundthe statue still remains.

(Collected from a fifteen year oldgirl in Columbus in 1073.) 1 am 1 received several versionsof the haunted house ofX, 67

situation or atleast drive going to personallyinvestigate the of my studentshave actually by this house: About ten or twelve their stories arejust a littledifferent seen thishouse and all However, there areseveral common de- --perhaps by onedetail. the head painted green,the oddness of tails. The statue, the and off and thelawn There are storiesof lights going on house. being mysteriouslypaid. The being mysteriouslymowed and bills high on this one. My kids wanted meto degree of belief was night, but I mustadmit lead an investigation onthis house one I.clackened out!

teenagers, but Parking anxieties arerelatively old among anxieties arise and newlegends crop in a fastchanging world, new hallucinogenic drugshave be- up out ofthem. Since marijuana and teenagers, horrorlegends about the come fairlywidespread among Many of Lhem3ndicate that consequences ofdrugs have comealong. and irrationalwhen on drugs, and a personbecomes irreponsible reallzing it. can evencommit murder without

supposedie on dope. She There Was thisbabysitter who was She set the.table soevery- wasbahysitting this littlebaby. the baby's parents camehome. thing would beall ready when eaten, thebabysitter said After the parentshad come home and they had eatenbaked baby. City in (Colleted from a sixteenyear oldgirl from (row heard this fromher friends. Her friends 1972.) Pam said she think this in the newspaper. She does not claimed that it was from going "any parents whowould come home is true because If they baby, would just notsit down and eat. out, leaving a if it was all all, they wouldhave gone to see cared any at that if the story This legend alsofollows the pattern right." That is, the appear- appeared in the newspaperit muat be true. reinforce the validityof a ance of a storyin a newspaper can ied, even if theconrlents are ne!;a- story just byit be ment to rule outthe possibility ofanything ti-:e. Pam is also trying 1 z;uspect she Usesdope herself like thi:, situationhappening. and feela this storyabsu:d.

it is very important When collactingleeuds from teenahers, If the po sontotally rejects to acertainthe degree ofbelief. joke to him, butif he believes b:lief in a story, it more of a 4.

it totally, then it is more likely to expresshis own anxieties and affect his behavior. The full contextual information given with each of the examples in this chapterindicates how much more understandable the text of a stoiy is with this kindof information. Also, it is impottant that you as a collector notinfluence the degree of belief by injecting your own opinion ofthe story. This

type legend will usually come out naturally in a generaldis- - cussion of some of the activities---parking,babysitting, marijuana smoking---than by directly asking for the specificlegends. But if a general discussion fails to turn up anylegends, then one or two examples withoutdetails could be mentioned as a spark for getting more. Here again, it is probably easier for a peer group member to collect than it isfor an older person. Related to legends, but usually more localized andgrounded in reality are anecdotes about local characters. Toelken mentions the variety of stories told by students abouteccentric professors (The StudL of American Folklore, pp. 319-321.); there arealso many anecdotes about eccentricstudents---the greatest drinkers, exhibitionists, etc. Often these stories circulate within smaller social groups at a college or high school;fraternities are a good source of character anecdotes.

Legend of Dave L.

Once, crazy Dave was taking a shower on the F.rstfloor, when Dewey came by with a glass of cold water andthrew it on Dave thinking it was one of his pledge brotherA. Dave immediately began chasing Dewey down the hall and out the front door,down the street until he caught Dewey across from CityNati,,il Bank. He then proceeded to rub Dewey's Cace in the mud. This vls typical of crazy Dave, running down the street with no clothes on. Greg also said Dave rode his motorcycle through a sorority house wearing only his underwear.

Greg said Dave was a real wild man in the fraternity, con- stantly picking on thc pledges and scaring the hell outof them. Greg also said he heard many more stories of crazy Daveduring initiation week that really made him afraid to gothrough. He 400 was the type ofcharacter that was capable andwilling to do anything at anytime.

(Collected from a twenty one year oldstudent at Ohio'State in 1972.) Greg said he believed theanecdote totally even though he did not see it actuallyhappen. Dave L. has been a'living legend in the fraternity,but has settled down and now has a wife, andis a nmmber of the house Godsquad.

Greg also said that-Dave isparticularly famous for dumping a strawberrymilkshake over a well-known Ohio Statefootball player's head during his initiation.

Toelken also gives examples of folk .songspopular among college students---obscene songs,drinking songs,fraternity songs. This type of song is also widespreadin high school. They are not learned from books since they areoften obscene, and they are

\ passed or orally. In high school, they maybe sung on buses by members of the band. They often are derogatory of:principals and teachers and often expressnormally unacceptable behavior--- drinking, using obscenities, etc.

Cheers, cheers for old ClearFork Highs Bring on the cocktails, bring onthe rye! Send the juniors out for gin, And don't let a sober SENIORin, oh, lordy; We never stagger, we never fall, We sober up on weed alcohol, While our loyal faculty liesdrunk in the study hall. (sung to the tune of the Notre Damefight song)

(Collected from four female studentsfrom Bellville, age twenty in 1973.) This song can be found in,similarversions(found The word "SEN- at Purcell High School, Cincinnati,Ohio). IOR" is shouted by all seniors and the song isaccompanied by clapping. The song is sung on the way to games tohelp raise spirits. It is a fun way to sing about drinkingwhich every high school student supposedly wauts todo but is not allowed to.

We are the Clear Fork girls; we wear ourhair in curls; We wear our dungarees way up above ourknees; We arc the higi;e:it fltrtF; we wear ourfathers' shirts; We'll go with any guy from Clear Fork High. 70

(Collected from the ssme group as preceding example.) . The tune to this song is the same as the song"Tra La La Boom De Aye." It can be seen in this song,as well as many of the others sung,that it was usually the girls who did the singing on the band bus. The origin of this song is not known and it is possible that variants at other schools can be found.This song was usually sung on the way to a game in order to start getting everyone's spirits up and was accompanied by clapping.

These examples are, of course, merely a limited indication of the breadth and depth of lore circulating among teenagers and college students. There are many more of these types plus other genres. They are indicative of the special concerns of this age group, and they are easily collected, especiallyby the students themselves. 71

Chapter 4: Teenage and College Folklore Selected Bibliography

Adams, Robert J., "A Functional.Approach to. IntroductoryFolklore," Folklore Forum, 1 (1969), 9-11.

Brewster, Paul G., "The F91klore Approach in SchoolTeaching," School and Society, 73 (1951), 85-87.

Brunvand, Jan, On the Teaching of American Folklore, New York. 1970.

Coffin, Margaret, "Folklore and Folk History, Senior High School Elective," New York Folklore qyarterly, 19 (1963), 152-155.

Dressler, Fletcher Bascom, Eyperstitions and Educatiola Berkeley, 1907.

Dundes, Alan, "Folklore as a Mirror of Culture," Elementary Ihal.uh, 46 (1969), 471-482.

Dusenbury, jean B., "Folklore in the Schools: An Eleventh-Grade Unit," New York Folklore Quarterly, 1 (1945), 117-121.

Green, Thomas A., "One Mile in Another Man's Moccasins," in Eliott Oring and James Durham, eds., Perspectives on Folklore and Education, Bloomington, (1969), 50-53.

Halpert, Herbert, "Folklore: Breadth versus Depth," Journal of American Folkloru, 71 (1958), 97-103.

Hand, Wayland D., American Folk Legend, A Symposium, Berkeley 1971.

Indiana Folklore, 1- (1968- ).

Jones, Louis C., "Folklore in the Schools: A Student Guide to Collecting Folklore," New York Folklore Quarterly, 2 (1946), 147-153.

Jones, Louis G., Things that Go BUILT in the Niatl., New York, 1959.

Lee, Hector H., "American Folklore in the Secondary Schools," Ijuli:;11 Journal, 59 (1970), 994-1004.

F 1 72

Oring, Elliott and James Durham, eds., Perspectives on Folklore and Education, Bloomington, 1969.

Putnam, John F., "Folklore: A Key to Cultural. Understanding," Educational Leadership, 21 (1964), 364-368.

Seibold, Doris, "Collecting Folklore in Santa Cruz County, Arizona," Western Folklore, 13 (1954), 251-255.

Stein, William P., "Report of the Living History Seminar, 1969," Pennsylvania Folklife, 20 (1970), 44-46.

Stekert, Ellen, "Folklore: A vehicle for Teaching.Objective Analysis and Cultural Awareness," in Elliott Oring and James Durham, eds., Perspectives on Folklore and Education, Bloomington, 1969.

Tallman, Richard.S., "Folklore in the Schools: Teaching, Collecting, and Publishing," New York Folklore Quarterly, 28 (1972), 163-186.

Toelken, Barre, "The Folklore of Academe," in Jan Brunvand, The Study of American Folklore, New York, 1978, 372-390. Thompson, Harold W., "Folklore in the Schools: For College and

Adult Education," New York Folklore Quarterl , 4 (1948), 140-143.

Thompson, Stith, ed., FourSo_p_osia_orlore, Bloomington, 1953. 73

1 CHAPTER 5

OCCUPATIONAL FOLKLORE

Collecting from the working man orwoman in Ohio canbegin at home. Many of the folklorestudents at Ohio State compiled occupational lore by startingwith their fathers,mothers, brothers, It is diffi- or sisters who were apart of some industrial group. cult to walk into a factory, amine, or a construction siteand ask for folklore, but if youknow someone there, or you are a You part of the group,then the collecting taskis much easier. have a better idea of what tolook for, and the suspicionsurround- ing an outsider is at leastpartially removed. If you do not know anyone on theinside, it is probablybest to approach the group through an organization---aunion or management. background of the As with any kind ofcollecting, knowing the is group and itslore is extremely helpful.A good starting point lore in America both as the writing of ArchieGreen who knows labor "The Workers a folkloristand a participant. In an article entitled edited by Tris- in the Dawn: LaborLore" (in Our Lying Traditions, importance of tram Potter Coffin, pp.251-262), he stresses the to shape labor folklore to Americanculture, "...work continues for en- people's lives, and labor lorestill holds the potential richlmg the Americandream." person's After gaining a generalunderstanding of the working traditions, you should move onto the specific groupin which you at the end of thischap- are interested. The selected bibliography ter will help youin this. should give you Four representativeOccupational groups in Ohio folklife to look for. Rail- an idea ofwhat kind of folklore and all have a roaders, miners, constructionworkers and coppersmiths The railroads in group identityand a body of traditionallore. imagination based America have a strongimage in the popular and outside the partially on its folklorewhich exists both within 74

group. The folk ballad "Casey Jones" is now known far andwide and is perhaps not as well known within the industry as it used tobe, but there is still much lore being passed on amongrailroaders-- folk speech, custom, folk rhymes, anecdotes andlegends. Lynn Daw- son, a folklore stadent who studied withBarry Ward at Ohio State University at Marion, started collecting railroad folklorein 1973 from her husband whowas a fireman and an engineerbefore going to work for a labor organization which represents railwayemployees. Railroading was a family tradition; his father also worked forthe railroad. This inside start led Mrs. Dawson to other railroadwork- ersengineers and conductors, and she campiled a finecollection of railroad lore. Her own general contextual information provides an excellent introduction to hercollection as well as illustrating the value of background material in understanding items offolklore.

The days of the steam engine are the "good olddays" or the "Once upon a time" for railroaders. It is l'he time that most people think of when you ask them forstories about the railway industry. These were the days when an engineer had his own engine and took great pride in it. The engineer was lord and master of his engineand also enjoyed considerable status in his community during this period in railroad history. Consequently, most engineers were proud men.This is no longer felt to be the case by railroaders.

Until the 1950's the railroads wintainedtheir own dormi- tories and restaurant facilities at each terminal. The "bunk- house" was the place for swapping stories among railroaders on adjoining divisions. It was also the location for many practical jokes to be played and the stories of these spreed from one division to another at the bunkhouses up anddown the railroad. The future dissemination of railroad lore may be hampered by the fact that the men now stay in motelswith separate rooms and eat in restaurants, seldomseeing the other members of their own crew or crews from otherdivisions.

Most occupational groups will have a terminologyof its own which makes up a form of folk speech. There will usually he terms for equipment or processes which are anesoteric part of the occupation. Railroad workers use terms which might have 7 5 different meanings to the general public but which have very specific meanings for them; two such words are "night crawler" and "highball." tag..0crawler - an expression used for a long drag (lengthy train) operated at night.

(This iteM and the following five were collected from a thirty-five year old railroad worker from Marion by his wife in 1973.) There are so many expressions such asthis connected with the railroading industry that one could do an extensive collection utilizing theM. In fact it is difficult to discuss the industry without knowledge of its slang and terminology.

Aighball - an expression used by nearly all operating employees on the railroad. As used today it means a general signal to proceed. It may be given by hand, electric block, or verbally. Some use it in their everyday language to mean they are in a hurry.

This expression came from a practice utilizedbefore auto- matic electric block signals came into use.A large hall was attached to one end of a rope. Whenthe tower operator pulled the rope the ball would be raised to the top of a pole beside the track and the engineer would know he had a clear track ahead and he could proceed with safety to the next signal.

There are also customs within the industry that might seem bizarre to those outside, such as the traditional practice of hiring men with missing fingers because this WAS anindication of experience.

It has been said that in the old steam engine days when you went to hire out on the railroad youhad a better chance of being hired if you had some fingers missing.This indicated to the railroad that you had some experience inthe railroad industry.

I believe thi3 is an example of custom or traditional practice based in faulty reasonini;. The rationale being: missing fingers indicated experience, experience makes a man a better employee. 76

In truth the fingers could have been lost in some wsy other than railroading. Also, the point could be made that missing fingers could indicate tarelessness on the part of the employee. He would not be a better employee than a man with ten fingers. Using the railroad's reasoning, it could be said that a man with three or four fingers missing would be a better employee than a man with one finger gone and finally to the abSurd point that a man with ten fingers missing would be a better man than a man with no fingers missing.

My husband does not believe this custom is practiced today. He tells it mainly to point up the lack of safe working conditions in the earlier days of railroading.

The concepts of the different jobs within railroading are reflected in the folklore; the conductor's view of his jobas opposed to the engineer's is seen in a traditional rhyme.

I cannot blow the whistle, I cannot ring the bell, But let the train jump the track, Ant see who catches hell.

Train crews (brakemen, flagmen and conductor) recite this rhyme to point out the irony of the conductor's position with regard to authority over a train. The engineer claims to be the "boss" and he is indeed responsible for getting the train safely over his division of the railroad. However, under the rules the conductor has equal responsibility with the engineer and when any serious problen, such as a derail- ment occurs, the conductor is held equally responsible for explaining vthat happened.

Narrative folklnre will sprtng up within most occupations, usually in the form of anecdotes and legends about eccentric workers, interesting incidents, or narrow escapes. Some of these stories are rooted to a particular locale because they are tied to a specific character known In that area. Such a story is "How 'Sorry Ada,i' Got His Name," a local character known only on one railway line.

How Sorry Adam Got His Name

Adam cAme to this counLry at the turn of the century from 77

Germany. He became financially successfuland at one time he owned as many as forty apartmentunits and lived in a $50,000 house. In spite of this he worked inshirts with ragged, cut off shirt sleeves and carried hiscoffee in a pint whisky bottle which he warmed by placing it nearthe exhaust manifold of the engine. Adam has been quoted many times ashaving said, in his heavily accented voice thatthere's too much foreign element in tais country. All of these things coupledwithhis inability to be a good engineer madehim less thAn one of the boys

This nickname "Sorry Adam" came aboutbecause of his lack of ability as an engineer. He was plagued with onebreak-in-two aftcr another and after each he wouldwrite a note to the super- visr explaining the reason for hisfailure and sign it, Sorry, Adam.

11111WIONI.I Mr. Dawson has worked with Adamand has witnessed the use of 4.4 the whisky bottle to carry coffee,but his information about the writing of notes to the supervisor wastold to him by other employees.

Adam was never really accepted asmember of the in-group on the railroad and most commentsabout him are ra derogatory who would in nature. Larry believed that Adam was the type n rson do such a thing.

"Don't Leave Me, John," on the otherhand, is a traveling anecdote told among railroaders as truein several parts of 'the country, and each time it would attachitself to a local person.

"Don't Leave Me, John"

Enroute between Kent, Ohio andMarion, Ohio a freight train developed trouble and flagmanO'Grady's train was stopped. Flag- man O'Grady was a newemployee and the conductor got offthe caboose to make a visual inspection of thetrain. Before leaving he told flagman O'Grady, "Don't leave me,John."After repairing the damage, he gave the engineer asignal to depart and startf:d Alk to walk back toward thecaboose.

The speed of the train been toincrease and he realized that it it would be necessary for flagmanO'Grady to apply the brakes from the caboose to slow dtwn tnetrain for him to board. As the speed increased and the cabooseapproached the conductor, hebegan to shout,"Don't leave me, John." The caboose pxsed at a speed too fast for the conductor toboard and on tile other sith: 78

of Ora tracks stood flagmanO'Grady. As the caboose sped out of sight, leaving John andthe conductor standing inithe middle of nowhere, the conductorcould only say, "Well, John, you didn't leaveme."

When Larry heard this storyabout John O'Grady he believed it to be true. He says if you had ever met John you would know why the story couldbe accepted as truth. In subsequent years he has heard otherversions of this tale from people connected with railroadsin other parts of the country and realizes that it isindeed a.folktale of the railroading industry.

The tale is told and enjoyed by anyrailroader that has experienced the anxiety of thethought of being left standing in the middle of nowherewatching the caboose of his train speed out of sight.

Miner's folklore contains a lot ofmaterial known not only to miners all over the country,but also knoft in other occupa7. tions. For instance, the mining superstitutionsabout women in the mines bringing bad luck and ratsin the mine being a sign of disaster are also bound amongfishermen and other sea-faring men except thatboats are the taboo areas.

There's rats down in the mines, and if theroof's going to fall, they'll leave before it happens.

This is the miner's variation ofthe "rats always desert a sinking ship" motif. It seems to be as widespread and as easily believed. Daddy said he had never seen ithappen, but had heard other miners talkabout it.

They say women are bad luck in thQmines, and if one happens to go in, the men willrefuse to work.

This is a sister superstition to thesaying that women on ships are bad luck. Mining is a very hazardous occupatioa, and anythin:., :,lightly out of theordinary woulq be expected to be a bad omen.

A student collected thesefolk beliefs in 1973 from her

.1.0. 79

father, a forty-three year old ex-miner, and herihirty-nine year old mother, both from Centerburg, indicatingagain the ease with which an occupational collection can begin athome. She also collected from a retired miner who gave her beliefs and tales. Often it is easier to interview a retired person about his occupationbe- cause he has more timc and enjoysreminiscing about the traditions of his job. One of the stories told by the retired miner concerns the prejudices which the miners felt against outsiders who cameto work in the mines, especially against recent Europeanimmigrants.

There was two Italians hired to work in the mines, and they'd never worked in the mines before, you know. The boss asked them if they could shoot coal, and they said, yes,they could. And the next morning, the boss heard bang, bang,bang, and he went up there, and there was them two Italians,with two pistols, shooting right into theface of the coal.

(Collected from a sixty-four year old retired miner from Chesterville in 1973.) "Shooting coal" involves drilling holes in the face of the wall of coal, placing thedynamite properly, pushing the caps into the dynamite, attachingthe fuse of proper length, and setting it off. It was a much more complicated process years ago,for the holes had to be drilled by hand with a sort of awl, but today theyhave machines which drill several holes at once. This is a numskull story, involving following directions literally. It is a brother of the Pat and Mike stories, but Tomsaid they were Italians, not Irishmen,in this tale.

These stories function to reinforce group identityby excluding those who do not belong. A related kind of folklore is the practical joke which is pulled on new workers inthe mine.

A. new man,ti,.ey usually send him after a belt stretcher, a cable stretcher, or a dick stretcher. They send him back in the mine somewhere nd he gets lost. They really screw over a new guy bad,

(Collected from a twenty-one year old miner from Winterset in 1973.) None of the thinr,s listed above exist, but a new guy doesn't know anybetter so he goes after them. 80

These jokes put the newcomer in the position of anoutsider, and at the same time give the group a sense ofsolidaritY because they are in on the joke. 'Not surprisingly, other occupations have similarfolklore. In the construction industry, new workers are sent tolook for non- existent tools.

Well you tell the guy that your head 1:)ints are coming out too thin so you send him down to your toolbag to get your joint stretcher. While he's down there looking for the damm thing, you get everyone to start hollering for thfIr ownjoint stretcher. Pretty soon he gets so flustered he'll bring damn near anything up just to seewhat the hell a /joint stretcher is.

(Collected from a male bricklayer, age twenty-three in Columbus in 1973.) Another joke, likethe.'4Well wheel joke, that is,intended simply forentertainment.rather than humiliation. Again the joke hinges on the naivety of the new manand the comradery of the regular crew. Since there is no such tool as a joint stretcher, the man has no chance toturn the tables on his .tprmentors.

This particular joke and the well wheel and rope joke are particularly functional for Jeff. Being the youngest man on the crew and yet holding aa authoritativeposition he has a constant need to assert his position. Not necessarily for his own ego as much as for the welfare of theparticular job. Every new man must realize Jeft.'s position asthe legitimate boss. Tradi- tionally this may have been done by a show of strength oractual physical violence but in this case all that is needed is for Jeff to score some sort of small victory of wits over the new man. Instantly several points become clear to the man. Jeff is the man who ghres the orders, he ii inclose association with the other men and he is knowledgeable about his trade(at least to the extent that he knows there are no jointstretchers).

It is hard to say what it is about human nature thatmakes a man go off looking for somethingthat he is sure exists but doesn't have any idea of what it mayloo4like. Among laborers, there is always the stigma of stupidity, 6f flaunting one's stupidity in flont of everyone by admitting that you don't know what a "joint stretcher" is. Instead, the man tramps off, somehow assured that he can recognize the tool if he lays eyes onit. If the man returns with some other tool there willbe a great amount of chiding and ridicule awaiting him forbeing so stupid. If, on thu other hand, he returns to admit that hecan't find 81

it because he doesn't know what it is the bricklayer will usually put on an elaborate display of disgust with the stupidityof these "young kids."Either way the laborer stands to be the butt-of the'l joke untilhebecomes part of the "regular crew."

Of course, once a novice has been put through the joke, he becomesa part of the group and can pullthe joke on the next newcomer, so that the custom becomes a kind ofinitiation ritual. Construction workers have a strong identity as "hard-hats," and their lore reflects their pride. Each craft will have its own lore as well as some shared with others. One student did a collection project based on one craft within the industry, bricklayers. They have their own terminology and even their own proverbial sayings using the terms.

This hod looks like the cat's been shittia' in the sand.

(Collected from the same young bricklayer.) This is a veritable classic among masons. I have heard it, or various clever variations of it, from almost every bricklayerI've worked for. Jeff heard it originally from his father and uses it now as part of thejargonf of his occupation.

Thls may be an especially cryptic item for the layman. "Hbdqis the term used to refer to mortar, specifically alimited amountlof mortar either in the mixer or on the mortarboard and ready for use. Hod originally referred to the implement used forcarrying mortar on a man's back, but semanticchange has transferred the meaning to the mortar itself now that the hod hasbecome nearly obsolete. Mortar is composed of specific quantities of cement,sand and lime, mixed together by the bagful and shovelsful in a mixer.

The proverbial comparison above is used to refer tothe lumpy quality of a batch.of mortar that has been mixedwith lumpy sand. This "lumpiness" is especially infuriatingto a bricklayer as it makes his work unusually bothersome. To express his exasperation at such a situation he will use the abovecomparison in a sort of general, matter-of-fact way that is a signal to theexperienced laborer that the mortar is unsatisfactory. To the inexperienced or un- initiated it is perplexing and embarrassing. The comparison is cryptic enough that it serves to separatethe professional from the amateur and establish theformer's superiority. It can also be used to intimidate those persons who areleast in favor with a particular crew, i.e., students orinexperienced minority group workers. 82

Of course, the original comparisondepends upon the fact that cats generally prefer sand to hardpacked earth and that the result of this preference---the sandis liable to be lumpy:

The job of the collector is to gather alldata necessary to making the lore understandable to personsoutside the group; the student who collected this does this quitewell in his contextual information for the proverbial comparison.The student also collected several narratives which reveal'theworkingman's attitude toward authority whether it be the foreman or anoutside inspector. -A In these 'stories the workingman getsthe best of the authlrity figure through wit, trickery, or strength.

This happened a long time ago with .some guy upin Chicago, I think. I don't remember exactly who was"running the job, bu 1 know that one of the city inspectorswould come out every day and crawl in the boiler where the men wereworking and start measuring the thickness of the Plibricowall they were puteing in. It was a big lining, maybe fivn or sixthousand be%es, and and keep measming to be . this character would come every day sure they were puttingenough Plibrico down. Well, the bricklayer foreman got pretty pissed-off at this guyand one day, when the inspector had laid his tapedown on,the wall to light a cigarette, thisIrish foreman comes right along andpoiinds Plibrico right over the guy's tape. Well, the inspector is naturally pretty mad, hut that bigIrishman looks dow at him and says (with appropriace Irishaccent) "Hell, I just got so carried away trying to do it rightthat I couldn't stop!" Well, I guess the inspector had other tapes,but he never came back until the job was finished.

(Collected from a forty-nine year old sales ex-!cutivefrom Cleveland who used to be a constructionworker.) This is the type of story that is a delight tothe workingman's wentalit.y. It represents a moral victory of theworker over the authoritative figun, in this case a city governmentfigere, but it works the same way with the boss or even aforeman.

The fact that my father still tells th: .1:)ry or a veriationc# it today is lepresentative of his tradition as aworker. A man Chat started in eianagemeni and never worked inthe field would not be inclined to tell a storythat sees his character bestedby 83

a common labor-r. These stories are common amongworkers everywhere, and they normally follow apattern that sees the authority figure as a bothersome or ignorantcharacter coming in conflict with a representative worker(notice the "Irish foreman") who is trying to do his job in a conscientiousfashion. The result of this conflict is always the demise ofthe authority figure. In- terestingly enough, the victory isusually not physical, that is, the worker seldom smacks the bossalong-side his head with a shovel. Instead, the victory is. realizedby the worker's extreme attention to the wishes of theauthoritarian. In this case, the inspector certainly wanted the wall formedquickly and properly, which is just what the Irishman contendshe was doing. Woof the foreman did was obeYlhis orders to the extreme,to such an extreme that it meant the humiliation of the manwho gave the

This story also has many v,.riants. In some cases it takes the form of a tradesman questioning(always in a polite manner) some detail on thebiueprint. The boss is brash and ign)rant and commands that the blueprintbe followed exactly. The com- mand is carried out and thebuilding comes out in the wrong lot other deficiency. The result of not , or with no doors or some heeding the wisdom of the worker.

Understandably, oral traditions are of more concernto the folklorist dealing with highlymechanized occupations such asmining, railroading, and construction work. Material cfllture traditions are equally important,however, especially when examiningthe hand- craft processes. The term "folk technology" canbe misleading, although not yet to the degree as themuch abused word "craft." If we take folk technology to meanthose trades which depend primarily on han,: skills to produce finishedarticles, skills passed from one generation tothe next through instruction and example,it is possible to limit oor focus of inquiry. In speaking of folk technology, we tend to think of"survivals"--survivals of skills that flourished before, and were supercededby, the Industrial Revolu- tion. These crafts were often, hut not always,praeticed in shops in which, through a formal systemof apprenticeship, a youngworker gradually rosc to thc level of skilledcraftsman as he watched and listened to his elders. Few such shops exist today. Many young people, in an attempt to return to asimpler life, have engaged in 84 such activities as leatherworking andpottery, but the word"re turn" is important here.They have grown out of the cratt tradition but have learned theirskills from literature and formal instruction---the pcpular oi mainstreamculture that is highly self-

conscious. To be 'Aire, traditional craftsmnstill flourish in Ohio, and a number of thempartalcipated in the 1971 Festivalof American Folklife sponsored bythe Smithsonian Institution. One traditional shop still flourishes'al Rucyrus---the Picking Copper Kettle Works. Started in 1873, the CopperKettle Works still produces copperware in the traditionalmanner---shaping a copper sheet by hand into a piece ofhollowware. Although some of the hammers have been electrified, thishas in no way altered the process, merely speeded it up. The main work force beltrgs to one family; the sons have learnedfrom their father who in turn was taught by a senior man in the shop many yearsago. Although they line, each divide the labor, creatingsomething of a modest assembly product from be- man is entirelycapable of producing a complete ginning to end. The original craftsmen werePennsylvania German coppersmiths who stamped the shopwith their particulartradition-- piece design. two piece copperware,rather than the English three In documenting a shop such asthis, the researcher needsboth camera and sketchpad to record the kind oftools, how they are in- used, and where they arelocated. What are the exact processes volved in thc fabrication of aproduct? Do the workers have special reasons for doingit that way---or ic itsimply "The- way it has al- unconscious, have oc- ways beendone?" What changes, conscious and curred over time? Is it possible to comparethe i)rocesses of t.lis shop to other known studies anddocumr,ntations? (6, little known book Picking shop was on coppersmithingpublished about the time the ptesent doing peak business, proved aninvaluable means of comparing techniques to earlier prlctices. There were few cfn7Inges.) What. adaptations have been madeand whychanging markets,(Efferent (that is, the "audience"), raw materials? Who comprises the market 85 and how have they influenced the productbeing made? The craftsmen are as important as the processitself. How have they learned their skills? Do they still do things in a traditional wayin spite of knowledge of "better" or fastermethods? See the following illustrations for examples of atraditional tool and one step in the traditional process.

The "scratchel," a home-made tool designed for a veryspeci-

fic functionto mark off the correct height ofthe side of a . frying pay. Mr. S. Says simply that he "made it along time ago." The protruding nail at the right end of the toolscribes a circle around the copper side. The wood brace is covered with a piece of copper.

Approx. 81/4" long; round brace approx.31/2"diameter.

r. 4 "" ,

7;4 irkTo6n

"' a flit. Pa

411."01* I ,,.I 86

This is a candy kettle that is receiving a final hand planishing with a planishing hammer over a rounded stake. After planishing, the extended lip wilI be turned over a supporting iron ring. With the addition'of handles, the kettle is finished.. Planishing is the most skilled activity in the fabrication of coppelyare.

a. .,

4 t

There are many more occupational groups in Ohio which have traditional lore. This is true not only of the'older ones such as mining and railroading, but also of new jobs in industry. Even assembly line workers at automobile plants havetheir own jokes, anecdoies and folk speech. The examples of railroading, mining, construction working and coppersmithing aie representative,but there are undiscovered kinds of folklore in modern industry because it is a neglected area of research.

I. 87

Chapter 5: Occupational Folklore Selected Bibliography

Boatright, Mody, Wklore of the Oil Industry, Dallas, 1963.

Coffin, Tristram Potter and Henig Cohen, Folklore from the yorking Folk of America, New York, 1973.

Denisoff, R. Serge, Great Day Comiu, Urbana, Illinois, 1971.'

Drake, Carlos C., "Traditional Elements in the Cooperage Industry." Keystone Folklore quarterly, 14 (1969), 81-96.

Ferris, William R., "Rai4road Folklore: An Overyiew,P North Carolina rolklore Journal., 22 (1974), 169-176..

Green, Archie, Only A Miner, Studies in Recorded Coal-Minina Songs, Urbna, Illinois, 1971.

Green, Archie, "The Workers in the Dawn: Labor Lore," in 'Tristram Potter Coffin, ed., Our Liyips. Traditions, NewYork, (1968), 251-262.

Greenway, John, hauisAllialh2Tilf_2LEL(21:211 Philadelphia, 1953.

Jones, Michael Owen,The Hand Made Ob ect and Its Maker, Los Angeles, 1975.

Journal of the Ohio Folklore Societ', 3 (1974), 1-67.

Korson, Georv, Black ROck, tlinialsolklore of the Pennsylvania Dutch, Baltimore, 1960.

Korson, George, Coal Dust on the Fiddle, Philadelphia, 1953.

McCarl, Robert S., Jr., "The Production Welder: Product, Process and the Induscrial Craftsman," New York Folklore EatrIalt, 30 (1974)0 243-253.

McCall, RobertS., jr., "Smokejumper Initiation: Ritualized Communication in Modern Occupation," Journal of American Folklore,89 (1976), 49-66.

Mullen, Patrick. B., "I Heard the 01 Fishermen Say)" Folklore of the Texas Gulf Coast, Austin, 19;6. 88

Splitter, Henry Winfred, "Miner's Luck," WesternFolklore, 15 (1956), 229-246. 89

CHAPTER 6

FOLKLORE OF THE GENERAL POPULATION

Folklorists have usually considered the conceptof a folk group as part of thedefinition of folklore. One of the most recent attempts at re-defining folklorementions "small group" as part of thc definition (Dan Ben-Amos,"Toward a Definition of Folk.- lore in Context," Journal of American Folklore, 84(1971), 12). The preceding chapters have all been based on afolk group, the family, the children's group, the teenage groupand the occupational group. However, there is a body of contemporaryfolklore which transcends these group boundaries and circulateswidely among the general population. The transmission of this mass lore is often aided by electronic media--television, radio, andphonograph rer--cds --and by newspapers and magazines.The lore is spread very quickly throughout the United States because oral and mediatransmission speed up the process. When expressive culture is transmitted widelythrough the media, folklorists usually term it popularculture as opposed to folk culture whith is limited to a smaller group and transmission by word of mouth. These distinctions are valuable because the characteristics of the expression change when passingfrom one to the other, but there are areas between folk and popularculture which should be considered by folklorists because of theundeniable folk Oaracteristics of the material. Media today is so pervasive that it is hard to find any "pure" products of oral transmission. Such folk song scholars as D. K. Wilgus and Archie Green recognize this, and hey have done valuable studies on the interrelationship of recorded "hillbilly" music and folk music. Blues music today is also a mixture of folk and popular elements; one of theauthors recorded a Ltreet blues singer in Beaumont, Texas,who sang traditional folk blues plus songs performed on record andradio by such pcpular singers as Little Richard an.? James Brown. Anyone inter- 90 ested in collecting folk song today shouldkeep this in mind and be familiar with the scholars working inthe area of recorded music and orally transmitted music.The collector of folk songs should know when his informant is singing atin pan alley song heard on records and when he is singing anancient ballad learned from his grandfather because both kinds of songs are likely to be. a part of a singer'srepertoire. Another kind of contemporary folklore whichis affected by mass media is the modern legend. Legends are narratives which are believed to some degree by the people who tellthem, and there are many such talescirculating all over the country today. People do not think of these as folklore becausethey believe that the incidents described actually happened, and manytimes the claim ir$ made that it has been verified in the newspaper.These tales may start out as rumors, but when theydevelop a full narrative structure then they must be consideredlegends.. The origin of most is unclear, but since they are based oncontemporary situations, oit must be assumed that many of themhave sprung up recently although some also contain traditional motifs. A recent example is about a fast foodchain which specializes in fried chi:ken. A student mentioned in class oneday that he had heard that someone had discovereda dead rat in a box of fried

chicken. This statement was more a rumor than alegend. About a year later a student turnea inanother version which established a full scory indicating the detailed circumstancesof the supposed

incident:

A lady k.nd her family stopped at aKentucky Fried Chicken store for dinner before going to a drive-inmovie. They got the chicken and went to the movie. The lady took a bite of the chicken and it tasted funny. She turned on the light, took off the breading, and inside was a deadrat!

(Collected from an Ohio State student in1973.) My girlfriend just got back from Hawaii and this Lthe big. rumor over there. 91

My friend's sister, wholives in Hawaii, told herthis. Both totally believed it and vowed neverto eat the Colonel'schick= en again. The lady was personallyknown by a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of afriend who told Margie's sister the story.

Since that time students have reportedsimilar detailed stories from several places in Ohio, andthe same story could be found throughout the United States. A similar legend is about asnake discovered in material at a fabric store ordiscount store.

You know, I reN:1 in the papera'wbile back, that a sales clerk was bitten by a snake that hadcurled up in a bolt of fabric. It was in one of those big fabric storesright here in Columbus and she was helping a customer. I guess she stuck her hand in a bolt of fabric and thesnake bit her, except she didn't know it was a snake; she thoughtit was a pin prick. That night after work she got reallysick and they hadto take her to the hospital and the doctortold her it was'a snake bite. Well, she just couldn't understandwhere she had gotten bitten by any snake andshe just started thinking back over the day, thinkingabout where she could have gotten it. Then, she suddenly remembered the pin inthe bolt of fabric and when she went to work the nextday, they opened up the bolt of fabric and there was this snakewith all these babies with it! Really, it's a true story! I read it in the paper!

I work at a fabric store in Columbusand a lady came in the other day (September 10, 1972) with thisversion. This lady was really into this story. She really thought she scared me with it and just swore that it was a true story. It was all I could do to keep from laughing rightin her face. I didn't want to discourage her, hut she was soserious and dedicated

to telling the story that 1. tHnk even if I had laughed, she would have stayed there and tried to convince meto be on the lookout foi mama snakks.

This ono ha:": travelled widely, beitl reported in Columbus; Bu:falo, New York; Washint-,Lon, D. C.; Hou!;ton,Texas, and so forth. The details of the story ch.ltly,e--thc nameof the store, the materi-

fI f 92

al the snake is found in, the kindof snake-- but the bi.,sic narrative and the tatal degree of beliefremain the same. The lady who told this particular variant reports,"I read it ir the paper." This does not prove that it is truebecause newspapers often report Tumors and then disclaimthem, but the fact that it was"in the paper" tends to verify stories in thepopular imagination. We have seen the snake story printed infour differeni newspapers with a disclaimer, but insteaci of squelchingthe story, these accounts usually encourage its widerdissemination. It is usually easy to collectmodern legends. You should be familiar with as many tales aspossible aheiti pf time. (See the bibliography at the end of this chapter tofitiAmoreexamples.) If you cannot get people to telllegends by ejving a general description of what yot are lookingfor, then you can mention a specific legend without telling theentire narrative. Perhaps the best way to collect modern legendsis to wait until they occur spontaneously as the student who collectedthe snake legend did. This gives a better idea of thekind of context in which the legend usually occurs. Besides the modern legends whichhave already been recorded, collectors shouldbe looking for new material since it is continually beingcreated. The joke is another form offolklore which is not bound by group lines. Richard M. Dorson in AmericanFolklbre gives one of the best genera/ descriptions ofthe pervasiveness of modern.Ameri- can jokelore. 4

...no one has pointed outthat the twentieth-c.mtury American is a tremendous storytellerand story-listener. He spe;.:iaiizes in jokes, snappy anddrawn-out, lily white and darkly off-color. They covet the major themes ofmodern life--religion, politics, business, as well assex--and they are told incessantly,in private parties and atpublic gather- At social ings. All age groups and both sexesrelish jokes. get-togethers, old friends loyallytell each other the latest good one, and new acquaintancesbreak the ice with a gag. One funny stOry automatically evokesanother, and the swap session a

is under way: inthe'office, the car pool, the Pullman smoker, the convention hotel, at thecocktail party, the lodge Luncheon, the church supper. (p.245)

Because of the widespread popularityof jokes, they should be easy to collect,but certain problews can arisebecause of the sensitive nature of some of the content. For instance, it might' tv, be difficult for a woman to collectobscene jokes 'from a group of men who ordinarilywould not tell a "dirtyjoke" in mixedcompany. It might be difficult tocollect ethnic Slur.jokes from a groupif insults were you are an outsider;they would not be sure if the the sensibilities of a acceptable to you. If you are familiar with and ethnic prejudices group concerningattitudes toward obscenity As in many other this will greatlyfacilitate collectingfrom them. jokes from your own family cases, it may bebest to start collecting and friends. There are innumerable kinds of jol

Baseball. . . as Tony saw tt!

I go by soma place wheres abeeg boarda fence. I see onea guy

0 94 backa da leetle hole and he make plenty da mon. I go up and aska whota go on insides. He tells me da ball game. I lea how mocha cost? Hit say seeksa beets. I geeva heem da seeksa beets and go in.deesa place. Insides was same beeg long seet for sect down by some beega high cheekenwires fence. On da other sides was a some high board fencewhosea tella in beeg uords, "Fatima Chewing Gum" and"Spearmint Cigarettes."

One guy he coma out'what has gottada.boxing glove on just one hand and da dog muzzle onbees face. I aska'de fella'whot seeta by me, "Whose dot one?": He tells me,"Heesa da Catch

One guy coma out whot has gotta leetleboxing glove on juit . one hand and heesa no gottada dog MUZzle ona hees,face. I aska da fella who seeta by me, "Wbosea datone?" He tell& me, "Heesa7 da Pitch."

Well, deesa pitch I no like. Heesa gotta some round leetle thing wots hard likea Hell. He taka one hand, . . .spit ou, shoota 4 wipehees ass, . . . vt.nd um up and throw like.heesa straight for da catch.

But deesa catch, heesa smarta guy. He usa da boxing glove for stop and he trow back like heesa nomad. But deesa God damn pitch, . . . heesa mad. Heesa spit on hees hand oncea wipe hees ass and trow like Hell. more,-. . . wind um up,. fight. And da catch, . . . heesa trow back like heesa no wsnna

Den was soma guy come out wet heesaall dress up. He tink was Sunday or heesa gonnasomeplace, . . . I dunno. I aska da Lella wot seeta by me, "Whosea datone?" He says, "Jeez Christ, I tink dees . . . wotsa matt, . . . you nolearna dees gime?" Anyway, he tella me deesa guy guy heesa mac; too,. . . I &Irmo. umpire man.

Well, da umpire man and dat God damn pitchhe talk a leetle bit. I think maybe heesa come down andbotha fighta da catch. I no like dees.

Den one guy come out wot gotta dabeeg longa steek. He stan up fronta da catch. Pat pitch, . heesa mad like Hell, nAl.

. . . wipe hees ,ass and Heesa speet on ball, . . . wind um up, trow like Hell. But dat guy pusha da stick, . . da ball geeva crack like Hell and JeezChrist, . heesa gone way off. Dat guy droppa da stick and run likeHc11. He run ttiree four, difference ways, so I tink heesa noknow wheetcha way heesa go. An righta before hocsa gottawhere heesa start, da son-of-a-beetch, heesa fall down. 95

Dat umpire man heesa run over anyelta, "Safe!" Safea Hel,

. heesa almost broke heesa neck. . dat Cod damn fool, . .

So dees is bazzball! I no like. .

(Collected from a fifty-eight yearold, non-Italian business executive from Canton in1973.) Mr. Hoover chuckled as he gave this to me. This he said, was his favoritestory._lie can nar- rate it perfectly withoutlooking at the story on paper.

This joke is unusual in itslength, but the person it was collected from had memorizedthe entire narrative. It also cir- copying culates in typed form with copiesmade on Xerox or other ,t dissemination which is im- machines. This is a form of folklore portant, but has not beenwidely studied. We have seen copies of visual ethnic.jokes, obscenerartoons, parodies of AnnLanders passed atound in letters, and fake welfareletters which have been this form. (see Alan Dundesand Carl R. Pagter. Urban Folklore from the papework, Ealt2m,1975.) 4 The "Pollack" joke is probablythe most popular ethnitslur applied to differ- in Ame-A-ica today, butthe same basic jokes are . ent groups depending onthe local prejudices.

There was a bartender whohad a standing joke with a Pollack who'd come into thebar everyday. He'd ask the Pollack "Ben who?" "Hey, have you seen Ben?" And the Pollack would say, Then the bartender would yell,"Bend over and kiss mvass!"

After severa1 monthi cfthis, the Pollack wasgetting tired of being made a fool of, sohe told a friend the story,and ssked the friend how hc might get evenwith the bartender.

he's The friend said, "Why,it's simple. Just ask him it seen Eileen."

The Pollack said,"Eiler211?"

"Yeah," said hi:, friend, "Andwhen he says, 'Eileenwho?' you say,'1 lean over and you kiss myass.'" h.t So the Pollack vasrealiy happy, and went tothe bar he said, "Bei, have you afternoon. When he saw the bartender, o.o.A

seenEileen?" #

And the bartender said,"Yeah,,she just left with Den." soft.

And the Pollack asked, "Benwho?"

(Collected in 1973 from a twenty year oldfemale oollege studeut from Canton.) The elaborate ethnic.jokes are not as widely circulated as are the very simpleonis. In a room of eight people, no one had heard this onebefore.

This joke which demoans the intelligence ofPolish people could be told about any ethnic group for whichthis stereotype prerils. Another joke tells of a Pole's beliefthat he could valk onai>e,am of light.

The.ee was a Pollack fishing off the coastof Italy, when he lost his oars. It was getting pretty dark, andhe was scared to be in strawn waters, sohe started calling to shorefor some help.

An Italian heard him, andsaid that he had a flashlight,and would thine the beam to theboat, and let the Pollack walk across it back to land.

But the Pollack wouldn't hear ofit.

"Oh, no you don't, he said. "I'm not tliat stupid. When I get halfway out, you'll turn theflashlight offl"

(Collected from a twenty year old femalecollege student 5.n 1973 the ethnic group in in Columbus.) When the person representing question denies stupidity, heinvariably will say something in the context of the joke toincriminate himself further.

This same joke is also toldin Southern Ohio aboutKentuckians.

There's a Kentuckian sitting on theKentuckian side of the river and an Ohioan sitting onthe Ohino side of the riverfishing. The Ohioan was catching quite afew fish and the Kentuckian was catching none. And the Ohioan yelled,"Why don't you come over to this side of the riverand fish?" The Kentuckian said, "1 don't have a rope, I don't have aboat, and there ain't nobridge. e.

"Well, I'll,take my How would 1 getacrogs?" 'The Ohioan said, flashlight and shine thelight ecrosg the 'cotton'and you can "You think I'm .mmlk across on therays."The Kentuckian said, you'll pretty dumb, don't you. I'll get halfway across and 11 * .,, turn the flashlightout." 5 3. Tho This joke explains thenon-thinking of the situation. inability to walk across onthe beams of lightis compounded the light out when . when he says thatthe other guy will turn he's half way.

Randy blew this joke inthat he said .rays. If he had said for beams . beams of light it would havebeen more acceptable, has more than one meaning.(Clements, p. 23. (E7.13))

in order to , .The ethnic slur canbe applied to state groups West Virginian express inter7staterivalries. The Kentuckian and Ohio, and the same jokes are widespread inthe southern part of of Ohio where jokes are told as"hillbilly" jokes in urban areas ethnic slur, Appalachian people havemigrated. As with'the European against a minority. they also expressprejudices and stereotypes were,collected by two The examples of Kentuckianjokes given here Which is lUst across the different studeuts inPortsmouth, Ohio, give excellent Ohio River fromKentucky.The following examples jokes. coatextual informationand' a brief analysis of the

top of thc shelf, Went to a place andthey had these brains on asked the clerk aboutthe there. This guy went in and he different prices of them.

"Well, this one is fromNew York--$15.00."

'"And how about the otherone?"

"Well, that one is ten dollars. That's from Washington."

"How about that one upthere? It looks nice andnew."

"Well, that one is fiftydollars."

"Fifty dollars: Why is that?"

"That is from Kentucky andit's,never been used." ,0`.11e't wk.,V olo, t.

going to Did you hear about the timehippies end they woke get married and theywen% to the priest. And they were really which one of you isthe strange looking. And he goes, "O.K., talkin' bride?"And they go, "Hen, wedon't know, what you're about.!'

He goes, "Well, which oneof you is thefemale?"

And they go, "Well, wedon't knowwhat you'retalkin' about."

.He says, "Well, let meput it this way."Hegoese"Which one of you has amenstrual cycle?"

And.the guy looks at thegirl and he goes,"Oh, it must be her. I ride a Honda."

(Collected from a female student, agenineteen from Lima she in 1973.) The teller identifiedwith this joke, because how the lived through the "hippieera."The joke comments on misunderstand the hippies liberalize theidentification of sex, Establishment, and live informallives. Because of her'Catho- the Establish- lic background, Saridaused a priest to represent with the hippies, aridhe's ment. The priest can't communicate finally forced to come down tothe simplest means ofcommuni- '11 Even in these simple termsthe hippie doesn't communication. words on a level that cate with the priest,and he interprets the he understands.

This same joke bringsiri an element, the menstrual cycle, whichis nOt usually mentionedin "polite society." In jokes all because of the joking sorts of sexualreferences are permissable context, and this perhapsexplains the preponderanceof "dirty jokes" found in our society. A mild example is thefollowing more joke about the little boyand the elephant but there are many which would offend justabout anybody.

There's this circus. And there's this elephanttrainer and And he's got an elephant. And there's a crowd fullof people. dollars to anybody he goes, "O.K. I'm going to give a thousand its hind in the audience that canmake this elephant stand on little eight legs." And everyLody justkind of sits there and a The year old kid raiseshis hand and he goes,"I can do it." trainer goes, "Come on up, myboy." So the little boywalks up And the there and he kicks theelephant square in the balls.

99 elephant jumps up on hiuhindlegs.. And the elephant .trainer goes, "Oh mygod."So, he had to give thekid 1,000 dollars.

So four years later, sameelephant irainr, same town, same circus. And the elephanttrainer's changed his act a HUI* bit, because he knowssomebody can make theelephant stand up on his hind legs. He says, give a thousand *ft dollars to anybody who canmake this elephant shakehis head kid raises his hand and yes andno." And so the 12 year old he looks he goes, "I can doit."Little kid walks up there and Remember me?" and at the elephant. And he goes,- "Elephant! the elephant nods hishead. "You want me to do thatagain?" And the Elephant shakeshis head.

(Collected from the same person asthe previous example.) She played the part ofthe boy very well. She demonstrated She his kicking, and sheshowed how the elephant reared up. showed no inhibitionsabout him kickingthe-elephant "square in the balls." The Structure of this jokeis interesting, because there are only twotrials. And the situations are and almost the same in both. It's long for an elephant joke, the stress is on theother characters ratherthan on the ele- inhibition and the innocenceof phant. It shows the lack of in children. It is acceptable for achild to exert violence being able to do what the sex. This is stressed by the boy trainer and the peoplein the audiencd\couldn'tdo. Children often react to sex in aviolent fashion, because society doesn't allow them to question itfreely.

Obscene jokes should be collectedfor what they tell usabout social-psychology; they revealmuch more than thepeople who tell of the Dirty Joke.) them realize. (See Gershon Legman, Rationale Traditional material cultureis often obscured by thewhims northwest Ohio can- of popular culture. The most casual visitor to farm houses that not escape noticingthe distinctive red brick loosely de- dominate the flat land. Built in a style that can be richly decora- scribed as VictorianItalianate, these large, often ted homes seem to beanything but folk types, butresearch zeveals form and construc- that many are to somedegree traditional in both subject of an intensive surveyby a tion. These houses were the Heidelberg College student, a surveythat perhaps would behelpful

10/1 :4; V' 4541. ktic.tptr . . , ,r$143, ..;;#'1 %.5,40,11 1 tdAW f f44.4:

f4,1

101 to describe in somedetail. "Sanduskyillver liasin This mes oneelement of the larger of mhich.was to ex- Projece sponsored6y the college, the purpose plore a'geographical areafrom a humanitlep*viewpoint; structures-that combined both popu- While she was dealinrwith develop a methodOlogyand lar and folk elements,the student had to to the study of any series of questionsthat wourd be applicable of the houses, it was necessary, building. In studying the form What mere the building's di-; of course, to determinethe floor plan. mhere were mensions; how many windowsand how were they placed; fireplaces and mhare mere the doors; how manyfloors; how many they located? dis- Problems of construction'led to a number of fruitful ehe area insisted that coveries. Many'of the older residents in possibly as ballast the bricks had beenimported from. the East, This is a good exam- in the boats that cWmedown the Erie Canal. A num- ple of folk theoryattaching itself tomaterial culture: materials used ber of brick buildingssupposedly construc.ted-Idth country: Researchers et as ballast arefound throughout the this mas the case; Jared Colonial Williamsburghave been assured

Golden his of pmespunl 4 van Waganen recounts asimilar theory.in The in.upstate New York; and a book dealingwith traditional practices of St. Genevieve, the same story is.offered onthe placemat "the oldest Missouri restaurants thatdescribe the history of persistence of the house west of theMisSissippi.". Despite the

. theory there is usuallylittle evidence to supportit. factorieS presently in the Yet the presence ofseveral brick materials are available now, area woutd suggestthat if the natural. well. Diligent they were very probablyused by early settlers as documents bore this out research into diariesand old construction As with --bricks were often fired onthe sight of the newhouse. the bricks amounted to the "raising" of thehouse frame, firing whole families who would something of a socialactivitiy including "

102

The bricks were form-. make bricks for severalbuildings at a time. with4lalt, pouring the t,51 ed- in the traditionalmanner---mixing mud in the sun, and mixture into wood molds,letting the brick hatden finally.firing it in a kiln: Sun drying later gave wayto a steam brick.factory took over. Soma- press method, andfinally the modern introduction of the steam where along theway---possibly with the . prese---the records suggestthat professionalbrickmakers super-. fired on the vised the kocess, althoughthe bricks were still sight. these homes is the Another significantstructural feature of use of theheavier log beamhalf-timber form of constrUction in- . In seek- stead of the new balloonframe introduced in the18301$. means'of building, . ing a reason for adheAngto this more expensive the'student researcher suggested that astronglitraditional feel- % building a eturdy ing that this was simplythe "right" way of following a "modern" house had prevailed---evenif the building is floor plan suggested.in amagazine.

The builders of thesehouses were of a Germanstock ind the only type the huge rafters andbeams represented to them Of structure that could beused to build a home fortheir sons and grandsonsand not just a housefor their present occupation. (Mary Ann Parr,Folk Patterns in RuralDomestic Architectures Seneca County,Ohio. 1973, HeidelbergCollege Library Archives, Tiffin, Ohio. p.18) houses, the Between the customary innerand outer frame of these builders used filler---usuallya mixtureof dirt, hay and gravel. filler be- "This WAS mixed dry or with waterand then 'daubed' in as 20) fore the inner wall wasplastered." (Parr, Folk Patterns, p. for The student researchergradually evolved a methodology Every her work which reflectedthe best in field worktechnique. house in a defined geographic areawas visuallysurveyed, documented on a form, andphotographed. Occupants were interviewed In- whenever possible; they inturn often suggestedother contacts. became terviewing was at first somethingof a hurdle but quickly -0., ,

103 t="1.

Student research- one of the mostenjoyable aspects of thestudy. the homes and ers wouldoften simplyknOck on the door of one of show a news release onthe introduce themselves,always careful to They wtie usually project that had been putOut by the college.. only a few cases welcomed then or invitedback later---there were would begin of unfriendly receptions.Generally the interviewer Xn many cases, with a few general commentsabout the project. house and this lednaturally owners wouldconduct a tour of the etc. While the students to questionsabout floor plan, structure, questionnaire, they had in mind were neverarmed with a forMal the house had been certain key questionsconcerning when and haw nature of built, the geographic originsof the builders,,the consulted. structural features and soforth. Local histortes were long standing werealso Owners and workers inconstruction firms of periodicals andbuilders' 'mapuals interviewed. Countless historic available literature onfolk were reviewedand compared to the architecture. Considerable time has been spent onthe study, because itis situations withwhich.material in many ways typicalof the kinds of northern Ohio--- culture researchers.mustdeal in an area such as of popular cult- structures and artifactswhich show the influences Thus, holies ure, but alsoreflect the folk heritageof the makers. entirely from the nine- which would appear tohave emerged almost actually were sur- teenth century magazinesand builder's manuals practice, and rounded by a'whole spectrumof traditional activity,

belief.

n3 .11'1°t:4MOOMIli.11M 4. .

1.04 A.

GeneralPopulati6 Chapter 61 Folklore among the Selected Bibliography

Ethnic-Regional Riddle. Brunvand, Jan, "SomeThoughtf on the Folklore3 (1970),128-142. . Jokes," Indiana Folklorei Jokes," BrunVand, Jan,-"TheStudy of Contemporary Fabhla, 13 (1972);1,-19. Biblio- Clemints, William M.,mayaLitulliollsilom, Series #3, FolkloreForum,.1969. graphical and.Special - Folklore Dundes,.Alan, "TheIlephant'JOking Question," Tenhessee 29 (1963), 40-42. . Society Bulletin, The Jew andthe.Polack Dundes, Alan, "AStudy Of EthnicSlurs: , American Folklore,84 in ihe UnitedSiates," Journal of Folklore irom thePaDerwork Dundes, Alan and'CarlPagter, Urban !bare, Austin, 1975.

i Berkeley, 1971. Hand, Wayland,...... ___,ASos,..num,AsericanFollcl

legman, Gershon, Joke, Second Series,New York, 1975.

Legman, Gershon;Rationale of theDirtyjattLAin_Anguiljlf, Sexual Humor, MewYork, 1968. Theory," Journal / Mullen, Patrick B.,"Modern Legend and:Rumor (1972), 95-109. of the FolkloreInstitutel. 9 'Other Ozark Folktales, Randolph, Vance,Pissinin the Snow and Urbana, Illinois,1976. Fine, Rumor andGossi : The Social Rosnow, Ralph L.and Gary Alan .Psychology of Hearsay,New York, 1976. The Polack Joke," Welsch, Roger L.,"American Numskull Tales; Western Folklore,26 (1967), 183-186. 71,10117.

( . i 105

!. CHAPTER 4., f RURAL AitAPPAIACHIAN. FOLKLORE 0.1

sAt a Although Ohio has many urban,intWatiial.::ienters, a largeipart of the of t4e statt is still ruraland agrarloin..e The4outhern part but even, State contains more extensiverural and:amall towd areas, in the north near such cities asTotedo-CieVeland, Akron, and Youngstown, there are farmingregions.- The folklore of theserural areas is distinctlydifferent from urban folkloreand is often tied in Ohio is linked to a .to farm life. Part of the rural folklore .particular regionalculture,'Appalachian. Kentucky are considered a part of - West Virginia and Eastern Appalachia,.but the distinctive folkculture associated with this 0 region does not stop at theOhio River; the southernOhio hill and crafts of Ap-. country also containsthe tales, songs, beliefs in- palachiaLTfie same English, Scottish,and Irish settlers came populating the to the area atapproxthately the same time they were migrations from Ken- Southern Appalachians. In addition to this, Teinforced the cultural strainsof *Southern tucky and West Virginia 0 Ohio, we observed manyfamilies Ohio. While collecting in southern with branches and close ties onboth sides of the river. Appalachian folk culture,though primarily ruraloriented has not stayed in the country; aspeople left the farms andmines and they brought their folk- came to the cityseeking better paying jobs, collecting opportunities lore with them. So that now some excellent Dayton,, exist among Appalachianmigrants in Cincinnati, Columbus, have taken and other cities all overOhio. Of course, some changes place in the lore; suchtraditional skills.as logCabin building have been forgotten, butother kinds oi folkloresuch as folk medi- Folklore cine ind music have survived. The Journal of American

publishe'd a special issue on The UrbanExperience and Folk Tradi- . collector of tion which contains muchuseful information for the Appalachian traditions in acity environment. Especially pertinent -6f:X,,.,1.;(1..,%A p ,-..s.- .!? ' : ;y.: . . * 4 .41

106

are EllenStekert's article "Focus forConflict: Southetn. Mountain Medical Beliefs in Detroit,"and.D. K. Wilgus'."Country-Western

Music.and the UrbanHillbilly." 40. Different problems will beetwountered collecting in the city , and the country, but we knowfrom experience that ruralpeople can be very warm and friendly OnceyclU 'get to Wow them. It is advisa- ble to know a person,in a isolated area:before you'try-to collect in it..This has usually worked for us; as soon asso-and-so's "cold" can name is mentioned,suspicions drop. Even starting out -be successful as long as you arefriendly and open and carefully explain who you are, where you arefrom, and what you arelooking working with pupire Erom an. Appa- fot. Teachers in southernOhio . lachian background have anadvanXage over outsiders.' The same is true of teachersin urban schools withpredominate- you are not already ly Appalachian enrollment. In .t.he cities,if a part of the group orknow soiieone who is,a,goodway to begin collecting is through communitrorganizations--schools, tettlement houses, governmental agencies community.re ation centers, etc. This has helped students to colect-tn Cblumbusince in most of these places a group is aLreaygEhhered tog her, and the 'milkers Again; you in these organizations areusually very eager to help. can go door-to-door orto local bars tvcollect, sometimes with good results, but there aregoing to be more dead-endsand more interested in understandingthe wasted time. If you are sincerely well before culture, time should be spentgetting to know the people collect items of folkiorc.. you actually 11* different kinds Rural and Appalachianculture is rich in many fully cover of folklore, and the fewexamples given here do not idea of some of the various genresavailable, but they do give an because it functions in the major kinds. Folk belief is important signs, planting lore, the eVeryday lifeoithe people as weather since it is vital and folk cures. The weather sips are numerous outdoors to know to farmers and otherrural people who work ".* NO?'11,: !IN

107

and be* what the weather is gotngto be. Many signs are empirictl bureau report. One lieved to be more4ependable thad the weather the moon is an widespread sign is that acircle or halo around an.addi- 'indication oi rain. Tais is frsuallytotally believed; but the circle tells how tion to it, that thenumber of stars inside ! readily believedbecause many /Jaysbefore..-it will rain, is not as 5. it does not seem asvalid.

Tile number of stits in the circlearound the moon is an indicator of how many daysit's going to be before itrains.

(Collected from a forty-five yearold part-time farmerin New Concord in1973by his son.) The collector's father re- little belief in it. latedth,is-5superstition, but noted he had circle around the He did believe thatthe.part regarding the In moon indicatingcoming rain was atleast partially true. farm when fact, the collector'canreCall sometimes on the rain wasn't wanted for afew days, theinfotmant)would remark One about a circle around,the moon,indicating coming rain. mais and Folk of the books which wasUsed in annotation, The this kelief Beliefs of-the SouthernNegro, tried to explain rationally, by saying thecircle arouTid the moon wascaused by'humihitr in the air, and varyinghtimidity would catise the circle size to vary,thus in a general wayshow how makf,( . voi. VI; Dorson, day% remained'before arain. (Brown, p. p. 335;Puckett, p. 516) farmerso! and they Weather signs 'aie especiallyimportant to of finding water to also have traditionalplantil signs and ways the phases of the moonfor aid in their work. Many farmers go by days on which to planting certain crops, orthere may be particular Supply is plant, such as turnips onthe 4th of duly. A good water important on any farm,and the folk belief in"wateT.-witching" information .on folk activities' fulfills this need.When collecting of such as water-witching, youstiould get a detailed description and specific in- the method involved as°well as degree of belief described in.the next stances when ft wasused. The watar-witching remembered from exampre is very detaileddespite the fact that-it was many years ago.

.1 ,

different than most. my father used towaterwitch in a way hazel bush, Because in the startthey used a branchfrom a wit forked twig bt a peachtree.... ,but he alwayi used apeach brancha the .open ends of a Yand and he would takethe two ends like of those ends ineach hold 'cm with thefork sticking up--one he came to the hand and walk slowly overthe ground and wben would start turningtoward place where water"was,that upper stick it.an' I know itearilbe done an' the ground. Now I seen him do a , certain-people are conductors it is explainedby the fact that that water generatesin the ground.....comes up of the force that everybOdy do it and I pre- through their body you see. Now csall have to believe in it tobe able tO de it. But I've sume you'd time the lady was so known several placeswhere he went and one chickens and all enthralled with'it and shekept bringin' him she was so happy thatthey sorts of thingsfrom the tarm because told her that he had at 'lastfOund water. And my father finally of that--he thoughtit wasno/magic'in. He didn't want no more honored.\ He also went overhere, was'getting embarrassingto be so College where the deafand dumb sehool.is. Now this to the Central 19i2 so you know years ago becausehe's been dead since happened fOund water for it'a long, long ago, buthe went over there and find water, but youknow that dotan themw Now you can't always the outer earth--the crustof the earth-- under the earth-7that magi- A'1ot o'f people thoughtit was mysterious and are:streams. fact that his body was a cal, but my fathersaid no--it was the conductor of thatkorce.

(Collected from an 83 yearold woman in Westervillein 1973.) rest of her familyhad' When I asked theinformant if any of the hereditary, she attempted water-witchingto see if the power was had tried it, andshe said that she didn'tknow that anyone else that because she was herself didn't like todabble in things like to stay com- afraid she would get tooinvolved, that she wanted pletely in the real uorld.(White, p. 174-8>

culture is folk medi- Another vital area offolk belief in rural mountains, people were soisolated that cine. In the Appalachian medical care was doctors and hospitals werehard to reach, and home People had ,such faithin based on traditional curesand medicines. the city, they cling to folk medicine that evenafter they move to Some of the folk their traditionalpractices and avoiddoctors. bracelets for arth- medicine was preventativesuch as wearing copper is well known and ithas been adapted ritis. In Ohio the buckeye as a preventativemedicine. .. N "::' . a: 1 ...1:?I. '0:1411,14t

109

If you keep a buckeye in your.pocket or any16/lace ot you, you won't have arthritis, or if yoU have it,it will go away.

from Portsmouth by . (Collected fram,a fifty-one year old.man his daughter in 1973.)lackeyes are prevalent in Portsmouth, and all over Ohio. So, in many cases, they are-oneof the ingredients in folk potions to cure ills ordiseases. Dad said that when he vat young, he knew manypeople, farmers mostly, Who carried buckeyes around in theirpockets to avoid arthritis oerheumatism. 'Dad, however, partly becauseof his education and exposure.to modern medicine0.no longerbeiieves that buckeyes haveAis effect. (Brown, p. 258, vol. VII) ,

Many students have reported this beliefai7 over Ohio. :There are also traditionalcures for snake bites, bee stings, warts, and myriad otherailments. One of the most common cures isthe poultice; the following example explains how oneelderly woman from Williamsport used to use poultices'for nailpunctures.

One time my sister was out in bhe strawshed .and a huntin' gettin' up there pullin' down birds' nests. You know how kids'll do. And she jumped off of the oldladder she was on and I don't think it was anything but a cratewhere some machinety had been on'a board that had unloaded. . . and she jumped down and jumped a nail in it and.it wentclear through her foot. The print of it was up here on the topof her foot (shows me).

[Mrs. Rushing goes on to explain that a Doctor Barneswas called to look at herfoot.]

After that we made poulticet. and weyentdown.to the old saw mill near Darbyville.

[Here Mrs. Rushing gives more details about Darbyville and about fainting when she saw hersister's foot.]

But we went to the mill and got woodashes and boiled the ashes in water and took that water andstirred corn meal in it and made a poultice and we poulticedthat foot until it drawed all that, it drawed! It would draw the insides out ofanything!

(Mrs. Rushing then told of another instance in whichher young daughter was stuck by a pitchfork tinebetween her toes. She ad- ministered the same poultice and"never called the doctor.":1 110

Now people tocray-tion!t believethingsslike that hardly. But me did it I expeci\if anything really seriousmoUld happen. to me I'd do it yet today if Icould get a hold of wood ashes. Because I do know that iewas just somethingin that there was a lye. Lye was in the ashes and ah then youstirred the corn meal in the water after you drained itoff of the ashes you see and then you poulticed it.

(Collected from an 88 year old woman in Williamsportin 1973.) Obviously Mrs. Rushing believes in this cure,and besides all the details included she also mentionedthe scientifid basis behind the cure--the drawing power of thelye in the ashes. In attempting to annotate this, I foundseveral cures for cuts and punctures which tided ashes and sootbut none called for corn meal to be added as an agent to holdthe treatment to the wound.

This example is a good model for thecollection of folk cures since it gives not'just a simplestatement of the cure but goes on to give detailed instances ofwhen the cure was used, thusproviding a vivid pictureof the importance of the folkloreand a clearer understanding of-its meaning within the culture. Ideally this is the way to collect longeritems of folklore as well, give theentire context in which the item occurs..When collecting folk tales; for instance,it mould 'be best to have a description ofithe story-telling situationindicating exactly how particular story came about, theconversation beforehand and the reaction to the story 4fterwards. This is not always possible, of course, sincn usually acollector will ask for 'stories and get a whole series of tales told for the purposeof recording. If at all possible, 4.t is more valuable to record anactual story-telling session as it would natuzally occur inthe community. Although the following foIktale was not collected at astory-telling session, it is typical of the traditionaltall tale popular in Appalachia and all over the United States wherefolk raconteurs are found.

I usied to have this old hound,and we was out hunting one day, when this old dog ruri into a barbedwire fence, and it cut him wide open. But I grabbed him up, and stuckhim together--two :;t

feet up and two down. That thineerun on two feet atlittle while, and then turn.around and run on the.other two.

(Collected from a sixty-four year old man in Chesterville in 1973.) The traditional split dog story comesfrom the group of huhting and fishingwindiea and fool yarns. It has been collected in many forma, including aNew Mexicanized Version in the westdrn locale. The storyteller has personalized the stor:', and the dog has becone a hillhound. Dor- son collected the storyin. Pennsylvania, whore the dog ran into a sapling splinter, and outranrabbits by turning cart- wheels. The split dog story is Type 1889L,"The Split Dog," and Motif X1215.11, "Lie; the splitdog." (Dorson I, pp. 44, 108, 29; Brunvand, p. 115)

In classifying such stories it isimportant to consult The 7Yoes of the Folktale.by StithThompson and Antti kerne and The Motif-Index of Folk Literature by Stith Thompsonin order to establish their place in tradition and toprovide a basis for comparative study with folktales around theworld. This variant of the split dog story has been indexed inboth*the Tale ape

and Motif-Index and can be compared toAmerican and international , variants. Another tall tale told by a woman also has along tra-

: ditional life behind it. ,

What about that guy that came to the creek,and he hadn't killed no game.all day? Hadn't caught no game all day, and he thought he was going to have to go.home without any gameat all. And he come to a creek, and, said, hestarted over across that creek, and he had his britches legs tied. And as he went across that creek, he felt something down inhis pants, you know, and it was fish! Down in his britches, because tilt legs wastied, and they couldn't get out. He got almost to the other side, and he looked and seen a big old bear coming upthere, and that liked to scared him to death. And, all at once, his britches had got so full of fish, that thebutton popped off his pants, and said, it hit that bear right between the eyes, andhe got all them fish, and a bear, too.

(Collected from a woman age thirty-nine ftom Centerburgin 1973.) This is a version of possibly thebest-known of all Arro, erican tall tales, the Wonderful Hunt. It is Motif number X1112, "Hunter catches fish in boots whilewading," with the interesting

111 112

twist of catching them in his pantsinstead: In Dorson, the motif was combined with that of catchingbirds' legs in a split' \ limb. (Dorson, p. 82)

Besides the tales, Appalachian folk cultureis als9 well known for its ballads and folksongs. In Ohio, the ballad tradition has been strong as attested to by theresearch.of Miry O. Eddy and Anne Grimes. Mary Eddy's collection is entitledBillads and Songs from Ohio; Anne Grimes sifts soine of the songsshevhas collected on Folkways Record(FH 5217), "Ohio State Ballads." One of the historical ballads which she collected fromJohn M. Bodiker of Colum- bus is called "Battle of PointPleasant."

Battle of Point kleasant

On the tenth day of October In Seventy-four, which caus-ed we; The Indian sav'ges they did cover The pleasant banks of the Ohio.

Judgement proceedsjto execution-- Let fame throughout all dangers go; Our heroes fought with resolution Upon the banks of the Ohio.

The battle beginning in the morning-- Throughout the day it lasted so, Till the evening shadow were returning Upon the banks of the Ohio.

Seven score lay dead and wounded, Of champions that faced the foe; By which the heathen were confounded Upon the banks of the Ohio.

Colonel Lewis and some noble captains, Did down to death like Uriah go; Alas! their heads wound up in napkins Upon the banks of the Ohio.

Kings lament the mighty fallen Upon the mountains of Gilboa; And now we mourn for braveHugh Allen Far from the banks of the Ohio. 't-Aytirc ..;'11211V:11).*...to0 'Tor:4:f? k "' ."-stPt ki Trigor...:4, . D. r i!

A4r% * .

. I

1 113

Oh! bless ate mighty King of Heaven, For all his:wondrous worksbelow,' Who hath to us the victory given Upon the banks of the Ohio.

It has been said that the first andlast shots of the.Revo- lution were fired in the "OhioCountry,!' the first Weing in Lord Dunmore's War, 1774, out of which camethe pioneer ballads of the Battle of Point Pleasantand ,Logan's'Lament. ! Actually, the war did not involve the strugglebetween Britain and the volonies. It was the Indians fighting for Ohio land, promised them by the British,against Virginians, already hunting, surveying and, even,"squatting" there:

The frontier was "up in arms," withviolence and killing on both sides. Finally, the Virginia Royal Governor, LordDun- more, himself a landspeculator, decided to crush the Ohio tribes by destroying the Shawnee towns onthe Scioto River, (In present Pickawy County). Assembling the 'militia at Fort.Pitt, .he was to meeerColonel Andrew Lewisand some eleven hundred frontiersmen on the Ohio River at themouth of:the Kanawha at Point Pleasant. But Dunmore took another route. And the Lewis orce WAS attacked atPoint Pleasant by nearly a thousandShaw- nees, led by theirskillful Chief Cornstalk. A desperate a/1- ,day battle followed, with more whitecasualties than Indian. But the Shawnees withdrew at dusk,concedint a hard-earned victory to the Virginians.

A text of the Battle of Point Pleasant wasprinted in Henry Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio,"(Vol. IX, p. 411), ai Howe heard it sung in 1844 by"an old West Virginia mountaineer."

.1 have found many Ohioans who haveheard of the ballad, which is sometimes called "The ShawaneseBattle," but / WAS unable to find a version with a tune, until JohnM. Bodiker, of Columbus "put together the air," as it was sung in hisPaulding County Family.

Mrs. Grimes' continuing field researchindicates that the folk ballad tradition has not died out inOhio. Two.young field collectors, David Taylor and David Brose,have also had success in finding ballad singers and old-timey musiciansin Ohio. Students at Ohio State have beensuccessful in finding musicians who play folk instrumentals whichhave been influenced by recotded hillbilly music. This kind of music had its roots infolk tradition

113 a 114 and is performed in rural and small towncommunities today, much as the older folkmusic was 50 years ago. Folkloristsh*ave shown an increasing interest in folk-orientedhillbilly music and there are several books and many articlms available tothe student (see bibliography).Timothy Lloyd, a former folklorestudent at Ohio State, and now state folklorist of Ohio, hasdone extensive research with a folk musicianfrom southern Ohio, Sam Bowles. Sam plays fiddle, guitar, dobro and banjo in a traditional stylemuch influenced by recorded hillbilly music. Tim made several recordings of Sam playing and also reCorded extensive interviewswith him about his back- grOnnd, influences, attitudes toward his music and so forth.The interview method lends itself to this kind ofmaterial better than the item-context method.

Ll4d: When was it that you started playing?

Bowles&When I was about six years old.

Lloyd:.And what instrument was itthat you started on?

Bowles: Well, I...the first initrument that Ilearned to play on was the violin and thenfrom that to a banjo and then from that to a guitar....just kept on increasingthe proposition.

Lloyd: What musicians did you hear when you werestarting to play that you liked?

Bowles: Well,. at the time Z listened to a lotof bluegrass music from Nashville, Tennessee such as...well, Ican't remember all of them, but Mainer's Mauntaineers was one, and Bill Monroe, and, well,..they had a group onthat they called the Fruit Jar Drinkers, and...Idon't know...any sort of those from Nashville,Tenntlsee.

Lloyd: Did you ever listen to any people whowere...uh...playing blues music?

Bowles: Well, not too much, no. I...now I used to listen to Jimmie Rodgers records when he was famous,but that's about all of the blues music thatI've paid too much attention to at thç present time.

11A .,1" 't \

.115

Lloyd: How did you first.get to the pointwhere you came out of, playing in the country and got into playingfot a little more wider audience?

Bowles: Well, uh, the reason why I.did...Ididn't know, uh, at the time, thAt, uh, that the majority ofpeople was en- joyin' the type of music that .I was playin'. But, otherwise, I was in the country and I waswelkin' up and darn the'road playin' music. I and a buddy of mine, so: uh, then I got to playin'.for dances, square.dances; soforth like that', and ft made a little wideraptead to it, aee? goin'; they got to pickin' me up for dances anCbigger congregations, and the firstthing you knowed, I was pretty much on the line ofbein' away from the country; but...I went o the tawn, but Ididn't let the country 'Igo out of me. I'alwayt kept the style of\the country; makes no difference where I was.

'The interview method is also effective for reporting field For instance, one student interviewed a search in folk crafts. . group of ladies about theirquilting, and she found different folk names fot the quilts aswell asithe methods they used and their attitudes toward the skill.

tbllector: How do you quilt in the center?

L.B. We roll it. We roll from the end. We quilt up to here and then we undo these and roll it upfrom both sides and just keep rolling till we get to the centerof it. It's interesting work. We wish that a lot of young people like you would be interested in it. You can take little scrags of material that you have leftfrom your

sewing and just create something beautifulfrom them. . You should save'em.and start your quilt. There's so many nice patterns.and I think it's wonderful when you can take something which is of no use whatsoeverlike a little scrap of material and work it up intosomething pretty.

Collector: Well, this is a friendshipclu4t. Are there any other kinds of quilts?

L.B.-- Oh, yes, we have lots of names, We have, well, that pink and white one there, that's the wild rose. And that pieced one, I don't know whatyou'd call that. Some of'

115 iPi41:+1'9P4:;g: .A *

116

them are the Irish chain, the double Irishchain, the Dresden plate, the'flower garden, star, double wedding.ring. u

1 CollectOr: Axe they given for special occasions?

L.B. No, someone just likes the pattern and-theypiece a quilt of it. I've got a palm leaf at home.The palm leaf is green.

Collector: It ought to be pretty. I've never sein one of those.

L.B. - It is pretty. Getting kind of old now. They did a cross-stitch rose desiin here, just beautiful. All over embroidered.

Quilting is among the mostuniversal of folk traditions, not really the domain of any one particular group. However, it has certainly.been a popular practice among thosepeople coming front the Appalachian Mountain traditions, *and it istherefore appropriate to speak of it here. Quilting, like spinning and weaving, is one of the,textile crafttraditions currently being enthusiastically n revived." Mountain women are nowmaking patchworkpillows; quilts and clothing to be sold for high prices-indesigner saloni; home magazines suggest that quilt tops can be usedfor decorating as .tableclothes and slipcovers.. Obviously, an old.tradition has made an abrupt shiftinto mainstream culture---a shift that hasdictated both a change in con,- struCtion and use. Recently, several ladies responded indignantly to anarticle that had appeared in a quilting periodical;the article had spoken of quilting today as a revival of an almostlost skill, a new.art. The letter writers, all quilters, pointed outthat quilting had been alive and well for some time---anenduring if quiet tradition. in a revealing statement, onelady commented: When outer-directed 'people take upcrafts it is a 'discovery' to them and they go at these activities in a conscious way, enrolling in classes, etc. The

116 r /Jr.? 44 ktt. 1 .

117

whole thing is new to everyone they knolf, thepeople they know hear the same lectures, so it seemsthat everyoneis doing or saying oi planning the same thing. As a rule the solid core ofeXpert draftsmen are more inner-directed,doing what they do for their own reasons in their owntime...good-solid work has always been'turned Out in a fairly steadystream, but made to use it gets morn out 'end disappears. Quilt making is not really-in any' period !f transition. It is. the new discoverers of theocraft who4lay ndtbe sure . which direction they want totake14.0 their craft... t (Letter to the editor by Harriet Hand", Quilter's Newsletter, #43, May, 1973Leman Pubs:,-,Wheatridge, Col.)

Another letter writer adds:

Everyone is getting into the quilt game(including. Artists). But I'm a purist who believes first a quilt should be a bedcovering, and if it is not ableWbe used as such, should not be called sucbt:(Letter to the editor by Helep Ericson, Out/ter's Newsletter,#43, May, 1973.)

These comments'are applitablo to any crafttraditiono.and while this is ndt the,place to engage in a philosophicaldiscussion of .art and craft, it is atleast important-for the collector to be aware of these questions. Howdoes the craftperson view the product; what is its function; what is considered"pretty" or decors- tivel Today, countless books, articles andmuseum catalogs tell the story of quilting. Local museums are a godd starting point for an examination of the historic quilts, but as theladies quoted above note, quilting is an active tradition. One good.place to start looking for quilters is in the local.churches---isthere a sewing circle that makes and/or finishes quilt tops? (Other traditional crafts are also practiced by church groups. The Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus, for example, has, for the past twenty years,been making rag dolls, using the patternfollowed.by the church circle one hundred-years ago.) What individuals or groups enter quilts in 118

focal fairs? BA aware of special events, such as the Mennonite Re- lief Auctions in Kansas and Pennsylvania for which Mennoniteladies from all over the cOuntry work on quilts.. Mennonites have settled in various parts of Ohio and maintain a college at Bluffton. What is the quilt pattern called?The "Sunflower" can be called "Indian Summer" by some and "Broken Circle" by others. In- fect, the etymology of quilt names is in itself a "fascinatingstudy for the folklorist. The "Ohio Star" becomes the"Lona'Star" on'the "Texas Star" with a slight change in the use of the color. Has the quilter purchased her pattern, drafted it from another, or designed it herself? Have any,changes occurred in the pattern? Does the pattern or color choice reflect an ethnic tradition(the large, colorful work of the Pennsylvania Germans for example, or the dramatic dark colors of.the Amish)?How did the quilter learn her skills; does she have any special "tricks of thetrade" for keepidg the thread from knotting, removing small blood stains from herwork? What kinds of fabric are used?How does the quilter view her finished product---a functional item for household use, a depprative piece?What is the finished prodUct-rdoes it depart fromtraditional quilting practices? Is the work finished by group effort---a"bee"? An excellent beginning project for a teacher interested in intrOdu- cing a class to audio-visual collecting techniques is the recording of a quilting session. The making of a quilt is, and always has been, a creative act and the above questions are not intended to suggest that there is a "right" way to produce aquilt. However, like other aspects of 1 folk life, that creativity functions within a traditional context. It has been a domestic craft, often the occasion for a social event, the final product being an article of practical use in the homeof the creator or someone within the lifestyle of the creator. It is, in short, something which bears her.personal mark---her concept of what is pretty, well-made, and useful. When.the quilter beginA fabricating for a eommercial market, she must meet the demands of . :I: * .1"7-1 **.

al# 119

that market-- -the "outer-directedness" towhich the wTitpr referredi and she develops au entirelydifferent view of her craft. To make field research of suchcrafts complete it isaiso good to take photographs andmake drawings of the process andthe final-product. In some cases this isiMpOssible, as when an in- 41.1 formant tells about aparticular6craft from memory: This was the situation withthe folk toy described below. The 'corn cob doll could still be easily made, butthe availability of factory produced dolls makes it unnecessary. A

To make a doll, they would take a corncob and cover it with a scrap of cloth, making along, full skirt, and then drew the face on the cloth. It was treated as a doll despite its lack of arms and legs.

(Collected from a sixty-two year old womanin Lancaster in 1973.) The informant spoke with stubbornpride about making her own toys, although admittingthat they were not able to afford "store bought" ones. She was pleased, now,thit she had, for being a widow, she said,it helped her to know how to do things herself. with This was a cheap, inexpensive, wayIo prbvide children .S a wide rangeof dolls, if desired ? and costlittle more than a bit of time. (Brown, p. 232)

Some traditional kecipes are also notprepared anymore in modern surroundings even thoughthey could *be. The recipe for poke salad was remembered by a womanfrom an earlier time when she lived in the country, but she nolonger makes it because ofthe unavailability of theprhie ingredient, the poke weed.

Recipe for Poke Salad

1. Poke is a weed and it growswild around railroadtracks, rivers, etc. 2. Pick the leaves. Wash them. 3. Cook the leaves in boilingwater for about 35minutes. 4. Drain the leaves. 5. Fry them in skillet withbacon grease, onions, and eggs. 6. Serve with cornbread.

1 Trikt

120

\ (Collected from a fifty-six year old Woman nurs in 'Cincinnati in 1973.) The informant remembered eatin this espcially in her childhood. She has not eaten it or prepared it for_several years because poke doesn't grow very well in the city. She also said

that it tastes the best when bacon grease is substitutedwith lard . from razorback hogs which have been fed on acorns,chestnuts, or'. hickory nuts. (Brown, vol. I, pp. 273-4) (variant) .

Poke salads are still made in rural areas, but onlythe memory remains to people who have moved to thecity. The knowledge of how to build a log cabin is still remembered but not practiced by a 96 year old retA..ad carpenter fromWalnut Creek, Ohio. A folklore student interviewed the man about the

- various traditional skills involved, and even though it has been many years since he has built one, he stillvividly remmmbers many of the details, such as how to mix the mud and straw for thechink- ing of the cabin.

We'd mix mud and straw for the chinking, that's the filler

between the logs. . . noneof the fellers liked doin' it. . . We'd find us a good wet place arid put a bunch of corn there, then we'd cover the corn with straw and then with mud, blue clay if

it was handy. . . then we'd turn in the togs and,you know they'd start rooting for that corn and mix that mud and strawtogether

faster than any man could. .

He made it very clear that no one liked mixing the chinking because it was a very dirty job. They knew that pigs would root in search of food from their observance of thepigs' habits. In earlier times animals were used for other purposes than just food and pets; if a job could be done by an animal that would lessen the workload of a man, the ani-dal generally got the job.

The Pennsylvania Germans brought with them to Ohio a number of distinctive materialculture traditions: architecture, folk art (fraktur painting), and cooking among ethers. Although they settled throughout the state of Ohio, the Pennsylvania Germans had perhaps their greatest impact in the south, where the"bank barn" and three-story house are common sights. William Schrieber, in a study that concentrated on the Wayne County area, described the house type: 1!! ,..1.%1;14:;,:''' s NC -1. sf

41, ; 'AA!

This house is easily recognised by its basement entrance 4 into the 'kitchen and cellar, and by the,perfect'symmetry in its lpper,stories.The porch across the full length of the first floor it countered in the rear bythe pantry and the bedroom of the parents. The well-lighted and well- ventilated upstaits serVes as sleeping quartersfot the numerals family. (WM. Sehrieber, "The PennsylvaniaDutch Bank Barn in Chios"jgzngLgLthgjatLtloljjaxgjtagjjaxc, 18.)

These houses are generally made of wood, although somebrick or stonedwellings can also be found. The "Pennsylvania Bag* Baxn" is an especially popular one in Ohio, again, most prevalently in the southern"sections of,the state. AA described by William.Schrieber, this barn is "rectangular, multi- level with'a cantilever overhangingOr extended forebay, overshoot or projection. above the groundfloor. It can therefore be entered at different levels, access to the second storybeing mainly from a broad bank or ramp on one side." (Ibid p. 19)Within this general description are a number of yariations that seem to be related primarily to the date of construction. Thus, the pitch of the roof, the number and,style of the windows, and certain decorativefeaiures changed somewhat over the century'as farmers adapted to the conditions of the new region. As with oral traditions, one must ask questions ofarchitecture

also. In the case of a house,whaeis the basic floor plan; how many doors and windows are there and what is thtir location;how many floors does the building have?Are theie any additions to the original building? What sort of roof does it have? What are the details of its construction; what sorts of materials were used in thebuilding? What relationship does the building have-to others around it; what is its position with regatd to neighboring roads and waterways? We should ask similarquestions of barns; floor plan, style of roof, location of doors and windows, etc. How is the barn raised and by whom?How are the timbers joined; what are the distinctive features

12i 122

of unstruction? How is the barn used?How is the barp ventilated (for example, barns with brick walls*rill sometimes have open brick- : What work ventilation)? Does the barn connectwith other buildings? color.is it---in Ohio, barns arepredominatly white. Is there any external decoration, such asthe gdametric designs erroneously called

by popular media "hex designs?" . . . Nearly all the traditional houseand barn types canbe found throughout Ohio, although some areless clearly tied to aspecific group than thePenasylvania German examples.Thestandard I-house (generally a two-story, one room deep, two roomwide building, with . the Tecentral or twa external gablechimneyt) is a popular form in southern part of the state, aprOduct of both southernind mid- Atlantic migrations. Henry Glassie.furthernoted the presence of also probably a some log cabins withexternal gable and chimneys, consequence of movementfrom the South.(Henry Glassie,. Patterns in the Material Culture of the 4:istern United States(Phil., U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1968), p.156)s To the north, houses are oftennot as traditionalin form, in keeping with the generally more"progressive" materialcultUre prac- be found. tices of that region, althoughclassic types can certainly Log cabins still dot thelandscape, sometimes covered by a brick or bne-and-a-half-story frame lumber.facade. A certain distinctivd house is also fairly common,especially in Seneca and Crawford Counties: Atiqe#, ki.,44titSVARAMPr84' itt .A . . . . A .

dk .

Axchitecture t.

v.\ \

. . 1."

6 f OVA*.

One and a half story, WI) door frame houee-(one room deep), P. Highway 100, Crawford County. A siMilar house, with two end chimneys, is Ideated one half mile west. (see Glessie, Patterns in Materiar Culture...., p. 129 and RoberLs.in Folklore and Folklife, "Folk Architecture," pp. 286 and287.37-

The houses are characterized by two front doors, described by one folklorist.as a.traditional pattern in the Midwest.(Warren, Roberts,,"Folk Architecture," in Folklore and Folklife (R. %von) (Chicago: V. of Chicago Press, 1972) p. 287) An occasional lean-to or "salt box" house can also befound, a directlegacy from New England. As in the south, the 1-house and its variants are a com- f ..mon type in both towns and rural areas. I. T.Frary, a noted Ohio architectural historian, generalized about house types in the northern part of the state and noted the floorplans:

The average large house of the north had a rather narrow central hall running from front to back, with,two rooms,on either side. (1. T. Frary, Early Homes of Ohio (New 'York: Dover, 1970 ed, orig. 1936) p. 143

In other words, a basic Georgian-influenced house of English

.123 N

. 124 le 0,4 tradition, carried through'themid-Atlantic states. AIwide" hall vas moreCommon in the Eastern antecedents. !?.

The imaller house was more apt tohave a smail hall at one side connecting with the various rooms.(I. T. Frary, Es_srly r Ames glohj2 (New Yorks Dover1970 ed., orig. 1936}ii.-143

Again, a Georgian-influenced variantof,the Predictably, the "English Barn" hasgenerally been,the most popular style in the flatnorthern sectors ofihe state.The most traditional form of this barn ise'one level building with two large doors in each of the sidewalls; however, in the Midwestthere fr are occasionallyEnglish barns built on the sideof a hill, creating a "lean-to" structure. In some areas, a verytraditional series of small window over theside door serves bothVentilation and lighting purposes. Also be on the lookout for anoccasional door in the gable.end as well asthe sides Roof styles, of Course, vary---gambrel and simple gablebeing the most common. Outbuildings on a farm, in addition tobeing significant for What their sturCtural elemeutstreveal much of the farm life. activlties and specialtieshave been importafit? Axe there wash houses/ woodsheds, cornCribs, smoke houses, spring houses, root cellari, "special" barns suchai tobacco barns?Again, what is the floor plan; what materials havebeen used in the construction; are there distinctive features such ashoods over the doorway:What is the relation of these buildings toeach other, the house and the main barn? Schrieber, for example, found a fairly consistentpat- tern in south ,central Ohio:

By far the greater numbers of barns standwith the longitu- dinal axis north and south, with a shelteredbarnyard to the east, and just as frequently theystand at right,angles to the house which faces south. The farmhouse, often without windows toward the west, offers a 'coldshoulder' to the elements. The prevailing winds are from the west andthe southwest. The barn t. c)

125

on the other hand,shows Its doors to the elements.Oichrieber, p. 200

In the rural areas of CoshoctonCounty one finds the "straddle" arrangement typical of up stateNev.; York---the house is on one side of the road lacing the barn onthe other. Questions such astheseeinevitablY *lead to Alspussion of farm agricul- implements. One of the best places to find traditional tural tools is often againin the local museum. The A. Allen County Museum in Lima has anexcellent collection which revealsthe agricultural history of the area. Often., such historical societies have members who recallthe use of the tools and theactivities of eke farmer's yeat---butchering, cheesemaking, harvest time. The old-fashioned threshing ring, afestive event of the harvest,is A custom once common tosouthwestern Ohio, butnow vanished. a

126,

Chapter 7: Rural and Applachian Folklore. ' Selected Bibliography

Abrahams, Roger and George Foss,Aegjo-AmericanFolksong Style, Englewood Cliffs, N..J., 1968.

Boatrightt Mody, Folk Laughter on theAmerican Frontier New York, 1949.

Child, Francis James, The Englishand-Scottish Popular Ballads, reprinted, New York, 1966.

Combs, Josiah. H., Folk-Stings from theKenlaskyllisbiladi, 1939.

Coffin, Tristram P., The British-Traditional Ballad inNorth America, Philadelphia, revised ed.,1963.

Eaton, Allen H., Handicraftsoethe Southern Highlands, New York, 1937.

Eddy, Mary O., Ballads and Slongsfrom Ohio, 1939.

Glassie, Henry, Folk Housina in MiddleVirginia:. A Structural Analysis Of Historic Artifacts,Knoxville, 1976,

Glassie, Henry, "The Types of theSouthern Mountain COin,n in Jan Brunvand, The Study ofAmerican Folklore,"New ; York, (1978), 391-420.

Greenberg, Andrea, "AmericanQuilting," Indiana Folklore, 5 (1972), 264-279.

Hall, Carrie A. and Rose G.Kretsinger, The liomance of the . PatchworkQuilt in America, Caldwell,Idaho, 1936.

Hand, Wayland, D.,AziedinericanFolkt.n Berkeley, 1976.

Hastings, S. E., "ConstructionTechniques in an Old Applachian Mountain Dulcimer, Journal ofAmerican Folklore, 83 (1970), 462-68.

Laws, G. Malcolm, AmericanBallad rom BritishBroadsides, Philadelphia, 1957.

Laws, G. Malcolm, Native AmericanBalladry, Philadelphia, 1960.

1 96 I+ es. .. V

127

II 0

Lightfoot,,William E., "1 Hardly Ever Miss aMeai Without Eating Just a Little': Traditional Sorghum-Making in Western Kentucky," Midsouth Folklora,'1 (1973), 7-17.

Malone, Bill C., Country Music UtSIALL A Fift0ear Historx, Austin, 1968.

Montan,Lynwood, Ghosts ulong the,CumberinakWadattl the L_sxjLostj_KencIIM.stKnoxville, 1975.

Paredes,Am4rico and Ellen Stekert,"eds., The Urban Experience Folk Tradition, Austin, 1971:

Pearsall, Marion, "Communicating with the Educationally Deprived," Mountain Life mnd WOrk, 42 (1966), 8-11.

Roberts, Leonard, 1421_11Leth_lettlers: Folkson s and TI121 4. sx.)___...... a4ounteinFatofaKentucletil, Austin, 1974.

Seeger, Charles, "The Appalachian Dulcimer," Journal of American Folklore, 71 (1958), 40-51.

Wigginton, Eliot, ed., The Foxfire Book, Garden City, New York, 1972.

Wilgus, D. K., g11.c.31&JcscotAnlo-ericarAmIScIol.arshipSince 1898, New Brunswick, N. J., 1959. ,

4. * 6 1,28

cainER Inn

AFRICAliseAMERICAN FOLKLORE l

Folktore.of the black populationof Ohio is a unique blendof modern southern rural traditions whichhave been implanted 'here and urban,lore which whilebaswion older materials emit out of the experience of blacks in,the cityenvironment ofth;s north.. Black.' folk traditions of,both kinds areextremely rich in Ohio, andfolk- lore students at:Ohio Statehave had notable successin 'collecting other greups, living African.7,Americad lore. As with the folklore of black folklore hasbeen.iniluenced by popular culture and mass ;media, but black expressive culturehas:been extremely effectivein adapting foik andpopUlar-strains to form viable newexpressions. , older blues Such is the case with"soul music" which is based od forms and maintains the emotional coreof blues white.ai the same time using contemporary soundsto appeal to a widepopular audience,/ The same can.be said of moderngospel music which combinestraditionc techniques and al themes'andstructUres of folk spirituals with new arrangements. A studentinterested in black folkculture should be aware of thesenewer manifestations offork forms.- folk- It-has been an idealisticassumption on thepart of some through folk-. lorists that a greaterunderstanding of black cultUre lore on the part of.whiteswould lessen theprejudices of2Whites toward blacks. lie have semithis-happen on a small scalewith stu- students.left with a greater dents iniolklore Classes where white 'had formerly mis- respect for blackcultural-expressions which they n'It just fromreading books understood. Their new understanding came collection project and en- on black culturebut from doing a field countering black people directly on apersonal level.This*teaches This t.hem'more about the culture thanreading about it ever could.

high school, . principle could work-at anyeducational level--college, from black stu- evenplementary school. White students can collect work both dents and their families,and the cultural exchange can 1. .r 129

4 wayi. fine collections ofblack - Whitestudents'have turned in some the black studentshave folkloreallt.Ohfo Siate, but,to be honest, folklore. 'The reasonsfor this. done betterin c011ecting their own between the races wouldimpede the 'Should be obvious;the barriers

./ student would be more white student collector;wheteas the blaCk she would havt a readily accepted in theblack communitY and he op styles from the more thoroughknowledge of black attitudes and-life from family beginning. The blaCk studentsusually:start collecting students iind thit a .and friends in theirOwn community; and.white stddents .good way to,startcollectingalso. In fact, many times friends.better after having sof that they getto know their black have found that elder-. collected from them. Also the white students from, and older ly black people are easy toapproach and collect traditional lore.over people have accumulated awider repertoire of the years. in both rural and As was pointed outbefore, traditions-exist familiar with' the urban environments, andthe student should be the' differdnt kinds of folklorefOund in each. The bibliography at with, but end of this chapter iists manyexcellent books to start editor, probably the best generalintroduction is Alai Dundes, Readints in the latuattl: Mother Wit From theLaughing Barrel of rural tion of AfroTAmericatiFolklore. This book gives examples white folklorists and and urban lore plusanalyses by black and scholars. the country and African-American folkbelief is found today in it.is rural, but it has proved in the city. The source of much of bit of over- adaptable to city surroundings. There is also quite a folk beliefs lap with rural whitefolk belief. Many of the same One belief-- are found incollections of white Andblack folklore. is pregnant herbaby will if a woman craves acertain food while she food--has been reported be born with a birthmarkshaped like that

129 130

and Italian in collection projects onAppalachian, Afro-American, superstition from an folklore. AD Ohio-SkAtestudent collected a although he is original- elderly black' man who nowlives,in Columbus from both Afro-American ly from the country. His item was annotated (Hand and Ran- collections (Puckett) andWhite Southern collections , dolph).

Don't let a cat sleep inthe house. It'll puck:your breath away.

'(Collected from an eighty-eightyear old manfrom Columbus The informant asked If Ihad a cat and I said yes in 1972.) "Well, and that he usuallyslept with me. He smiled and said, He seegted.to enn it looks to me as ifyou're still breathing." ofithe falsity of joy both hislittie joke and the verification strengthen his the "superstition.".Incidents like this one that" atid give him position 'that he has"gotten away from all to voice again hisfaith in religion. He seems an opportunity he once reinforcements.Maybe because he knows to need these because there are did believe in the"superstitions' and maybe 470; still those he adhers to. (Hand, no. 267; Puckett, p. Randolph, p, 205)

totafly be- Another folk cure collectedfrom the same man is lieved; th cure isalao given as an examplein the preceding chapter on rural andAppalachian folklore.

Carry a buckeye to.getrid of arthritis. when the inform- We had beendiscussing'squirrels and walnuts antreferred to Ohio as theBuckeye State. He then quickly remem- his belief in it. bered the turementioned abbve and conveyed other beliefs surrounding The remembering ofthis cure triggered illustrates very well howthe items the buckeye. This situation conversations if time of folklore emergednaturally from our This method was much moresuccessful than direct were taken. into that questions asking forexamples. The cure itself fits discovered-a realm of ailments forwhich science has pot yet tn same device to re- remedy and so individualsput their faith 330; Hand, no. lieve their own discOmfort oranxiety. (Dorson, p. 1995, 2001; Puckett, p.360; Randolph, p.153) '" 4 . *

131

.These folk beliefs whickhavea rural originare usually-found among older blacks in the city or the countty. Younget blacks., tend to reject. them although therepay be some knowledge of them.. Ttaditional recipes were also-brought by-blacksmigrating.from. the South into Ohio. Traditional black cooking hascome to be called "soul food," and the orifin.of itwas in slavery timeo When the slaves received only theworst cuts of beef or pork. For in-. . stance, the slaves were given the intestines Ofthe hog, and these became chitterlings,or "chittlins." Many blacks in Ohio still codk chittlins, pig's feet, pig'sears, and so forth.The recipe in the following exampleWAS made with left ovit bread because for people existing ata poverty level nothing could be wasted.This applies to any poor group whether blackor white so that many soul foods were also cooked bypoor rhites in the South.

Bread Pudding

Take left-over bread, light breador biscuits, that's maybe too dry. Slice it or break it up ina pan'. Take your.milk and egg and beat 'ern' together. Add sugar and flavoring. I like nutmeg. Put-chunks of butter on bread. Cook slow (275-2)0) until brownas you like it.

(Collected froma seventy-two year old black woman in Columbus in 1972.)As the'informant explained this recipe, shewas very animated, gesturing all the time to illustrate theprocess of slicing, breaking, beating, buttering,etc. Her face was serious and her voice forceful, lendingan authoritative air to the telling. When she had finishedonce, she went back over it all a couple more times to make sure it was clear. Then she settled back and was silent and still. During all of this, her husband wts also adding his directions either before, during,or after she would be at a certain point. It was a favorite of his so he wanted to contribute. I think this recipe isa good example of how.economical some people can be, especially those who grew up . in relatively poor financial situationsand/or in rural areas. Food wts not thrownaway, just prepared in a different way so it could be used.

13.1 y..

.132

4-7 4."v: 1,

There is also an'overlapbetween black and.whitechildren's ,folklOre, but there are certaincharacteristics:a black children's lora which make ft distinctive. The rhymes chanted byblack 'childran often contain themfs which arepopular throughout black folklore but not found in the lore ofwhites. For instance,ItheCfollowing rhyme collected from an eleven yearold black girl.in Columbusin 1971 refers to James Brown the popularsoul singersand to the black. power movement. 7'0 ,

I went downtown To see James Brown. He gave me a nickel, I bought me a pickel. The pickel was sour, I bought ue a flower. The flower was deadi., You know what I said? I said, "000-she-wah-wah I got. me BlackPower."

A similar rhyme found amongwhite childreil refers to Mr. Brown and does not mentionblack power at all.

I went downtown To see Mr. Brown He gave me a nickle To buy a pickle. The pickle was sour, bought a flower. -The flower was yellow. I gave it to my fellow. my fellow was sick, I gave him a kick. And that was the end of my dirty trick.

(Collected in 1972 from a twenty yearold white student from Cleveland who remembered it fromher childhood.)

Other rhymes from'black culturereflect these same concerns, black and one type of rhymihg gameis especially identified with adolescents. , ftr,pt4.:14.1''cli0,27.1)kzby,4

7.1

133

called,"the dosens,".4ndit hasbeen-videly This game 'is . r (see bibliography). It. is a lected and analysedby .folklorist*. ;iris, sometimesrhymed and verhal insult .gamePlayed'by boysand vekbal have to exhibitagreat deal of sometties not. The players collecting thedozens, it moult:be skill andquickness oftwit. Ift natural settingwith both sides best, to record anentiie session in a recordedanentiredosens session in'the exchange.limas ?tillerless' Black,High School in her classroom.(sei "Playingthe Dosens,Among SOCietv 2 (1973),20-29.) Students"JournalOf the Ohio Foklore dozens rememberedby informants You can alsocollect individual of the.following*sedges. from'their adolescence asin the case 4. - somebody wouldcall somebody When we wert smalllike, uh, fool, you're a . the other would say,"Well, if I'm a a fool, school." mule, and / ride yourblack ass to old man fromPortsmouth , (Collected from atwenty-three year second.session. James . This was thefirst item in our in 1972.) that all thetime. We used commented on this. "se used to do white people andshit when somebody to do thatin front of do that we'd or' somethin', youknok, when we'd called us a fool people who never everybody away. If you're around just blow they'd-just bust outand just really heard thatbefore, like, guy." be embarrassingto the other A When I playedwith about the waythey rode me I asked James fool. I They seemed eagerto call me a "The SoulBrothers." all white especially since/ came from an was botheredby this, white crowd.They all white schooland an all district and an called me foolI.- first Blacks /knew. So when they were the James said they werejust trying to didn't know how toreact. back. They were always oneach othees make me feel athome. get on my make me feelwelcome was to And I guessthe way to back too.

Your Mama was ateddy Your Papa was abear They put a muzzle onyour Sister becauseshe had badhair; The informant fifty year old womanin 1972.) (Collected from a down South considered to be areally bad dozen said that this was 7 ,VIY.P14:7406'`/., "si 4' ."C.1111-p.ifr 1.":1`tr:44!; 431°,113t"?.r.:4r14:114.11;t': t.11;11 . .

e 134

4.° o

when she was a littlegirl.(about 50 years ago).If nil:were. able to,sai thig to.somaother.colored chqd And got awarwith It without A fist fight, you wereconsidered very luilky, accord* ing tit the informant. She said, that coloredchildret in.the South where she ltved.were verysensitive and one did not enter .into the doiens unless theycould handIe'the situation'both verbally and phrsically. -

Out of.the verbal skilldeveloped playing the.dosons comes 6. more complicated rhymeform, the toast, whichristecited,by ,*folder adolescents and young men.The toest.is a-longnarkative poem. it .with a traditional structure, thythm,rhyme scheme, and themes. ofteredeals with outlaw heroes,such'es-"Stagolee," "The,Great'Hec- Daddy," and "Dolomite," or weakerprbtagonists who best their op- ponents-with wit, such as the"Signifying glinkey" included here from a young Cincinnati mapl who was'also an excellent joke and coi:- storrteller. If'you can find a man-of-words, youcan Usually lect a wide variety of 4ackfolklore from one persons.

The monkey -said to the lion onebright summer.day, "There's,a big badmotherfucker headin'yo'way. He talk about yo' mammyan' yo' daddy too, That don't mean shit toyour.. The lion geowled and grbw1ed4 Shake a coconut from the Xreet &ma a,giraffe to the kriees; 4 Goip' through the Jungle mad ashe can be, the tree. He spied brotherelephant sittin' under ye say, "Listen, bigboy, it's,you oTme" The elephant look atthe lion with, tears inhis.eyes chickenshit, yofi better go andpick An' say, "Listen, little on somebodyyo', sizel" [73 Like a bolt of heatan'all feet. The lion jumped'onthe,elephant with all four They fought all nightand half the .... They fought all dayand half the night, The'lion gave the elephant onehell of a fight. Goin' thtough the jungle moredead than aliite, That's when tfiat monkeystarted signifying jive. He say, "Pops, youain't so hot: Everybody in the jungleknows just what yougot. Eyes all blacka lipsall blue--

3 v I know ,it'ain't shit to'youla Cell Woolf the king of thebeasts!

. Ain't that just a bitch!?

. Come. 'rofind here lkin, like the sevenlar itch!" , *----- Started jumpin' up and down, Peet missed a limb an' ass bit theground., i. ,,, . . rig* ., i ... , Like s.bbli of heat and atl of The lion 'semthe monkey's ass withall- ur.feet. . Ai That monkeyolook etthe.Iion with teareAnnlis eyes, Aft' he say, "Pleaser Mr. Lion, Iapologis01 ! ,Ari , The lion lookin' at that little monkeyan' he Ian Vim gonna ppt an end to this jive, _"I'a tired of ye sitnifyin't , .

1/4 ,... 'Cause you signifyin'1" , .

milt fly, . So the monkey.is dead,- and the bussard ..',i,4..

So-watch yo' mouth, and don't signify. -I ..., - . 4-

. Min in Cincinnati in gia .: (Cotlected, froM a twenty,seven year old ...- 19704 I met the informant.Jim,throughhis:cousin:who is a , friend .of mine,. aid the three of us and awbman friend of theirs . spent au evening cdrinking andtalkihg. When Jim started to spontaneously tell jokes, I asked if I.coula turn onthe tape record-. era. Jim said sure and immediately uentinto a performance routine in- cludingtelling jokes, rhyme; and thts toast. H6 gestured emphatically . while reciting ihii, used draMatic emphasisand different voices for the characters.The'rest of us responded.withlaughter and encourage-

ment at the end. .

There is A rich narrative traditionin blaek Ainerican culture, ranging from animal 4leswith African background to modern urban jokes which commention white racism. It wbuld be impossible to do justice to this body of material here,but several books.in the bibliography are extensive collections of blackfolktales. Both of the examples given heredeal with traditional themes; one is a "Marster-John" tale which goes back to $lavery times.

Well, ya see, Old Mas'erlad a slave named John. So one day Old Mes'er told John that he had bought some vanishing creamfor his wife and that he wasn't.to mess with it. A few da,s later Old Mas'er had to go to New York on somebusiness. Ya see, when the mas'er'ed leave town, John always had a bunchof people over and'd throw a party. Soon as Old Mas'ered'd Left, John invitesall his'friends over to the house and'd fixed a lot of food. Well, soon as that there party was ajumpin', somebody seed Old Mas'er

135 . 136 ,

cemin' down the path.Folks started a flying this a wayand . vaneshing cream that. John is so scared that he runand getsthe butting and emeared'it all overhisself just at Old Meer came a .John say,. . through the'door. He say, "John, I'm gonnakill you." "Mas'er how you gonna kill me, youcan't even see me, Ise done vanished."

(CO lected from a fifty-two yearold factory worker from Dayton n 1972.) Mr. Jackson:changedthe pitch of.his.voice of throughàzt the telling of thestory-and he used-am abundance land and\body gestures. He sat on the edge ofhis chair and. when an aetion part came in thestory, he would jump upandLiai- tate the action of thecharacters. Mr. JaCksonwouldexiggerate And when ;imitating the someof\the\words to sound more flat-toned voice of Joh, he would talkmuch slower. When one 'laws. Jackson telling the story, it sem, asif he wat-actuAlly there to witness the happeningsbetweettld"Mis'er.and John.' He takes au active partin the story telling Andat theend of tha story, he is just as' much out ofbreath as if he had *runfrom the matter's house along with the otherslaves. .The OldMas'er and John stories are very popularin Black folklore. John is usu- but in ally a trickster-type characterwho outwits the master, In the above Story told some stories,John' schemes backfire. bag by Mr. Jackson, John's plansbackfire.Ha is.left hold the and he has to sufferthe consequences. Janalways represents White man. the Black man and the OldMas'er always represents the mask over The Black man must always wearthe smiling, ignorant as John his face to hide the angerand his true intentions,..just by does. In this story of Johiiand his master; John it caught his matter dding "dirtywork." The underlying meaningbeneath that this is-that the masterisn't as dumb as John thought and The use of the' Black man must bepunished for his carelessness. the master the vanishing cream showathat John takes the word of the as a truth, eventhough he confusedhe literal meaning of word vanishinghe actuallythought that it made peopledisappear.

make fun of Another popular subjectis preachers; these tales the Uman frailties ofspiritual leaders.

groovin' Reverend from Ibedam, Alabama; he was a There's a preacher. He started a sermon like"Ah, ah AhA. time a comin' when thewhite horse gonna ride theblack horse, aheh, the black horse gonnaride the white horse, ahehl women gonna rule theworld, aheh, women gonnabe doctors, lawyers, And there's and presidents, aheh,loong may the womenlive." He said, a sisterkept on, "Right on, Reverend,right on."

126 ,-7:, ". :V". ttpi-st, ' t f.

1.37

"Aheh, yes, brothers and sisters,there gonna come a 4ime when the white,horse gonna ridethe black horse., aheh, theblack horse gonna ride the whitehorse, aheh, women gonnarule the!world, aheh, aheh, long may the women gonna bedoctors, lawyers ahd presidents, "Right on, Reverend, . women live!"'She kept jumpin'.up and down, right on.." He said, "But itrshort, shah; I want you women to.stay beautiful for me, for me. In short I want you tostop*foolin' around with them young men. Cut 'em a loose." And that same sister'd been jumpin' up and downsayin', "Right on, Reverend, right on," she jumped upant said, "Shit, Rev, You donefell off your horse now." (Laughter) "In other words, youdon't go on and messit," she said, "What I do is mybusiness."

But the Revwouldn't stop there. He say "Abell, yesbrothers and sisters, there'll come atime when the white horse gounaride lorse, the black horse, aheh, theblack horse gonna "Ile the white aheh, women gonna rule the world;woolen gonna oe the doctors, lawyers and presidents. Long may the women live,aheh."And a big fat sister in the amen cornergot happy, and shejumped up and twenty say, "Preach it,Brother!"And just as she say that a dollar bill popped outa herbosom and floated right ondown in front of the pulpit. The Rev say, Yes, brothersand sisters, I still say that the times gonna comewhen the white horse gonna ride the black horse, theblack horse gonna ride thewhite horse, the women gonna ahehaheh." And he looked down thereand spied Just that twenty. He said, "Let's everybodykneel in prayer." as the Rev,knelt down to pick up thattwenty; wone-eyed deacon in the amen corner looked upat him. He knowed that if that one- eyed deacon told on him,he wouldn't be able to preachin that wouldn't be able to church no more. So (aside) he knowed he preach in that church no more sohe figured a way to squarethe- knoweth a secret keepeth, eyed deacon. He say, "He that seeth and and I'll divide it later, sosaith the Lord." The Lord hadn t said shit; he was justlookin' for a way to operate. and sis- But Rev wasn't throughthere. He said, "Yes, brothers tems, dune's a timecoming I'll see," and thenhe say, "I'm ready to die. I'm ready to go to Heaven."And just as he said that-- he didn't know that there was a guys'lndin' right up there with a pistol right uphere. No matter ho. Ict the Lord do, he had the pistol right up here. When the Rev said,"I'm ready to he die. I'm ready to go to Heaven." And just as soon, just as said that, the pistol fell outof the man's bosom. "Abam." It went right off. "Barn!" The Rev, tore right throughthe wall. I said, "Hey, Rev, thatain't the way to go to Heaven." He said, "You go to Heaven the best way you can, son,I'm gettin' the hell outa here!"

This tale was recorded onenight at dim's cousin's apartment

1 3 '; 138

I. Besides ehe collectorwho is white, the cousinand in Cincinnati, This tale is actually hia girlfriend, bothblack, were present. strung.together and three separate jokeswhich the storyteller character of thepreacher. He haetold the tInified around the asked him Itory eaTlier in a car aswe weredriving aroundond I of recording. His style of presentation tr vai.matit fc.: purposes different animated, and he dramatizedthe story by using laa very the preacher's lines Was characters. His delivery of voice, l'or th, rural b ack comic parody of thetraditional style of.the a ti:oad humor of the Jo e. preacher and very effectivein conveying the though we haki The response ot the gvalpWas loud laughter eVen Down la the ,Jungle, 'heard the story curlier. (Abrahams,Reek p.207.)

preaching and Ont Sunday back home,the preacher was just a By the the old sisters werejust a shouting andhollering. (i.e., very dramatic and time the preacher reallygot in full was emotional wiLh all stopspulled) and suddenly one woman $100 bill flew shouting :AI tliat she let goher pocketbook and a "Yea! We gone The preacher, trrinseeing this hollered out out. to kneel and (going) to Ivilk the aisle nowand we want everybody started walk- bowtheir heads while I'spray." So the preacher Ffrially he was certain thateverybody had their ing and.prayivF. $100 eyes closed sy She prayed he tipped overto where the Ai hA was about topick it up, one oldsharp-eyed bill was. and picked up the deacon said MO. Ahh! The e'reacher went on time is over money and put!t in his vcketand said "Praying I'm talking 'bout;keep your mouth shut for he who knc.vt what latee." cause my textfor next Svoday is'To be divided

(Collected f?cm a airty yearold.man in Columbus in1972.) of means to sup- The theme of thisfolktale is the recognition by worldly gains viadeceit. During the plant spiritual needs senses the climax of the wnrshipservice's impact, the reader emotional fibers of preer's ability to focusani intensify the his ego as well.as to reapa rewardby flim- his sermon to boost the his'congregation. Moreover, one sees flaming members of interrupt the solemn dubious integrity ofthe deacon who does not subtly pretends tobe "giving witness" tothe ceremony but How- preacher's words in order toadmonish him of thetemptation. of his controllingforce ever, thepreacher is continuously aware directing his text, notfor 'that he can exert overhis members by with the advantage of hismembers but to enterinto a collusion his deacon.Dorson, P. 368(#235)

all age levels,from The tales and jokes canbe collected from 139 t old man remembering the child telling hisfirst.joke to the 90 year Ohio is an ex- tales from the plantationdays of the Old South. folktales because of cellent area for collectingall types of black all social .the sizable black populationwith' representation of levels ind background. The black folk songtradition is not as strongin Ohio; folk- in Ohio for lorists have been lookingfor country blues singers black several years without much success.This does not mean that through urban blues, folk music is dead: thetradition has continued of music are not soul music, and moderngospel music; these types only surviving but gettingstronger.There are scores of gospel each one has quartets and choirs,inColumbus and othet cities and Collecting indi- traditional spirituals as partof its repertoire. vidual songs is one approachto studying gospelmusic, brit extensive interviews with thepeople involved ingospel--singers, musi- valuable in cians, directors, andpreachers--would also be very The same helping us understand thefolkloric nature of themusic. information about urbanblues approach would beeffective in getting in 1971 by GeorgeMitchell and soul music. The interview conducted blues musician andsinger, with Robert-JuniorLockwood, a Cleveland Mitchell's knowledgeabilityof is a model of thistechnique because Mitchell knew that blues gave him the appropriatequestions to ask. blues singer from Miss- Lockwood was related tothe legendary country 1930's. issippi, Robert Johnson,who recorded in the

Robe.7t Johnson? Mitchell: What about yourrelationship with old when Robert Johnsongot with Lockwood: I was thirteen years They He was about eighteenand she wastwenty-eight. my mother. See, back in that . met in Helena. He was just thereplaying. Jefferson, theydidn't time, dudes likeRobert and Blind Lemon And they didn't have no booking agentlike the fellows have now. guitar by themselves have any help; you know, hey just played the decent buck. and played on the streets,and they made a pretty happened to Well, Robert was the bestthing that could have every Just as fast as heput me because Ihad always wanted toplay. really tnter- the guitar down, Ipicked it up. And he saw I was tasted in playing4.so hefinal.ly taught me. And I learned 'real fait. In'about two weeks, Ilwas playingtwo or three s : 1 And Robert left and wentdowi in Texes.and stayed six' reight . , -months and when he came backI was playing.all the so gson.the records we had by him.And that dude played somec3àioua guitar. At that time, I sounde so much like himtha,t sometimes people got confused as towhk was Robert Johnson Once I.went to Clarksdale with Robert,a4d he was playing oone end of this bridge and I was playing onthe other and peop/e was just 0 gOing to and from across that bridge;they wet rial,confused. And then after Robert gotkilled...I just wouldn't accept the fact that he WAS dead,you/know. Anyway,fit was after Robert had died, and I went toElaine, Atkansas, and I played that Saturday down there on,the streets. And I came home to Helena that Sundayl.and somebody told me,"You knowi I seen Robert Johnson down to Elai,ne." So I went,back toElaine trying to find him, and it fintlly'come to methat it vats me they had seen, down there.

Most of the groups mentionedin this book have somefolk art, tradition that reveals thecharaCter of that group, and afull dis-

anything to the . cussion of folk art heredoes not mean to imply collection and study made inthis contrary.The suggestions for from Aigalachian chapter are just asapplicable to the art stemming be one of and European ethnic groups. The subject of folk art can the field of the most confusing, and attimes, controversial, in CUlde is to provide material culture. Since the purpose of this work, interested students a relativelybasic approach to field available to should take care to consultthe large bibliography folk aesthetic and folk gain an understandingof the elements of the production. "primitive," or Folk art, sometimesreferred to as "naive," what it "county" is often defined, notaltogether successfully, as formal training, is not. It is not academicart---the product of developing new expressive of a certainstyle or school consciously mainstream art--- techniques and designs. It is not popular or certain stand- created and disseminated on abroad scale, copying a moment. Thus, Currier ard pattern, influencedby the trends of the ahd the mourning pictures and Ives prints ofthe nineteenth century,

,2 4.

141 J.: often classified as "schoolgirlart" (and often included in dis- cussions of folk art) would be twoexamples of popular art. In the twentiethutentury we have hobbykits, comic bOoks and the ubiqui- tous influence Of Hallmark. That leaves folk art, both graphic andnon-graphic. Folk art is not simply "bed" art; it has anaesthetic of its own. It is >lor customary to characterize folk artists asuntrained; often this the case,. but many folk artists have emergedfrom craft traditions -which permitted the development of theirskills in the first pace. TWentieth century Texas artist, Clara McDonaldWilliamson, took a number of courses atthe local university. Yet, with Aunt Clara as with other true folk artists, suchcourses have relatively little impact on her work---ratherthei provided an acoess.to materials and an opportunity to express analready clearly defined view of the world. (See Donald.and Margaret Vogel, Aunt Clara: The Paintings of Clara McDonald Williamson. Austin: U. of Texas Press, 1966.) . Folg art is created by individuals who express arealistic view of their world. Such realism does not always imply exactimi- tation, but rather the successful useof standard and sometimes stylized forms (the geometric, floral andanimal decorative devices of the Pennsylvania Germans forexample). In the case of graphic art, these forms whether they arepeople, animals, buildings, or planti, express an orderly relationship to oneanother and depict scenes and activitieseasily recognized by anaudience. In sculp- tural art the same Orinciplesexist---there is an internalorder or relationship among the various parts. Holger Cahill, in a classic characterization of folk art, commented: "It goes straight to the fundamentals of art---rhythm, design,balance, proportion, which the

folk artist feels instinctively. . ." The subjects of interest to the student of folk art aremany. The list which follows is in many ways quitearbitrary; it does not include furniture,ceramics amd textiles. It is intended to be suggestiveand concentrates primarily on objects whose primary purpose wasintended as decorative. . vt

. 142

here theri are exceptions. It will bequickly noted.that even but landscapes,historical, Paintings includenot,only portraits "genre" paintings. Portraits patriotic and religiousscenes, and in the nine- often,done by itinerantpainters, althoughlater , were establishments. -Some teenth century, some setup'more'permauent in lcical museums aspart relMain infamily'Collections; many are now good'example of a portrait canbe found of the area'shistory', A Another hangs.inthe Stone. in the Allen CountyMuseum in Lfma. example, a portraitof the House Muieum inLakewocid, while 4 third in Gran- hrst-President of the college, isat.Denisoni University waterways(canals, . ville. Ohio landscapesoften seem to favor"the paintings of this type riveis, and LakeErie),.although few folk Museum again has cuteexample. are to befound. The Allen County of everyday life Genre paintings depict scenesof the activities going to school,holi- '(harvelting and planting,religious revivals, important historicdocuments of days, etc.) andcin often serve as They are the"photographs" events that were notrecorded into taLe. 6lothing-styles, architecture, of their times.,They give us clues to the role ofSeivants, types of crops grown,family relationships, living. The study of folk and .a myriad otherdetails of everyday devices applied tohousehold items art can alsoinclude decorative utensils). Much (nineteenth century toleware,furniture, kitchen of.this type isinfluenced by German tra- of the mostdistinctive art and that which ditionboth thatwhich filteredthrough Pennsylvania wto settled in old world. Pennsylvania Germans camedirectly from the the hlghly stylizeddecoration of Ohio continued tocreate fraktur, Tulips, hearts,birds, and docuenents and importantfamily papers. The colony atZoar, like floral devices were allpopular motifs. designed furnitureof high the Shakers whoalso settled in Ohio, they often painteddecorations on this quality. Unlike the Shakers, the non-graphic artin wood, metal, furniture. Finally, there is are decoys,weathervanes, toys, and stone. Included in this category cigar storefigures, calliope horses andother circus carvings, ,..%,],z;ta-'" ivovt.,i!-.#.4 147,:r.'411A, 4 4.'.Wrff.:P.Vell-; , "" 4 "

. 143..

. N(

busts, business signs,tombstones,- butter molds, statues and ro powder horns, scrimshaw,hitching posts, etc. thing of the pasthowever,Elijah / Folk art is by no means a H. is also a very Pierce,isa barberliving in Coluibus, Ohio. critical acclaim and fine wood carver whoseworks are now receiving The son of a former are beingexhibited in New York,galleries. gar, Elijah spent hisboyhood in'Mississippiwhere he would often retreat to the woods and carveon the trees.Now he likes to use soft woodsma discardedbroom handle, a scrapfrom some other work em- project---to carve both etatuesand reliefs. While his broadly phasizes religious and historicthemes, his carvings range '11 of the three mon* in subject mannereThere is a humorous depictian elaborately 'keys (hear no evil; speak noevil, say no evil), an All his carvings, carved idrag?n (anemanyBiblical figures): atwo*dimensional ef- statues and reliefs areflattened, creating Some works fect---a trait oftencharacteristic of folkcarving. maturafstate protected are paintedwhile others are leftin their itudent.interyiew* only by shellac orvarnish. Mr. Pierce told one ideas that-aretranslaied er that everydayexperiences create the Fblklore Society.1(1972). to wood. (Kathy Marty,Journal of The Ohio expreisions of his devout He views his carvingsboth as personal Occasion* faith and a means ofcommunicating this faith to others. of a red devil statue ally the message isspelled out as in the case masterwork is bearing the warning"Do Not Sware." Elijah Pierce's leaves measuring The Book of Wood---amagnificent volume of seven Each leaf has beendivided into as seven and ahalf feet square. part of the lifeof Christ.The many as sixunits, each telling one Pierce and his wife book has survived forty yearsof travels as Mr. preached the Gospel. to folk artre- Careful documentationis, as always critical of all is of coursethe photograph. search. The best documentation fact sheet recording The photograph shouldbe accompanied by a material (wood, metal,stone, etc.), vital information---dimensions, I.

7 144 a.

known, present location artist if known,title if known, date if (This datelist is ..and owner and abrief :verbal description. derived from the formsof tha BicentennialSurvey of.American Art sample form is in- sOonsored by theSmithsonian'Institutiont. A

, enough . cluded and the end ofthis chapter.) If one.is fortunate involvedthe above are to met a livingartist much more is

seeing him . just .the "facts" ofthe creation.Knowillg the-artist, creations pr her work,it is possibleto.place that individual'a Such under- in 'the context of hislife and his view ofthe world. that reveal standing comes only aftertime and long conversations artist are to ex- the source of the ideas,what the nteds of the and evil in the world press them, howhe or she views the good and how it is reflectedin the work.

1 ...1,,,,,,i,vi,,,,Itirry-..11r,..-li,:.?,,,i.,-.11..,...!...,,i:tiiv...).L.N., .z....!,.. ri..,.- _.,....,, ,7...1....1,,op.,...:.;.>x,ov ,..- ,-,,v4 1.--,,,Y!..,..gre...;.;i..,..'.-,.'',.t:;..::'1.-1'.iiic , ,. . _ -'''v,:' ''"."-'''.',',4111...e,7,..f. :,,- ..,,c,..-; . .,.. ..__. , . - :, , . a 14 .! x

s .; 'Chapter 81 AfricannAmericap Folklore' p . SeleCted Bibliography ,

Abrahams, &mei D., Deep Downin the Jtingle.,.t Negro,Narrative Fblklore From the Streetsof Philadelphia, 1964.

Abrahams, Roger D.,bleateEllech, 1970.. 1t Baraka, lmamu Amiri,BlaCk.MusiC, 1966. kLeroi Jones). 1964. , Batiks, lmamu Amiri,...... p..";.4egrot...... 4.BluesPeolel4usicinknerica . (Leroi Jones)

Billingsley, Andrew, BlackFamilies in,White America.1968,

Brewer, Jbhn Mason, AmericanNegro Folklore, 1968. The Carawtn, Guy,u.aot,yotLgL)t_Lg.nhttot_tLetjLu.Afehe.? Their people of Jobn'sIslandt_k_uarolina Their Faces Wbrds and Their Son sRecorded b Gts. and Cindie C rawan, 1966 and 1967.

Charters, Samuel Barclay, TheCountry Blues, 1963.

Charters, Sanuel Barclay,he2oe.ta_oftj...teBlues, 1963. -;

Courlander, Harold, NegroFolk Music, U.S.A., 1963 and,1966. 1977. Crawley, Daniel, ed., AfricanFolklore in the New World,

Dorson, Richard M., AmericanNegro Folktales, 1967.

Dundes, Alan, ed., MotherWit from,the LaughingBarrel, Readings In the Inter retation ofAfro-American Folklore, 1973.

Federal Writer's Project,Lay My Burden,Down: A Folk History_of Slavery, 1961.

Fisher, Miles Mark, Negr2_12veSongs in the UnitedStates, 1953. Control Fry, Gladys-Marie, TheNight Riders:,A Study in the Social of the Negro, 1967.

Hannerz, Alf, Soulside: In uiries into GhettoCulture and .9.2MERLILIX, 1969. Halibut, Tony, golegajmouLL.Shmut wa and.Bad Times,1973.

Harskoviti, MeLville J., The NV4h of t !Iwo Past, 1941.

HUghee Laagston,aad Arne Bontemps, The'Book of NonaFolkioNe, 1;58.

Bunton, Zora Neale, Mules andMen, 1935.

Hyatt, Harry Middleton, Hoodoo Conlursitior *Witchcraft - "lppotwork, 1970.

Jackson, Bruce, "Get Youi Ass in theWater and S Like Mak" 74. \

'Jackson, Bruce Harold, The"Negro and His-Folklore in Nineteenth- Cantury Periodicals,1067.

Jackson, Bruce, Wake Up Dead MenkAfro-American Worksongs from Texas Prisons, 1972.

Jackson, Clyde Owen, 21..TI.Soms.....d.2talearssAStionflum . . Folk Music, 1968.

Jackson, George Pullen, SpiritualFolksongs of Early Americas'No 0 Hundred and Fifty Tunes and Texts,1937.

Johnson, Guy Benton, Folk Culture onSt. HanAjolabssath Carolina, 1930.

Johnson, James Weldon, The Booksof American Negro Spirituals, Including the Boick of American NegroSpirituals and Second Book of Negro Spirituals, 1956.

Jones, Bessie and Bess LomaxHawes, thGar_y_SteitDownesPlas, AsIgs and Stories from theAfroAmerican Heritage, 1972.

Keil, Charles, Urban Blues,1966.

Kochman, Thomas, Rapoin' and Stlin' Out Communication in Urban Black America, 1972.

1963. Lehmann, Negro

Levine, Lawrence W., BlackCUlture and Black Consciousness, Afro-American Folk Thou ht fromSlavery to Freedom, Z977. '4 147

Min, Liebow, Elliot,Tally'sCornertjatutuLIEgaltristurner,

. byjeaä Bell. "Kin Lomax, John Avery,Ne ro.rolk Songas Sung the World... 1950. of the-TioelVe StringGuitar Plovers of f Roll Morton, Lomax, Alan,Lifitertartgy Nei...l.etzOrlensCreoleaTitorofJazz1.A_IN_

Mentll, WilliaM Lynwood, A,FolkHist,mat.thIstututritua Colony, 1964. Negroes William Lynwood, SupernaturalTales Collected from Montell, ntiesKentucky, 1263. and Whites.in Montoeand Cumberland Co

Odum, Howard, &At....6..sli_i_aaA_.idoficalNeroTheNeroandaissot ..-.2&3&0.11.112..1.-§21.1111, 1964.

Odum, Howard, NegroWorkday Sonks... 1926.

Oliver, paul, The Meaningof the Blues, 1963.

Oster, Harry, LivingCountry Blues, 1969. Georgia...ME:AI, 1942. Parrish,L;dia (Austin) Slave Songs ofthe Robert K. Phillips, Perdue, Charles L.,Thomas E. Barden and Interviews with VirliniaEx-Slaves, 1976. Weevilsin theWheat Southern. Ne ro, 1926. Puckett, Newbell' Miles,Folk Beliefs of the Bluel_byrics, 1969. *Sackheim,.Eric, The BluesLinetligollection of Folksongst 1963. Scarborough, Dorothy, Onthe Trail of Negro Blues,.1958. Silverman, Jerry, FolkBlues: 110 American Folklore

Tally, Thomas W.,ItgasisulltatiL 1922. and Cultural Titon, Jeff Todd, EarlDownhome Blues, a Musical bainill 1917. B. inderman, TheLife, Wepman, Dennis, RonaldB. ewman and Murray The Lore and Folk Poe r of the Black Hustler,197.6.

Whitten, No;man E., Jr.,and John F. Szwed,Afro-American Anthropology_t_Conts,1970. iii ql.V,X.1,trt,!5t . 1 . ?'. tIA." di...If; V a... -. "

. 148.

Work, John Wesley, Ameri Ne ro Son and S i itu rehellp! Collic4on of 30 fOlk,Sonss,Religious and ul 1940.

WriteesTrogram, GuMbo Ya-Ya, 1945.

Caravan, Guy, We Shall OvercaMe! So s of SoutherbFreedom Movements,* 1963.

a 00 If

118 ,-1114.s.,,,:tF..1c1,449 40'9P4'30:',1144:0, ';etOtt,O,Pr M;'01644% et.

149

4. .CHAPTER IX

A 'kt',1g ETHNIC FOLKLORE- 40 give them There are too manyethnic folk cultures in Ohio to 'all representation in this manual.The.oies included were chosen because.students have done excellentcollection projects on thema German, UkrainimelSlovenians,Serbian, Csechoslovekian, Oteek, variety of ethnic Italian and Mexican. This gives an idea of.the cultures in Ohio, but itleaves out some veryimportant groups: Japanese Jewish, Irish, Polish,Hungarian,'Russian, Chinese and

11Y1W, provide some general to name 'a few. The examples given should bOoks on specifiC guidelines for collectingfrom etbnic groups, and cultures can.be consultedfor more information. The reavon we make thisexplanation of why certain'cultures ethnic pride of each group. Ethnic are left outhare is the fierce who happen to live pride leads to sometivalry among the people remember when close together in Ohiocities. This is important to Meny of.the bast ethnic collecting from the variousethnic groups: done by students who collection projectsturnedin at Ohio State were the ethnic pridebelongs to the were membersof the group so that the material posi- collector as welt asinformants. .You have to see tively in orderto do a good jobcollecting. generations of imadgrants There was ati:me when some of the later wanted to be assimilatedtotally in were ashamedof their heritage and That is no longer true,in fact, to.mainstream Americanculture. generations are activelyseeking more know- now thethird and fourth students to take ledge of theirtraditional past. This has motivated family-and friends folklore classes andthen collect fromtheir own past. The collecting is to gain a betterunderstanding of their own have suc,:ess if he easier for a groupmember, but an outsider can the traditions of thenationality. or she comeswith respect for not have a contactin If you are not a partof the group and do starting point isproba- it but want toCollect from them, the best

119 150

soci:al life bly a church within theethnic community.Much of the good con- ef the community revolves aroundthe church, and it is a of information are the ethnic tact point. Other posiible sources organizations which consciously preservethe heritage of-the folk dances with nationality. These organizatiOns often sponsor live musicantauthentic costumesand foods. YOu siiould be aware, they have though, that some organizationsrevive.old traditions after died out so that they nolonger have the same meaning orfunction wto learn folk, they once had.For instance, a group of teenagers dances from a teacher whois trying to preserve thetradition by performing them for audiencesdiffers from the situation ofa.girl who learns a dance from anolder sister to dance at asmall commun- the ity gathering for her ownentertainment. This is not to siy.that revival situation is notvalid, both are expressions of the culture change the and should be studied,but the different circumstances occurred in the tra- nature of the folklore.Whatever changes have dition should be noted. her.grandfather, but One student collectedGerman folklore from

wfthin his family. :ler . the German traditions werenot very strong grandfather was born in Ohioin 1888, one year afterhis i.arents mi- old German tales as a grated from Germany. He recalls hearing many He does remember someof child, but he cannotremember any of them. country; these tales the legends which hisfather tOld about the old impression on his 'of witches and hexes musthave made a stronger and he still believes mind, perhaps becausethey were told as true them.

pigs. This is My dad had pigs, andthere's a woman bought four to her in Germany. And this %etch came over in Germany, four pigs nice house and said, "I want to set yourpigs. I heard you had some do something to pigs." She (the owner)didn't know she was going to Seventh Book of Moses, 1::, and them. Now, that witch read the and went cr,er so shebewitched these pigs. So my dad heard of it buy a new.broom, a there, and he toldher, he says, "You go and them pigs for you." So he new broom,"and he says, "I'll fix

1.5)1 151

went in the pen, and they werejumping up the sides of the pen, just Crazy wild. And they were bewitched, see,jumping up the side of the pen. And so he takes that broom,andhe imnt over them thrte times and never touchedthat broom to the ground. He tall the lady that owned thepigs,,he says, "Now when that witch comes back, don't.let her nearthe pen if you can help it. You get out there first andtake that broom (he sat thatbroom . down with the handle up againstthe fence) and you grab that broom and you lust slap her on theback as hard as you can slap her, lick her all you dan."And by God, she did that, and the And that's it. Some ; pigs started,to eait theirlodd.already. people think that's a fake,but it ain't.

(Collected from an 85 year old farmerfrom Trowbridge by his granddaughter in 1973.) "Dad used to do that kind of stuff. In Germany n* dad used to read theGerman Bible, and every Sunday, he put an hi's glasses to read andread the Bible. He read the' Seventh Book of Moses all thetime, but us kids never couldread them." my grandpa didn't see thisbxeaking of the witch's hex, but his dad told him aboutthis. Even though he didn't see this, he totally believes itsince he sawwhat his mothercould do. Grandpa also told me that hehas, firm faith in the Seventh Boo1çf Moses and its witchcraft. Later in theeriening;-Eg----- told me that there was nosuch things as ghosts, butthere sure were witche's. This story tends to reinforcehis,belief in witches since lae says that it was awitch, and not just a lady that hexed the pigs.

The student's mother is more aproduct of American culture, and the folklore items shereported may or may not beof German origin; her lore is probably amixture of many elements. For instance, the belief thatsomething which scares a pregnant woman can mark herbaby is a widespread superstition(other examples annotate are includedin this manual).The collector was able to ,the belief in a book onGerman folklore, but it isalso found in other cultures.

When you were pregnant,anything that would scare youcould mark that baby. This one woman saw a mouse, andit scared her, the mal.k of and she said Ah-h-h,like that, and that baby had that mouse on its stomach, aregular birthmark.

(Collected from a 48 year old womanfrom Port Clinton by her

1 5 I pregnant with mysister, daughter in 1973.) When u* mother was scared her a there was a mousein the kitchen. At first, it it out from beneath little, but then shebegan to try to get Her uncle bymarriagebegan to scream at the refrigerator. and she should sit her, telling her thebaby would be marked, she sat down. My sis- 'down and relax. Everyone was upset, so non-belief was confirmed. ter wasn't marked, sothus her oWn aniiety, not only for Birth and ,pregnancy are atime of extreme Thus it seems logical the mother, but alsofor the famiLy. that beliefs such asthistiwould arise. By a superstition precautions so that like this, a mother mayalso take more her. By she is not in any precariousposition which may scare be helping avoiding these situations,she may, in her mind, the unborn child./.(Dorson, p.337; Brendle, p.210

folklore use grand- Many of the studentcollections of ethnic collected all of his parents as their main source,but one student 20 through 25, and they are Ukrainian folklorefrom six friends aged All of their amazingly tuned in totheir own culturalheritage. of their' were born inGermany parents are fromthe Ukraine, but four first came into and two in the UnitedStates. The father of one airplane "dog- contact with thewestern world whenhe witnessed an After the War, many fight" over his fieldscirini World War II. They es- people left theUkraine/because orthe Russian takeover. ended up in theUnited States. caped to Germany,and many eventually theirnationality with themwhich has They brought a strongsense of through attendance every been passed on totheir children largrAy Here they learned Saturday for twelve yearsat a Ukrainianschool. sword dances, andmusic af the the language,history, traditional their ethnic identityafter leaving Ukraine. They have maintained Club at Ohio State. home and haveformed a UkraiWan by these young men A sampling ofthe lore being carried on storks are common,they follows. Even thoughthey do not live where storks. still remember asuperstition concerning

house you will havegood If a stork builds a neston your lot of storks. mc..ntioned). The Ukraine had a luckl (babies not This may be But all are sure thatbabies are not mentioned.

1 5 3 153

an off shoot of the"Golden Bird" legend.Maybe it is traceable to the Greek bird followers.

More likely to be actively practiced and,not tit remembered are the UkrWnisn customsconcerning weddings and holidays. The wedding customs mentioned below.are easilypracticed even in a new environment, and the Easter customs are still practicedbecause they are reinforced by their formal religion.

"Before each wedding the three oldest men would come over o the bride's house. Each one has to ask the father . . if he would let her marry I think he refuses a couple of times. Each old man has to ask if the daughter can be married. Once the father agrees, they'ye got some kind of towels they wear with embroidery on it. They tie it around them (old men and father) and they agree on,the marriage. If they disagree the father is supposed to give them'a pump-. kin. And they are supposed to stay there all,night trying to convince the father to let his daughter marry. They do it and then they come out in the morning."

Some form of this custom of buying the bride is still traditional today, eventa American weddings.

Icon of Jesus Christ displayed on Holy.Thursday,(John disagrees, says at 7:00 Friday evening). All the windows were draped. The icon was just before the altar. Raman says that there is a12 sermon servicel at the end of the first six gospels bells were rung. At the end of the last six gospels wooden clappers were clickedbecause no bell was allowed to ring.. The clappers were a handheldpiece of wood with a handle on the bottom and ahammer-like thing on the top. The service lasted for hours and hours.

The icon lays before the altar all daySaturday. On each of these days the icon is led around the churchthree times and the clappers are used prior to each service. Food for Sunday is blessed on this day. On Sunday morning everybody gathers outside the door of the church. .There is a short ser- vier and then the doors to the church openAll of my informants theorize that this means that"Christ has risen".The bells start ringlng again. Pussy willows are used instead of palms.."You come out and tap each other on ,the shoulders with these reeds and recite a poem" which translatesroughly

1 53 0 154

as "I am nothitting yo1.4 the palms are . ."

'A red egg is symbolicherebZitno one remembersWhy. ',lath against each kid has his'own holy egg/aid all kids crack them other after .service. Whoever has the strongest eggwins." (solid colored eggs). It is big status tocrack'someone's After the egg, "get hisyolk" according to.Roman andOleh. the family'eat- 'service, Easter dinnerbegins by all members of blessed the ing a piece of one blessategg.Then all of the food day before is mixed in abowl; sausage, diied cottagecheese, horseradish, ham, cheese, etc. Everyone eats it along with homemade bread.

John adds that the"fuzzy-balled thing" at the tipof Aach has,been blessed bf "Mr. pussy willowshould be eaien after it throats away. The Easter-something". This is done to keep sore egg symbolizes lifer the birdfrom the shell is comparedwith Bells are also traditionalspirit 4.0 Christ from the tomb. gathtrers.

The narrative folkloretradition is also still strong among part. them with both anecdotes andfolk tales playing an important On& ahecdote is based onlanguage misunderstandingwhich is a widespread theme in immigrantlore.

This is true. (lDumpa" meansass). "my mom, she was about knew this 18, and her girlfriend weresitting at home and they visit them all the one Polack who washe used to come over and but he time (in, old country). . . he didn't know Ukrainian, wanted to, you know, sothat he could talk betterwith them." he was out One timehe thought thathe would be really cool so Ukrainian dude how to on the street onetime and he asked this in speak "Can I light mycigarette". And the guy tells him Ukrainian "this is how you sayit", but instead of cigarette "He goes over and he said "Dumpa". (Can I light my ass). he's sitting around and hishand in his pockety youknow, and pack of he acts really cool, youknow. He giulls out this Cigarettes and says 'Can Ilight my dumpa?' They look at him and say, "What did you say?""Can I light my dumpa?"They're laughing and rolling on theground. He couldn't figure out he said and what was happening. They finally told him what he got so embarrassedhe left. He didn't come back for two weeks.

Told to him by his mother as atrue story. 155

The following folktale is a typical Europeantale dealing with love and magic, and it is stillentertaining in a new land.With such the folk- a strongtradiaonal sense established in this genetation, lore should be passed on to the next.

A young girl, Hyma,loves a young man Tymoush. They ,are to b(engaged but Tymoush falls in love with anothergirl, Olena. Tymoush gives Hyma no reason whyhe doesn't love her anymore. Hyma is quite sad and in despair. She loves Tymoush very much and doesn't want to lose him. To prevent their marriage she visits a witch (female) in thedark woods and gets a few charm spells. Hyma doesn't want to harm Olenabut her jealousy over- whelms her.When the opportunity occurs,she.turns Olena into No a crow andher brides' maids into birds andthey fly away. sign of Olena and her brides' maids sothe villagers and Ty- moush presume they are dead. In time, Tymoush reluctantly marries Hyma. She is happy, but Tymoushis not fully in love are"talking outside their with her. One day while the couple %home a small flock Of birds flyabove their heads and make much noise. HymAigets very nervous and triesto convince Ty- moush to shoet.tIbm. Tymnush doesn't understandwhy and refuses. One bird keeps flying nearTymoush and seems to be trying to tell him something. Tymoush for some reason admires crow-attacks the flock. the bird. All of the sudden a black Tymoush grabs the gun and shootsthe crow before harm comes into Hyme and the to the birds. When the crow hits, it turns other birds fall dead andtransform back into Olena andher brides' maids. The villagers realize whathad originally occurred and bury them allby the church. Tymoush falls into despair and lets his life rot away.

Note the present tensethroughout the story.The theme is basically the eternal trianglewith the spurnedlovers' revenge. Perhaps %pis But the ending isdifferent; it is tragic forall. is to prove a point tothe listener thatcharms should never (called 'Charms') be used in love. Oleh says he got the story here. Hyma from Marks Vovclok. Irony is the final device,used Olena's turns into the crowthat was Olena. She then assumes fate or in yoga jargon, assumesher karma.

from her A student of Slovenianheritage collected folklore mother, a great-aunt, and afriend who live in theUnited States, and two cousins who stilllive in Yugoslavia. She described the general cultural ccntext inwhich the folklore exists. - 'vv... av. - !;., 04

156

Cultural transmibsion of customs,beliefs and other folk items from the "old" to the"new" country.is widespread in our heritage. Even though Sioienia is a 'small

A country, the emigrant populationis reratively high.' %oat of'the sttlers set up smallcommunities in the Cleveland and Chicago areas andcontintie even today their beliefs through churches, schools, andclubs. The itemi collected are part of a small culturalheritage, function- ing still in the native countrybut an important Qantri- bution to the diverse cultures of,Ainerica. Her own pride in the culture comes outin this statement and in her presentation of the lore. A cultural value which is present in many European ethnic groups canbe seen in two of the Slovenian items. The proverbial phrase "so thin youcan't make a shadow." and the folk recipe and curefor stimulating the appetite shawthe importance of good nutrition andrelationship of good eating and health in the cu,lture.

So thin you can't make ashadow.

(Collected from a 54 year old wman fromCleveland by her daughter in 1973.) My mother remembers.hermother saying this, especially when they were young asshe felt that being thin . was a sign ofbeing unhealthy'. She said her mother was an excellent cook and was alwaysconcerned that everyone hasenough to eat. (Brown, p. 336) %

To stimulate the appetitegive toasted bread withboiled wIne with cinnamon sticksand sugar.

(Collected in 1973 from a 20 year old manwho was born in to receive Slovenia.) Informant states that this was a trea:. and usually if their parentswould give them this that they would eat the regular meal. He states that he does think it stimulates the appetite becauseof the sweetness causing a craving for more food.

An older custom of womenwearing long hair has beenaltered

1!".i t; r

.4 157

4 in American society, and the customof treating children.onthe 4reast of Innocence in Slovenia.hasbeen dropped entirely in the United States.

For a woman to get herhair cut, it is a disgrace.

(Collected from'an 89 year old womanfrom Joliet, Illinois widespread in 1973.) Mrs. B. states that this was a very practice in the "old" countryand it is still practiced now. If a woman cut her hair, itiges a disgrace to ber womaness. Most of the women thatemigrated to Americaeventually apt their hair, but many, like mygrandmother, practiced this belief their entire life.Mrs. B. cut her hair afterliving in Chicago a few years,and she has not let it growlong again. (Brown, p. 495, vol. 6)

from the On the Feast of theInnocence, the children village, visit the homesand are given a treatof fruit given or specialkinds of bread. If the child is not anything at a house, heis allowed to yell andknock on the dooruntil he receivessomething.

(Collected from a 62 year old womanfrom Cleveland in1973.) The Slovenes This is an equivalent ofHalloween in America. this is the celebrate it on the Feastof the Innocents because Therefore on this day of memory of cruelty toinnocent children. It day the children havethe "upper-hand" overthe adults. saints and indicates a profound interestand reverence for of which feasts that are,significantin the Catholic religion, most Slovenes-are a partof.

made by stu7 All of the i9thniccollections to this point were it is also possible dents who were membersof the particular group; and produce atine for an outsider to learnabout an ethnic group collected Serbian collection, as was the casewith a student who of folklore from two friendsand two professors. She described one her informants in this way:

Pam T., student, age20, Canton, Ohio. Pam's grandparents came tothis country beforeher parents were born. Her main contacts withthe Serbian culture , ' P. V: .1'" E w's

N. 158

fiave been through the Eastern OrthodoxChurch and t:he Serbian tournaments. She remenbers going to,hergrandparents' at a child and-that they followed manyof, the customs, but she. doesn't remember very many.the knows most of the Serbian folk dances and enjoys going tothe tournaments where they dance far.into the night.The tournaments are simply a time to get together and are essentially areunion for the Serbs. They eat and drink and play Serbianmusic while reminiscing about the old country. She knew only a few superstitionsand several of the customs surroundingthe holidays.

This informant is a third-generationSerb in America and, although ghe has lost much of thefolklore, she is actively carrying on the darce tradition.One custom she remembered indetail was Slava, the family's name day.

"Slava" Every family has a name day. Someone, perhaps a grandfather, picks a saint and that day becomes yourSlava. They have big dinners and go to church andthere's always a special part in church for those whose Slavais that day. "It's a. family tradition, it gets down the line. Like if my father, if we had° any sons in t4family then automatically his nameday would be St. George. If I marry a Serb I wouldtake his on but if r don't marry a Serb and I still-want to carryon the traditionI would still use St. George, youknow, things like that. It's just something that the wholefamily's together on. It's like the whole family gets together,that's the traditional.part of Every- it. We have all Serbian food,all Serbian everything. body gets together. Well, usually on a Slava daythey bake in it, their own bread and whilebaking the bread they put coins or a coin. . And youbreak off pieces of the breadand whoever gets the coin is supposed tohave good luck for the next 'part of the year. You have a glass of wine andeverybody passes the wine, you know, flom the .sameglass, it's a sharing thing, bringing the family close togetherin doing one particular student from Can- thing." (Collected from a 20 year old woman ton.)

The other young informantremembered many more customs and Ti

.1 159

in a auperstitions, probablytecauseshe lives with her parents Serbs reinforces Serbian community in Lorain.The contact with other about the belief in witches the traditions. She knew many details in Serbia.

Vestica or witch is acommonly believed inocarance. They can appear in manydifferent forms.

"It normally happens to people.that are light*skinned, fair haired. And what it is is in theearly morning hours, just before dawn, right around dawn,when you"re half asleep and half awake, you can feelthis presence come into your room. And you can feel it get up on yourbed. And like it's right there and it's'breathing, reallyheavy by you, you know, and uied to you caa tellfrom the reom. What happens, well, it happen to my aunt so mygrandmother told her,:'Well, the way you get rid of itis you put somethingsharp by the window And by sthe door and that way itwon't come in and bother you.' Well, my aunt did it one nightand it didn't come. She woke up and she said,'this is really silly, youknow, like super- So she took stitious. I'm not going to believe'thisstuff.' the stuff away, she tookthe razor.away from thewindow and and the knife away from thedoor and she went back tobed. And pretty soon she feltthis thing come into the room,start She felt it on her- to get cold. And you can tell it'sthere. bed and she heard thisbreathing (imitates heavybreathirig) bed and put and it really shookher up. So she jumped out of the stuff back at thewindow and the doorand it didn't, bother aunt several times and to her any more."It happened to her skinned people so it her father once. Serbs are usually dark things to happen to is not surprising thatthey expect strange Father the few, fair-skinnedpeople. Vestica are very common, of vestica." told me "everybody saw atleast once some kind Often it is someone you meet onthe road. Jan told me her grandmother met one when she waswalking doign the road one her not to go down night in Serbia. Shd met a man who warned she noticed he hadthe a certainroad. When she looked down and. went home feet of a goat so shelistened to what he said would have happened ifshe another way. They didn't know what had taken the road. Father's brother also ran into one one but night and she wouldn't lethim pass. He laughed about it This culture he added that hisbrother swears that it's true. is one of the is full of belief inthe supernatural and this from forms it appears in. (Collected from a 19-year old woman Lorain in 1973.) and a method She also talked aboutthe belief in the evil eye is found among of protection againstit; this is a belief which ''94-:4$tri:: ' tv.

160

"aor many different ethnic groupsincluding the Italian.

Special pouches areiiventto babiesito Protect them from from the evil eye.

"Okay well, the evil eye. my grandmother was really good at Making up pouches. ..And this mould be likeif when a baby was *pm, U you werelafrAia that the evil eye was going'to get 'it, people mOuld go to my grandmother ana shi.mould make up a pouch:. It'd be la.little sack they'd wear around-their necks S. and iewould be a piece of cOttlin, a nail, a pieceOf coal, , . 'think some.igood. I'm'prettY iure that's about all. And she'd take i(over.to the house.and she'd pray Over the child and .%-thei,y'd tie thu s. pouch around its neck. This was supPosed to 'take care oi the kid-a6 no evil-spirits would get t itor.the

evil eye would bother It. luta can't tell you why she put . .those things in the pouch. I don't know anything about that." Father Matejic,alto knew about putting .kuches around thebaby's neck but the pouches he knew'about had only garlic in.them. Childhood diseases.and infantile death were. very commonin Serbia, at least in earlier times, so precautions agaiast such occurances were developed in an attempt to protectthe young.-

She did not believe in the evil eye, but she did partiallybelieve in the superstition that the first pgrson who enters.your house on Christmas Day will determine,your luck for the yearprobably because her own experiences reinforced it.

"Christmas day the first person who.comes to your house isknown as the Polazenik, whichprobably has something to do with beginning. For us they determine the luck for the restcf the year. If it's a male, you can be pretty sureyou'll have good luck, and if it's a female, you can be pretty sureyou'll have bad luck. You're supposed to have a gift for them when they come in. And mhen they come in they usually come in throwing wheat, grains of wheat, and saying, 'May your chickens and your hogs and your horses and your children multiply as the grainsof wheat.' And you normally throw back walnuts at him because you don't want any more kids in the family. You ought to feed him, for sure he has to have a meal at your house as this will guarantee that you'll be able to have food during the year."

"I know one year one of my friends was Polazenik, we fed him and everything. And that year'we had the worst luck we ever had. My father,broke his ankle, my grandfather died, I had problems with my family and school, and they were going tobuild a house and they couldn't get the lot first and then there was some ruling :-.:-tkle.,.!-. . s '

that you weren't allowed tobuild. Ah man, we hadiso many problems it was unbelievable.Ny re3ther said that if Ron' . came in the housefirst next year, she said,'foroure he's not coMing in. I want him'far away fromthe house', and she kind of meant it. You know it just,depends onwho you have for Polazenik!" Janice's family seems to believe inthis much more than my otherinformants.This could be due to the fait that her family camp from thevillage sind.has remained in with Serbian communities. The other informants have contacts other Serbs but they have had moreeducation and have gw,ten away from thetraditional communities.

A collection ofCzechoslovaiian lore was done by 4a student who used her parents'andgrandparents as informants. Her parents were born inOhio, but her grandparents wereborn in !Czechoslovakia and came to America at the ageof fourteen. She collected a variety of interesting items,especially from her 76-year oldgrand- mother who vividly remembers lifein Czechoslovakia and carries on both Czech and many old-worldtraditions. The grandmother speaks English, so that many of theitems were stated inboth.languages. The proverbial phrase"healthy as a nut"is reporZed inCzech, and and a the contextual.informationindicates that.it is also a game superstition.

Zdrovy aka orech. Healthy as a nut.

(Collected from a 76-yearOld 'Perrysburg woman by her granddaughter in 1973.)

One.of the many traditionsof Christmas 'Was to play aguessing unimportant, but game usingwalnuts. .The rules of the game are the prize for %%Arming the gameis the basis for theorigination awar4ed a walnut.. of the saying. Tfie .child who won the gaine was The-nuts always looked goodfrom the outside but it wasthe core or center of the nutthat determined thechild's future health. If the seeds or meat insidethe orech (nilt) were plump andsweet, ' the child would e blessed"withgood health. If the meats were shriveled or bitter, the child wouldbe pla4ed with illness. The children all cheered andmarveled at the sight of ahealthy nut and replied,"You're as healthy as a nut.", Ifthe child became sick that year, hisillness was.attributed tothe un-. healthy orech. My grandmother relayed thissaying and tale only as a form of entertainment. She says that she does not 162

1 someone's fate and has passed . believe that a nut can determine this saying in oral traditionbecause it was referred to sooften in her younger days.

The recipe for salted bunsalso contains some relevant contextual data which shows exactlywhat the transmission processis like between grandmother andgranddaughter. Salted Buns

Use two Or three eggs - theyolks only Urse one sifter full of flour

Take some cold milk and scald it anddissolve one package . of yeast in it Sift a small hand of salt and abig hand of sugar in withthe flour Mix all that stuff together andthen let rise; pat out onbread- board; cut into circles; p'.ace ongreased sheet, and let rise again. Then bake in 350-400 oven.

If you want to put a filling-inthem, you take regularcottage' cheese, cinnamon, one egg,. raisins,and about 3 tbl. sugar.. Mix this all together and putin the center of the roundcircles after they have risen the secondtime. When they are all. finished,baking, remove from oven, brushwith butter and sprinkle with salt.

This particular recipe reflectsthe true way in which my grandmother prepares her meals andspecialties. When making something like this, she usuallyimprovises as she goesalong; adding This also is a very a little ofthi,s and a little bit ofthat. good recipe, or so she says. I triedsit a long time agoand the buns burned out as hardand tasty AS bricks. I guess my hers. little bit of this and littlebit of that didn't compare to When My hands were a bit smallerthan hers in those days too. frustrated at I asked for the specificingredients, she often got trying to figure out if herhandful equalled Al cup Orwhatever, cooked it. This so she preferredthat I write it the way she may have givenher the feeling that sheknew something that no one else did. In looking at this recipe,it can be seen that cottage cheese and raisins areused in the latter part. Many of the Czech dishes use theseingredients along with nuts and especially poppy seed.

The grandmother was thefamily storyteller, and herrepertoire included a catch tale.and atraditional Czech folktale. 4

163

Once there vas this oldshepherd who had a wholebunch of sheep that he would take to the greatwide pasture every day to let them graze. They would have to crossthis very wide creek On a very narrow bridge. One by one the shepherdguid4d his flock of sheep over thebridge and when they get tothe other side of the creek,I'll tell you the rest of the sZory. m11 I remember when my grandmotherused to tell us this story. Like any young children, wewould always ask her if thesheep were across the bridge yet sothat she could finish the story. She jUst laughed at us and said that the sheep werepretty slow. This tale filled her need forentertainment as she was always so thrilled wben ourgullibilitystook its form. We used to sit in amazement as she began'telling the tale because she was our number one story teller and sheconvinced us that what vas happening waa actually true. After we became older and wiser, or less ignorantas.the case may be, we finallyrealized that she was putting one over on us. I had nct heard the storyfor many years and had almostcompletely forgotten about it. When Grandma. remitold the story for me for thiscollection project, I was ex- pecting to find that the sheep hadbeen eaten by a wolf. As she got towards the end of the story,she started cracking Opbecause she realized that she had gotte meagain. This tale also has revealed that she a psychologicalfunction for her in that it was the wisest andI, the most gullible.

Once upon a time, there wasithisold woman.who wanted to cook 'some beans for dinner..She took some strawand lit it and put the beans in a pot ona-trifus (3-legged trivea. One bean, They all a piece of straw,and a spark fell on thefloor. decided that the old woman wanted to getrid of them so they decided to run away. The bean, she said thatthere was a and when they creek they could cross. So they ran out the door The bean came to the creek,they didn't know how toget across. said that the straw coulddrag himself across andthe rest could and then walk across his back. The bean was ,the first to cross middle of the straw's came the spark. When the sparkigot to the back, he burned the straw inhalf and both fell intothe river and And that floated away.The bean laughed so hardthat she split. Is why the bean has a seamin her today.

This folktale was a favoritebedtime stdry of mygrandmother's when she was a little girl. Since she liked it so well,she relaye0 it to us hundreds andhundreds of times, and witheach re-telling, the story gotbetter and better. The words were shuffled around from time totime but the same oldending was always in sight. We totally believed thatthe, bean actually did get its seam in this wayand can rememberGranny's chuckles of . , .

164

Even delight as she saw the wonderand fascination in our eyes. as She told thestory this.last time,'she emphasized.just the right mords and paused injust the right places 80that I could kfew times, 'she again find some fascinationwithin the tale. added a'shepherd to thetale mho came into thepicture to sew . the bean back together justin the nick of time. The general. . format and happening4 in the.storybasically remained the same, except for this minoraddition. For Grandma; the tellingof the tale always served as a forWof entertainment for.her,ounSelf. Before we learneddiffererito.the story served the.purpose of informing and elucaEing us asto.how the seam in the bean originated.

The contextual information onthese tales indicates howimportant ; storytelling ,was in the family. The grandmother still,has some items.of traditional Czech folkcostumes, and the student wasable to 40scribe them in detailand show the value hergrandmother placed on them.

Floor-length, brightly.colored skirts,the young girls wore.They ,All had fine little plaits inthem. Over the skirt they had a long dark apron with a littlebit of fringe. (macrame)oh the bottom.., They also had white blouseswith -eal. full and puffy with beautiful em- sleeves. Over this, they wore tight vests broidery sewn on them. The dress-up clothes we worehad a lot boots morn embroidery all overthe costome. Everyone wore shiney up to the kneeand girls all wore longbraids with ribbons tied their shoulders. around!their heads. They also wore shawls over

The boysi they all had shorthairs and it lookedlike a bowl was They put on their headswhen they got their hairs cutoff. usually wiare hats that madethem fook like them Cossack men,. They had the They alwayq, wore whiteshirts made out oflinens. vests like the girlsand had lots of hand-sewnembroidery too. They They all wore black pantsthat went down to theircalves. The pants were wore blackboots that met the pants atthe calf. tucked inside the boots.

Grandmothw began telling meabout the traditional dressof the villagers after a lengthydiscussie.- about the Bestheda(a S14Yak dance which is and wasperformed at various Czechfestivals. The brightly colored costumes of theCzechs were worn. She has a few in the of the skirts, blouses, vests,and sashes which were worn danee and in the village. The embroidery work is allhand-sewn visited and is very beautifullymade. A few years ago, Grandma her brother who is stillresiding in Bratislava. She said the 165

dress is almost the same as whenshe.had left her home many years back. "Many ofthe young boys had theirchapkas (hats) filled with chicken feathers, flowers,Or even straws from thefamily brooms. The girls all share in thesewing of the clothes and the costumes all turn out tobe beautiful. It's not Like here where people try to out-dress theother."Her value of the old style of living is reflected inthis statement.

The student's mother voas notfamiliar with as many traditions asthe grandmother, but she did recall a gamethat was played with children and even the Czech words that wentwith it.

Varile miceka kashiku na zelenu.panvicu. Michla, michla, Temi do temu dola temu dala aj .temunedula

. parala, parala, parala-- - (While stirring with her finger in achild's palm.) A lady was cooking porridge on a green pan. She stirred and stirred. She gave some to this one(finger), to the next and the next and the last one (little finger) got none. Then the fingers scamper up the arm andtickle the child under the arm. (Collected from a 53-year old womanfrom Perrysburg by her daughterin 1973.)

My mother used to perform thislittle finger game for uswhen we were very small children. It was much like "this littlepiggy" and since she spoke Slovak asshe worked our fingers, the words were nonsensical to usand added to our enjoyment ofthe game. The Ase of porridge in this gamereflects a traditional ethnic dish of the Czechs. The game was instructive inthat it helped to develop our skills inmanual dexterity ard alsohelped us in learning to hear and distinguish newsounds.

Greeks are a strong and visibleethnic group in Ohio.There are manyprofessional Greek bands,Greek belly-dancers, Greek restaurants and bakeries inthe state. Many Greeks travel back tc Greece periodically sothat ethnic identities arecontinually being reinforced. A good cross-section ofGreek verbal lore was collected by a graduate student atOhio State from otherstudents who were from Greece. The collector wrote a perceptive,in-depth functional analysis of each itemof folklore which adds to the overall value of the collection. The belief in the evil eye includes detailed contextualinformation which is a basis for a complex functional analysis. 166

someone--especially ifit's You must be careful notto praise 3 times into its face orit will aninfantwithout spitting be cursed by the evil eye. Greece living (Collected from a 22-yearold male student from in Columbus in1973.) have served to Mr. P. remembered anincident which seems to belief that even strengthen his convictionin the traditional of admiration the most innocent andwell intended expression "I was can effect theblight of the evil eye. He recalled, Me on the about 11 years old and we weregoing to our orchards, pulling the donkey. donkey, holding my babysister, and my mother bacflwoman. We were passing by thehouse of PD. She was a very She was 75 years old She had a very evil eye. Now she's dead. her house, which, since when.she died. Well, we were going past could not avOid xt. was lying in the centerof the village, we and whenishe saw She was out on the porchin front of the house the pretty red one xliithyou?', us passingshe said, 'You're taking meaning my baby sisterwho had redkhair. my mother did/not like porch we could not spit to hear this, and sinceshe was on the would nct spit towards her house. And of course the old woman She was evil andshe on mysister's face since she wasevil. to her. wanted to see to it that mysister some harm would ccme passing:close next And, well, you know 20minutes later we were and since we were to some tall bushes onthe side of the road that/the branches sitting on the donkey mymother didn't realize were catching on to usand hitting us and shedidn'it realize to I couldn't And .the branches keptpulling on me an pull away. push back the hold onto my sister. I was trying with myhandsP! froM the donkey and bushes and I let go of mysister and she fell Well, that's what happened. She hit her head on theasphalt. . had cursed my sisterand that's thetruth." expression of terror and Mr. P related thismemorate with an As he neared theend of his narrativehe changed his gravity. chair in order to sitting position andseated himself astride a the illustrate the mannerin which he hadtried to push back with the branches of the bush with onehand and hold his sister details of D's The attention whichhe devoted to the other. his total belief life, as well as tohis experience, testified to in this superstition. the Mr. P stated also that"ordinary people" .6tho do not possess admiration for a young evil eye must stillbe wary of expressing of the evil child, lest theyinvoluntarily "bring on the curse sister and the He recalled, "Iremember when was born my eye". Most of relatives came all fromeverywhere around to seeher. sweet them would say nothingabout her--that she was pretty or 41?

%Sr

or anything. But the ones fewwho4did would immediately spit down onto her face. I remember this.timewell. My mother for- bid me to say anything that my sisterwas.nice or something like that. This is how it was in ourfamily."

This incident served again tareinforce Mr. P's conviction in .4 an already traditionalbelief.

Socially, thls superstition servesseveral functions. First, in emphasizing the importance of spittingthree times (as a conversion ritual) it validates thebelief in the mystical powers of religion, for behind thenuMber '3' looms the legacy of the,holy trinity. %In this connection, it isinteresting to noteethat spitting works two ways: sometimes the "spitter" is the person who does the admiring, and the"spittee" is the recipient of that admiration; sometimes--usuallywhen the person who does the admiring "has a very evileye", and, therefore, does not convert his words of praiseby spitting himself--this situation is reversed. Second, it serves to remind thevillagers of and warn them against anegative phenomenon of social behavior,viz. that jealousy and envy often masqueradein their neighbors as admiration, especially when theobject of that admiration is held in high esteem by all (e.g. a-child), Third, it works, es a sharedbelief, 'to stress the impoitance ofinterpersonal relations and community interaction: the opinions and actions of the villagers towards one another arevariously seen as sources of anxiety,illness, injury, or even death. But it serves, as a sharedbelief, also, to encourage a sense ofcommunity spirit: the well-intentioned villager who expressesinnocent admiration for the possessions ofanother also performs some sort .of Conversion ritual to counteracthis words, thus guaranteeing his sincerity; the ill-intentionedvillager who expresses malicious admiration--really envy--for theproperties of another finds that his words trigger the alarm notonly of another villager, butAof the entire community mobilizedagainst a common threat.

Psyrthologically this superstition servesto afford the faithful (in the conversion ritual). a senseof control over the traditionally magical power of wordswhich are often--though not always-- uttered merely unintentionally,by chance. And it works to provide the faithful with a means ofrationalizing unpleasant events by locating their causes in the powers ofthe evil eye.

Another belief about the evil eyehas a legend related to it, and again the collectur analyzes thesocial and psychologicalfunCtions of the belief and legend. hre 168

special care to If, when you are to bemarried, you do not take will fall upon you. please the one who hasthe evil eye, the'curse his convic- Mr. P remembered a legendwhich served to strengthen tion ia this traditionalbelief. He recalled: "There was once She. was 21 and was tobe a verybeautiful girl in our village: married in 2 weeks. This happened 13 yearsbefore I was born. Well, she She was walking to theorchards to pick thecherries. sitting was forced to passby thg house of PD. The oid woman was She in front of her house andsaid to thislirl,'Hello beauty'. the had a very evil eye that woman. They say her 2 sisters had evil eye too but not sobad as her. (shaking head from left to passed by the house with- right, sic.) Well, this beautiful girl out saying anything tothe old woman. She just didn't say anything, not even hello. So D called out to her,she called out light of the to this beautifulgirl, *I hope you don't see the cherry orchards and shp next day'. Well, this girl got to the climbed one cherry tree. She was pretty high upin-the tree. She was picking the cherries. There WAS this bush underneath the tree that had 2 pointedbranches. They were bare, the branches. They didn't have any leaves. Only those 2 points. And this They were sticking up highabove the rest of thebush. beautiful girl slipped from the tree. She just lost her balance and slipped down and fell andhit those two pointedbranches of This really the bush and she died. She died on those 2 branches. She happened. Everyone knows this. It happened 30 years ago. died on those 2 pointedbranches." His use of Mr. P related this narrativewith absolute conviction. of time and the past tense throughout,his attention to details place, and his insistencethat "this really\happened" express satisfies'the demand his total belief in this1.egend (which legend collector is both for narrator-belief andlistener-belief, for the legend totally convinced of itstruth). And his belief in this has served to reinforce histotal belief in thesuperstition which it corroborates. to note just In analyzing thissuperstition it is interesting The structure how it parallels thelegend which Mr. P.provided. above) is of the superstition(although expressed negatively basically the following: disrespect for the (0 condition: if an engaged woman shows one who"has the evil eye" (ii) result: then she will encounterharm

.The structure of Mr.P's narrative is roughly thefollowing: Anl"

169

W. Initial situati.on: On her way to the orchard to VW* pick cherries "this beautifulgirl" passes the house of the local evil-eyed woman. (ii) interdiction: Don't show disrespect to'the woman with the evil eye when you are seento be married. (iii) violation: "This beautiful girl" showsdisrespect by not greeting her. . to the woman with-the evil eye (iv) consequence (lack): "This beautiful girl" loses her life when she fells from acherry tree soon after her encounter with Parthenopi. (v) no attempted escape (see Proppin bibliography)

This analysis shows that theconditioncause of thesuperstition combines the interdiction andviolation segments of the supporting legend) the result clauseof the superstition parallelsthe consequence of thelegend. And the similarities of structure between the .two folk.expressions suggestsimilar functions.

Socially, this superstition servesfirst to warn the villagers of the dangers of conceit andself concern at a, timeof life dur- in ing which they might beespecially prone to thosetendencies: her gay anticipation of mnrriage, a yc,ungwomen often tends to . eentersmost of her attentions onherself and her marital prepara- by Mr. P tions at the expense of others. In the legend provided the girl was obviously sowrapped up in her own thoughts(and his perhaps her extreme beauty,emphasized by Mr. P throughout narration) that she ignoredPartheeopi. Second, this superstition serves to remindthe villagers of an unhappyfact about human nature, viz, thatadmiration often masks envy. A young congratulations and admira- woman about to marrymight expect the that some of the tion of the local folk; butshe must also expect In the legend folk will be a bit jealousof her lucky situation. given above, D addresses thegirl as "Beauty"; perhaps"this Finally, beautiful girl" mistakenly tookthe old woman at her word. this superstition works toreinforce a sense ofcommunity villagers know solidarity among thevillagers, for all of the all take that at the crucial momentsin'their lives they must precautions against a commonsocial threat--envy--personified usually in the old womanknown locally to havethe.-evil,eye.

Psychologically, this superstition servesto provide thefaithful a girl with a sense of securityduring a time of uncertainty: ready to marry can relieveher anxieties by doingsomething evil-eyed woman she material about them. In appeasing the local gains also a degreeof psychological control overthe uncertain- (and men) ties which must certainlyaffect most young women before they take a step asimportant as marriage. C..

170 .

Before leaving this superstition,it isimportantlto note that bringing Mr. P. defined "pleasing the onewith the evil eye" as her gifts as well as payingher verbal respect. He recalled that on market day, as well asbefore weddings,. thevillagers food, cloth, or wares were in the habitof bringing D gifts of before going to market in order toguarantee a successful venture. young"college It is interesting thatalthough her informants are of students in the United States,they maintain a strong sense national identity throughi theirfolklore. That same sense of ethnicidentity can be seen in thelore folklore of a 73-year old Italian womanwho wus the subject of a collection by her granddaughter. The entire project was on one individual, and the collectorprovided very detailedinformation that the meaning on the life andpersonality of her grandmother so the folklore has for herbecomes clear.The complete informant information section of thecollection project follows.

Name of Informant: Giovanna Age: 73 years Ethnic Background: Southern Italian: Calabrian Occupation:. Housewife VAS 0, the daughter of amoderately prosperous orchard owner, in the born in Motta San Giovanni nearReggio, Calabria, Italy, year 1900. Rosa, a frail She had two sisters, onemarried, Margarita, and sister, girl quite the opposite.ofher healthy, vivacious Giovanna, who also happenedto be her father's"bella", his brother, Pietro, andfifteen-year "pretty".There was a married old Anthony. to me'the When I was very very young,Grandma would point out her birth, childhood, and map of Italy anddesignate the place of of that grand boot. young adulthoodwhich took place in the toe The stories she told ofswimming in the Mediterranean Sea,of buying fish from the fishermen, somefrom the island of Sicily, before my eyes of the the picturesque stenesshe made come alive blue-green waters, all theseand many more havebeen just a por- been tion of the southern Italianculture to which I have introduced by my grandmother. 171

are.actually only And the grand waterwayssurrounding her land took place mainlyin a branch a small segmentof her life which Mountains of Italy. Hotta San Giovanni,her of the Apennine feet altitude birthplace, was situated atabout a one-thousand eight thousand. and maintained apopulation of approximately occational. Visits to the sea,although impressive, were the Alps from I hat! seen Italy onlyfrom a map. As I crossed felt as though I had Switzerland into Italyby train, I somehow grandmother's eyes. been there before, andI had, through my celebrated as some other The mountains inItaly, although not as aspects of thecounry, .ve beautifulin a rustic, wooded way. the north of Italy. However, the village This vie was had.in and birth was located nearthe top of a mountain of Giovanna's except for thefact thus proved verysimilar in sUrroundings, that there existed lesstrees in the south. Giovanna-told The.fresh water streamsbroUght to mind stories of cool prolicing veritable whitewashesfrom those waters, of by man-made baths, 'and, of course,refreshing drtgks provided the water,shortage fountains or wells. Many source attest to Calabria and nearbyregiOns. Grandma, while that prevailed in leo.friction in recalling conflicts overwater rights, felt Passanidas lived at one this matter, the reasonbeing'that the in effect, hadfirst of the highest pointsin the mountains and, chance at the water. She does remember oclecdInflictovergter entered not too many yearsbefore she left into Which her father being It was about thistime.that leghe steps were for America. producing even less taken in the matter andthe climate was rainfall. seasonal, fog-riddlnakes, Hidden among thosemountains are also that these would serene andsecretive. Giovanna remembers rainless spells.-Surround- totally dry up,duringthe increasing of mountain village ing these mountains arechained sequences \ outside cafes, the center of which atethe churches and the of the area. reflecting the"campanilismo" or regionalism plagued by hunger Although Giovanna's youngerlife was far from mecessities, it wasboth an or lack ofwhat she deemed vital time, carefree exis- isolated, hard-working,and, at the same she was reared,which was tence. Because of the sheltered way the custom of the dayand the atea, andthe religious practices the land, the based upon Catholicism,her life was confined to visits to the nearest church,minimae schooling, and occasional saints' days celebrations. large town, Reggio,for shopping or small villages. Saints' days celebrations werealso held in the Giovanni was St. The patron saint, orprotector, of Mott...a San VI

0 172

John the Baptist. The English equivalent forGiovanni is John,

thus the village was named for him. p.

While under strict surveillanceupon.lelving the farm, her father's land provided ample "leg" room andmuch freedom. Giovanna remembers numerous, happy dayshelping her father oversee the hired hands,the fruit pickers, and, in general, assist in supervising the land whichconsisted roughly of about 50 acres, originally, enough land toprovide an independent living for a family.

Of course, Giovanna came inherently tolove the figs, cherries, apples, and'assort- , plums, oranges, peaches, grapes, apricots, ment of nuts, and variousspecies of olives which grew lushly on the property. She also learned traditionally tocook and can or preservethese products, bake bread by the dozensof loaves at the "fornello", or community oven,due to the shortage of wood andcharcoal in this area, and cooktfiat delicious Italian cuisine.

She did washings on rocks in the mountainstreams and, in con- trast to all of these, was,electedby her village to participate in a parade to celebrate theill-fated Mussolini, who, at that time, WAS considered a "hero", a man whowould lead the Italians to restoration of pastglories. However, her father objected because he did not approve of this typeof activity for his daughter, even though he favoredMussolini.

47 At the age of nineteen, a marriage to auItalian man in America, Charles Pasquali, a "paesano", wascontracted for her by'her father. However, travel regulations requiredthat she be twenty-one years, and thus, two years later, at agetwenty-one, she set sail for a foreign land, completely alone. Hers was not to be the greatwedding celebration as was the custom of the dayand area. She left her parents and all otherfamily behind at the place ofembarkation, Naples, and was never to see themagain.

Fifteen days and fourteennights later, she met a man at aharbor in New York,.a man who wastwenty-one years her senior and a widower with five children byhis previous marriage.

The situation seems very difficult. It might be questioned why her father allowed her to leaveItaly knowing he would probaoly never see her again,and it might be asked why amarriage to a man with an already-madefamily was contracted. But one must remember the dream of going toAmerica, "Amer;.ca", the land of "gold-paved streets" that was the desireof millions of foreigners around the turn of the century. In America, believed herfather she would be given greateropportunities, perhaps great wealth. I . ;:!t

173

Was inevitable In America, Giovannamight-survive the war that her the for Italy, World War I. And he wanted also to spare problede that could not beignored in southern Italy,the grow Wealth, in a monetary ing economic andecolegicarproblems. sense, she neverrealized. War she survived. family was living The conditions under whichher newly 4equired were far from rich. Charles was a hard workerand gocild provider, but he was unable to managewell the domestic coreof his children as well as be their"bread winner" after hisfirst wife's ecath. So, Grandma settled intoher new, chaotic life with faith in God,enthusiasm, courage, and a greatdeal of well-hidden homesickness. She loved Charlie. He should never know the sickness in herbreast. What a change from thelife she had known!

She did not speak a wordof the language and yet,this same saw her woman who didnet know to "lice an ice-cream cone, ehildren through school, did themarketing, and performed all the "new" dumUstic chores, andafter having movedtooDhio, bore six more children of her ownand reared two othersduring the she would be Great Depression. Perhaps her father knew that history. prepared for any hardship. He could rely on.her past

Once during a devastatingearthquake in Italy,,,onewhich nearly Of swallowed up" her own house, she reicued herMother and sister. She went through rowafter row of dead victimsin the village searching for rela- and in Reggio unveilingtheir racked bodies by pulling a tape wormfrom its tives. She "cured" a sick dog her throat. She physically bdat anolder boy who insulted Giovanna could father. Yes, she was spirited addhe knew it. herself a wealthy survive and she has. And now she considers woman.."My.children have made merich." will and courage All of the above is atestament to the strong of Giovanna, but I dare say,anyone who has comeinto contact beauty, radiant with her will alsotestify to her physical persunality, and sense ofhumor.

Gievanna's traditions have permeatellher lifestyle in America of all those about and have influencedand enriched the lives greatly and with much enjoyment her. These have been manifested delicacies, such as the at the table in theform of all seasonal "jUmbilita", a special raisedChristmas cookie withanise sea- Easter delight, and soning, the flat,flower-shaped, waffle-type the "sweetbread" baked alsoespecially at Eastertime.

1 7'3 IN01114 174 4

dishes She delights.in preparingthe Italian "pasta" or macaroni such as spaghetti, rigatoni, orvermicelli with many different types of sauces, thehome-made bread, and specialsalad and vegetable dishes all made with pureolive oil. When Grandpa was alive, homemadewines were always served.

Her great interest andexcitement has.always permeatedthe religious and holiday customs,such as Baptism, Confirmation, First Holy Communion, as well asweddings and Christmas etc. She places God and religionabove all else and depends upon "Him" to care for her family and helpher through all rough times. She attends Mass very often,almost daily and has donated much time to the Churchthroughout her life. I can't remember ever being with mygrandmother Nhen she hasn't said, "God Bless!" or "Jesus, Josephe, Maria!" or"Thank God".

She loves people and has neverclosed her doolgeto anyone. This generosity is a virtue common toall Italians and is a value she has impressed upon all herchildren. Although she accepts all epople, Giovanna ascribesstill to the "superiority" of the European, specifically Italian, man. As she says,"They no can pbe beat." Her loyalty to herhusband_was outstanding and "Charlie" came first in everything.

One of her greatest assets isher great style of storytelling. Oh, to be able to captureher style on paper! At times she becomes to involved in her talesthat she begins to speak bi- linguUly. This often proves difficultfor a person unaccustomed to her shifting from onelanguage to another, and worse yet,to However, in a persoh who cannotunderstand a word of Italian. in "her" the folklore genres thatfollow, she spoke very fluently dramatically English. And she delights inproduang an abundant, portrayed supply, the gesturesof which are describedwithin the items.

With the understanding ofthis woman provided by herbiography, The tradi- the folklore she talksabout becomes more meaningful. not tional expressions she usesin her everyday life can be seen, directly to her deeply as sacrillgious,but just the opposite, tied felt religious convictions.

"Madonna!"

The word "Madonna" meansMadonna, the word for the Motherof God and,ata moresecularlevel, lady. The Italians use the expression in many ways and at many1eve13. Onc of these is much the same as the Americanexpression, "Oh, mother!"that is said out of disgust ..)r anger and sometimesjust surprise. .M"

175

It is basically religiousand is often said as a meansof petition for aid to the BleesedMother. Equally common is the use of the word to expressdisgust, surprise, or wonder; Use in the first of these may seemsacrilitious but one must under- 'Stand the context and intent of thespeaker befor* he can make *such judgments. The word is used actually almostinseparably as religious ora-religious.

The expression functions sociallyind psychologically in that it supports belief in a figure who entersstiongly in the society socially as well as religiously, theBlessed Mother, and is also an outlet, an emotionalexpression, used to show surprise.ar wonder or release anxiety, in particularsituations. (Variant)

"Jesus Josephe, Maria:"

This means Jews, Joseph, Mary and refers tothe "Holy Family", In this very common proverbial saying,the most outstanding value it reflects is that of the strong familytra4tion. The Holy Family serves as. the model for allfamilies.

Interesting to note is that the Italian model namesthe two men The American Catholic say, "Jesus, Mary;and Joseph" as . first. an equivalentexpression. This pattern denotes the level of significance of each person. Jesus would be the highest figure, then his mother, then the earthlyfather. Perhaps the Italian order is based on euphonism, thesound of the two J's together being "easier on the ear" and easiersaid the flowing style of the Italian language. It also serves a psychologicalfunction, as does the aboveexpression.

Her total belief in the"evil eye" is indicated by the memorateshe tells.

"Mal 'Occhio" (Evil Eye) work bypeople who are jealous. My sister-in-law, she say it happen toher, the one she die.

One day, she make so manyblouses, cut and sew in no time. A lady come and say, "Gee, you do lotsof sewing. You work like eleetrica!" (electric, very fast)At that minute my sister-in- law say she got sick at once with the head. She can do nothing anymore. She call someone to take mal'occhio away. Some people know who to call for her. Some kind of people like fortune teller know what to do. She put oil in a bowl with cold water and the oil forms a design like a bad tongue.(gestures a snake, movements with 11,?.r fingers) They have.to say prayer over oil. They

I 75 ' ty:1". '

176 4.

Then my sisteri-in-lawfeel pour oil anddo it again andagain. I could havedie." (I better. She say, "Thank thislady. She (the sister-in-law) neverlet don't know who wasthis lady.) anyone watchher sewn° more." brought upon one by Belief in the evileffects or bad luck in the Italian tradition exposure to the"Evil Eye" is timeless in America and notjuat and continuei to existat a strong level in Italian fdmilies. the lady with the The basis of it is envy. As Giovanna says, (taken as mal'occhio expressed praise,orally in this case, This inflicted a envy) at the otherwoman's sewing success. her bad headache upon the sewerimmediately and rendered believed incapable of completingher work. The "Evil Eye" is in-born trait in certain menand women which to be a mystical, to bestow gives them the power,unconsciously or consciously, merely,by bad luck, ill heakth, poorfinances, etc., on others expression of praise, orlack of expressionof an a glance, an God" after expected social saying such as"God Bless" or "Thank a statementof praise. performing the A witch, in this case, a"good" one, capable of "spell" was called in. proper rituals tobreak the magic of the Giovanna refers to her as atype of fortunetellei, which I believe to be an attemptto explain the"witch-like" qualities in a This particular witchplaced oil.and water of the lady. This bowl until the designof a "bad tongue" wasformed. Glovanna gestures a probably means a"snake-like" form, as She explairts snake's movement at thispoint in the memorate. it woman's expression ofpraise that meant-that that it was the After power' of the "evil" tonguethat had to bebroken. was the the bowl repetition of the ritualseveral times and prayers over left and she WAS able to each time, thesister-in-law's headache continue her work,this ttme with morecaution.

Eye" figures verystr;ngly in the social Belief in the "Evil etiological, traditions of the culturebecause it is essentially theory of causation,and is nompletewith in some casest a was-told avoidance practices andritual. Apparently the account to Glovanna by nerdeceased sister-in-law. be viewed in theoverall Both the superstitionand the story can southern Italian .culture context of thesupernatural beliefs of The belief in the super- which still has a stronginfluence on her. and many of the legendsand natural alld herCatholicism ore related meworates she tellsshow this relationshi.p 177

"Thieves the day when Our LordJesus travel. My mother and my grandmother used to tell me.It'was on Friday. This be ell Jesus would generations, hundreds andhundreds of years when He dresss in rags try people. Nobody could tell who wasJests. and like a poor man goknock door to door andhe ask people the directions and haw far hehad to go to get to suchand such a tell me how far I got to goto get place. He say, "Would you to such and suet aplace?" "What can When he knock one door,the lady answer and she say, dough (gesture of I do for you?" She had her hands full of hands) and she feel sorrybecause she can't go anyfarther because she work the dough. But she came out onporch and say what directionlike turnwest (points west)and point out the was tull of way. When she cane back in thehouse, the bigodb have dough! God had blessed her. Then she knew thej man must be Jesus. She had enough to make100 loaves!" lessed dough that Grandma added afterwardsthat God supposedly ipecifically names is mixed on Friday. This explains why she fs obvious from the Friday. The oral tradition ofthe legend fact that Giovanna refers tothe telling ?f it toher mother-by . her grandmother, from hermother to her,/and so on.

The most obvious value itreflects is, of course,religious throughout the country testing belief. God supposedly traveled If they peogle in their kindnessand generosity to strangers. proved virtuous, they were 7awarded or blessqd as wasthis lady in the above legend. If not, they werepunished. s.uch a test that The variant of this le6endthat follows depicts the previous legend. ends in punishment andis a continuation of

"God continue on his way. He stopped atthis one place and knock hair clear down to herwaist. on the door. The woman had long busy. The man (Jesus) askher the way. She say, "Oh, I'm And she (gestures wman brushing herhair) You go this way." just tell him, notshow him, N, The After he gone, all of herhairfall down. She Was a bald. old people say the same persnnwho went to thelady's house and blessed her dough was athers. (God) God punish her. It was too much for her to get upandshow him." of the words, God and It is interesting tonote the interchange in the Trinity, which Jesus. Catholicism teaches belief Father, the symbolizes that there arethree persons in God, the Jesus refer Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus, the terms God and Jesus as the son. to the same person,God as the Father and *2'

178 g

She was a "When I had ay JoAnnesick, it was a miracle. "bambino" (baby) and she baddouble pneumonia and something (c4sps wrong ap thestomach. This is a miracle ofthe saint! hands toget,her and_looks up(toward heaven).

Everybody says theold-fashioned pray to SaintJohn and St. know. You John had a bad death; They cut his head off, you ask St.*John know thisaurself. Some ol' people tall me to baby will coma to give glace,believe in him, and maybe 70= back--she almost dead.

Ikno4f The people watchthe"b.y upstairs. I was downstairs. I got all my baby's % my baby,she's almost gtq.e (sigh) So, clothes and I clothes, diaper, panty,little dress, all baby You \ say to myselfthe4Daby 'dead and I put themin the drawers. think it was \ /* know we had a coal stovethem a day, 1927--no, I Fou; five or sixwere'all arktund the-bed. 25. I went, upstairs. . "fredo" ftold) all Hy sister-in-law touchthe baby and she was It was snow oupw---. over. She covered the babywith the blanket. she tell.--Me side. She say, "No cry." She was from Itaq,and to pray to St. John as-herd as you vent baby tolive,,,=She say, Anna "You know there Are sevenbrothers of St. John.",,IMary The baby not quite say to me,"Learn the rosary of St. John. In tensminutes, dead now." I say, "I don't knowit" and cry. Then -she tell I learn and now, youknow, I can't riememberit. me to listenfor some kind of sign..It was about 11:00.

By the end of the rosary,I no hear no thing. She *(Mary Anna) two women say, "Bequiet!" (whispering) Oh South Cedas. Street, Listen!" were comin' from the grocerystore. She say, "Ssh! listen' I say, "They argue over something." She say, "But you front of my house. what they argue"for." The two wvimen stop in under my window, They are two Black women. Finally, when they get He got mad and lockthe door with one said,"They argue all day. I was upset. I key and talk nomore." I didn't understand. knew this was a sign. St. John wouldn'ttalk to me direct. open. I say, We went upstairs tothe baby room and her eyes was been) dead "Oh, dear. Miracle! Miracle!" That baby was (had All our family was "vero". (really). The baby she move now. happy." At11 the end of thenarrative, Grandma saidtttht she still was worried about what hadhappened.Mary Anna told her to go to Vincenna, a cousin bymarriage, and tell herthe story. She would explain. c'

17s 179

Vincenna said that the twopeOple argding symbolizedOur Lord and St. Jo,hn. This woman, Vincenna, saidGrandma, vas older'and wanted to do knew more than she'did. Vincenna said that St. John Giovanna the favpr of saving JoAnnebut that God had opened the doors of heaven to.the baby. So, St. John won the argument. (Jesus locked the dooiLand.refusedto.talk anymore.) Her baby stayed with her: She adds, "That's why I got mybaby today."

The saint referred to is St. Johnthe Baptist, who was the patron saint of9iovanna's birthplace, Hotta SanGiovannat named after him and one in whomshe placed much confidence.

This memarate of first handexperience depicts the intense belief in the existence of saints, areligious value. S ints were looked uponin much the same way as Greekskpok9d n on their gods, that is, on familiar footingwith other men. (See annotation.) The ore difference existed in meansof communication. Giovanna remarks that a sign wouldbe given and says that St. John would never speak directly toher. The interpretatioa of the sign is given by an older, moreexperiedced woman and Grandma says specificallythat the lady (Vincenna), whodoes the inter- preting, is from Italy. This is an attempt by Giovannata validate that such things can occurand did probably often-in Perhaps she thinks only anotherItalian could really ba-,..e , Italy. understood the significanceof the whole miracle.

Grandma refers to St.John's having had seven brothers in her memorate which probably was anattempt to show that,he would not want to see the family losethe addition as he was alsofrom a large family. This aspect reinforces the strongfamily tradition inherent in the society.

The motif of healing by saints canbe found in many folk-groups. This motif also reinforces thestrong sense of belief in supernatural phenomena common tosouth Ital n culture.

Another legend is secular in natureand projects a concept ofchance and fate in southern Italianculture as does the folk game she describes.

"This is long. Now there is Good Fortuna(fortune) and Bad Fortuna. My father, uh, had a uncle,old man. One night, f,he's uh, woman, she went into hisbed and say, "Hei, kntonio, wake up." He sleep. (makes snoring sounds) She shakos him and say, 'lAsten to me. Get up come with me." He say, "Where?" Silk,. say, "Listen to whatI hay. If you want Good Fortuna, comewith me." He see her earrinps shining and awoman's shadow. She say, "If you wanc to be rich, I'm the GoodFortuna." He say, "I no believo." She say, "You better believeme." She work so hard he finally get tp. cemetery. They walk and walk andwalkluntil they get to the When they get to There are mountains andbad roads, uh, rough. like over here the front of thecemetery,.they, got big walls, (gestures a large you no see(refers to Americancemeteries) wall) and ha-ve big gates lockwith pad-da-lock and arehigh.. When thdy get to the gate, overthere, (points away) some man the man come right up fromnowhere. They never see before and "I want say, "Where are yougoing?" Shd (Good Fortuna) say, fortunal good luck. him to go with me becauseIt is his night of The other guy had a gun. He vas Rad Fortuna. The woman's ear- r!rigs still shine like a dime.

Bad fortuna answer, "No, youcan't go through this tat7." Gaed Fortuna say, "But thisfortune is for him." "This fortune is not forhim," say Bad Fortuna. The man was so afraid that he..istened to all things from good and Bad Fortuna. All at once, a wind, a rain,and they had it fly her (Good Fortuna) a bigmountain--and the wind so strong from the cemetery away up on amountain and the man stoodshakin' iike a leaf.

Bad Fortuna say, "Well, Antonio,I no let you go through. Antonio is my second cousin. My daddy say this hAopen tohim. So Bad Fortuna left and thelady (Good Fortuna) COMAback again. She say, "Now, Antonio,believe me. Tomorrow you go, when you get up, you walk,like from here to Divamos(about 11 mile) and climb a small mountirrr When youclimb over, there you got a little tree." She give all directions. "You dig out under that tkee. Look at what I want to giveyou."

The man went over therewith his son because he nofeel good. is a big And this too bad--when theyfind tree, under the side ilk* coal, no kettle full of si.lver, butthe silver is all black His good no mork. And the 111P11 die. He no live 2 or 3 days. (shakes her boy tell everybody. Silver all black likecoal. Fortuna and Bad head in disappointmtnt) So the man got Good Fortuna. in this legend The reference to the goodand bad fortune described is reflects th,_ "chance," elementinherent in a society that basically uncertain aboutsurvival. Livelihodd depended mainly upon climAe andgo4d crops. However, in this taLe,Giovanna indicates clearly het protagonist,Antonio, has the powcr to dec:de his spun flte. She refers to his listening tothe arguments from both sides, Good id Bad Fortuna'.

The woman awakening the mant.N.le he sleeps is somevhatunclear. There is no imolication thatth woman is theman's wife, hut strong evidence impliesher "witchcrztft" or the"%.1se woman" 1.

181

figu-.. with shiningearrings and image. She appears as n.shadowy She idea of the"witch" is she flies, with theaidlof the ulnd. being from southern Italian folkloredoes not necessarily mean a be part the world of the supernatural. Witchlike qualities could of the dual personalityof a human being. mentioaed at the The man, referred to asAntonio, a cousin, is beginning of the tale and againmidway through. This is probably since when the name an uncorsc.ious attemptto verify the story, 11;,w she is related is first mentioned, thereis hesitation as Zo her the story, which again to him. She tells us her father told reinforces the oral tradition. takes Ironically, she mentions thatAntonio does not feel well and his son to the treasure site. He dies soon after. Could this explain the death?The fact that the silveris corroded and use- less reinforces the themethat finding such treasureis certain This to bring misfortune. Nothing in life comes soeasily. reflects the "fatalism" of thesouthern Italian. Life is difficult and one must accept it asit is.

The cemetery, the big gates,the stormy weather--allof these images are comnion to suchtles.Also interesting is the use of the trite expressionsby Giovanna in suchdescriptions as "black like coal," "shining like adime" that reflect the influence of the Englishlanguage in her verbal lore. with a "The men, they had their fun too. They tie up your eye band but first they let you seeall the potshangin' from a (blindfold), turn you around a ropc above. They blind you couple times and give abig stick. The men hit thepoi;s-boom: (demonstrates striking at thepots) Someone get the 50 lires, when the man the best one, some wine, someurine (laughing) and People hit pot, he got whatever wasin--some good, somebad. laugh and have a goodtime." element of This adult game reflects veryclearly the "chance" saint's day or the society. The game takes place during a his "pot" blind- feast day celebration. The man must choose wisely, will be a rewliardof folded. To him that chooses most unlucky 50 lires, approvimately10c. To him that chooses an sight of the pot will come anythingfrom wine to urine, the latter, of course, being a great meansof enjoyment to the basis for bad luck in the audience. Human error is seen as the society as well as God's wiLland tais game reflects LidsbasLc idea.

S (

182

functions psy- The game is a means ofreleasing anxiety and whole function socially as a chologically.The festivals as a chief means of recreation. but they are These are but a few itemsfrom a loni collection, representative of onewomun's traditional knowledgeand in some third and ways of Italian peoplein Ohio. Many Italians of the this woman fourth generation have, lostthe rich folklore which knowledge of such has, but other studentcollections indicate a superstitions as the evil eye evenamong youngAmericanized people still of Italian descent, andthe folk cooking traditions are extremely vital. from To this point, all ofthe ethnic.groups discussed came minority in Europe to the United States. There is another ethnic from the south- Ohio which has Evropeanantecedents but which came This is the Mexican- western United.States,andMexico to Ohio. population has settledmainlY American group. The Mexican-American the surrounding in northwestern Ohio,in Toledo, Findlay, and folkways countryside. They have brought man!,of their traditiofial Findlay attest with them; numerous Mexicanrestaurants in Toledo and to the vitality oftheir folk cookery. in Ohio. Mexican folklore is arich though untapped resource Each year betven May andOctober thousands ofMexican families of Texas tc avel leave their homes in.theLower Rio Grande Vallev the crdps on north to Ohio'and othermidwestern.states to harvest migratory agriculturalworkers the farms. Although many of these hundreds each return to "elValle" at the end of the season, many Despite year "setcleout," that is, remain inOhio permanently. Paredes includes t'dis the faet that "elValle" is in Texa,s, Americo area in whathe refers to as"Greater Mexico" because Mexican people on both tradltdons and the Spanishlanguage are sharPd by into Ohio sides of :.he Rio Grande. Mexican people who migrate cultural traditioas from "Greater Mexico"bring their language and be eane to tap thisrich with them. Much field work needs to resource of folklorein Ohio.

) 183

gradually In studying the genresof Mexican folklore one becomes aware of how muchMexican lore is religiousih nature,. play6 presented during For example, there areautos, or religious (songs of praise) the Christmas and Easter seasons,and aLabados well as folk poetry to the Christ Childand the Virgin Mary, as composed by Mexican folkpoets for the Virginof Guadaluir, The following is an patroness and protectressof Mexican people. Arnulfo exaMple of.a song of praisecomposed by the folkyoet, Castillo, in Delta, Ohio, in 1974collected by InezCardbiO- . it as a salutacion'al Freeman. Senor Castillo referred to amanecer, a morninggreeting to the Virgin. Virgen.Soberana 'Sovereign Virgin Good mornIng, White Dove, Buenosdtas, Blanca Paloma,' Aurora de. la manana, Dawn of the morning, belle tstr011a reluciente' Beautiful shining star de mi patria mexicana. of my Mexican homeland.

Como reils d'este suelo As Queen ofthis_landi. claims you. mi corazen te reclama. my heart Virgin, A tf, Virgencitalinda, You, pretty little you, sovereignQueen. atf, Reina Soberana. We came to you singing A tto venimol cantando soul, con el corazon yel alma. with our heart and liftle Virgin, A.tt, Virgencita linda, to you, pretty Virgin. mi Virgen Guadalupana. my Guadalupan land Como Reina deste suelo As queen of this mi corazon te reclama. my heart claims you. Virgin, A ti, Virgencitalinda, You, pretty little You, sovereign Queen. a4, Reina Soberana. land of Aztecs Venistes a tierra Azteca, You came to the consecrate it. venistes a consagrarla. you came to north, resde el orionte al poniente, from east, west, south, de sur a norte te they call out to you.

Como reina d'este suelo, As Queen of this land mi cora7:o te reclama. my heartclaims you, You, rcetty littleVirgin, A tit .Vlrgencita linda, You, sovereign Queen. atf Reina Soberana. 184

For tomar laposesiOn For being claimed by de ula indita,mexicans, A littleMexican-Indian girl, me Mexics estaorgulloso, My Mexico is proud; su q9razon te regale. and gives you her heart.

Como Mina d'este suelo, *As Queen of this land mi corazon te reclama. my heart claims you, A tt, Virgenetta linda, You, pretty little Virgin, atf reina Soberana. You, sovereign Queen.

The words, BuenosDfas, Blanca Paloma (good morning, white dove) is a convention found in other alabados. One of the ways of identifying folk poetry isby its use of whatfolklorists'call conventions and formulas. Certain phrases and word groups appear over and over in folk poetryand are used consciously and unconsciously by the folk poet as a framefor building his poetry. These borrowed phrases and word groups appear overand over; they are the communalthread that ties the folk poet to histradition. Religious legends (leyendas) are also very commonin Mexican

folk traditions.The most famous religiouslegend in Mexico is the legend of the appearance of theVirgin of Guadalupe,to Juan

Viego. The following version of thislegend was told by Senora Amelia Nava to Mrs. Joy Hintz inTiffin, Ohio, in 1974.

One morning when Juan Diego wasabout to cross a hill, he heard divine music. All of a sudden in a cloud he saw abeautiful lady who told Juan that shewished to have a church built in a special site. When Juan arrived in town,he spoke to the Bishop about the m-tracie. (apparition),but the Bishop refused to believe believe him. He wanted more proof. Juan himself did not at first. When the Virgen told him shewanted to meet him again at the same time, Juan tookanother path to town. He was in.a :lurry to see the bishop about hisdying uncle. Our Lady appeared again to Juan and asked him why hedidn't do as she had asked. He answered her by asking forforgiveness, and telling her he was in a hurry to get the bishopfor his dying uncle. The Virgen told him not to worry hec,Iuse alreadyhis uncle was well. She also appeared to his uncle at the samemoment she appeared to Juan. All this was a miracle, too.

The following day while on his way to mass,the Virgen appeared again. Juan told her that the bishop wantedproof. The Virgen 185

told Juan that close, by some rosesgrew. He was to go cut some flowers in and take them to theBishop. Juan had nevtr seen he was surprised to that arid spot, but whenhe climbed the hill Juan see roses growingin between rocks addprickly pears. gathered the roses in his serapeand took them to thebishop. when he opened Again Juan told the bishopwhat had happened and Virgen's image painted his serau all were surprisedto see the knees before this miracle. on his serape. All fell on their the altar was Later on a chapel wasbuilt on this hill and on church, the placed Juan Diego's serape.To the Mexican, this It Basilica de Guadalupe, isthe most sacred inthe Republic. and the poor. is visited every day ofthe year by sick people People are brought therefor healing, help andconsolatfon. Thts is why we are proud tobe Mexican. To the Mexican the Mother Virgen is not only our patronessof Mexico, she is the is the image of God, Queen of Mexico. She has brown skin, and from Juan, because of a Mexican woman. She did not run away because we she, too, is a Mexican. This is part of our lives believe in this miracle andthe prayers. This story is passed books and made intomovies. on toMexican-Americans, is in prayer well aslegends Many legends aboutburied treasures are told as

BIXief tales in- , about witches (brujas)and the devil(diablo). to date volving spells and curses arealso very common although 4.0043 very few of thesehave been collectedin Ohio. narrative The following memorate, orpre-legend (a personal was collected with sup2rnaturalelements) about a buried treasure Arnulfo in Ohio in 1972 byInez Cardozo-Freemanfrom 'ttle folk-poet, in this Castillo. Memorates attempt tovalidate superstitions, instance the belief thatthe spirits of thedead return. incredible, but it I'm going to tell a storywhich they say ir is true. small but very In 1930 I was still achild of five years, very It happened that myfather was invitedby some friends lively. their ranch, called who greatly esteemedhim, to come and live on ranch, hidden inthe mounti'ins. Cerro Blanco. It was a very pretty by father, with great And as these peoplehad always esteemed friends, and pleasure my father acceptedthe offer of those good I found myself we moved tothe Rancho del CerroBlanca. would go out . surrounded by/mTilly littlefriends and every day we Once we were in themountains togethert9Aare for the animals. 186

together until the dayended. we playedpeacefully, all running paradise." As the saying goes,"Everyone is happy in his own always the men of agri- And so, 1910 passedand 1931 began and as seed. But the culture began to preparetheir soil to plant the plant the seed and earth remained preparedbecause the time came to the whole district.And not a drop of waterfell from the sky in these places, if God all the people began tobecome sad because in great cala- doesn't send the rain, thepeople can't live, and po a mity began. mountains, and the They drained the springsthat floyed in the cattle began to getsick from thirst and forlack of pasture those because everything was dry. But saddest of all were of thirst small cattle ranchers whowatched their cattle die not and hunger. And the day arrivedwhen there wasn't water, the fathers even for the people, let alonethe animals, because fifteen miles of the family had to gosearch for water ten or away and theyhad to bring it back ontheir shoulders because where the beasts fellthey never got up. this Everywhere the same clamor washeard. One lay in July of brother same year, anuncle of mine visited us,Jesus Castillo, complained about the of my father,.and he,like everyone else, ,something so calamity, at last asked myfather to help him with the same situa- he could continue living. But my father was in n're all in the tion. All he said was,"Brother of my heart, And so Jesus continued same trouble. We cannot help you." complaining. was Pimenio After a long while, aneighbor of ours', whose name became happy Figueroa, arthi-,y:0, and myuncle, on seeing him, And and greeted him andthey began to talkabout their poverty. Then my that led them to starttalking about hiddentredsures. and you are so uncle said to Pimenio,"You are suffering hunger would close to the treasureof the Jiro. If I lived here, I haveaolready gone to askthe Jiro formoney." quarrel with the dead And Pimenio replied,"No, Jesus, I don't and the dead should because they are thingsfrom the other world going to face. It be left in peace. And think about who yop are hear anyone talk about is the Jiro. Around here, wheaever we those who have seen the Jiro, it makes ourskin crawl because theegro again. him pass in the night neverhave the nerve to meet That's how it

*And my uncle repli,.!. "WRIA, Idon't believe a man can be so for afraid, least of all you,Pimenio, who serve as a gunman 187

the bullets Guadalupe Villanueva.- Youhave always warked among already dead." but yet you are afraidof a Jiro.that is it's only because Pimenio said, "It's notbecause I'm so afraid, fight against him." he is a spirit andnobody has been able to I've heard you are my uncle Jesus replied,"Well look, Pimenio, the proof andI'm your friend a brave manand today I'm hearing and have never been akiller" Pimento replied to And these words hurtPiminio very much and nobody's going to scare me. Let's my uncle,"We/1 look Jesus, get the job d e." Valente, if Then Pimtnio said to myfather, "You're the witness, Everything is for the vision we don't'return no one is to blame. talking, "Think well aboutit, of money."And Pimenio continued Jesus, before it's toolate." think My uncle replied,"Look, Pimenio, you think I'm going to wherever you find it. when I need money? The trick is to get it anything more to I've made up my mind." And they didn't say each other. bottle of wine and Then Pimenio went outof the house and got a begah to drink it. They my fatherand my uncle and Pimenio finished this bottle andbrought another andcontinued drinking. to my uncle,"All But now it,was gettingdark ant.: Pimenio said the Jiro right, Jesus, nighthas come. Now is the time when We should approach comes out andwanders up and downthe roads. looking for us here. his place with rare sothe Jiro won't come If you really want to go,follow me." tie myself to you in My uncle replied,"Let me bring my rope to alone." case T becomeafraid and you won't leave me leave you." rimenio Teplied,"Don't worry, I won't bottle of wine ani And they went to the storeand each bought a there knew by a left for the mountains,the place everyone Canyon.of Hell," in .tust that is very strange. It is called "The thinking aboutzthe name, no onewanted to pass there,especially at night.

night in-6.;e But Pimenio andjestis Castillo had wanted to spend a the legend, tought with company of theJiro, who according to many when he wasalive as yell as whenhe was dead because those terrible bandit and who saw him when be wasalive said he was a

I I 188

with blood. Also he buried a great teasure,but it was stained dead men and for this they know thit heburied the monei with when they took reason no onecould get it.They also said that tied him to the.saddle him prisoner, they cutoff his head and they let the reinsof the horse loose so of his own horse, and For this the horse draued himuntil he was ftnisheCin pieces. this Jiro reason, thosewho had had the luckof running into were lefthorrified with fear.

It was close to midnightwhenJestls and Pimenio arrived at the was, and Canyon of Hell where theyknew the fabulous treasure encina, a huge live close to this treasurethey found a capuda Pimenio and Jesus went oak, which made theplace more somber. encino because it was and sat at the footof the trunk of the shaded himself from said that this was theplace where the Jiro the sun. Jestis Once they were seatedtogether at the trunkof the Liscino, tie ourselves so that said to Pimenio,PWell, noT7 is the time to if you run you have todrag me with you."\ they had brought, -And they continueddrinking the wine which they began to hear when suddenly, thereabove them in the canyon leaping,down the bleating of a goatthat at the same time same It froCm rock to rock until'it came towhere they wev. seated. Pimenio and Jesus wereparalyzed was threateningto hutt them and they heard againblows from in that moment. And then it left and around them But what most tormentedthem was that all abow,. And immediately the sound of the. rattlingof chains never ceased. bull that came they heard another loudoellow, but now it was a Pimenio and after them and threatenedto trample themboth. A backed away . Jesus were nearly deadwith fear. At last the bull third (thing that from them but theycouldn't get,up and the happened) was the worst. chains as though Then they began to hearthe rattling of the It was thc Jirothat what was coming wasgoingto jump on'them. with so hp wouldn't rattled the chaing"thatthey had tied him between get away when theytook him prisoner. And he came up and with this them and then he placed aband on each of them, ask him for the they were so frightened that they'couldn't well, he money. And as they couldn'task him for the money, left'them in peace and thatterrible noise ceased. and couldn't But Pimenio'and Jesushad become dumb with terror Jesus) could do was to talk to each otfier. All Pimenio (a"nd other and get away get loose from the ropeand Clint, to each back ta the ranch. from that terrifyinplace, and they went 189

back to presentthemselves But never again didthey want to go by,money that belongedto.the to the Jiro, nor werethey tempted dead. about the frightthey had All they did wastell, sLep by step, much, well, he hadtO. And my uncle, whowanted money so had. and the hope that again to his homewith empty hands go back crops'and earn his bread. it would rain so hecould plant his 'forgot not one brow. But I, who never by the sweatpf his incredible, it is true. episode, write this now. Although it is Arnalfo Ca.latillo is a As:well as being afine story teller, (ballad) tells a story. composer ofMexican corridos. The corrido stock phrases,repetitions Sung to guitaraccompaniment, it uses There is almst always aformulaic and colloquiallanguage. lines often giving opening and leave-taking,with the opening called the despedidp dates and place. The leave-taking is characteristics. :The (farewell) and is one ofits outstanding which flowered parent of theMexican corrido isthe Spanish romance sixteenth cen'turies. The subject in Spain duringthe fifteenth and the.people's concerns are. . matter of the corridooften reveals what spring from true More often than notthe stories which are sung outlaws, injustices,trageaies, incidents. .Corridossing of heroes, people is worthy ofbeing put feuds; everything ofinterest to the to be a veryvital tradition into corrido form. The corrido continued

today. inspired by the The following corrido,Charro Jifo Afamado, was buried treasure inthe Cerro Blanco. story SenorCastillo told about CORRIDO DE CHARROJIRO AFAMADO

story historia I'm going to sing this Voy a cantar esta Jiro Del Charro JiroAfamadol. Of the famous Charro Who made so much war Que tanta verroles dio With the rich hacendados. A Los ricoshacendados. 190

Era un hombre bandolero He was a robber Que de dfa viirfa ocultuado, Who hid during the day, Fero en la nochesalts But in the night he went out A ver los atesorildos. To visit the hoarders.

No robabs gallinero He didn't rob the hen house No se robaba el gansdo. Nor did he steal the cattle. El ocupaba su tieMpo He spent his time En dinero fabricado. With those who had money.

Todos los ricosdeeft.;-. All the rich men said Que era un hombre sangrinario. Siempre que cafba en una haciendaWhenevertleooatitil=sitya1118:ie:/da Dejaba un rico colgado. He left.a rich man hanging.

Nadie supo donde vino No one knew where he came from, Ni donde era originario. Nor where he had been born; Lo unieo iue so decirles All they said was Allf murioen Guanajuato. He died in Ouanajuato.

Murio cerca del Ojo de Ague He died near the Ojo de Agua Del Rancho del Cerro Blanco, Of the' Rancho Aoll Cerro Blanco, Bajo una sombra.encina Beneath a dark encina, Allf quedo degollado. There he was beheaded.

El cuerpo del Charto Jiro The body'of Charro Jiro' Ya una'vez de degollado, Once it was.beheaded, Lo amarron a la ailla Was tied to the saddle De su ligero caballo. Of his swift horse.

Luego dieron rienda suelta Then they loosened the reins A su ligero caballo Of his swift horse Y el Cuerpo del Charro Jiro And the body of Charro Jiro Se fue cuyetido en pedazos. Went crashing into pieces.

Esta historiasueediS This story happened Al fin del siglo pasado; At the end of the last century; -sal-Ito le temfa.los ricos The rich feared him so moch Que no quierfan recordarlb. They didn't want to remember him.

Dicen qun es thusho el tesoro They say there is much treasure Que el Jiro.dejo enterado, That the Jiro left buried, por causa deste tesoro And because of this treasure El Jiro vive penando. The Jiro lives in punishment.

En el Tancho del Motivo On,the Rancho del Motivo, El Rancho del Cerro Blanco, The Rancho del Cerro Blanco, To'vfa despues del muerto After his death, still Los ha siguido espantando. He continues frightening them.

1 a I.

1.91

. *

Charro Jiro- Los que han visto al CharroJiroThose who have seem the Los hallan agonizando Arefouna dying in agony ror no saber aguantar Because they cannot endtwe A sorpresa iel espanto .The confusion of thehorror.

Aunque saben que es un alba Although they know it is thesoul De un ser que vive penando, Of a being living inpunishment, Ni el vino les ha servido ,Not even wine has helped Pa' cortarles lo asustado. To take away their fright.

Adiis, Rancho del Motivo, Goodbye, Rancho del Motivo, Adios, bello Cerro Blanco9 Goodbye, pretty Cerro Blanco, Donde el,Jiro se paseaba Where the Jiro used to go Ya despues de degollado. After he was beheaded.

Ya me voy, ya me despido, Now I go, now I take myleave, Despensen lo mal trovado. Forgive this bad composition. Ya les conte este corrido Now I have sung you thiscorrido Of the famous Charro Jiro Del Charyo Jiro Afamado. .

.Some riddles (adivinanzas) havebeen collected from Mexican . people in Ohio. Although much is lost throughtranslation, the following are a few of the riddlescollected.

Riddle Adivinenza

I went to the market Fui el mercado and bought something black; y compremegrito; I came home vine a la case 4Qu4 es? and it became red. What is it? y se pusocoloradito

(el carbOn) Answer: (charcoal) Contesto:

(Collected from Candalario YaminoAlmanza, Page 9.)

Riddle Adivinanza

My father had money Mi padretents un dinero which he couldn't count; que nolo podta contar; My mother had a sheet Mi madretents una sabana which she couldn't fold qtie nola pudo doblar. What is it? 4Que es? (El cielo y 1 estrellas) Answer: (The sky and stars) Contesto:

(Coltoted from,Senora JosefinaPerez.)

10 192

Riddle lidivinanza

Tap, tap, in the corners Taca .ttaaca -You on your tiptoe xr laa riticones and I on my heels, Tt de puntitas LQue es? What is it? y yo de talones.

(Escoba), Answer: (Broom) Conteiltd:

(Collected from Seaora Amelia Nava,Tiffin, Cthio)

Lullabies, canciones aslina, are verymuch loved among Some have Mexican people. Many of the lullabies are verybrief. particular sounds which have noliteral meaning, but are only . , soothing sounds to-put baby tosleep. A la ruru, a la roro, newt, and so on, are commonlyfound. Thefollowing,oancicin de cuna was collected by Mri. Joy Hintztrom Senora Amelia Nava-who learned it from her mother and now sings3it toher children.Notice the religious motif.

Saint Anna, why is the Siaora Santa Anna 1Porque baby crying? , llora el nino? Because he has lost Por una manzana.que an apple.- se le ha perdido. Let's go to the orchard Vamos a la hyerta and cut two apples; y cortaremosdos manzanas; One for baby and the Una para el nino y other for God. otra para Dios. tn Ohio. There is much more Mexicanfolklore awaiting the collector strong All of the ethnic groupsdiscussed to this point have food traditions, and this areaof study requiresspecialized know- Food processing ledge for full understandingof its significance. includes the whole is an important aspectof folklife study and Most of us spectrum of preparationand preservation techniques. learned our techniques are, to a certaindegree, "folk cooks" having been by word of mouth and customaryexample. Cooking has, of course, gramatically affected by thetechnological and scientificadvance- of ments of the pasthalf century and manycraditions are a matter ." :.N. 4

193.

memory rather than practice. Yet here too there is an interplay betwften;popular culture and folk ,tradiidon. Such obvious favor- ites of mainstream culture as soda fountain concoctions (Oop, soda, soda pop or tonic; fr,p0e, milkshake, ice cream soda) and a certain elongated sandwich (po'boy, grinder, boagie orsubmarine) reflect the regionalisms of folk speech. Tile Bratwurst Festival .in Bucyrus is largely the.product of Chamber of Commerce activity, but it .is built around a traditional food long a favorite in the predominately German community. And prepackaged foods havegiven rise to their own, genre of taies already mentioned in chap er seyen.

, Belief is another important element in 'any study of cooki Thus, Mri. P. ir Tiffin makes her sauerkraut only when the moon is on.the wax, to insure that it will turn out right. When should you eat oysters? According to some, only in months with an "r" in the

nc..-e. Much of folk medicine is bound up with eating habits---one should or should not eat certain things to insure results. Drink- ing sassafras tea in the Spring will purify the blood according to some. Eating cheese before bed will bring on nightmares; on the a other hand a glass of warm milk will insure &good night's rest. One part of the market of the Copper Kettle Works described in chapter VI is made up of people who still mike apple butter. Many Ohio families make the delicacy, using ther;.cipe (and sometimes the kettle) brought by their German ancestors. Une resident of Ashland County near Loudenville recalls the paring bees of her childhood; the night before apple butter making, cutting, paring, slicing the

apples. While a cook may add her own touch with the spices, most apple butter recipes are similar to the one used by the family in Waterville which is included in this chapter. The student researchers who.conducted the survey of apple butter making asked the questions basic to any study of folk cooking. What were the ingredients and how were they prepared? Did the cooks have special names for the food? (The Pennsylvania-Dutch "schnitz" isoften

193 194. \

only recipe, but the ft snitz" in Ohio.) Where did they learn not and techniques of preparation?Did.they regard these recipes techniques as "old-fashioned" tobe used only at specialtime.3, One of the or are theybaiic to the whole approach tocooking? all her freih apple butter informants,for example, still stores She then covers produce by lining a holein the ground,with straw: the produce with straw anddirt. /s the food prepared at iparticular time oftke day or month?

Are the foods used .onlyat specialilmes7--hot ccross buns at . Easter, for example? In Ohio, people ofPennsylvania German back.-

ground will Often celebratethe New Year with porkand sauerkraut, . while those from New Englandprefer cornbread and beans.Axe there

special tools or.utensilsinvolved? U.

Below is a sketch of the applebutter paddle used toconstantly stir the apple butter as.itcooks in a copper kettle over an the bottom at all open fire.The end of the paddle must scrape circula- times to prevent scorching.The holes permit greater The longer the handle, tion and alsohelp break up the apples, the farther away thestirrer can stand from tkehot fire. The This paddle was made byMrs.T.'s grandfather around1922. handle measures 4'5", thepaddle foot about11" x 4".

194 I 1 a.

,195

of apple The copper kettle andwooestirrer arp integral featu'res item of flis- butter making. 'While thebutter mold is largely an toric value, it is asignificant item of folk artwhich, like, maker. other forms, can give anindication'of the origin of the moiifs of the The Pennsylvania Germansoften used their' favorite and busy tulip and other flowers andanimals cafied with vigorous Christmas.time, are markings. Springerle molds, still used at another example of carving atits best, The study of apple buttermaking :ndicates the manyelements of tradftion, both materialand oral,that'are part of folk cooking Physical forms and artifacts(utensils, special buildings for pre-' paration and preservation), custom(festivals; keligIous holidays and'feasts), belief (how and whencertain foods shoitld beprepared; the efiicacy of some food forillnesses), and speech are all important elements of cookingtradttion. .Many ethnic groupsstill practice.traditidnal methods.The Amish in northeasternOhio still make cheese in the traditional manner. Greek,'Italian; Serbian and Jewish people all have traditional ways ofusing food.Food Ways, in fact, are perhaps amongthe hardiest elements oftraditional life, retained long afterother traditional practiceshave'been- given up. The numerous items offolklore in this Chapter onethnic groups are really asmall sampling of the totalityof folklore actively being passed on amongthe various nationalitiesin Ohio. of most of People within the mainstreamculture are not even aware really it. The ethnic folk traditionsof all these groups cannot stand on be viewed as contributions tothe mainstream, but rather their own as evidence of thevitality of each culture andthe plurality of American culture. By collecting and studyingethac folklore and folklife, we canbetter understand the significance of all of these groups. At roe?,

*fin.

*196 4.

Chapter 91 Ethnic Folklore Selected Bibliography.: :

Andersoh, Jay, "Special FoodIssue," Krstone LlIdlasoL2alattlx 16 (1971), 153-214.

Barker, George C4, "Some Aspects ofPeniiential Processions in Spain and the American Southwest,"Journal of American Folklore, 70 (1957), 137-42:

Bianco, Carla, The Two Reeetos,Bloomington, 1974.

Boatright, Mcdy, Mexican Border Ballads and OtherLore, Austin, 1946.

Boggs, Ralph Steele,Bibliography of Latin American FolklorIL 'New.York, 1940.

Bourke, John G., "Folk-Foods of theRio Grande Valley and Northern New 'Mexico," Journal ofAmericanyolklore, 8 (1895), 41-71.

Burma, John H., Spanish-speakingGroups VI the United States, Durham, N. C., 1954.

Campa, Arthur L., SpanishFolk-Poetty in New Mxico, Albuquerque, 1946.

Cardozo-Freeman, Inez, "Arnulfo Castillo,Mexican Folk Poet in Ohio," Journal of the OhioFolklore Society, 1 (1972), 2-28.

DeCaro, Rosan Jordan,"Language Loyal and Folklore Studies: The Mexican-Americans,"Western Folklore, 31 (1972), 77-86.

agh, Linda, "Approaches-to Folklore Reserach AmongImmigrant Groups," Journal of American Folklore,79 (1966), 551-56.

D4gh, Linda, Folktalesan Bloomington, 1969.

Eaton, Allen H., ImmigrantGifts to American Life, NewYork, 1932.

Georges, Robert A., "Matiasma: Living Folk Belief," Midwest Folklore, 12 (1962), 69-74.

Hudson, Wilson M., ed., TheHealer of Los Olmos and Other Mexican Lore, Austin, 1951.

I 96 va:"I*Fili,hcqi.7:0',V4-S';!'..1.'.::'"'1:07,.k,:,:','.v1" ia

3.97

Klymasa,Ilobert B., Foly Varritives AMontUkrainiavi-Canadiens' 1.11/11tIMISIBlail Ottawa, 1973. anglia, Bill Kaija,"Immigrant Folklore: Survival or Living Tradition?"Midwest Folklore, 10(1960), 117-23.

P., "Dances Folk and Primitive," In.Maria Leach, eld., NewYork,(4.949-4951),276-296.

Kurath, GertrudeP., "Dance Relatives Mid-Europe and Middle America: AVenture in Comparative Choreology," Journal of American-Folklore, 69 (1956), 286-498.

Madsen,.William, The Mexican-Americans ofSouth Texas, New York, 1964.

Maloney, Clarence, ed.,.The Evil Eye.,NiliYork, 1976.

Miller, Elaine K., Mexican Folk Narrativefrom the Los Angeles Area, Austin, 1973. .1 Noy, D., Patai and F. L. Utley, eds., Studiesin Biblical and Jewish Folklore, Bloomington,1960. _- Paredes, Americo, With His Piatol in His Hands: A Border Ballad and Its Hero, Austin, 1958.

Pirkova-Jakobson, Svatava, "Harvest Festivals amongCzechs and Slovaks in America," Journal f American Folklore, 69 (1956), 266

Press, Irwin, "The UrbanCurandero," American Anthropologist, 73 (1971), 741-56.

Robb, John D., Hispanic talliciamsalfjlewMexico, Albuquerque, 1954.

Ryan, Lawrence F., "Some Czech-American Formsof Divination and Supplication," Journal of AmericanFolklore, 69 (1956), 281-2E5.

Simmons, Merle E., The Mexican Corrido asa.Source for Inter- pretive Study of Modern Mexico(1870-1950), Bloomington, 1957.

Terbovich, John B., "Religious FolkloreAmong the German-Russians in Ellis County, Kansas," WesternFolklore, 22 (1963), 79-88,

Williams, Phyllis H., South Itallr Folkwa s in.Europe4a5.1_ mtvi.a., New Haven, 1938.

197