Superstitions

[Shadowhunter]

Are you superstitious? Do you know anyone who is? What are the greatest superstitions you've ever heard?


I'm not superstitious but my husband is. He has to say "knock on wood" and actually knock on wood (or woodgrain, wood look-a-like, paper that was once wood etc) before continuing a conversation if something jinxable was said.


A superstition I heard growing up was to always keep your hair tied up and/or covered or spirits will possess you by holding onto your hair.

 

[MangaAddict]

If you're entering your home after 6pm, you must turn around and walk in backwards, so that no spirits may follow you in....

 

[Shadowhunter]

Pinching people will protect them from the evil eye or maldeux

 

[MangaAddict]

Breaking a mirror will give you seven years bad luck.....

 

[Steven Ramadar]

Don't answer if you're called in the dark... It could be spirits calling your name

 

[Shadowhunter]

-If someone sweeps your feet you will get married early/ have a girlfriend or boyfriend soon.

-If someone crosses over you, you'll stop growing.

-If you get the hiccups, start calling names of people you know. When the hiccups stop, the last name you called was the person who "called" the hiccups on you by thinking of you.

-Walking under a ladder is 7 years bad luck.

-Seeing a snake cross your path means someone you know will double-cross you.

 

[LadyDeath]

You must never open trash bottles at the beach - Jumbies are in them
You must never pee in the bush at night especially under a silk cotton tree - Jumbie will follow you home
You must never sweep in the night - It is bad luck
You must never open an unbrella in the house - It is bad luck or jumbies can enter your home



Here A Some Trini Animal Superstitions

- If a black cat crosses your path, bad things will happen to you
- A Jumbie Bird is a Screeching owl and if it flies over your house, someone is going to die
- You must never bring home sea animals or sea shells ( chip chip or sand dollars) ..It is bad luck
- When dogs are howling something bad might happen
- When cats hiss at nothing , they are seeing ghosts

 

[Shadowhunter]

First time hearing about the Jumbie bird!


Dream Superstitions:
-If you dream teeth falling out of your mouth, someone will die
-If you dream wedding or a pregnancy, there will be great confusion
-If you dream someone's funeral, they will have a long life
-If you dream blood it means victory
-If you dream you're eating meat something bad will happen
-If you dream a snake someone is trying to double-cross you
-If you dream someone laughing, they will end up crying in real life and vice versa

....and of course there are the folks that believe everything they dream is true and will call you personally demanding an explanation for whatever weirdness they dreamt -_-



general:
-deja vu precedes something bad
-if you leave your house late at night (some say after 6 pm, some say between midnight to 3AM) jumbie will hold you
-spirits, jumbie, the supernatural in general flock to those who are not christened
-placing an upside down cocoyea broom (spelling?) outside your back door will keep sequiahs (?) away
-dust your bed off and sweep your house every day before 6pm to send the evil spirits out
-cleaning with lime and saffron cleanses blight, bad energy, and supernatural activity
-incense repels bad energy and supernatural activity

 

[MangaAddict]

If you sneeze, that means someone is bad talking you.

 

[Shadowhunter]

Speaking of sneezes, "bless you" or "God Bless you" actually has superstitious origins. One belief was that when you sneezed, your spirit was leaving your body and by "blessing" you, it would remain with you. Another was that when you sneeze, you are extremely vulnerable to bad spirits etc and by "blessing" you, you are protected. In several languages, the response to a sneeze originates from the belief that a sneeze is a sign of sickness eg. the Spanish "Salud"and German "gesundheit" literally mean "health" or "good health to you".


Trini superstitions:

-goat mout (the belief that saying something negative will come true)

-drinking a glass of milk every day will ensure a fair/light-skinned baby, dark beverages bring a dark-skinned baby

-if a pregnant woman does not eat what she is craving, the child will be born with a birthmark resembling the food

-don't bath in the sea on Good Friday or you'll turn into a fish

-if your second toe is longer than your big toe, you will rule/beat your spouse

-if you put your handbags on the floor you will never have money

-if anyone eats the Cascadoux fish, wherever they move in the world they will return to Trinidad to end their days.

-burying the navel string of a child at the foot of a prolific fruit tree ensures the child's fertility as an adult.

-if you pass a knife or pepper to anyone, you will have an argument with them.

-if you want to see a spirit, put the dog's sleep/yampee in your eye and sit by a river.

 

[Steven Ramadar]

That last one just stink. I thought

If a broom pass over your foot you not going to get married

I think the big toe one applies to women. Family always tell me that my wife going to beat me

 

[LadyDeath]

For full moon pregnant women have to keep walking and not sit still because something bad will happen to them.

You must not give someone hot peppers in their hands because later on you and that person will fall out

 

[Shadowhunter]

That last one just stink. I thought

If a broom pass over your foot you not going to get married

I think the big toe one applies to women. Family always tell me that my wife going to beat me

I've heard both of them both ways, funny how it changes around!




Pregnancy/babies:

-If you look at the moon, scary movies, or something unsightly while pregnant you will have an ugly or deformed baby.

-If you eat anything spicy while pregnant the baby will be born with heat rash or baby acne.

-If you eat lots of bhagi the baby will have lots of hair.

-The baby will resemble anyone you hate while pregnant.

-If a pregnant women gains a fuller face, chubby arms, hair falling out, a smaller high rounded belly, is extremely ill and has a less healthy or ugly appearance, she will have a girl. Also if craving sweet and/or milky foods.

-If a pregnant woman gains thicker legs, excessive hair, a bigger low pointed belly, and appears healthier or more beautiful, she will have a boy. Also if craving salty and/or sour foods.

-All boys are for their mother, all girls are for their father.

-A baby peeing on you is a "blessing".

-When babies smile in their sleep or while playing alone, they are playing with angels.

-Babies' heads must be covered at all times so spirits do not take them.

-When coming from the "dew" (spelling?) outside, you must wait about a half hour until you go near the baby so spirits don't follow you in.

-Placing a soiled diaper in the dirt outside your home will protect from the bad effects of the "dew".

-Throw five stones in five different directions when bringing home a new baby to ward off evil from all directions.

-Never see a baby empty handed, you must "pay" the parents to see the child.

-Do not prepare for a child before it is born, you can jinx the fetus.

-If babies are not "rubbed down" 1-2x a day they will grow deformed.

-If a baby is brought out of the house before 6 weeks (or 2,3,4,or 6 months depending on who is saying) after birth, it can contract fatal illnesses and suddenly die.

-All babies must drink water with young lime leaves in it from birth or they can develop fatal health complications.

-Babies time their births for the full moon.

-After giving birth, all mothers must get "rubbed" to put everything "back into place" or their organs will fall out of place.




general:

-Don't turn your back to the sea, she will get angry (rough).

-Always leave a light on in the house to ward off evil.

-When you hear your name being called in the bushes, don't answer or go further in, leave immediately (some one of the supernatural spirit things is supposed to get you).

 

[MangaAddict]

[video=youtube;SMFe2mw2oSA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMFe2mw2oSA[/video]

For 500 years, worshippers at a Muslim shrine in western India have continued the tradition of throwing babies from a 50-foot tower for good luck.

The children are taken to the top of the building, thrown down onto a bed-sheet held taut by men 50 feet below, and quickly passed through the crowd to their mothers. The parents proudly throw down their children due to a strong belief that the practice of this ritual blesses their offspring with good health, luck, courage, and life-long.

The annual celebration in observed by Muslims and Hindus in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and it also takes place in smaller villages throughout the country.

Well, if your baby gets thrown off a 50-foot tower and survives, one would assume he's indeed quite lucky!

 

[Shadowhunter]

I can't fathom the justification for throwing your baby off a 50 foot tower. Nope. Not processing.


Many Argentineans avoid saying the name of Carlos Menem as he is considered to be a living curse. If some unlucky or ignorant soul happens to mention the name of the former Argentinean president in conversation, the women in the group will touch their left breast and the men their left testicle to keep bad luck from befalling them.


In Nigeria, an eclipse is seen as God’s anger toward a sinful nation. In 2001, this superstition got completely out of hand as Muslim citizens attacked Christian targets during a lunar eclipse. So strong are these beliefs that authorities and government officials launched a campaign in 2006, an eclipse year, to educate people in Nigeria about the scientific reasons for eclipses. In India it is believed that all leftover food during an eclipse should be thrown away or given away because it is no longer safe to eat. The Vikings believed that two large wolves were chasing after the Sun and Moon and, at the moment an eclipse took place, the wolves caught up with these celestial bodies.

 

[MangaAddict]

No, this is not a new Asian extreme horror movie, or a badass fatality from Mortal Kombat. It’s an extremely entrenched belief in South Korea that if you go to sleep with a fan on in your room, you will die. The belief is so strong that even medical professionals in the country warn against it. All electric fans sold in South Korea come with a timer setting, which automatically turns the fan off after a few minutes, protecting South Koreans from believed fan related deaths such as hypothermia and asphyxiation.

 

[Shadowhunter]

lol they'd all run away if they came to my house then!

I know there are superstitions about your palm itching +money spending or getting but can't remember which is which. There's also the one about if your eye is jumping......something something something.....lol

I've always heard that seeing a green grasshopper means you'll get money but recently heard that green grasshopper = loss of money and brown grasshopper = getting money.

Putting peppers in the shape of a cross is supposed to protect you or repel supernatural forces.

 

[LadyDeath]

- You cannot eat prayers food before the prayers are finished.
- When you are leaving your home for a vacation - Leave the bed sheets untidy - It will deter spirits from sleeping on the bed
- Always leave a light on in the house to deter spirits
- Never leave your doors or windows open after 6pm it can lure in spirits

 

[Shadowhunter]

Always clean your house before leaving home. I can't remember if spirits hide in dirty places or if the cleanliness is supposed to repel them.

Whenever you spill rice or salt, throw some over your left shoulder. A spirit or something is supposed to be standing behind you when that happens and throwing it over your shoulder gets it in their eyes and they leave you alone.

Always throw the first bit of beer or rum on the floor for the spirits/ancestors before you drink.

Always give the less fortunate food from your home when they ask because it might be your ancestor passing through in another form (or nowadays......possible crime opportunity :/)

Always feed lingering animals like stray dogs or birds because they could be your ancestors in another form.

Cover all the mirrors of your house when a loved one passes away. One reason I think is so you focus on the mourning and not on vanity and another is something about spirits in the mirror I think (?)

 

[Shadowhunter]

This is interesting:

[video=youtube;qFyDUaSi-5w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFyDUaSi-5w[/video]