MetaFilter posts tagged with Tradition

Namahage (生剥)

KokuRyu — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:44:57 -0800

Namahage (生剥) is a Japanese ritual which is observed throughout Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture in northern Honshū, Japan. It is saidto have originated as a ritual for cleansing people's souls, and for blessing the new year. On New Year's Eve, a group of young men dressed up as fierce demons or bogeymen, Namahage, visit each house in the village, shouting: "any misbehaving kids live here?" They then scare children in the houses, telling them not to be lazy or cry, though little children often do burst into tears. Then the parents will assure the Namahage that there is no bad child in their house, and give food or traditional Japanese alcoholic beverages to the demons. Other regions of Japan have similar ceremonies. The Noto Peninsula welcomes February with Amamehagi. The masks are crudely carved, and real knives are sometimes still brandished at the children.

Was Hail! Drink Hail!

filthy light thief — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:25:40 -0800

Winter holiday traditions change with time and location, with their current forms retaining little of their old forms, wassailing (rhymes with fossil-ing) possibly more than most. The modern interpretation of wassailing has been simplified to singing carols, though it was born of much more diverse traditions, from a cheer of good health before battle to scaring evil spirits from apple orchards. From these origins come wassail the drink, and that's just one of the many foods of the winter season (Food Timeline prev., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). A few more are covered below the break. The term "wassail" goes back to the time of the writing of Beowulf, as a toast to good health, and a Saxon toast before battle. Then there was the wassail to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit, also known as the Apple Wassail, which is practiced or reenacted to this day. The Mari Lwyd (Grey Mare / Holy Mary) wassail (mentioned prev.) is a Welsh practice of wassailing, where wassailers go door-to-door with a horse figure, challenging households to singing competitions of sorts. Another form of wassailing was that of a reciprocal exchange between the feudal lords and their peasants , or perhaps wealthy lords inviting their poor subjects into the manor to feast. This has continued, in so much as neighbors sing some version of a wassailing song to neighbors. What better to keep you warm on winter nights than a warm, spiced cider? The old forms of wassail (the drink), also called lambswool (for the light color and frothy appearance of the creamy, egg and apple mixture). Wassail was covered (simplified vegan version) on Alton Brown's Good Eats as part of the Christmas/winter holiday special (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5; more Good Eats from YouTube user GoodETV). If this historic take is overly complex, Sandra Lee has a recipe, too (prev. holiday fun with Sandra Lee). Much more on the tradition of wassail(ing) at The Web's Wassailing Epicenter. In Ireland, Christmas Eve is a day of fasting, with the meal of the day being fish. When the Irish came to the United States, they brought their tradition, with fish being replaced by oysters, which might be sent inland via train. Far from the coast, oyster became a symbol of the arrival of the winter holiday season. Good Eats has a recipe here, too: roast duck with oyster dressing (more oyster dressing recipes on Food Network). Duck was chosen to replace the traditional Christmas Goose (recipe, or from Gordon Ramsey), which is an acquired taste and rather rare in the US. The making of gingerbread goes back a long centuries, but not in the current form of gingerbread men and houses. The former is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, or or so the story goes. If you're looking to cooking up something from the past, try your hand at some old recipes (from the fifteenth through nineteenth century). In Wales, toffee is traditional. More traditional Christmas sweets.

Everyone knows Santa isn't real

Rhaomi — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:10:12 -0800

As households across the world quietly deploy presents from St. Nick, Kate Beaton, author of the charming historical webcomic Hark, a Vagrant! (previ ously) remembers the tradition in a bittersweet light. In spite of venerable op-eds (and their animated offspring), such pain moves some to question whether parents should teach their children to believe in Santa Claus at all.

old school etiquette

lalex — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:10:32 -0800

"To you, my friends, whose identity in these pages is veiled in fictional disguise, it is but fitting that I dedicate this book." Old school etiquette from the inimitable Emily Post and others. Etiquette for Americans, by "A Woman of Fashion". The Etiquette of New York To-Day, by Mrs. Frank Learned. Encyclopaedia of Etiquette, by Emily Holt. The Secret of a Happy Home, by Marion Harland. Harland also wrote a generously annotated cookbook which includes many delightful bon mots: "Pork fat and pies kill more people yearly in the States than do liquor and tobacco," said a popular lecturer upon conservatism. Perhaps so; but I incline to the belief that bad pastry is answerable for a vast majority of the murders.

Old Weird Brittanica

Miko — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:59:31 -0800

This entrancing 17-minute film compiled from footage of British folk celebrations was put together in honor of a new project created by set designer Simon Costin. Finding much of his artistic inspiration in the folklore of Great Britain, Costin wondered why there was no national center or museum dedicated to studying and collecting these traditional customs. So he's decided to start one, The Museum of British Folklore, and is launching the project this summer by outfitting a 1976 caravan and traveling to folk festivals around the country. The expedition is intended to build interest in the museum project, and to collect and document some of the surprising variety of more than 700 annual, seasonal, often pre-Christian festival celebrations that continue to this day. What's going on in the movie? Depicted in the film (as near as I can tell from the short snippets lacking notes and based upon pieced together clues, so IDs are probably not 100% accurate): Gloucestershire Cheese-rolling Abbots Bromley Horn Dance Morris dancing Mari Lywd Wassail Tar Barrel Burning Padstow May Day Border Morris Mummer's Day, also known as "Darkie Day" Molly Dancing for Plough Monday Jack-in-the-Green Sean-Nos (old style Irish step dancing) The Hunting of the Earl of Rone The Burry Man The Battle Bonfire

The Isleños

Effigy2000 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:12:53 -0800

The Isleños are said to be a dying traditional American subculture. Descendants of Canary Island immigrants of Louisiana, the name Isleños was given to them to distinguish them from Spanish mainlanders, known as "peninsulares." But in Louisiana, the name evolved from a category to an identity. For a long time they were one of those rare subcultures that found a way to maintain a living tradition as the world around them modernised by carving out a livelihood as crabbers and 'shrimpers'. Then Katrina hit and the wetlands, which were central to the Isleños identity, essentially dissapeared. Despite the blow to their economy, they still have their songs and annual fiestas, evidence of a strong culture which binds their community together, and their rebuilding following Katrina demonstrated how strong that sense of identity and culture can be. So perhaps the Isleños shouldn't be written off just yet, then. After all, as Isleño Irvan Perez says, "This is home. Where else would we go?"

Social tagging by museums

tellurian — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:34:24 -0800

Seeing Tibetan Art Through Social Tags - An interesting paper on social tagging. What can tags tell us about how images are perceived by diverse cultures? If it gets all tl;dr just enjoy Himalayan Art Resources (previously) - maybe the Initiation Cards.

The Ethnosphere

homunculus — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:50:08 -0800

"Cultures at the far edge of the world" (YT) and "The worldwide web of belief and ritual" (YT). Two TED talks by anthropologist and explorer Wade Davis (previously) on the diversity of the world's indigenous cultures and their beliefs, and the richness of the "Ethnosphere," which he describes as "the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness." [Via Mind Hacks]

Old Weird Europe

huskerdont — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:53:44 -0800

German newspaper Der Spiegel decided to take a look at Europe's oddest folk traditions and festivals. Perhaps you can have a metaphorical hard-on for the phallus festival of Tyrnavos, Greece. Maybe you're hungry for how a small Belgian town celebrates the practice of swallowing live fish. Or, alternately, you can look down on those bizarre practices... while chasing a giant wheel of cheese down a hill. Or maybe you'd just rather celebrate the annual fireworks war of Chios or jump over a baby while wearing a silly costume. Some of the festivals are recent inventions to boost tourism; others are relics of ancient paganism that survived Christianization. What are your favorites?

Perceptions of headscarf survey

Rumple — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:55:17 -0800

A recent poll (PDF) asked for reactions to the same model dressed in two different ways: in a plain shirt with her hair down, and in a blue head scarf of the style of some Islamic women. Perhaps understandably, the survey respondents felt the scarfed image was more traditional and more religious. But some of the other perceptions are less obviously predictable. (via crooked timber)

Death in the Afternoon

hadjiboy — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:33:28 -0800

Jallikattu, [Stunning Photographs | Jallikattu YouTube] an Indian version of the Running of the Bulls, takes place in the State of Tamil Nadu, during the Pongal festival each year. This year, the Supreme Court directed the State Government to put a halt to the practice, in vain, and the bulls were forced to participate as usual (with 129 people being gored, and many more injured). The guys in this shot are wearing shirts from IKEA… w.t.f.? Also, here’s a YouTube of Water Buffalo Racing called “Kambala” from Karnataka.

Guga

brautigan — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:13:02 -0800

"The ile is full of wild fowls, and when the fowls has their birds ripe, men out of the parish of Ness in Lewis sail and tarry there seven or eight days and to fetch with them home their boatfull of dry wild fowls with wild fowl feathers" - Donald Monro, Archdeacon of the Isles, 1549. The men sail again, as they have done since the 15th Century, this month.

Alaska and Northeast Siberia

Wolfdog — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:20:42 -0800

Artifacts, people, and traditions of Alaska and Northeast Siberia.

You lookin at me???

hadjiboy — Sun, 27 May 2007 07:12:12 -0800

The Wagah border, that separates the countries of Pakistan and India, is the scene of some very eccentric pomp and ceremony during the lowering of the flags on either side, and the opening and closing of the gates of the opposing forces.

Tha Japanese Tradition

ikahime — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:30:19 -0800

Comedy duo, Ramenz (ラーメンズ), aka Kobayashi Kentaro and Katagiri Jin, also known as the Japanese versions of Mac and PC, have recently done a number of shorts collectively called "The Japanese Tradition." Apparently, these tongue-in-cheek pseudo-instructional vids about famous aspects of Japanese culture (Tea, Chopsticks, Sushi, Origami, Apology, Onigiri, and Relationships) have been fooling a lot of non-natives into thinking they are actual guides. (YouTube, each approx 4-6 min).

Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football

chrismear — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 04:22:15 -0800

Royal Shrovetide Football is a traditional ball game played each year in Ashbourne, Derbyshire on a 'pitch' three miles long, lasting the two days of Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. It's been going since at least 1683 and likely much earlier.

After a ceremonial rendition of Auld Lang Syne and God Save The Queen, the cork-filled ball is thrown from the starting plinth into the crowd, and then it's the Up'ards versus the Down'ards, forming giant scrums (or 'hugs') of people moving up and down the River Henmore, with the aim of 'goaling the ball' at their respective goal post.

The Burryman

tellurian — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 22:00:15 -0800

Every year the The Burryman makes his appearance at the Ferry Fair Festival. It has now been revealed how he copes with all that whisky.

I'm not kidding...

furtive — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 20:53:14 -0800

The tradition of the Regimental Goat extends as far back as 1775 and the Battle of Bunker Hill, if not earlier. Canada's own Batisse IX is said to be a direct descendant of Tibetan goats presented by the Shah of Persia to Queen Victoria in 1884. Ask any regimental goat and they will tell you they are well respected, but military discipline can be severe when the regimental goat steps out of line.

The Grapes of Wrath

Gyan — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 21:12:17 -0800

European Wine Fighting For Survival

They Say That In The Army

adamgreenfield — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 18:46:11 -0800

On the origins and history of the military (marching/running) cadence. Some were straightforwardly about identity, some inevitably about the performance of bloodthirstyness, but it always seemed to me that the most rewarding and enjoyable cadences to sing were those that were simply special cases of an older tradition: the working man's blues. A platoon run to cadence in the Fort Knox gloaming may be one of the few purely vocal expressions remaining, at that, now that others have fallen by the wayside.

Decline in Japanese marriage and birth rate

Prospero — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 11:46:01 -0800

Interesting article on the Japanese "social recession" (from the back pages of USA Today) "To an astonishing degree, the sexes are going their opposite ways in Japan. Young women are revolting against the traditional role of obedient housewife, opting instead to live at home and shop and socialize with girlfriends. Startled men are retreating into solitary ways. Check-ins at the country's famed 'love hotels' are even falling. As birthrates slip, a social crisis looms."

Indian bride breaks rules

elpapacito — Fri, 16 May 2003 06:43:12 -0800

Indian soon-to-be bride breaks indian marriage rules. Not surprisingly she is a "software engineer" student probably a programmer with some clue. Groom goes to jail. On a tangent, your job position is currently being outsourced to this "civilized" country with only 7000 dowry deaths in 2001.

Beginnings

plep — Sat, 03 May 2003 12:17:58 -0800

Beginnings at the Library of Congress. The origins of the Universe, humanity and society as viewed by different cultural and religious traditions; and their attempts to explain it all.
The Talk.Origins Archive presents a more scientific view of physical and biological beginnings.

pracowity — Thu, 08 Feb 2001 07:16:11 -0800

The Trafalgar Square pigeons are really going now. Bernard Rayner, the last Trafalgar Square birdseed-seller, has settled for a cash payment from the city of London and closed down forever, thus ending a long tradition of feeding and encouraging 10,000 statue-bombarding "rats with wings" to befoul one of London's best outdoor gathering places. Not everyone is happy about this.

palegirl — Wed, 08 Mar 2000 15:35:55 -0800

the annual 8 day orange throwing festival in italy is ending today. [BBC News real video report] -- great footage, they explain the bizarre tradition, show it, and show the aftermath [which includes some bloody injuries] -- if you saw a segment about this on bbc world news last week, this is the same.