The Superstitions thread - Including driving superstitions

Nitin · 1st February 2008, 04:04

Stuff that I remember:
(with due respect,I don't intent offending anyone,nor will I mock any of these beliefs. What you see in italics,are phrases my friends have used.)
1) If a lizard falls on your head,you should travel North. If it falls on your leg,you should travel south.
If it falls in your mouth, go spit it out,you moron!

2) Do not sweep the floor after sunset. Thieves will enter your house ( Ah reallyhow???)

3) Do not cut your hair on your birthday/any festival.

I know there are quite a few more that I've come across.. I'll add them in when I recollect.

HappyWheels · 1st February 2008, 09:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by highwayblaze

you guys are great. i love these off topic threads. there's been this one black cat lives somewhere in my neighborhood crosses my path everyday....!

mmm... is lady 'bad luck' didnt affect you, did you check with the black cat, if (s)he is ok???

another one: Shop keepers will refuse to sell salt during closing hours! Have no idea what is the deal there!

Mack · 1st February 2008, 11:12

The superstitions about Dogs really pi$$es me off. An old man died a natural death in our Society a month ago, and it so hapened that my dog Sandy was howling in response to his friends on the street. An old gentleman (who's a retired Hawaldar) remarked so, and my wife replied - 'If Sandy has that kind of power, given that he howls every few nights, you all should have been dead by this time'.

I understand that in the old, rural cultures (that most of modern cultures are derived from), dogs, the excellent guards that they are - would have warned their human companions of imminent dangers like predators, by howling or barking frantically. But nowadays to say that a dog howling in the night is 'unfortunate' is just stupid. It just means he/she is in heat or maybe there's some kind of territory issue going on with the local mongrel population which needs urgent addressing in the long distance conferences - the only means of communication for the dogs. No wonder they react with a lot of surprise and bewilderment on simple human activities, like taking a bath every single day, for instance.

The thing about superstitions is that most of them emerged through some practices aimed at protecting people from some form of danger associated with that activity. One reason my grandmother gave me for the superstition about 'not sneezing at the door (chaukat)' is that majority of the houses in old times had huge doors, with a much smaller one often built in it (you had to bend to go through it, must be about 3 feet), for safety as well as for ease of operating. There must have been a lot of head-banging when people went through the smaller doors. And if you sneezed while going through, you'd surely bang your head on the frame.

Such things got stuck in our culture. And people continue it just out of habit. It's very interesting to find reasons for such superstitions. Prospective topic for a PHD.

Edsel Rulez! · 1st February 2008, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitrous

If U drive over a pig, sell the vehicle.

I'd have thought it made more sense to sell the pig.

speedmiester · 1st February 2008, 16:34

I do not give a damn about these superstitions. Actually whenever a cat crosses my path, it has actually brought me good luck.

I still remember one incident, when i was supposed to go for an important work. My mother asked me to start the car, take it a little forward and then reverse out.
I still can't believe that my car which had never given any sort of problem for more than 70K kms broke down that day with clutch failure.

From that day I never believe in such things, no matter what.

csentil · 1st February 2008, 21:02

A lot of superstitions come for sane logic. However the logic is lost or is not relevant today. However people sometimes do follow them blindly. If one asks for a reason, the typical response is: that's how its been done; follow traditions; don't question elders !!

I come from a family of rationalists and we usually try to find the reasons behind most customs, superstitions etc. So here goes:

1. Never cut nails in the dark - you could cut yourself. Nails if they fall on the floor can be picked up by toddlers or can cut them.

2. Never comb your hair (for women) after the evening lights are on. Used to be my grandma's favourite - I think the reason was the women in the house should be well dressed in the evening when someone could come.

3. Have a bath after a funeral/death - Its a matter of cleanliness. In times past lot of people used to die of communicable diseases, people travelled by foot, some used to go to the cemeteries/burial grounds which were not very neat places (some still aren't). Would also get crowded during a funeral... etc..

4. If you see someone carrying wood go back home. - I don't have an answer for this. Could be that wood is used in funeral pyres and its a sort of bad omen to see wood being carried !! Illogical superstition !!

5. Never eat during an eclipse. Clean the house, wash all the clothes after an eclipse. All old food should be thrown away. - Something that is still followed by a lot of people. During a full solar eclipse, darkness sets in. In olden days you could have insects falling into the food during the darkness. Also the other reasons given were magnetic rays and cosmic rays and all sort of rays affecting your food and contaminating one's food and clothes !!! Well with the amount of wireless stuff today (cellular, radio, microwave....) everything is contaminated !! :-)

6. Should never step across a person who is lying down - Basic manners I think.

7. Bad omen if an owl hoots - Well I feel so sorry for the owl. One of the best known pest control agents. A typical farmers friend if there ever was one. Owls being mysterious creatures and one of the few birds that are nocturnal. Also given its almost human like face (most of them have eyes facing forwards as opposed to the side), head which swivels 180 degrees.. it is eerie.

8. Should never cross/see a widow when you are going for an auspicious function - How sad !! Purely illogical...

9. Sprinkle water around a banana leaf/plate before you start eating - Actually this prevents insects from invading your plate/leaf. The logic is lost to most people today.

10. Never wear a black dress: buy a black car: paint something black - what can I say for this !!!!

Enough for the day...

HappyWheels · 1st February 2008, 23:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

...10. Never wear a black dress: buy a black car: paint something black - what can I say for this !!!!

Enough for the day...

Had this told to me when I was car searching. I just went ahead and brought!

Another strange one - a friend of mine was refused a Yamaha biek because his mother felt it had 'Yama' in the name(Yama Raja - the king of death)!!!

kaushik_s · 2nd February 2008, 00:35

About that Lizard thing I heard that it's good sign if one falls on you ;-)
Oh yeah, remember when I was kid , I got scolding so many times by parents if I whistle in the night time,don't know why.

maddy42 · 4th February 2008, 15:12

@kaushik_s Guess people used to claim that snakes will come if you whistle at night.

One classic one is to never talk too loudly at home as they feel Ghar ka Lakshmi will go out

prabuddhadg · 4th February 2008, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

... Another one - dont walk under a ladder.

Why? Absolutely no idea - just because John said to me, to whom Jack told...

I'll tell you why. If you nudge the latter as you walk past, and it slides down, you could end up doing a Charlie Chaplin.

HappyWheels · 4th February 2008, 16:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by prabuddhadg

I'll tell you why. If you nudge the latter as you walk past, and it slides down, you could end up doing a Charlie Chaplin.

who? John or Jack?

(PS: I do understand this was a typo for 'ladder'; but that would give me no chance to pull you leg!)

Thinking aloud - Gotta luv this place!

prabuddhadg · 4th February 2008, 17:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

who? John or Jack?

(PS: I do understand this was a typo for 'ladder'; but that would give me no chance to pull you leg!)

Thinking aloud - Gotta luv this place!

OK OK laugh while you can. Every dog has his day.

prabuddhadg · 4th February 2008, 17:36

This is one crazy thread. Hilarious, how minds work.

A.R · 5th February 2008, 14:19

Some More...

>If you were makeing a statement & suddenly a lizard makes some noise, whatever you said become true (How?)

>You should never sleep during evenings, especially when it's gonna get dark (around 6-6.30 PM). Lakshmi will go away!

> When someone asks you how you are, howz ur business, work etc, say its ok, running, goin on etc. Never say I'm fine, business is great, I'm very happpy, have everything. All will go off... (Is it a crime to say the truth, if it is so?)

A.R · 5th February 2008, 14:45

> If you happen to dash into someone's head, you should do it again, or a horn will grow on your head!

> If you happen to see an ambulance, its a bad sign & you should immediately hold your breath for 5 mins & touch your ears (a friend of mine told me this - its ridiculous)

> Never wear a rich RED dress & go near a Bull, it will chase you & puncture you a** (animals are color blind but heard of this happening!)

1st February 2008, 04:04	#31
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	Stuff that I remember: (with due respect,I don't intent offending anyone,nor will I mock any of these beliefs. What you see in italics,are phrases my friends have used.) 1) If a lizard falls on your head,you should travel North. If it falls on your leg,you should travel south. If it falls in your mouth, go spit it out,you moron! 2) Do not sweep the floor after sunset. Thieves will enter your house ( Ah reallyhow???) 3) Do not cut your hair on your birthday/any festival. I know there are quite a few more that I've come across.. I'll add them in when I recollect.
	() Thanks

1st February 2008, 11:12	#33
Mack Newbie Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 17 Thanked: 4 Times	The superstitions about Dogs really pi$$es me off. An old man died a natural death in our Society a month ago, and it so hapened that my dog Sandy was howling in response to his friends on the street. An old gentleman (who's a retired Hawaldar) remarked so, and my wife replied - 'If Sandy has that kind of power, given that he howls every few nights, you all should have been dead by this time'. I understand that in the old, rural cultures (that most of modern cultures are derived from), dogs, the excellent guards that they are - would have warned their human companions of imminent dangers like predators, by howling or barking frantically. But nowadays to say that a dog howling in the night is 'unfortunate' is just stupid. It just means he/she is in heat or maybe there's some kind of territory issue going on with the local mongrel population which needs urgent addressing in the long distance conferences - the only means of communication for the dogs. No wonder they react with a lot of surprise and bewilderment on simple human activities, like taking a bath every single day, for instance. The thing about superstitions is that most of them emerged through some practices aimed at protecting people from some form of danger associated with that activity. One reason my grandmother gave me for the superstition about 'not sneezing at the door (chaukat)' is that majority of the houses in old times had huge doors, with a much smaller one often built in it (you had to bend to go through it, must be about 3 feet), for safety as well as for ease of operating. There must have been a lot of head-banging when people went through the smaller doors. And if you sneezed while going through, you'd surely bang your head on the frame. Such things got stuck in our culture. And people continue it just out of habit. It's very interesting to find reasons for such superstitions. Prospective topic for a PHD.
	() Thanks

1st February 2008, 16:34	#35
speedmiester Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 2,387 Thanked: 6,630 Times	I do not give a damn about these superstitions. Actually whenever a cat crosses my path, it has actually brought me good luck. I still remember one incident, when i was supposed to go for an important work. My mother asked me to start the car, take it a little forward and then reverse out. I still can't believe that my car which had never given any sort of problem for more than 70K kms broke down that day with clutch failure. From that day I never believe in such things, no matter what.
	() Thanks

1st February 2008, 21:02	#36
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,349 Thanked: 38 Times View My Garage	A lot of superstitions come for sane logic. However the logic is lost or is not relevant today. However people sometimes do follow them blindly. If one asks for a reason, the typical response is: that's how its been done; follow traditions; don't question elders !! I come from a family of rationalists and we usually try to find the reasons behind most customs, superstitions etc. So here goes: 1. Never cut nails in the dark - you could cut yourself. Nails if they fall on the floor can be picked up by toddlers or can cut them. 2. Never comb your hair (for women) after the evening lights are on. Used to be my grandma's favourite - I think the reason was the women in the house should be well dressed in the evening when someone could come. 3. Have a bath after a funeral/death - Its a matter of cleanliness. In times past lot of people used to die of communicable diseases, people travelled by foot, some used to go to the cemeteries/burial grounds which were not very neat places (some still aren't). Would also get crowded during a funeral... etc.. 4. If you see someone carrying wood go back home. - I don't have an answer for this. Could be that wood is used in funeral pyres and its a sort of bad omen to see wood being carried !! Illogical superstition !! 5. Never eat during an eclipse. Clean the house, wash all the clothes after an eclipse. All old food should be thrown away. - Something that is still followed by a lot of people. During a full solar eclipse, darkness sets in. In olden days you could have insects falling into the food during the darkness. Also the other reasons given were magnetic rays and cosmic rays and all sort of rays affecting your food and contaminating one's food and clothes !!! Well with the amount of wireless stuff today (cellular, radio, microwave....) everything is contaminated !! :-) 6. Should never step across a person who is lying down - Basic manners I think. 7. Bad omen if an owl hoots - Well I feel so sorry for the owl. One of the best known pest control agents. A typical farmers friend if there ever was one. Owls being mysterious creatures and one of the few birds that are nocturnal. Also given its almost human like face (most of them have eyes facing forwards as opposed to the side), head which swivels 180 degrees.. it is eerie. 8. Should never cross/see a widow when you are going for an auspicious function - How sad !! Purely illogical... 9. Sprinkle water around a banana leaf/plate before you start eating - Actually this prevents insects from invading your plate/leaf. The logic is lost to most people today. 10. Never wear a black dress: buy a black car: paint something black - what can I say for this !!!! Enough for the day...
	() Thanks

2nd February 2008, 00:35	#38
kaushik_s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,088 Thanked: 164 Times View My Garage	About that Lizard thing I heard that it's good sign if one falls on you ;-) Oh yeah, remember when I was kid , I got scolding so many times by parents if I whistle in the night time,don't know why.
	() Thanks

4th February 2008, 15:12	#39
maddy42 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Coorg Posts: 2,131 Thanked: 1,328 Times View My Garage	@kaushik_s Guess people used to claim that snakes will come if you whistle at night. One classic one is to never talk too loudly at home as they feel Ghar ka Lakshmi will go out
	() Thanks

4th February 2008, 17:36	#43
prabuddhadg BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 812 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	This is one crazy thread. Hilarious, how minds work.
	() Thanks

5th February 2008, 14:19	#44
A.R BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 151 Thanked: 11 Times	Some More... >If you were makeing a statement & suddenly a lizard makes some noise, whatever you said become true (How?) >You should never sleep during evenings, especially when it's gonna get dark (around 6-6.30 PM). Lakshmi will go away! > When someone asks you how you are, howz ur business, work etc, say its ok, running, goin on etc. Never say I'm fine, business is great, I'm very happpy, have everything. All will go off... (Is it a crime to say the truth, if it is so?)
	() Thanks

5th February 2008, 14:45	#45
A.R BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 151 Thanked: 11 Times	> If you happen to dash into someone's head, you should do it again, or a horn will grow on your head! > If you happen to see an ambulance, its a bad sign & you should immediately hold your breath for 5 mins & touch your ears (a friend of mine told me this - its ridiculous) > Never wear a rich RED dress & go near a Bull, it will chase you & puncture you a** (animals are color blind but heard of this happening!)
	() Thanks