Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for 686.1.7 returned 182 results.
Island Folklore
On the Island Key of Islamorada, Florida buying a handcarved
wooden tiki mask and having it blessed by one of the island's
priests with holy water is said to bring luck for seven years,
then unfortunately trouble for seven years. Most people do not
bless their tiki masks.
Submitter comment:
As Mr. Woodenson was telling me this story he was in a serious
state of mind as if he was telling me to be very careful and
he left it at that.
Where learned: Key Islamorada
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Church BELIEF -- Prayer BELIEF -- Good luck |
The pelvic bone from a turkey must be saved
and put to dry for seven days. When it is dry
two people hold the two ends of the horseshoe
shaped bone and then pull. The one who gets
the middle part (a knob) gets their wish that was
wished before the pulling.
Where learned: NEW JERSEY ; Penns Grove
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Bird BELIEF -- Prayer BELIEF -- Good luck |
Date learned: 00001980S
NEVER GET MARRIED DURING A MONTH IN WHICH THE BRIDE OR THE
GROOM WAS BORN. IF THIS HAPPENS IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST 7 YEARS TO
CONCEIVE A CHILD.
Where learned: CHICAGO
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage BELIEF -- Birth BELIEF -- Measure of time Month |
Date learned: 00001940S
If you break a mirror you are sentenced to seven years bad luck.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 00001950S
Never cross the path of a black cat or you will be doomed to
seven years bad luck.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Color BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 00001970S
Religious Superstitions
When driving or walking by a graveyard or church you should
never point your finger or stick out your tongue. If you do you
should bite it ten times (finger or tongue). If you don't you will
have seven years of bad luck.
Submitter comment:
I learned this as a child and it never failed; every time we
drove by either of these two sites I had to be either pointing or
licking my lips.
Where learned: DETROIT
Date learned: 00001970S
The Kwanza Celebration is a festival for African - Americans
that takes the place of Christmas, where festivities are performed
for seven days and each day reflects on African - American culture
Each evening one of seven candles are lit and that principle for
the day is discussed. The last day comprises a large meal and
small exchange of gifts.
Where learned: CALIFORNIA ; Merced
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- December 25 Christmas Also see F642, below. |
If someone sweeps your feet with a broom you must do seven
complete turns and spit on the broom three times or you will soon go
to jail.
James Callow comment:
For earlier African-American predictions that sweeping one's feet
can send that person to jail see Puckett, "Folk Beliefs of the
Southern Negro," p. 397; the informants were from Alabama and
Georgia. Puckett, Ohio, nos. 20562-20572 also equate brooms and
sweeping with arrest and jail. Note that almost all the informants
are listed as Negro. No. 20573 contains three examples of converting
the consequences by spitting on the broom, but none of these
informants, two of whom are Negro, prescribes a certain number of
times for this action.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Date learned: 00-00-1978
Working on Sundays
Whenever I asked my mother if I could go fishing on a Sunday
afternoon she would say no because she believed that
Sundays were suppose to be restful days and not to be worked on and
that included fishing. She had this belief because God created the
world in six days and rested on the seventh. So her reasoning was
that if God can make a world in six days and rest on the seventh,
therefore any man should be able to do what he wants in six days
and rest on the seventh.
Submitter comment: My mother never let me go fishing on Sundays.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Louise
| Subject headings: | 686 Sixths / Six 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour BELIEF -- Magic Book |
Date learned: 00-00-1970
When I was younger I always used to hear people say that you
should not swallow your chewing gum because it takes seven years
to digest and that if you do swallow it too often all of the
pieces of chewed gum accumulate into a big pile and sit there in
your stomach until it is digested.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ALLEN PARK
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several Food Drink -- Special Form and PurposeObject of Bodily Consumption BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 00-00-1980
If you break a mirror you will have seven years of bad luck.
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Measure of time Year BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 02-07-1992
Meanings of the Pentacle
The following again was told to me by Carol, who has been a
practicing witch. She was a member of a coven based in Michigan.
The pentacle has a rich history in the magical and spiritual customs
of many cultures. In Greece it was the symbol of Demeter's daughter
Kore, the goddess of vegetation and the fruits of the field, because
the apple contains a star composed of five seeds in its core.
Pythagorean mystics honored the pentacle, which they called
"Pentalpha", because it consisted of five interwoven alphas: the Greek
letter "A", which stood for birth and beginnings. In Egypt a
five-pointed star represented the great underground womb of Mother
Earth. The Celtic tribes also saw it as a sign of the Goddess of the
Underworld, Morgan. In Babylon the pentacle was an amulet of
protection and healing. In Judeo-Christian traditions the pentacle
was the first of the Seven Seals, which represented the secret name of
God; and King Solomon wore a pentacle on his ring as a sign of his
power to work magic. Among the old European tribespeople the pentacle
represented the Horned God, a shapeshifter who had five
manifestations: a human, a bull, a ram, a goat, and a stag.
The star is always drawn with one continuous stroke, with one point
upright.
James Callow comment:
Puckett, Ohio, no. 25634: "Five fingers or anything to do with
five will protect you from the evil eye (Moslem)."
Puckett, Ohio, no. 26650: "Find the sign of the Pantagram on your
hand, you will be a victim of the werewolf."
Hand, North Carolina, no. 6027: "The claim for five (as "nearly
always" a lucky number) is not borne out in the literature, except,
perhaps for certain North American Indian tribes."
Cannon, Utah: "Five and multiples of five are lucky" (no. 11557);
"The five fingers of the hand, or any design or phrase associated with
the number five will protect against bad
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; MANCHESTER
James Callow Keyword(s): Five as apotropaic number.
| Subject headings: | 686 Fifths 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several |
Date learned: 01-00-1992
Superstition
Break a mirror and you'll have seven years of bad luck. Open an
umbrella indoors and something bad will happen to you. Walk
underneath a ladder and you'll have an accident.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ECORSE
Date learned: 00-00-1968
IN MODERN SWEDEN, ON THE FEAST OF MIDSUMMER'S EVE,
THERE IS A CUSTOM THAT MAIDENS FOLLOW TO FIND OUT WHO
THEY WILL MARRY. A GIRL GOES OUT AT MIDNIGHT AND
SPEAKS TO NO ONE. SHE PICKS SEVEN DIFFERENT KINDS
OF FLOWERS AND PUTS THEM UNDER HER PILLOW. THAT
NIGHT SHE SHOULD DREAM OF THE MAN SHE WILL MARRY.
Where learned: SWEDEN
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Marriage Dream about future husband |
Date learned: 01-21-1968
IN BENGAL, THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY BEGINS WITH THE BRIDE
BEING SEATED ON A TABLE-LIKE STRUCTURE WHICH IS THEN
LIFTED AND CIRCLED SEVEN TIMES AROUND THE GROOM.
THE BRIDE'S SARI (DRESS) IS THEN TIED TO THE GROOM
AND THE TWO OF THEM WALK SEVEN STEPS TOGETHER, WHICH
COMPLETES THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY.
IT IS BELIEVED TRADITIONALLY THAT A MAN MUST MARRY A
WOMAN WITH WHOM HE WALKS SEVEN OR MORE STEPS.
Submitter comment: SOURCE: CALCUTTA, INDIA
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; INDIA ; BENGAL ; CALCUTTA
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage Ceremony |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
THE SEVENTH CHILD OF EVERY FAMILY IS ALWAYS LUCKY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Good luck Numbers |
IF YOU BREAK A MIRROR, IT IS SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK.
THIS STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT MIRRORS WERE EX-
PENSIVE IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
Where learned: SCHOOL
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several Favorites BELIEF -- Bad luck Mirror |
Date learned: 03-05-1968
IF YOU BREAK A MIRROR, YOU WILL HAVE SEVEN YEARS
BAD LUCK.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Bad luck Mirror |
Date learned: 10-30-1968
IF YOU BREAK A MIRROR, YOU WILL HAVE SEVEN YEARS OF
BAD LUCK.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; EAST DETROIT
| Subject headings: | 686 Seven / Sevenths / Several BELIEF -- Bad luck Mirror |
Date learned: 03-28-1967