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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

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Urban Legend

Nashville Reservoir

The reservoir used to be a place for many people to sight-see. They could climb to the top of the wall and look in at our city's water supply. A locked gate was placed there becasue so many people were using the water supply to unload unwanted cats, dogs, babies, and trash.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Keyword(s): Babies ; Cats ; Dogs ; Litter ; Nashville ; Reservoir ; TRASH ; Urban Legend

Subject headings: PROSE NARRATIVE -- Tale

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Autograph Rhyme

Album Verse:

Your's till catfish have kittens.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Keyword(s): AUTOGRAPH ; CAT ; Catfish ; FISH ; Kittens ; PLAY ON WORDS ; PUN ; Signature ; Witty ; WORD PLAY

Subject headings: Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Verse without Music

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Religion

Catholic Baptism:

At the baptism of a child the priest sprinkles salt over the tongue of the child to represent the bitterness of life he will face.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Keyword(s): BABY ; BAPTISM ; BAPTISM ; Bitterness ; Catholic ; CEREMONY ; CHURCH ; Original Sin ; RELIGION ; RELIGIOUS ; Rite ; RITUAL ; Salt ; SIN

Subject headings: CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Baptism Naming rite

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Language: Rhyme

When this you see remember me

And take a little catnip tea.

Submitter comment:

From autograph book of the 1880's

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Keyword(s): AUTOGRAPH ; Catnip ; Devotion ; Language ; poem ; Remember ; RHYME ; Signature ; TEA ; VERSE

Subject headings: Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse

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Room Location

The master bedroom should be located in the northeastern corner of the house to maintain harmony and fortune in the family.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: VIRGINIA ; Roanoke

Keyword(s): Bedroom ; Feng Shui ; fortune ; Harmony ; House ; LOCATION ; Master

Subject headings: ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Plan, design, color, building material, and technic

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Language: Rhyme

School's out! School's out!
Teacher wore her paddle out!

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE

Keyword(s): Entertainment ; Paddle ; RHYME ; SCHOOL ; TEACHER ; Vacation

Subject headings: Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Verse without Music

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Entertainment: Game

Anti-Over Game:

Take as mall tennis type ball and throw it over the house. The person throwing hte ball calls "anti.' If the ball goes over the roof, the receiver calls "over." Keep repeating.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; COOKEVILLE

Keyword(s): Anti ; Ball ; CATCH ; Entertainment ; GAME ; House ; Over ; Pastime ; Rook ; Throw

Subject headings: ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Structure for dance, game, pastime, sport, drama, etc.

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Belief

The pishtace are nocturnal murderers of Indians. The pishtaco murder Indians in order to obtain human fat to be sold as lubricants for machinery and to be used in pharmacuticals.

The legend derives from 16th and 17th centurey Spanish practices of using human body fats as treatment for wounds and diseases. the people who tell this tale are poor Indians and the pishtaco are usually wealthy industrial men in the area. The tale helps draw lines of social class.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Journal of American Folklore ; The Pishtaco: Institutionalized Fear in Highland Peru

Keyword(s): BODY ; Cultural ; Culture ; Fat ; FEAR ; HORROR ; INDIAN ; INDUSTRY ; Kill ; Lubrication ; Machinery ; MEDICINE ; MURDER ; Native American ; Peru ; Peruvian ; Pharmaceutical ; Pishtaco ; Poor ; Social Class ; Wealthy

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal

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Entry filtered.

Language

Historical record from James Callow Folklore Archive.

In this genre the fanciful name of the author in combination with the supposed title of the book produces a verbal irony, the import of which is most often obscene or scatalogical.

The Tiger's Revenge - Claude Balls

Hole in the Mattress - Mr. Completely

Hawaiian Romance - Komona Wanna Laiya

Russian Pastime - Ivben Jackinoff

Seventeenth Century England had something like title-author jokes. They were fake book lists with authors who were real people whom the crown was harrassing supposedly speaking on long winded topics.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Journal of American Folklore ; Title Author Jokes Now and Long Ago

Keyword(s): Author ; BOOK ; Fictional ; HUMOR ; OBSCENE ; PLAY ON WORDS ; PUN ; SCATOLOGICAL ; Title

Subject headings: Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Ill humor Ridicule Mockery
Filter - Mature Content

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Prose Narrative Tale

Prose Narrative Tale:

Folktale of New England -- The Gingerbread Man.

Children's story of a runaway cookie including repeated theme: "rubn, run, as fast as you can. Can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread man."

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs Added by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE ; Bookhouse Volume One

Keyword(s): CATCH ; CHILDREN ; Cookie ; Fast ; Gingerbread ; Gingerbread Man ; Legend ; Narrative ; New England ; Prose ; REGIONAL ; Run ; Tale

Subject headings: PROSE NARRATIVE -- Tale

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Proverbial Saying

Curiosity killed the cat.

(usually answered with:)

Satisfaction brought it back.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs Added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [V300] crossed out. Replaced with current classification.

Not a Proverb?

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; PLAYGROUND

Keyword(s): CAT ; CURIOSITY ; Killed ; PROVERB ; Resurrection ; Satisfaction ; Saying

Subject headings: SPEECH -- Formula

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Entry filtered.

Toast

Ireland was Ireland when England was a pup,
And Ireland was Ireland when England had grown up.
and I'm an Irish Catholic and I go to early mass,
And if the lousy Limeys don't like it
They can kiss me bloomin' arse.

Submitter comment:

He heard it from an Irish Friend

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs Added By TRD

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT

Keyword(s): Catholic ; Culture ; England ; ETHNIC ; Ethnicity ; IRELAND ; Irish ; Limey ; Mass ; Slur ; TOAST

Subject headings: Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Speech Speech

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IF A WOMAN EATS CATFISH BEFORE HER BABY IS TWO MONTHS
OLD SHE WILL DIE.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; BELZONI

Keyword(s): AGE ; BABY ; BELIEF ; Catfish ; Consume ; DEATH ; Die ; Eat ; FISH ; FOOD ; infant ; Kill ; Mom ; MONTHS ; MOTHER ; PREGNANCY ; Two

James Callow Keyword(s): AGE

Subject headings: 686 Seconds / Twice / Two
Food Drink -- Meat Fish and other animal life related to water
BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial
BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness

Date learned: 04-15-1973

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Entry filtered.

Historical record from James Callow Folklore Archive.

IF A WOMAN HAS SEX DURING THE LATER STAGES OF PREGNANCY,
HER LABOR WILL BE DIFFICULT.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE

Keyword(s): BELIEF ; Complications ; Delivery ; INTERCOURSE ; Labor ; PREGNANCY ; SEX

James Callow Keyword(s): SEXUAL INTERCOURSE

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal
BELIEF -- Birth

Date learned: 08-20-1973

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CATS AND DOGS SHOW AVERSION TO PREGNANT WOMEN.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; BELZONI

Keyword(s): ANIMALS ; BELIEF ; Cats ; Dogs ; PREGNANCY

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Mammal
BELIEF -- Birth

Date learned: 08-18-1973

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WART CURES:
RUB IT WITH A KILLED CAT AND BURY THE CAT IN A BLACK
STOCKING.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE

Keyword(s): BELIEF ; Black ; Bury ; CAT ; CURE ; Dead ; Kill ; STOCKING ; Wart

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Mammal
BELIEF -- Color
BELIEF -- Animal
BELIEF -- Method of Curing

Date learned: 09-30-1973

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CATS KILL INFANTS BY SUCKING THEIR BREATH.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE

Keyword(s): Babies ; BREATH ; Cats ; Infants ; Kill

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Mammal
BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness

Date learned: 10-14-1973

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A CONVERSION TO SEEING A BLACK CAT CROSS THE ROAD
WHILE DRIVING IS TO MAKE AN "X" ON THE WINDSHIELD.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; CORNERSVILLE

Keyword(s): Black ; CAT ; Cross ; DRIVING ; Road ; SUPERSTITION ; X

James Callow Keyword(s): AUTOMOBILE

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank
BELIEF -- Sign Geometric figure Cross and its various modifications
BELIEF -- Bad luck Animals
BELIEF -- Conversions

Date learned: 00001972-00001973 (ASSUMED)

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WHENEVER A GROUP OF CATS GATHER IN A GRAVEYARD ON THE
NIGHT OF THE NEW MOON, THEY ARE INHABITED FOR THAT NIGHT
BY THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD. THEY WILL CONVERSE (LOUDLY)
ALL NIGHT LONG, BUT IN THE MORNING THEY WILL BE "ONLY"
CATS AGAIN.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; MCKENZIE

Keyword(s): Cats ; Dead ; GHOST ; GRAVEYARD ; Inhabit ; MOON ; New Moon ; SPIRIT ; Tale

Subject headings: 686 Properties attributed to specific numbers or numerals individually.
BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter
BELIEF -- Mammal
BELIEF -- Moon
BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour

Date learned: 10-14-1973

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IT'S LUCKY TO OWN A BLACK CAT, BUT UNLUCKY TO MEET ONE.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE

Keyword(s): Bad ; Black ; CAT ; Good ; LUCK ; Unlucky

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Mammal
BELIEF -- Fate Destiny Luck Chance

Date learned: 11-06-1973

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