Collection Information: I Put My Hands Together was collected on May 21st, 2014 in Hanover, New Hampshire. It belongs to a sub-genre of nursery rhymes called fingerplay.
Informant: The informant was Elaine Kissel, a 20 year old female. She was born in New York City, and currently goes to college in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the oldest of three children. She is Jewish, but she does not think this piece has a Jewish origin.
Text:
I put my hands together, (start with palms together)
This is how it starts.
I curve my fingers right around, (begin curling fingers together)
And then I have a heart. (end with fingernails touching, making a heart shape with hands)
Context: The informant reported that her mother would perform this fingerplay with her just before bed. She would also do it with her siblings. While she acknowledges that from time to time they would ask to do it during the day, it was primarily a bedtime ritual, and they did not like to go to bed without performing it with her or their mother beforehand.
Meaning and Interpretation: This piece does not appear to have much deeper meaning. It just served as a fun, simple, and easy to remember way of interacting with and connecting with children in her family. They liked this piece in particular because the heart is a representation of love.
Collector’s Information: Chris Faulkner, Dartmouth ’14, Russian 13, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Spring 2014
