SLFK 212, January 29, 2004
As they will be finding out when they read Mary Douglas, all cultures have their inconsistencies
And these often center on the most crucial cultural issues
American wealth we did - you do and you don't (want to be wealthy)
Or you want to be wealthy, but not obviously so
Joe Millionaire
Bush Sr. buying socks
Education - very valuable (and is the pathway to wealth)
Yet "All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" syndrome
And, if Kindergarten is so important, why is being a kindergarten teacher not prestigious and so poorly paid?
New and improved versus home-style, just like mom/grandma used to make
Desire for bigger and better, better value
A supersize meal, popcorn, drink is a better value
What it does to waistline
Equality and equal opportunity for all - yet all the tax debates
How are you going to have equal access to health care, and education without having people pay?
Social Security is a right - but people don't want to pay for it
In US - much of this gets expressed in political and legislative debates
But also in folklore and pop culture
Joe Millionaire above
Survivor - NO luxury and really basic survival skills, need NO education
But you get to win much money - which is why you do it
And for fame and fortune
In folklore - all sorts of corporate greed stories
McDonalds
Neiman Marcus, Mrs. Fields Cookies
Personal wealth and ostentation - Solid Cement Cadillac
Little sports car
Jilted wife's revenge
Folklore (oral type) talks about the contradictions - as above
Folklore (ritual type) tries to resolve - money and the wedding
Wedding cakes in Post
Postponing marriage for education, career
Very expensive presents to children (at birthday), yet teaching children to save, be frugal
Russian and Ukrainian stuff
Property - you should share
Yet you fence off every blooming thing or else people will come and help themselves
Stories - klad spirit
Ritual - use of house and doorway as symbol in all rites - marriage, baptism, funeral
Gift-giving to the couple and then this post-wedding carnival when you get to steal
Work is good, but you don't want to work to the point that you start accumulating more than what you need - Sten'ka Razin story
Strong prohibition against work on holidays
Threats to welfare of child if mom spins or dad chops wood
Ukrainian epic of Ivas' Konovchenko
Age is good - brings status, prestige, power
Yet you get closer to death - which may or may not be bad
And it does not apply if you are a woman - you have to start again when you marry
Much of what I showed on Tues. revolves around woman at marriage
And some of it is that you very badly want a bride
Old bride price; some remnants now
But she is a stranger
System conflicts with self - what was stressed before
System also conflicts with nature
You are NOT going to continue the family line unless you do take in a bride
And if you do too much continuing, like too many babies, you will have economic hardship, esp. in a subsistence economy - limited good
Work is good; it is what is desired in a bride
But you don't want to work too much or people will be jealous and evil eye you
Or you will have to share and why should you be the one to work extra hard to make stuff for others?
Food and work - what you eat is what you get
But unless food supply is limited, hard to stop with only the amount of food you need for work
Getting yelled at for wasting energy by running
Series of Russian and Ukrainian stories that have to do with the various conflictual issues
Last time emphasized gender differences and the special position of the woman at marriage. This time too.
Place is important
Recall all of the fenced-off farmsteads and the houses with the decoration, esp. around openings
Belief in a whole system of place spirits.
They personify a unit of space = a place
There are spirits for the various buildings of the farmstead, starting with the house
There are spirits for units of space outside the farmstead: the forest, stream, field
House spirit
Male
Can be married, even have children, but no stories about wife or babies
Stories about the male spirit, domovoi
Helps with embroidery if a woman has been good
Rocks the baby
This means that he is male, but likes female work
Spirit world is the INVERSE of the human world in general
If white bread and vodka is special food for people, then spirits like black (everyday) bread and milk
And they are around at night when people are asleep
Runs around naked - humans need clothes
Has hairy body
Cone head
He can see the future - people can't
Will cry if someone, especially a male, is about to die
Will cry if a misfortune will befall the family
Modern house spirit stories
Oppresses at night = night terror
Old Hag experience in English language areas
Moves to new apartment
Gets mad if you don't take him with you
Luggage put on his place and he shaves cat
(describe moving in a village setting)
Urban domovoi makes crank phone calls and throws things
Me at Christmas and food for domovoi
Barn spirit - may or may not be distinguished from the house spirit
Repeat how the farmstead works and how many of the functions that, for us, occur in the home occur somewhere in the farmstead here
Cooking
Bathroom
Cellar is usually external
Can be nice - help with livestock if he like them and their color and if he likes the owner of the farm
Can be nasty - hurt animals
Trip the farmer - rakes
Scratches on animals
Ovinnik - farther from main house and nastier still
Story about granny baking potatoes
Bathhouse spirit - quite nasty and very few stories about his being helpful
Punishes from using 4th steam
First three are for people and 4th is for other spirits, including from outside farmstead
If human uses fourth steam - spirit throws rocks, whips with twigs
Story of man who tries to take a steam bath in the stove in the house
Outside spirits, like forest, field, water and uniformly nasty
Punish for fishing out of season (after the day of a certain saint - Elijah)
Same for swimming out of season
Forest spirit tries to lead astray - to get the human for going where humans shouldn't go
Also punishes for taking too much wood
Too many berries, mushrooms
Spirits enter the farmstead and steal babies
Attack pregnant women
Old maid and the domovoi