Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
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OCCUPATIONAL HAZING
NEW MEN IN THE PLANT ARE GIVEN OUTRAGEOUS TASKS TO CARRY
OUT IN ORDER FOR THEM TO LEARN THEIR WAY AROUND THE PLANT.
ONE SUCH PRACTICE IS LOOKING FOR THE DESIGN CHECKER. A MAN
IS SENT TO THE OFFICE AREA TO LOOK FOR THE DESIGN CHECKER.
THE OLDER WORKERS THEN SEND THE NEW MAN AROUND THE PLANT
IN A SEARCH TO FIND THIS PERSON. AFTER A GIVEN PERIOD HE IS
RETURNED TO HIS JOB AND THE OLDER WORKERS HAVE HAD A GOOD
TIME. DEPENDING ON YOUR DEPARTMENT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF
THINGS YOU MAY BE SENT TO LOOK FOR.
Where learned: DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Work Commerce Business CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 08-00-1977
IN THE MACHINE SHOP, WE MIGHT PLAY A TRICK ON A NEW
WORKER BY SENDING HIM TO THE TOOL CRIB FOR "EMERY DUST"
WHICH IS THE DUST FROM THE GRINDING WHEEL. THIS HAS
THE SAME EFFECT AS SENDING SOMEONE FOR A LEFT HANDED
WRENCH.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Work Commerce Business CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00001920S
AT MIDNIGHT YOU WERE MADE TO STAND IN A FIELD, USUALLY A
CAMP GROUND. YOU WERE TOLD TO SCREAM THREE INDIAN WORDS
VERY FAST UNTIL YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT IT MEANS.
THE THREE WORDS WERE, "WANNA," "ASA," "AM." SAID VERY FAST
THESE WORDS SOUND LIKE --WHAT AN ASS I AM.
Submitter comment: IT WAS USED AS AN INITIATION.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): CATCH
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00001970S
"INCHY PINCHY"
This practical joke begins when one person convinces
another (usually a younger/naive) person that they are
going to be initiated into a special group. The "initiate"
is taken into a darkened room, with perhaps only a candle
for a light, and seated on the floor. Others come into the
room (quietly and reverentially) and seat themselves in
a circle, in which the "initiate" is included. (Everyone
but the person who is the target of the joke is a co-conspirator.)
After everyone is seated in a circle, the
leader (seated next to the victim) announces that the
ceremony is about to begin. He instructs the "initiate"
to copy his motions exactly, doing to his neighbor what
is done to him. The leader, then, reaches out and grabs
the victim's cheek and gently pulls on it, saying
solemnly, "Inchy Pinchy." This should be intoned slowly--
"In...chy Pin...chy." The victim pulls the cheek of
the person next to him and does likewise, and the motion is
passed around the circle. Again the leader reaches out
and grabs another part of the victim's face, perhaps the
forehead or nose, and says "Inchy Pinchy." Again the
motion is passed around the circle. This continues as
many times as the leader wants. When the "ritual" is
over, the victim is instructed to look in the mirror to
verify how the ceremony has transformed him. When he
does so, he realizes that each time the leader touched
his face, that he had been smeared with lipstick (or any
other substance that can be concealed in the hand). At the
moment of realization everyone shouts "INCHY PINCHY!"
Submitter comment:
This was a joke I learned at a slumber party when I was
in seventh grade. My older brother and I successfully
played it on my younger brother, Greg, who reminded me
of it when I asked for any possible folklore items,
especially children's songs/games. A copy of a story he
wrote about this experience has been submitted as
supplementary material.
Where learned: OHIO ; COLUMBUS
Keyword(s): Humor, trick, mock rite-of-passage
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00001965CA
In New Guinea, it is customary to take young boys away from
their parents for a couple of days to be initiated into
manhood. Ashes are used to cover the young boy's face and body
and a fire dance and prayer are conducted. The ashes
represent the death of the young boy. The young men are now
returned back to their parents.
Submitter comment:
Robert spoke of this custom when he got back from Africa.
His gestures were mostly hands describing the way the
natives were conducting the ceremony.
Where learned: Africa
Keyword(s): Trial, Growing-up.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00-00-1949
Hazing
Hazing is a common practice in the Seals, but the traditional
pre-marriage hazing is a practice worth mentioning. Before a member
of a Seal team is married, the other men in the team will kidnap him,
strip him, shave his body hair, tie him to a pier, throw him in the
ocean or bay, and let him "bob" for the remainder of the day.
Submitter comment:
Being the fiance of a Seal, I am not particularly fond of this
tradition.
Where learned: United States Navy Seals
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- F535 CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 01-00-1990
Initiation
When a Seal becomes a member of a platoon, he goes through a
rather strange initiation. He receives a pin, known as the
"Trident," and is then tied and blindfolded. The other members of the
platoon then take turns making "attacks" on the new member. He must
defend himself from these attacks, or face the punishment decided on
by the group. Usually, the group decides that the new member has not
sufficiently defended himself, and designates a punishment. A common
punishment consists of allowing the entire platoon a "free shot" on
the new man. The new man is never seriously injured, but is often
uncomfortable after the ordeal.
Where learned: United States Navy Seals
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- F535 CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 09-00-1991
Banging
In order for a Pee Wee or young would-be gang member to be a
a full fledged gang member he must go through a gauntlet of
initiated gang members where the young person is beat the
entire length of the gauntlet and in extreme circumstances a limb,
either an arm or a leg is broken in order to prove their
worthiness and machoism to be in the gang.
Where learned: CALIFORNIA ; Merced
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
In order for a pee-wee or a young would-be gang member to be a
full-fledged gang member he must go through a gauntlet of
initiated gang members where the young person is beat the entire
length of the gauntlet and in extreme circumstances a limb, either
an arm or leg is broken in order to prove their worthiness and
machoism to be in the gang.
Where learned: CALIFORNIA ; Merced
Keyword(s): RITUAL
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
There is a tradition associated with sailors that those who
cross the equator for the first time on their cruise must go
through a variety of tasks on board the ship by sailors who are
veterans of the crossing in order to say that they are an able
bodied seaman.
Where learned: CALIFORNIA ; San Jose
| Subject headings: | 686 Properties attributed to specific numbers or numerals individually. CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- F535 CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
SHIPS ARE CHRISTENED BY BREAKING A BOTTLE OF WINE OVER
ITS BOW AS AN OFFERING TO NEPTUNE TO KEEP THE SHIP
SAFE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Date learned: 03-20-1968
THIS WAS A SORT OF PRANK PLAYED ON THE NEW MEMBERS
OF OUR BOYSCOUT GROUP.
THE VETERAN MEMBERS WOULD SEND THE NEW MEMBERS
ON A HUNT IN SEARCH OF A SNIPE (AN IMAGINARY ANIMAL).
THE VETERANS WOULD URGE THE NEW MEMBERS ON WITH CRIES
OF "THERE'S ONE," SENDING THE NOVICES RUNNING THROUGH
THE WOODS IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING WHICH DIDN'T EXIST.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BIRMINGHAM
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Game Pastime CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing SPEECH -- Formula |
Date learned: 12-04-1967
AT OLIVET COLLEGE, THE HAZING OF ADELPHIC FRATERNITY
PLEDGES WAS SUPPOSEDLY THE MIDWEST'S ROUGHEST. SOME
OF HELL NIGHT'S PRANKS:
BLINDFOLDED PLEDGE PICKS UP BANANA IN TOILET.
BLINDFOLDED PLEDGE HAS ENCASED SHAVER (ELECTRIC)
DRAWN OVER DIFFERENT HAIRY PARTS OF BODY AND HAIR IS
DROPPED TO SIMULATE ACTUAL SHAVING.
BLINDFOLDED, EATING ALLUM-STUFFED PICKLES, OLIVES, ETC.
FORCING REGURGITATION.
BLINDFOLDED, NUDE PLEDGE STANDING IN SIX INCHES OF ICE
WATER HAS HOT WAX DRIPPED ON HIM.
SINGING FRATERNITY AND SCHOOL SONGS IN UNDERPANTS AND
SHOES ONLY (SNOW ON GROUND) IN FRONT OF GIRL'S DORM.
HAVING TO RECITE PLEDGE RULES IN ORDER WHILE LAYING
NUDE IN SIX INCHES OF ICE WATER, WHILE FRAT MEMBERS
DROPPED RAW EGGS FROM BALCONY INTO MOUTH OF RECITER.
THERE ARE MORE, BUT THEY'RE SADISTIC, SOME CAUSING
THREE OUT OF APPROXIMATELY 30 TO QUIT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; BIRMINGHAM ; TENNESSEE ; CHATANOOGA
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Lie Tall tale CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 12-00-1971 ; 00-00-1958 ; 00001950S
FOR INITIATION INTO MOST FRATERNITIES YOU MUST GO
THROUGH SOME KIND OF HELL NIGHT, WHICH CONSISTS OF
EXTREME EXERCISES AND SOMETIMES PADDLING.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 11-19-1968
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN (ANN ARBOR), A COED IS
NOT OFFICIALLY A COED UNTIL SHE IS KISSED UNDER THE
ARCH AT MIDNIGHT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ANN ARBOR
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 03-00-1970
IN ORDER TO GET INTO THE MEDICAL FRATERNITY IN WHICH HE
BELONGED, YOU HAD TO BE BRANDED ON THE ARM WITH A
GREEK LETTER. THIS WAS PART OF THE INITIATION RITUAL.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 11-06-1968
MARINE INITIATION RITE
THE NEW MARINES ON BOARD SHIP ARE INVITED TO SEE THE
"SEA BAT" IN A CARDBOARD BOX. WHEN THEY BEND OVER
TO LOOK IN THEY GET SWATTED ON THE BOTTOM WITH A BROOM.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 03-08-1972
AT DODGE PHELPS MINING CO. A CUSTOM PREVAILED AMONG THE
MEN. ALL THE GREENHORNS WERE SUBJECT TO A SEDUCTION
BY A SQUAW. IT WAS A RACEY TRADITION AND CAUSED MUCH
LAUGHTER AND COMMOTION AMONG THE CAMPSITE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 02-15-1970
YOU ARE NOT A COED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNTIL
YOU ARE KISSED UNDER THE ENGINEERING ARCH AT MIDNIGHT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ANN ARBOR
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 03-10-1970
ON THE SATURDAY EVENING OF OUR FIRST CAMPOUT, ALL THE
NOVICE SCOUTS ARE GATHERED BEFORE THE CAMPFIRE AND
THEIR FELLOW SCOUTS AND INVOKE THE HELP OF THEIR GOD--
OWA TANA SIAM (O WHAT AN ASS I AM). THEY ALL KNEEL
TOWARD FIRE AND PRAY THAT THEIR GOD WILL, IN SOME WAY,
TELL THEM SOMETHING. EVERYTIME THEY INVOKE THE NAME
OF THEIR HOLY GOD (ROUGHLY EVERY TEN SECONDS) THEY MUST TOUCH
THE GROUND WITH THEIR HEADS. THEY KEEP DOING THIS UNTIL
IT DAWNS ON THEM WHAT THEY ARE SAYING, AT WHICH POINT
THEY WHISPER TO THE LEADER WHAT THE GOD HAS TOLD
THEM AND THEY ARE ALLOWED TO GET UP WHILE THE OTHERS
(STILL IN THE DARK) ARE LEFT TO PRAY. LAST ONE UP
USUALLY ENDS UP WITH WORST WEEKEND.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |