Title: Spitting to Keep the Devil Away
General Information about Item:
- Genre and Sub Genre: Customary Folklore– Superstition
- Language: English
- Country where Item is from: Greece
Informant Data:
- Vungelia Glyptis gave us this piece of folklore. She was a 2017 graduate of Dartmouth College. Both of her parents are Greek (from the island of Chios). Her maternal and paternal grandfathers are actually from the same village. Everyone in her house speaks Greek, but she usually speaks English with her parents. They follow very old-school customs and superstitions.
Contextual Data:
- Social Context: Vungelia heard about this superstition from her distant aunts and uncles. One situation that this superstition would be used in is at weddings as a way to prevent the new bride and groom from harm.
- Cultural Context: The idea of the devil stems from the Greek Orthodox religion. It is very common in Greek culture to perform actions to try to prevent harm and keep the devil away.
Item:
- The superstition is that if you spit on people, the devil will stay away from them. This is a magic superstition (If you do A, then B).
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
- None
Transcript of Associated File:
- None
Informant’s Comments:
- None
Collector’s Comments:
- We performed this interview over FaceTime, as Vungelia was not accessible in person.
Collector’s Name: Carmen Braceras
Tags/Keywords:
- Spit, Devil, Greek Superstition, Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition, Wedding