Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for P230 returned 49 results.
When I was little my mother used to say that while
I was making a face at my sister it would get stuck
that way forever, because God was watching and He
didn't make faces to do that !
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
Balinese custom
If snakes appear at a temple and you kill one, if it is a
snake of one of the God's, a God will come down and kill you
in a horrible way within twenty-four hours.
Where learned: Bali ; Indonesia
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Animal BELIEF -- Church BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour |
Date learned: 00-00-1955
Balinese custom
The land of Bali is Gods' island, the gods own and operate
everything. It is known as the Gods' paradise.
Where learned: Bali ; Indonesia
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Formation BELIEF -- Explanation of a name SPEECH -- Folk etymology SPEECH -- Place |
Date learned: 00-00-1955
My parents bought a statue at a little market in Aruba.
There, it is customary to carry on the tradition of carving.
Ours is a black lady wearing a turban on her head with her
eyes closed. She is made out of mahogany. She looks so
peaceful that we wonder if she isn't a goddess to the
people in Aruba.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
| Subject headings: | ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Art Craft ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Wood Gourd BELIEF -- Gods |
Date learned: 03-00-1988
Fireworks were invented and used in Thailand to
bring rain. The louder and bigger the fireworks
were, the more rain the gods were supposed to
send them.
Submitter comment:
This is still very much believed by the people
and still practiced.
Where learned: THAILAND
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Cloud Fog Mist Rain Hail Ice Snow Frost Dew BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Weather sign or control |
Date learned: 00001960S
Before my grandmother got married she was
told that she should never love her husband
or her children more than she loved God. If
she did God might decide to take them to heaven
for himself.
Submitter comment: My grandmother is very religious.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank BELIEF -- Birth BELIEF -- Marriage BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 00001940S
Mt. Lemon in Tucson, Arizona is said to have the Red God of
Fire. This is a creature which walks the mountain whenever
heat lightning strikes the mountain in the form of red
lightning.
Submitter comment:
A silly myth, of course everybody knows that light cannot
walk. The short story was still imaginative and somewhat
interesting.
Where learned: Arizona ; Tucson
Keyword(s): Tall, Weather
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- P428 BELIEF -- Lightning Thunder BELIEF -- Fire BELIEF -- Formation |
Date learned: 00-00-1991
The ancient Egyptians believed that a cat
embodied the spirit of or were actual
goddesses brought back to life.
Where learned: NEW JERSEY ; Tuckerton
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Mammal |
Date learned: 00001980S
From the ages when the gods were said to live on Mt. Olympus, the
Greeks believed the owl to be the symbol of wisdom and the foreshadow
of death.
Where learned: GREECE
| Subject headings: | Observation BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Bird BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 00001946CA
Religious belief or tale
When I was a little girl my mother used to try and soothe me
during a thunder and lightning storm by telling me that when it
thunders, it is God bowling and when it lightnings God hits a
strike.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): ANTHROPOMORPHISM
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Special Object or Implement BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Lightning Thunder |
Date learned: 00-00-1980
Just as there are the different books to the bible, so are
there 3 different books to Satan's bible. Folklore has it that
the witch or warlock that can find all 3 of them will be able to
spell the forgotten name of God. And in so doing, the witch or
warlock will acquire all of the powers from God.
Where learned: ALABAMA ; BIRMINGHAM
| Subject headings: | 686 Thirds / Thrice / Three / Triple BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Devil Demon BELIEF -- Witch Shaman BELIEF -- Magic Book SPEECH -- Proper Name |
Date learned: 00-00-1980
When it is lightening and thundering outside always cut off
all the electricity and be silent because the Lord is talking.
Submitter comment:
As me and my sister were playing UNO, it started to storm
outside. My mother said, "Please turn off the television and
come in the bedroom and rest because it is storming outside and
we should be silent because this is the Lord's time to talk.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Lightning Thunder |
Date learned: 00-00-1977
Always pray at night so that God will continue to give you
his blessings.
Submitter comment:
My mother always told me to say my prayers before I went to
bed.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour BELIEF -- Prayer |
Date learned: 00-00-1987
A boy raised his arm to hit his mother and God struck him dead
in his tracks. When he was to be buried, his parents were unable
to close the casket because his arm had remained above his head in
the position to strike his mother. The parents eventually had to
break the boy's arm to close the casket.
Submitter comment:
This was told to children to prevent them from ever raising an
arm to strike a parent.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): FUNCTION
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Gods PROSE NARRATIVE -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate PROSE NARRATIVE -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 10-00-1991
Thunder is really potatoes rolling down a hill after God
spills a cart full of them.
Submitter comment:
This was told to children at one time to prevent them from
being afraid of thunder.
James Callow Keyword(s): FUNCTION
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Lightning Thunder BELIEF -- Weather sign or control |
Date learned: 00-00-1956
Thunder is God's way of showing anger at the wrong and sin
happening on Earth.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): Nature Beliefs
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Lightning Thunder |
Date learned: 02-00-1992
If you don't pray on your knees God will not listen. It's also
very disrespectful!
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 01-00-1981
God is watching
Whenever the sun would stream down to earth through a break in
the clouds, my grandmother would tell me that that was God looking
down on his children, keeping a good watch.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ROSEVILLE ; from my Grandmother
James Callow Keyword(s): Sunshine
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods BELIEF -- Sun |
Date learned: 00001950S
Jehovah is feminine
The following was told to me by Carol, who has been a practicing
witch. She was a member of a coven based in Michigan.
Witches find it interesting that the name Jehovah is formed by the
four Hebrew letters Yod-He-Vau-He. The first, Yod, means "I", the
next three, He-Vau-He, mean both "life" and "woman." The Latin
version of these three letters is E-V-E. In other words, the name of
Jehovah is feminine and it means "I am woman; I am life." Today a
popular chant among witches is based on these ancient letters:
"Io!Evohe!"
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; MANCHESTER
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Gods SPEECH -- Proper Name |
Date learned: 01-00-1992