Did you grow up in Pakistan? How long have you lived there?
Partially; lived there about half my life (i.e. ~ 10 yrs).
What is your ethnicity? (Punjabi/Pashtun/Sindhi/Balochi etc?)
Punjabi
Do you think that growing up, people around you believed in things that did not always have a logical explanation (for example, seeing a black cat means you will have bad luck for the rest of the day?)?
Definitely
Did you yourself believe in a lot of such things?
Pretty much
In Pakistan, what should one do if they want to avoid bad luck?
No black cats
No knocking down bee hives (this may not be very universal)
What should they do to make sure they have good luck?
Nothing comes to mind in particular.
What should you do if you want a good marriage?
Be rich
Be attractive (i.e. have fair skin)
Not sure if either of the above two qualify as superstitions.
Do you have any strange rules about food that do not have a logical explanation (for example: don’t drink milk after eating fish)?
No fish before milk was definitely a thing,
No others come to mind in particular.
Do you know any other superstitions?
Never mentioning or discussing bad dreams (expanded upon in # 14).
What is one superstition that has really played a role in your life and that you believed growing up?
Never discussing bad dreams! I’m pretty sure this is widespread (at least it was in my extended family), and I keep to the rule really strictly. Basically you don’t discuss details of your bad dreams, because if you do, then they come true!
Do you think that superstitions play a big role in Pakistan?
Overall I’d lean towards yes, but obviously it varies with social class and education.
Item: “Don’t open and close the blades of a scissor without anything in between – otherwise you will have problems at home.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Sheherzad Mohydin is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
This superstition is followed at all times. She explained that this superstition is particularly important to her because she values her family and is very afraid of any domestic issues. It is used at any time an individual is holding scissors at home, according to Sheherzad.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“Don’t open and close the blades of a scissor. If you do that it means you will have domestic problems like your mom and dad will fight or something. I really believe in that one.”
Informant’s Comments:
By cutting with a pair of scissors (without anything in between), you’re damaging the environment that you are in and hence opening the way for domestic problems. To this day, Sheherzad still strongly believes in this superstition.
Collector’s Comments:
It seems that this superstition was originally intended to prevent children from using scissors in a negligent manner. I know when I was growing up I would be extremely upset if my parents ever got into fights, so I can see how this superstition would deter children from using scissors absentmindedly.
Item: “If you sneeze, that means someone is missing you.”
General Description:
Customary Folkore, Sign Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Amenah Hassan is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 10 years of her life in Pakistan before moving to England. She is Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Amenah believes that superstitions are definitely prevalent in Pakistan’s society, regardless of class or social status. She stated that she herself believed in these superstitions quite seriously when growing up. This superstition is something an individual would say to a person who just sneezed.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“People say that if you sneeze, that means someone is remembering you, or if you hiccup.”
Informant’s Comments:
This is a superstition that is widely believed among most Pakistanis.
Collector’s Comments:
I remember this superstition when I was growing up as part of Pakistani culture. I never really believed in it because no one in my family really practiced it. I’m not sure where it comes from or why so many Pakistanis believe in it.
Item: “Dreaming about someone’s death means they will have a long life.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Ahsan Azim is from Lahore, Pakistan. He has spent roughly 10 years of his life there and considers himself Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Ahsan believes that superstitions are “definitely” prevalent in Pakistan and stated that growing up, he believed in a lot of them. However, he thinks that belief in superstition varies with social class and quality of education. This superstition is realized after a person wakes up and realizes they dreamed about the death of someone else.
Originated mostly likely because it discourages people from harboring bad thoughts about one another.
Collector’s Comments:
I thought this was interesting because it keeps people from thinking negatively about others. It seems like a great social construct to encourage good relations socially with other people that you know.
Item: “Applying perfume at night can attract jinn.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Sheherzad is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
This superstition was passed down from Sheherezad’s mother. Although she doesn’t subscribe to this superstition, Sheherzad mentioned that this superstition regarding Jinns, evil spirits or demons, is extremely common and followed by most Pakistanis on a daily basis, at night time.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“You can’t apply perfume at night otherwise the jinn will come out to get you and don’t sit under a tree after dark or the Jinns will possess you. And you aren’t supposed to bathe after sunset or else the Jinn will possess you. So there are a lot of superstitions surrounding them.”
Informant’s Comments:
Sheherzad said that she had heard ever since she was a child that her mother told her that once you take a shower, or apply perfume to smell nice, you are more likely to attract Jinn.
Collector’s Comments:
It is interesting to note how most of these superstitions involve doing things during night time. This is reasonable given Jinns are most active between 3am and the morning. It is also interesting that these spirits are similar to those we studied in class like the household and forest spirits.
Item: “Don’t sit under a tree after dark or you will be possessed by a jinn.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Saleha Irfan is from Lahore, Pakistan. She is Punjabi and has spent her entire life in Pakistan.
Contextual Data:
Saleha says that superstitions revolving around Jinn are very common in Pakistan and particularly intense. Her explanation of superstitions involving Jinns almost exclusively discuss possessing people. This is similar to the superstitions I was told by Heder and Sheherzad. Both Saleha and Sheherzad provided this specific superstition. Jinn can affect a person at any time, but are more common at night.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“Another superstition is that they are present at night and therefore if you sleep under trees they can possess you.”
Informant’s Comments:
Jinns tend to reside in trees so sitting underneath a tree would increase your chances of getting possessed by a jinn.
Collector’s Comments:
This seems to make sense, if they are usually around trees, that being near a tree for prolonged period of time would increase your chances of being possessed as well as the fact that their peak time of activity is the early morning.
Item: “Nazr, the evil eye, which states that if anyone has a fortunate trait that is enviable, then that can attract the evil eye and be adversely affected as a result.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Religious Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Seerat Zahra is a Pakistani student at Dartmouth College and considers herself as being from Gilgit, Pakistan and Islamabad, Pakistan since she has lived in both places during her life. Gilgit is a rural, northern area of Pakistan whereas Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan. She was born, raised, and lived in Pakistan for her entire life except for spending one year abroad, and her mom is Punjabi and her dad is from Gilgit, so she describes her ethnicity as a mixture from both cultures.
Contextual Data:
I collected the following items of folklore while interviewing Seerat at a study room in the Jones Media Center at Dartmouth College. Seerat described that she learned most of the superstitions while living in the rural area of Gilgit, Pakistan. She noted that Nazr, or evil eye, is prevalent every day in Pakistani culture. Seerat definitely believes that superstitions are a prevalent part of Pakistani culture, and that individuals who say they don’t truly subscribe to superstition can often find themselves subconsciously changing their actions as a result of common superstitions. This superstition would be used when someone notices that they envy something of someone else, or they may think that other people envy them if they are very fortunate.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“One of the major superstitions is called Nazr, which roughly translates to the evil eye. So, it’s a big deal, and the idea is that if something is really pretty or really great in any way, like really smart or really pretty or really rich, and is enviable in some sense, then it can attract the evil eye from people. Meaning, if people envy you or if they really notice that, sometimes even if it is positively, then it can negatively affect that thing. For example, if you see a beautiful house and you really notice it, it can lead to something bad happening to the house. Like if you see a really beautiful girl and if you notice her then it can lead to something bad happen to her appearance. So, you are supposed to say “Mashallah” when you notice something so it can keep away the evil eye. It is Arabic and translated to “By The Glory of God.” By attributing it to God, you protect it. So, people write big “Mashallah” outside of their house. Almost every house in my street had that and you would hear it every day.”
Informant’s Comments:
Seerat noted that she disagrees with all the superstitions on an intellectual level but subscribes to some of them since she grew up with them. She does, however, find the evil eye superstition pertinent on some emotional level and tries to avoid its influence.
Collector’s Comments:
I found that the superstitions Seerat talked about, like her superstition of the evil eye, Nazr, had common parallels in American superstition folklore, i.e knocking on wood to prevent jinxing yourself.
Collector’s Name: Rajiv Ramaiah
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Bad Luck Superstitions, Pakistani Superstitions
Item: “If something good happens to you and you speak about it, say ‘Mashallah – otherwise, something bad could happen to you.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Conversion superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Seerat Zahra is a Pakistani student at Dartmouth College and considers herself as being from Gilgit, Pakistan and Islamabad, Pakistan since she has lived in both places during her life. Gilgit is a rural, northern area of Pakistan whereas Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan. She was born, raised, and lived in Pakistan for her entire life except for spending one year abroad, and her mom is Punjabi and her dad is from Gilgit, so she describes her ethnicity as a mixture from both cultures.
Contextual Data:
I collected the following items of folklore while interviewing Seerat at a study room in the Jones Media Center at Dartmouth College. Seerat described that she learned most of the superstitions while living in the rural area of Gilgit, Pakistan. She noted that the superstitions below, particularly the superstition of the Nazr, or evil eye, are prevalent every day in Pakistani culture. Seerat definitely believes that superstitions are a prevalent part of Pakistani culture, and that individuals who say they don’t truly subscribe to superstition can often find themselves subconsciously changing their actions as a result of common superstitions. In Pakistan, this superstition would be used socially whenever someone notices that they are envying someone else so they say “Mashallah” to prevent jinxing that person. Furthermore, it can be used by someone who is very fortunate to make sure they don not receive the evil eye.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“One of the major superstitions is called Nazr, which roughly translates to the evil eye. So, it’s a big deal, and the idea is that if something is really pretty or really great in any way, like really smart or really pretty or really rich, and is enviable in some sense, then it can attract the evil eye from people. Meaning, if people envy you or if they really notice that, sometimes even if it is positively, then it can negatively affect that thing. For example, if you see a beautiful house and you really notice it, it can lead to something bad happening to the house. Like if you see a really beautiful girl and if you notice her then it can lead to something bad happen to her appearance. So, you are supposed to say “Mashallah” when you notice something so it can keep away the evil eye. It is Arabic and translated to “By The Glory of God.” By attributing it to God, you protect it. So, people write big “Mashallah” outside of their house. Almost every house in my street had that and you would hear it every day.”
Informant’s Comments:
Seerat noted that she disagrees with all the superstitions on an intellectual level but subscribes to some of them since she grew up with them. Seerat does still say “Mashallah” to avoid jinxing herself or something else she finds fortunate. Often, she stated that her friends at Dartmouth that are not from Pakistan as why she said “Mashallah” and she has to explain the superstition.
Collector’s Comments:
I found that this superstition is prevalent in American culture. Noticing something fortunate and hinting that it will never change is certainly a bad idea because there is a general feeling that the thing that was fortunate, i.e good looking or very smart, will take a turn for the worse. To prevent it, you typically “knock on would” to prevent the misfortune from occurring.
Collector’s Name: Rajiv Ramaiah
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Bad Luck Superstition, Pakistani Superstitions
Item: “Don’t clip your finger or toe nails at night or it will bring bad luck.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Amenah Hassan is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 10 years of her life in Pakistan before moving to England. She is Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Amenah believes that superstitions are definitely prevalent in Pakistan’s society, regardless of class or social status. She stated that she herself believed in these superstitions quite seriously when growing up. This superstition influences individuals at night if they need to clip their nails and forgot earlier.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“Don’t clip your finger or toe nails at night or it will bring bad luck.”
Informant’s Comments:
Amenah was unsure why this superstition came about, but thought it may have something to do with the fact that the fingernails contain bad luck, and by clipping them, you release that bad luck.
Collector’s Comments:
I thought it was interesting that despite the fact that Amenah didn’t live in Pakistan, she still believed in a lot of these superstitions. It shows how culturally strong a majority of Pakistani families are.
Collector’s Name: Sheherzad Mohydin
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition, Bad Luck, Pakistani Superstitions
Item: “Leaving your shoes upside down will result in bad luck.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Sheherzad Mohydin is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Sheherzad thinks believes that superstitions play a big role in Pakistan regardless of social class–even the educated, upper class is very superstitious. She also considers herself superstitious even though she understands they are illogical. This superstition influences behavior whenever individuals need to remove their shoes, like when they enter a prayer area or their house.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“I know that you should never leave your shoes upside down because if you leave them upside down it means there will be bad luck coming your way.”
Informant’s Comments:
It is like showing the underside of your foot to God and being disrespectful.
Collector’s Comments:
This makes sense because the sole of the shoe is the dirtiest and would be a sign of disrespect to show this to someone. I can definitely understand why this superstition is prevalent in a religious culture like Pakistan culture.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords: Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition, Bad Luck, Pakistani superstition
Item: “If something good happens to you, don’t talk about it – otherwise, something bad will happen.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Saleha Irfan is from Lahore, Pakistan. She is Punjabi and has spent her entire life in Pakistan.
Contextual Data:
Saleha believes superstitions are prevalent in Pakistan. Saleha considered herself a believer of superstitions growing up but does not currently subscribe to those superstitions. Saleha stated that this superstition is very common in Pakistan culture and is used often when people don’t want to brag about their good fortunes.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“Superstitions are particularly prevalent in important life events such as promotions. You try not to tell people about the good things that happen in your life because it’s seen as harmful to you.”
Informant’s Comments:
You don’t want to talk about anything good, such as a job promotion, because harm may come your way.
Collector’s Comments:
This is similar to how in our culture, the jinx exists. Also, it relates to being humble and not being arrogant or bragging about your accomplishments. Tales about hubris, i.e arrogance, are found even in Greek society in the years before Christ and it is commonly written about, like in the story Oedipus Rex that we had to read in High School.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition, Bad Luck, Pakistani Superstition
Item: “When an owl sings, it is a sign of bad luck coming your way.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Sign Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Amenah Hassan is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 10 years of her life in Pakistan before moving to England. She is Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Amenah believes that superstitions are definitely prevalent in Pakistan’s society, regardless of class or social status. She stated that she herself believed in these superstitions quite seriously when growing up. As you would think, this superstition comes into play after an owl sings and is found widely in Pakistani culture.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“Some things (superstitions) that I have noticed are owls singing at night will bring bad luck.”
Informant’s Comments:
Amenah thought that supersitions were very prevalent throughout Pakistan, even persisting through differences in social status and class.
Collector’s Comments:
I thought it was interesting that despite the fact that Amenah didn’t live in Pakistan, she still believed in a lot of these superstitions. This superstition is particularly interesting because of how rarely I have heard owl’s singing, but belief in it is quite extensive in Pakistan.
Collector’s Name: Sheherzad Mohydin
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Sign Superstition, Bad Luck, Pakistani Superstitions
Item: “Never discuss bad dreams or they will come true.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Ahsan Azim is from Lahore, Pakistan. He has spent roughly 10 years of his life there and considers himself Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Ahsan believes that superstitions are “definitely” prevalent in Pakistan and stated that growing up, he believed in a lot of them. However, he thinks that belief in superstition varies with social class and quality of education. Socially, this superstition is kept within one’s family and is heard by young children when they wake up from bad dreams.
Item: “If a glass breaks, that means evil is leaving your house and good luck is on its way.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Sign Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Sheherzad is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
This is a sign superstition that is common in Pakistan. This superstition is followed whenever glass breaks in someone’s home.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“A glass breaking in your house means good luck is coming your way. Obviously you can’t just break your glass it doesn’t work. If you break glass intentionally then it doesn’t work that way but if you accidentally break some glass that means evil is leaving your house and good luck is going to come.”
Informant’s Comments:
When glass breaks, this signifies the leaving of evil spirits from the household.
Collector’s Comments:
Given that breaking glass is usually a negative event, this is superstition is the opposite of what I expected. It would seem that glass breaking would symbolize bad luck, but her explanation is an interesting take on this event, and was corroborated by another informant.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Superstition, Good Luck, Pakistani superstition
Item: “If you want good luck, give money to the poor.”
General Information:
Customary Superstition, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistani
Informant Data:
Saleha Irfan is from Lahore, Pakistan. She is Punjabi and has spent her entire life in Pakistan.
Contextual Data:
Saleha believes superstitions are prevalent in Pakistan. Saleha considered herself a believer of superstitions growing up but does not currently subscribe to those superstitions. This superstition is like charm and it is followed at any time when an individual may want good luck in Pakistan.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“For good luck there is this concept of basically you give donations and it increases your blessings because the more you give the more it multiplies.”
Informant’s Comments:
By giving money to the poor, you increase your blessings. Essentially, if you do good things for others, good things will happen to you. The more you give, the more your blessings multiply.
Collector’s Comments:
When you accumulate good karma, good things are more likely to happen to you. Philanthropy like this is common in all cultures and reflect the good-will of the donor.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Superstition, Good luck, Pakistani superstition
Item: “If a bird poops on your head, you will have good luck.”
General Information:
Customary Superstition, Sign Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Heder Hayat is from Lahore, Pakistan. He has lived there all his life and identifies as Punjabi. He attends school at Dartmouth College and is an undergraduate student.
Contextual Data:
Heder does not believe in the superstition but he explained this superstition is often said throughout Lahore. It is used after a good poops on someone’s head, and it is very uncommon. Culturally, it is prevalent in Pakistani and in Indian culture which is very interesting.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“There’s also a thing back home that if a crow or any bird takes a dump and it hits the top of your head, that means good luck. I didn’t believe in it but that is something that is said around and talked about. I remember once I got hit in the head by crow poop and i didn’t know if i should be happy or not.”
Informant’s Comments:
One time a raven pooped on Heder’s head, and his mom told him that it was good luck. Ever since this moment, he has believed in this superstition, but now Heder does not believe in the superstition. He explained this superstition is often said throughout Lahore. When the raven pooped on his head he didn’t know how to feel. Although it seemed like the event was unlucky, he remembered his mother’s words. Now, he doesn’t subscribe to it.
Collector’s Comments:
This is very similar to the superstition my mom told me while I was growing up. Like Heder, a bird pooped on my head and my mom told me to buy a lottery ticket because good luck would come my way. This may be because the probability of a bird pooping on someone is so small that it must be a sign of good luck.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Superstition, Good luck, Pakistani superstition
Item: “If your right palm is itchy, you are about to become rich.”
General Information:
Customary Superstition, Sign Superstition
English
Pakistani
Informant Data:
Sheherzad is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Sheherzad believes that superstitions play a big role in Pakistan regardless of social class–even the educated, upper class is very superstitious. She also considers herself superstitious even though she understands they are illogical. This superstition can take place at any time one’s palm itches.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“If your right palm or both of your palms are itchy that means you are going to have good luck in the sense you will be come very rich.”
Informant’s Comments:
Sheherzad is unclear on why this superstition is true, but she believes it nonetheless. She doesn’t see any harm in believing in it.
Collector’s Comments:
Again we see that the right side is usually preferred to the left side. Hindu culture seems to have penetrated many Pakistani superstitions, and is reasonable given India’s close proximity to India.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Superstition, Good Luck, Pakistani Culture
Item: “To have a good marriage, on your wedding night you must enter with your right foot first.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
Mainly a Punjabi superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Sheherzad is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Marriage is an important aspect of Pakistani culture. Sheherzad’s mother first explained this superstition to her when she was a young girl and has carried it with her ever since. This is superstition is followed during a person’s wedding.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“To have a good marriage, on your wedding night you must enter with your right foot first.”
Informant’s Comments:
Sheherzad mentioned that this superstition might come from Hindu influence as in the Hindu culture, the right side of the body is offered to God, for example, when collecting prasad from God you use your right hand.
Collector’s Comments:
It is interesting that it is the right foot that must enter. It is another example of a superstition in which the right side is held in higher regard. Sheherezad mentioned it is possibly due to Hindu influence.
Collector’s Name: Edric Wung
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Marriage Superstition, Pakistani Superstition
Item: “On a bride’s wedding day, someone should hold a Quran over her head as she leaves her father’s house to ensure that she has a happy future.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore: Magic superstition, religious superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Seerat Zahra is a Pakistani student at Dartmouth College and considers herself as being from Gilgit, Pakistan and Islamabad, Pakistan since she has lived in both places during her life. Gilgit is a rural, northern area of Pakistan whereas Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan. She was born, raised, and lived in Pakistan for her entire life except for spending one year abroad, and her mom is Punjabi and her dad is from Gilgit, so she describes her ethnicity as a mixture from both cultures.
Contextual Data:
I collected the following items of folklore while interviewing Seerat at a study room in the Jones Media Center at Dartmouth College. Seerat described that she learned most of her superstitions while living in the rural area of Gilgit, Pakistan, and that the superstitions she knows are very prevalent in Pakistani culture. Seerat definitely believes that superstitions are an important part of Pakistani culture, and that individuals who say they don’t truly subscribe to superstition can often find themselves subconsciously changing their actions as a result of common superstitions. She stated that she doesn’t believe them on an intellectual level, but still subscribes to some because she has grown up with them. This particular superstition occurs during marriage ceremonies in Pakistan after the wedding is over and the bride is to go live with the groom. Culturally, it is religious in that the Quran will protect the bride as it is a symbol of God’s protection.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“People like to hold up the Quran over your head because it is supposed to bring you blessings. When a daughter is leaving from her parents home to live with the groom, they hold a Quran over her head and she has to pass right under it because it is supposed to bless her and protect her marriage.”
Informant’s Comments:
Seerat noted that she disagrees with all the superstitions on an intellectual level but subscribes to some of them since she grew up with them. She hasn’t personally experienced this superstition since she is yet to get married.
Collector’s Comments:
Walking under a Quran before a bride leaves to live with her groom is very similar to what happens in Indian culture. This is a very interesting parallel. At the Indian weddings I have been to, three out of the four of them have involved a bride that I was related to by blood, and before she left her house to go to the wedding, we performed a pooja (prayer) to bless her marriage and this new part of her life.
Collector’s Name: Rajiv Ramaiah
Tags/Keywords:
Customary Folklore, Marriage Superstition, Pakistani Superstitions
Item: “Don’t drink milk after eating fish, otherwise you will be ugly.”
General Information:
Customary Folklore, Magic Superstition
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Ahsan Azim is from Lahore, Pakistan. He has spent roughly 10 years of his life there and considers himself Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
Ahsan believes that superstitions are “definitely” prevalent in Pakistan and stated that growing up, he believed in a lot of them. However, he thinks that belief in superstition varies with social class and quality of education. Socially, Ahsan states that this superstition is commonly stated during meal time, like during lunch or dinner, or whenever milk and fish may be consumed together.
Ahsan truly believes in these superstitions and that they are common in Pakistani culture. However, he also believes that belief in various superstitions often depend on social class and education.
Collector’s Comments: I remember this superstition, while I was growing up in Pakistan, and that it was one of the ones that I truly believed at the time.
Item: “If you want good luck before a big event, eat sweet yoghurt before leaving the house.”
General Information:
Magic superstition, Law of Similarity
English
Pakistan
Informant Data:
Sheherzad is from Lahore, Pakistan. She spent the first 18 years of her life there before coming to Dartmouth College. She identifies as Punjabi.
Contextual Data:
This superstition is followed any time someone has an important event to attend. To this day before a big event such as a presentation or interview, Sheherzad continues to eat sweet yogurt before she leaves her home.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
“If you have a big event coming up and you want it to go well then you should probably eat like sweet yogurt or something sweet, I don’t know if it has to be yogurt but you should eat something sweet before leaving the house and good things will happen to you”
Informant’s Comments:
Sheherzad believed in this superstition growing up, as her family followed its beliefs. They always ate something sweet, although not always yoghurt, before a big event.
Collector’s Comments:
This is similar to what my mom told me about Chinese culture, where you eat certain sweet foods before big events, or even small ones, so that some of the “sweetness” of the food rubs off onto the result of your event.
