On Saturday November 18, 2007 at approximately 7:30, I had the opportunity to attend a Diwali Celebration. It was hosted at Bloomington High School South by the Indian Student Association of Indiana University. I read about this particular event in the Indiana Daily Student and thought this is an excellent opportunity for me to experience, describe and interpret a ritual, festival or celebration that was new to me.
To begin with, I had to ask myself “What is Diwali?” Diwali is a major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs around the world. (Diwali 1) Without getting into the significant mythological events associated with Diwali, the real meaning of Diwali is, it marks the victory of good over evil, and uplifting of spiritual darkness. (Diwali 3) Wikipedia.org also states “the most significant esoteric meaning of Diwali is the awareness of the inner light” hence the reason this five day festival is also called the “Festival of Lights”. Part of the Diwali festival is the lighting of the lamp. The meaning and significance of this particular act is light symbolizes whatever is positive, and is an important gift of God. Light is a metaphor for knowledge. By lighting the lamp it symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces. Darkness represents ignorance. (Diwali Meaning & Significance) So now I will describe my experience of attending Diwali 2007 presented by Indian Student Association of Indiana University.
I arrived at approximately 6:30 p.m. I was there a little early so I had the opportunity to view the hustle and bustle before the show. I was able to see a lot of the performers in their traditional costumes. Gorgeous costumes, that consisted of beads and sequence, bright colors of teals, chartreuse green, bright pink, orange, and reds. I really took notice of how beautiful all the participants of this festival were. As an outsider who is unfamiliar with this celebration, I definitely sensed the importance of this festival to the performers and a majority of the audience. As I was waiting for the show to start, I was reviewing the programs’ event schedule; a lot of the performances were very unfamiliar to me so I was very eager to see what this Diwali Festival had to offer. Eight events where going to be performed, events that included Traditional Bharat Natayam Dance, Bollywood Classic Melody, Hindi Film Dance, Traditional Bhangra Dance by IU Bhangra, Traditional Drum Beats, Traditional Rass Dance by IU Raas Team. As the lights dim, the “Festival of Lights” begins and I anticipate the uplifting of spiritual darkness to increase my knowledge about the Diwali Festival.
The first event consisted of the Indian National Anthem being sung by Krystle Nazareth. Since the anthem was not sung in English, and there was no musical accompaniment I was only able to appreciate her beautiful vocals and notice a majority of the audience sang quietly along with her. After her performance, a recorded American national anthem was performed. After these performances it signaled to everyone that the show was about to begin.
After watching these two performances and researching Bharat Natayam dance, I have a better understanding and appreciation of the discipline required to perform this style of dance. I observed expressive hand movements accompanied by coordinated and synchronized body movements. Two events were performed in the Traditional Bharat Natayam classical dance form. Bharata Natyam is sometimes called “an art for eternity” because its practice today is virtually the same as it was thousands of years ago. (Bharat Natyam & Sacred Dance 1) Hand positions, facial expressions and narrative dances form the basis for this performance. (Bharatnatyam 1) The most striking feature of this dance is the hand gestures. The hand portrays a wide range of emotions, and each posture and body movement creates an effect which invokes transcendental emotion. (Bharat Natyam & Sacred Dance 1) The second and fifth events were Traditional Bharat Natayam Dance. The second event was performed with the song Thillana a classical Indian dance performance; it is full of complicated movements and postures. (Classical Indian Dance 7) In this performance, two female dancers were outfitted in gorgeous traditional costumes; one was in a bright pink, the other was teal. The fifth performance was accompanied by the song Meera Dasi. This was a performance to show devotion to Krishna. As in the second performance, there was much emphasis in hand movements. The female performer was outfitted in a long off-white gown with peach style shawl.
The third performance was Bollywood Classic Melody. The performers were in black capri - type pants with colored sequence tops. There was still heavy emphasis on hand movements infused with pop style dance moves with the traditional music. I found this performance fun. Bollywood is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India.
The fourth performance was Hindi Film Dance. This was a performance involving male and female performers. The ladies were in black with silver sequence trim, the men were in black jacket with lanterns on the back. The lanterns of course represent the lighting of the lantern that is central to the Diwali celebration. Once again, there were very elaborate hand and arm movements, and a meshing of traditional and modern dance moves.
The sixth performance was Traditional Bhangra Dance by IU Bhangra. The men wore red pants, black tunics with red bandanas on their head. This was probably one of my favorite performances. It was very energetic and vigorous dance performance. Bhangra means a person intoxicated with joy. The whole audience was clapping which added to the whole performance.
The seventh performance was Traditional Drum Beats, performed by Mahavrat Shree Pithadia. The beginning of his performance he walked out carrying a long drum that he played on both ends. It appeared that he had some type of long extensions on his right hand that gave a different sound than his left hand. The type of drum he was performing on was called a thavil. Wikipedia.com states that this particular drum can either be played sitting or standing using a leather strap. The player usually wears thumb caps on all the fingers of right hand and the left hand is played with a stick. (Thavil) It certainly made for a very dramatic entrance. He performed on two other drums that were played on the floor. The sound that he produced was like no other type of drum that I have ever heard. I really watched how the palms of his hand and his fingers produced the unique sound that he produced with these drums called tabla. Their construction is very elaborate as is the playing technique. (Tabla 3)
The eighth performance was Traditional Raas Dance by IU Raas Team. The performers wore very elaborate orange, red with green costumes. Their performance was a combination of drums and the dancers with silver batons doing very energetic and complicated dance moves. Raas is a type of dance of western India and the sticks of the dance represent the swords of Durga. Durga is a warrior woman with ten arms that rides on a lion or tiger, carries weapons and does symbolic hand gestures. (Durga)
This concludes my experience and interpretation of the Diwali Celebration 2007. I now have a better understanding of the meaning and significance of Diwali to Hindus, Jains and Sikhs around the world. Although I am not an Indian group member, the Diwali Celebration has more meaning and significance to me now as an audience member than it did two weeks ago which makes Diwali a successful performance. I highly recommend everyone attend either IU Bhangra or IU Raas Team and be enlightened by these very talented performers of both groups. Also check out some of the works cited web site links to view some examples of traditional Indian dance costumes and drums.
This is my response to the Fifth Encounter Project Ritual, Festival, or Celebratory Event.
Works Cited
Sims, Martha and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore an Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2005.
Bharat Natyam & Sacred Dance. 21 November 2007.
http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/sarancagati/html/nmj_acticles/sacred_dance/bharata-natya
Bharatnatyam. 19 November 2007. 21 November 2007.
http://www.indoclassical.com/indo/asp/dancebharat.asp
Bollywood. 21 November 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood
Classical Indian Dance. 21 November 2007.
http://in.geocities.com/medhahari/classical_indian_dance/classical_Indian_dance.html
Diwali. Wikipedia.com. 16 November 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
Diwali Meaning & Significance. 16 November 2007.
http://www.diwalifestival.org/diwali-meaning-significance.html
Durga. 25 February 2007. 25 November 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga
Raas. 30 October 2007. 20 November 2007.
http://en.widipedia.org/wiki/Dandiya
Simply Bhangra. 2007. 21 November 2007.
http://www.simplybhangra.originationinsite.com/aboutbhangra/4514877907
Tabla. 21 November 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thavil
Thavil. 2 November 2007. 21 November 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thavil
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Deeper Understanding of Performance
Prior to reading Chapter 5 on Performance, I thought to myself, “How do I define performance”? My preconceived definition of performance basically consisted of attending plays or musical performances, nothing more than that. However after reading Chapter 5, there were a couple of ideas and examples that were presented in the chapter that have changed my “preconceived” ideas of performance as a phenomenon. To begin with, the text states that “Performance is an expressive activity that requires participation, heightens our enjoyment of experience, and invites response. In order for a performance to “happen”, a recognized setting must exist (we have to know a performance is taking place) and participants (performers and audience) must be present. If group members and audiences are not able to understand and interpret someone’s performance, then it may not be a successful expression of the performer’s ideas.” (Simms 128-129) The following examples I found most interesting in the text, are examples that are very subtle that I would have never considered as a type of performance phenomenon that folklorists study.
“Performances of folklore happen naturally within daily conversations and situations”. (Simms 128) The use of a proverb in a daily conversation would have never have crossed my mind as a type of performance. “A stitch in time saves nine” is a proverb that my grandmother or mother would use. I never really understood what they meant by that phrase but today I now know what that proverb is conveying. The just of the proverb is; it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. In order for the proverb to be performed successfully the proverbial saying must make sense. (Simms 132) Today if I have a conversation with someone and they say “a stitch in time saves nine” I now understand that proverb and the performer’s ideas were successfully expressed. (Simms 129)
Another example of performance that I found interestingly subtle is decorative symbols that represent something. The text used the example of a horseshoe above a door will bring good luck inside the home. When I was younger a decorative symbol that I had witnessed for many years was the arrangement of three crosses on or near churches. At the time I did not understand the significance of the three crosses until I researched the crucifixion of Jesus in the Bible. I now have a better understanding of this type of performance text. I discovered that two robbers were crucified at the same time of Jesus’ crucifixion. The displaying of the crosses is not performance, but the placement of the object is a “marker” of the idea”. (Simms 135) The crucifixion of Christ is an event that has been taken both literally and symbolically. When we read an object or practice like a cross in this way, we are in a sense analyzing its performance-what it communicates actively to the world, both within and outside the folk groups that created it. (Simms 135)
I discovered that there are many aspects of performance phenomena; I only scratched the surface of two of them from Chapter 5. The following excerpt from the text helps me to deepen my understanding of performance. “Performance enables us to understand ourselves as observers and participants, as part of the process of creating communicative art and making meaning from it. Most of all, studying performance helps us see people as an integral part of the folklore shared.” (Simms 173)
This Post is in response to Chapter 5 Reflection Question.
Works Cited
Sims, Martha and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore an Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2005.
“Performances of folklore happen naturally within daily conversations and situations”. (Simms 128) The use of a proverb in a daily conversation would have never have crossed my mind as a type of performance. “A stitch in time saves nine” is a proverb that my grandmother or mother would use. I never really understood what they meant by that phrase but today I now know what that proverb is conveying. The just of the proverb is; it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. In order for the proverb to be performed successfully the proverbial saying must make sense. (Simms 132) Today if I have a conversation with someone and they say “a stitch in time saves nine” I now understand that proverb and the performer’s ideas were successfully expressed. (Simms 129)
Another example of performance that I found interestingly subtle is decorative symbols that represent something. The text used the example of a horseshoe above a door will bring good luck inside the home. When I was younger a decorative symbol that I had witnessed for many years was the arrangement of three crosses on or near churches. At the time I did not understand the significance of the three crosses until I researched the crucifixion of Jesus in the Bible. I now have a better understanding of this type of performance text. I discovered that two robbers were crucified at the same time of Jesus’ crucifixion. The displaying of the crosses is not performance, but the placement of the object is a “marker” of the idea”. (Simms 135) The crucifixion of Christ is an event that has been taken both literally and symbolically. When we read an object or practice like a cross in this way, we are in a sense analyzing its performance-what it communicates actively to the world, both within and outside the folk groups that created it. (Simms 135)
I discovered that there are many aspects of performance phenomena; I only scratched the surface of two of them from Chapter 5. The following excerpt from the text helps me to deepen my understanding of performance. “Performance enables us to understand ourselves as observers and participants, as part of the process of creating communicative art and making meaning from it. Most of all, studying performance helps us see people as an integral part of the folklore shared.” (Simms 173)
This Post is in response to Chapter 5 Reflection Question.
Works Cited
Sims, Martha and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore an Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2005.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Using Your Hands Makes Eating More Enjoyable
When I began thinking about the kind of restaurant that I wanted to visit I knew that I wouldn’t have to go far to find something. The secret was to make sure the restaurant that I choose reflected its cultural authenticity. I began with asking a friend whose boss is from India, which restaurant in Bloomington had the most authentic Indian cuisine. He told me of two restaurants and one of them was Shanti, located at 221 E. Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington Indiana, just west of the Monroe County Public Library. I had to do a little research on Indian cuisine prior to my visit and discovered several interesting cultural facts after reading Etiquette in Indian Restaurant at www.food-india.com. To begin with, two interesting facts about Indian restaurants is never ask for beef or pork most Indians are either Hindu or Muslim. In Hinduism, the cow is considered a sacred and Muslims consider the pig to be a filthy so neither one of these meats would be served at an authentic Indian restaurant. The second fact is most Indian restaurants do not serve alcoholic drinks. Another interesting fact that I discovered in this article was its ok to eat with your hands. The Indian philosophy being, that eating with your hand is a very sensual thing, by using all of your senses (tasting, smelling, looking and touching) it will make eating more enjoyable. One last fact that I learned is the concept of “jutha”. Jutha means something that came in contact with your mouth, your saliva or your plate (while eating). I t is considered very rude and unhygienic to offer someone else your “jutha” unless you are very close family, a couple, or close friend. Now that I have built a cultural context foundation in the cultural practices of Indian food, I will now venture into Shanti with my mom and my sister as part of my Restaurant Visit Encounter Project.
Before even walking through the doors of Shanti, we were greeted by the smells that are very unique to Indian cuisine. Most people that I talk to, do not care for the smell of Indian food. I love it! I couldn’t wait to order my food. We arrived at the restaurant at approximately 6:15 pm and were seated immediately. The interior decorating didn’t strike me as any particular culture, but pretty much Americanized to appeal to everyone’s tastes. There was traditional Indian music playing in the background it was at just the right volume that you could carry on a conversation. Our waitress brought our water and menus. We began with our drink order, my sister and I ordered King Fisher Indian beer and my mom ordered the Glen Ellen Chardonnay white wine. My sister and I were very pleased with the flavor of the King Fisher beer. We thought it would have more of a bitter taste like that of European beer, but it did not, it was a very smooth “safe” flavor, a beer that would appeal to the American palate. My mom’s comment regarding the white wine was “its white wine, what can I say” so I took that as, it was not that great. Our waiter arrived and I decided to ask him what he recommended as the two favorite appetizers that most people ordered. He recommended the Vegetable Samosa and the Egg Plant Pakora. He was very kind to tailor our appetizers to accommodate three people. We continued our dinner order and our waiter said we made very good choices.
Our two appetizers arrived. The Vegetable Samosa, which consisted of deep fried patties stuffed with mashed potatoes, green peas and freshly ground spices and the Egg Plant Pakora, which consisted of slices of egg plant battered and deep fried. Both appetizers came with two condiments; Green (hot) Chutney, which was a blend of cilantro, green chilies and garlic and Tamrind Chutney a sweet and sour fruit pulp combined with various spices. Both condiments were presented in small stainless steel bowls. These appetizers were definitely going to require all of us to use our hands. The Vegetable Samosa had an unfamiliar flavor at first, but the two different dipping sauces made for an excellent flavor experience. The Egg Plant Pakora we really enjoyed it reminded all three of us of deep fried zucchini. My sister tried the Green Hot chutney, but avoided it after one taste, it was too spicy for her stomach. My mom and I enjoyed the dipping sauces. Both sauces were a new flavor experience that I highly recommend.
The main courses arrived shortly after we finished our appetizers and we were very enthusiastic about trying our new cuisine. Since it is culturally acceptable to offer your “jutha” we began to exchange different sampling of each of our meals. My mom and I ordered Tandoori Dinners. These are dinners that are prepared in a clay oven and heated by an open pit charcoal fire. Each tandoori dinner was served with a side order of Basmati rice and a curry sauce. My mom order the Fish Tikka, a filet of salmon fish marinated in mild spices and herbs, and served on a sizzler (a very hot cast iron serving platter All three of us really like the Fish Tikka. My mom said it was the best salmon she has ever had. Now I am not a big fan of salmon, but I thought it had excellent flavor and this particular recipe most definitely changed my mind about salmon. I ordered the Mixed Tandoori, it was a combination of half chicken tandoori, seekh kabab (ground lamb and special spices) and shrimp marinated in mild spices and herbs served with onions and lemon on a sizzler. I really liked the seekh kabab and shrimp but the chicken was a little dry. I doubt that I would order this dinner again at least not the chicken tandoori. My sister ordered the Lamb Biryani rice specialty, boneless cubes of lamb, sautéed with naturally fragrant Basmati Rice. All three of us enjoyed that particular dinner. To compliment our meal we also choose the Garlic Naan, a white flat bread stuffed with mildly spiced minced and the Tandoori Roti, whole wheat flat bread. Both of these flat breads are served freshly baked from the clay oven. I highly recommend the Garlic Naan flat bread. None of us were particularly thrilled about the Tandoori Roti, but that is probably because the Garlic Naan was so tasty.
To complete the whole food experience, we decided to order dessert. Since we were so full from all of our dinner entrees we ordered two flavors of ice cream. Mango Ice cream/Kulfi, ice cream flavored with specially imported Alfonso Mango pulp and Pista ice cream/Kulfi, ice cream flavored with saffron, nuts and Cardamon spice. The ice cream was definitely different than American ice cream. It was different in two ways one was that it was served cut into cubes and served in small stainless steel bowls and it was not as sweet. My sister did not like either of the ice creams, however my mom and I did. We thought the ice cream created a nice contrast of fresh cool flavors to the exotic spicy flavors from our main course.
We all very much enjoyed our cultural encounter at Shanti Restaurant. Our service was excellent and the food was awesome. I highly recommend this restaurant if anyone would like to try Indian cuisine. I realized in the middle of our restaurant encounter that we were actually eating most of our food with our hands. Taking the Garlic Naan flat bread and dipping it in the Basmati Rice and curry sauce followed by a few bites of shrimp or salmon I really felt that we were using all of our senses; it really did make eating more enjoyable.
This is my response to the Fourth Encounter Project Restaurant Visit.
Etiquette In Indian Restaurant. 9 November 2007.
http://www.food-india.com/
Before even walking through the doors of Shanti, we were greeted by the smells that are very unique to Indian cuisine. Most people that I talk to, do not care for the smell of Indian food. I love it! I couldn’t wait to order my food. We arrived at the restaurant at approximately 6:15 pm and were seated immediately. The interior decorating didn’t strike me as any particular culture, but pretty much Americanized to appeal to everyone’s tastes. There was traditional Indian music playing in the background it was at just the right volume that you could carry on a conversation. Our waitress brought our water and menus. We began with our drink order, my sister and I ordered King Fisher Indian beer and my mom ordered the Glen Ellen Chardonnay white wine. My sister and I were very pleased with the flavor of the King Fisher beer. We thought it would have more of a bitter taste like that of European beer, but it did not, it was a very smooth “safe” flavor, a beer that would appeal to the American palate. My mom’s comment regarding the white wine was “its white wine, what can I say” so I took that as, it was not that great. Our waiter arrived and I decided to ask him what he recommended as the two favorite appetizers that most people ordered. He recommended the Vegetable Samosa and the Egg Plant Pakora. He was very kind to tailor our appetizers to accommodate three people. We continued our dinner order and our waiter said we made very good choices.
Our two appetizers arrived. The Vegetable Samosa, which consisted of deep fried patties stuffed with mashed potatoes, green peas and freshly ground spices and the Egg Plant Pakora, which consisted of slices of egg plant battered and deep fried. Both appetizers came with two condiments; Green (hot) Chutney, which was a blend of cilantro, green chilies and garlic and Tamrind Chutney a sweet and sour fruit pulp combined with various spices. Both condiments were presented in small stainless steel bowls. These appetizers were definitely going to require all of us to use our hands. The Vegetable Samosa had an unfamiliar flavor at first, but the two different dipping sauces made for an excellent flavor experience. The Egg Plant Pakora we really enjoyed it reminded all three of us of deep fried zucchini. My sister tried the Green Hot chutney, but avoided it after one taste, it was too spicy for her stomach. My mom and I enjoyed the dipping sauces. Both sauces were a new flavor experience that I highly recommend.
The main courses arrived shortly after we finished our appetizers and we were very enthusiastic about trying our new cuisine. Since it is culturally acceptable to offer your “jutha” we began to exchange different sampling of each of our meals. My mom and I ordered Tandoori Dinners. These are dinners that are prepared in a clay oven and heated by an open pit charcoal fire. Each tandoori dinner was served with a side order of Basmati rice and a curry sauce. My mom order the Fish Tikka, a filet of salmon fish marinated in mild spices and herbs, and served on a sizzler (a very hot cast iron serving platter All three of us really like the Fish Tikka. My mom said it was the best salmon she has ever had. Now I am not a big fan of salmon, but I thought it had excellent flavor and this particular recipe most definitely changed my mind about salmon. I ordered the Mixed Tandoori, it was a combination of half chicken tandoori, seekh kabab (ground lamb and special spices) and shrimp marinated in mild spices and herbs served with onions and lemon on a sizzler. I really liked the seekh kabab and shrimp but the chicken was a little dry. I doubt that I would order this dinner again at least not the chicken tandoori. My sister ordered the Lamb Biryani rice specialty, boneless cubes of lamb, sautéed with naturally fragrant Basmati Rice. All three of us enjoyed that particular dinner. To compliment our meal we also choose the Garlic Naan, a white flat bread stuffed with mildly spiced minced and the Tandoori Roti, whole wheat flat bread. Both of these flat breads are served freshly baked from the clay oven. I highly recommend the Garlic Naan flat bread. None of us were particularly thrilled about the Tandoori Roti, but that is probably because the Garlic Naan was so tasty.
To complete the whole food experience, we decided to order dessert. Since we were so full from all of our dinner entrees we ordered two flavors of ice cream. Mango Ice cream/Kulfi, ice cream flavored with specially imported Alfonso Mango pulp and Pista ice cream/Kulfi, ice cream flavored with saffron, nuts and Cardamon spice. The ice cream was definitely different than American ice cream. It was different in two ways one was that it was served cut into cubes and served in small stainless steel bowls and it was not as sweet. My sister did not like either of the ice creams, however my mom and I did. We thought the ice cream created a nice contrast of fresh cool flavors to the exotic spicy flavors from our main course.
We all very much enjoyed our cultural encounter at Shanti Restaurant. Our service was excellent and the food was awesome. I highly recommend this restaurant if anyone would like to try Indian cuisine. I realized in the middle of our restaurant encounter that we were actually eating most of our food with our hands. Taking the Garlic Naan flat bread and dipping it in the Basmati Rice and curry sauce followed by a few bites of shrimp or salmon I really felt that we were using all of our senses; it really did make eating more enjoyable.
This is my response to the Fourth Encounter Project Restaurant Visit.
Etiquette In Indian Restaurant. 9 November 2007.
http://www.food-india.com/
Sunday, November 4, 2007
"Legend Trip" to Stepp Cemetery
The story of Stepp Cemetery is one that I remember quite well from when I was a teenager in high school. The story, as I remember, was if you went to Stepp Cemetery late at night you would see a black ghost dog and a ghost of a woman in black sitting on a tree stump next to her baby’s grave. There was also a curse; something really horrible would happen to anyone who would stand on the stump that was next to baby Lester’s grave. When I was in high school, several car loads of my class mates and I decided to drive to Stepp Cemetery in Morgan Monroe State Forest to see if we could confirm or deny the story of seeing ghosts in the grave yard. Now it never dawned on me that this particular event would be defined as a type of ritual.
Reflecting on Chapter Four I have a better understanding of what a ritual can be. The type of ritual that I want to focus on as it relates to my trip to Stepp Cemetery is the age-related rite of passage of “Legend-Tripping” (Simms and Stephans 111). Several factors have to be met in order for this ritual to be a legend-trip. It must involve traveling with a group of friends to a particular location…with the common method of transportation the automobile (Simms and Stephans 111). In my situation there were numerous teenagers that arrived in several different vehicles late at night to the gates outside of Stepp Cemetery. Upon arrival we proceed to the cemetery in the cover of darkness. None of us really considered bringing flashlights, which made the trip to the cemetery even scarier. Risk and fear are important ingredients of legend-trips (Simms and Stephans 113). Unfortunately we did not see any ghosts, but several people got a good scare out of our adventure. However, one of the specific actions that we as legend-trippers were warned not to perform (Simms and Stephans 111) was to stand on the tree stump next to baby Lester’s grave. Almost everyone that was there that night heeded the warning regarding standing on the tree stump except one person.
I have not been back since that night. A year ago my sixteen year old daughter told me that her, and some of her friends were going to go to Stepp Cemetery. I said “good luck finding the place” and “under no circumstances are you to stand on that stump next to baby Lester’s grave”! I proceeded to tell her the story of the only boy who stood on that stump and a few weeks later he broke his leg in three places.
This Post is in response to Chapter 4 Reflection Question.
If you would like to read more about Stepp Cemetery follow these links.
http://members.aol.com/bfowler87/stepp.html
http://www.proofparanormal.com/steppcemeteryinvestigation.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/stepp.html
Works Cited
Sims, Martha and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore an Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2005.
Reflecting on Chapter Four I have a better understanding of what a ritual can be. The type of ritual that I want to focus on as it relates to my trip to Stepp Cemetery is the age-related rite of passage of “Legend-Tripping” (Simms and Stephans 111). Several factors have to be met in order for this ritual to be a legend-trip. It must involve traveling with a group of friends to a particular location…with the common method of transportation the automobile (Simms and Stephans 111). In my situation there were numerous teenagers that arrived in several different vehicles late at night to the gates outside of Stepp Cemetery. Upon arrival we proceed to the cemetery in the cover of darkness. None of us really considered bringing flashlights, which made the trip to the cemetery even scarier. Risk and fear are important ingredients of legend-trips (Simms and Stephans 113). Unfortunately we did not see any ghosts, but several people got a good scare out of our adventure. However, one of the specific actions that we as legend-trippers were warned not to perform (Simms and Stephans 111) was to stand on the tree stump next to baby Lester’s grave. Almost everyone that was there that night heeded the warning regarding standing on the tree stump except one person.
I have not been back since that night. A year ago my sixteen year old daughter told me that her, and some of her friends were going to go to Stepp Cemetery. I said “good luck finding the place” and “under no circumstances are you to stand on that stump next to baby Lester’s grave”! I proceeded to tell her the story of the only boy who stood on that stump and a few weeks later he broke his leg in three places.
This Post is in response to Chapter 4 Reflection Question.
If you would like to read more about Stepp Cemetery follow these links.
http://members.aol.com/bfowler87/stepp.html
http://www.proofparanormal.com/steppcemeteryinvestigation.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/stepp.html
Works Cited
Sims, Martha and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore an Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2005.
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