Author Archives: f002wdy

Superstition #11: The Number 8 Brings Good Luck

Leave a reply

Title: The Number 8 Brings Good Luck

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: China

Informant Data:

  • Tian Zhang is a member of the class of 2020 and was born in China. When Tian was 11, he moved to New York where he would be raised until coming to Dartmouth. Tian is agnostic and leans to the left politically. Tian fears insects and in his free time enjoys traveling, listening to music, and playing pong.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Tian learned that that number 8 was a lucky number from television shows growing up. Although he can’t remember which show he learned it from, he remembers that it was from a cartoon show.
  • Cultural Context: The number 8 is good luck in China because the number 8 also sounds like the words ‘wealth’, ‘fortune’, and ‘prosperity’ in Chinese.

Item:

  • Good Luck Superstition: The number 8 brings good luck.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Tian_Transcript

Informant’s Comments:

  • Tian told me that he doesn’t obey this superstition because he doesn’t believe that choosing a number has any role in shaping reality. He says that the implications of choosing 8 don’t ever cross his mind when making decisions on which number to choose.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It’s interesting to learn that the number 8 sounds like words such as ‘wealth’, a clear indicator of bad luck. It would be interesting to research if a number like 13, widely considered an unlucky number in America, lends its roots partially to the way it sounds.

Collector’s Name: Gaurav Varma

Tags/Keywords:

  • Chinese/Good Luck/Superstition/Numbers/8

Superstition #24: If You Find a Penny, Pick It Up

Title: If You Find a Penny, Pick It Up

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: United States

Informant Data:

  • Mitch is a member of the class of 2020 who was born in America and has roots in China and the Philippines. He was born and raised in Orinda, California and does not practice any religion. Lastly, Mitch is very science oriented and hopes to become an engineer by the time he graduates.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: When Mitch was young, his mother would actively tell Mitch to pick up the pennies for good luck whenever she saw Mitch’s loose change laying around the house.
  • Cultural Context: This superstition stems from ancient times when metals were precious and believed to offer protection from evil spirits.

Item:

  • Good Luck Superstition: Picking up pennies brings good luck.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Mitch_Transcript

Informant’s Comments:

  • Mitch told me that he isn’t superstitious at all, unlike his parents who are very superstitious. He said that this might be because his parents are very catholic and therefore are more inclined to place less importance on logic and reason to establish causality.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It’s interesting to see that this superstition lends its cultural roots to the fact that metal was precious and therefore finding them was valuable. Its social context echoes the social context of the superstition to not break windows because like metals, windows were considered to be very precious centuries ago.

Collector’s Name: Gaurav Varma

Tags/Keywords:

  • American/Good Luck/Superstition/Pennies.

Superstition #23: Don’t Open Umbrellas Indoors

Leave a reply

Title: Don’t Open Umbrellas Indoors

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: United States

Informant Data:

  • Libby Decker is a member of the class of 2020 and is a 2nd generation United State born citizen of Irish background. Libby was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She practices Catholicism, leans right politically, and is a History and Spanish double major. In her free time, Libby enjoys leading trips, dancing, and swimming.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: When Libby was young, she opened her umbrella indoors. Her dad pointed that out and told her not to open umbrella’s in the future or it will bring bad luck.
  • Cultural Context: This superstition has roots in 18th century London, England. At the time, umbrellas were very heavy and opening one indoors would often be dangerous because the metal spokes could potentially injure someone or break fragile items. Because of this, people at the time condemned opening umbrella’s indoors.

Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition: Opening umbrellas indoors brings bad luck.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Libby_Transcript

Informant’s Comments:

  • Libby said she generally follows this superstition because she believes opening umbrella’s indoors will bring her bad luck. In retrospect, Libby thinks opening umbrellas indoors can be dangerous and therefore should be avoided even if doing so doesn’t bring bad luck.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It’s interesting to see that Libby’s father taught her the superstition because a common theme that is seen throughout most of my interviewees is that their relatives are the ones teaching them. Given Ireland’s proximity to England, it is not surprising that Libby’s dad, who is born in Ireland, learned this superstition growing up.

Collector’s Name: Gaurav Varma

Tags/Keywords:

  • American/Bad Luck/Superstition/Umbrella/Indoors

Superstition #21: Don’t Break Any Mirrors

Leave a reply

Title: Don’t Break Any Mirrors

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: United States

Informant Data:

  • Matt Vance is a student of the class of 2018 and has roots in the Irish, English, and Dutch. He was born in London and raised in New York. He is agnostic, he is fiscally conservative and socially democratic. His hobby is reading and running. He hopes to help people and be a good father.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant learned this superstition when he was 10 at a camp and learned it when he started hearing other kids warning him about breaking mirrors.
  • Cultural Context: Centuries ago, mirrors were not cheap and not taken for granted as they are today. Mirrors were expensive and almost like a luxury item, so therefore breaking one would deliver bad luck.

Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition: Breaking mirrors brings bad luck.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Matt_Transcript

Informant’s Comments:

  • Matt said he believes in karma, or the notion that if you mess with the universe, it messes with you back. Moreover, Matt doesn’t take these superstitions for face value and chooses to follow them loosely. Not breaking any mirrors, however, is one superstition he chooses to follow.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It’s interesting to see that Matt avoids breaking windows considering he follows all the other superstitions loosely. Even though mirrors are not as expensive as they were in the past, breaking them today is still generally avoided because mirrors provide utility and replacing one is a hassle.

Collector’s Name: Gaurav Varma

Tags/Keywords:

  • American/Bad Luck/Superstition/Breaking/Mirrors

 

Superstition #19 Cleaning at Night

Leave a reply

Title:Cleaning at Night

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: India

Informant Data:

  • Tanish is a ’20 at Dartmouth College. He is from Singapore and is Indian. He practices Hinduism. He is a Math major who likes playing tennis and fears the deep sea.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant learned this superstition from his parents. Though he learned it as a child, he continues to hear about and practice this superstition in his daily life.
  • Cultural Context: Tanish explained that this superstition likely came from the caste system that has been in place in India for centuries. Especially for members of higher castes, it is important to be perceived as clean by avoiding cleaning at night.

Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition: Cleaning at night brings bad luck.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Informant’s Comments:

  • Tanish said that this is one superstition that he continues to practice today. He believes it is important to be clean and to be perceived as clean, even though he is no longer in a culture where the caste system is in effect.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought this was an interesting one because of it’s similarity to cutting fingernails at night. Both focus on being clean before nighttime, which appears to have both religious and social ties. Like cutting fingernails at night, this one could have a practical reason – cleaning in the dark would be much more difficult, and it would be easier to miss spots of dirt.

Collector’s Name: Mitchell Tang

Tags/Keywords:

  • Indian/Bad Luck/Superstition/Cleaning/Night

Superstition #18 Touching Elder’s Feet

1 Reply

Title: Touching Elder’s Feet

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: India

Informant Data:

  • Gaurav is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College from San Jose, California. He identifies as Indian. His family is technically Hindu, but does not practice heavily. He does weightlifting in his free time.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Gaurav learned these superstitions from his family. Specifically, he mentioned that he learned this one from his grandmother when he was a child.
  • Cultural Context: This superstition is consistent with the prominent Indian and East Asian value in respecting one’s elders. Touching feet is a sign of respect, and in turn the elder bestows good luck and good fortune.

Item:

  • Good Luck Superstition: It is good luck to touch one’s elder’s feet.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Informant’s Comments:

  • The informant mentioned that he learned this superstition from his grandmother. Feet are generally seen as unclean, so touching feet is a powerful display of respect, a statement against the general Indian belief in cleanliness.

Collector’s Comments:

  • There is a very similar practice in Filipino culture that I learned from my grandmother, which involves touching an elder’s hand to your forehead. It was interesting to see this paralleled in Indian culture.

Collector’s Name: Mitchell Tang

Tags/Keywords:

  • Indian/Good Luck/Superstition/Elder/Feet

Superstition #17 Books on the Floor or Feet

Leave a reply

Title: Books on the Floor or Feet

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: India

Informant Data:

  • Tanish is a ’20 at Dartmouth College. He is from Singapore and is Indian. He practices Hinduism. He is a Math major who likes playing tennis and fears the deep sea.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Tanish noted that while he learned superstitions from his family, they came primarily from the female side (mother, grandmother).
  • Cultural Context: This superstition had the strongest religious component out of all the Indian superstitions collected. Knowledge and learning are sacred, as are books and papers the instruments of learning. Stepping on books is seen as disrespectful.

Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition: It is bad luck to step on books or let them lie on the floor.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Informant’s Comments:

  • Tanish again associated books and learning with Hinduism and religious beliefs, which he feels play a strong role in superstitions as a whole and his everyday life.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I didn’t know that Hinduism associated books so closely with religion. This is another superstition that many of my informants mentioned as a prominent Indian belief.

Collector’s Name: Mitchell Tang

Tags/Keywords:

  • Indian/Bad Luck/Superstition/Book/Floor/Feet

Superstition #16 Adding a Rupee to a Gift

Leave a reply

Title: Adding a Rupee to a Gift

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: India

Informant Data:

  • Informant is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College from San Jose, California. He identifies as Indian. His family is technically Hindu, but does not practice heavily. He does weightlifting in his free time.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Like all of my informants, he learned this superstition from his family at a young age.
  • Cultural Context: This superstition comes from the general belief that it is good luck to give money in general in Indian culture. The single rupee symbolizes good luck and prosperity in the future. Adding the the rupee makes the gift symbolize a new beginning for wealth and fortune.

Item:

  • Good Luck Superstition: Adding a rupee to a gift brings good luck to the recipient.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Informant’s Comments:

  • The informant didn’t exactly know why this superstition existed, but he said that he would be willing to do it, if he had rupees with him.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The connection between giving money to bless others with prosperity seems to be a common superstition around the world. I think it’s interesting that such a superstition doesn’t need much more of a reason than that.

Collector’s Name: Mitchell Tang

Tags/Keywords:

  • Indian/Good Luck/Superstition/Rupee/Gift

Superstition #15 Cutting Fingernails at Night

Leave a reply

Title: Cutting Fingernails at Night

General Information about Item: 

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: India

Informant Data:

  • Informant is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College from West Windsor, New Jersey. He identifies as South Indian. He was raised practicing Hinduism but considers himself agnostic. He studies math and enjoys playing trumpet in his free time.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant learned this primarily from his family. He also observed that this superstition was widely held in India when he traveled there as a child.
  • Cultural Context: This superstition stems from a common theme of Indian superstitions, the connection between cleanliness and nighttime. The informant noted that there is likely a religious component to this superstition, but he did not know exactly what it was.

Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition: Cutting one’s fingernails at night brings bad luck and sickness.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Informant’s Comments:

  • He noted that there might be a practical purpose for this superstition. Before electricity, cutting nails at night meant cutting nails in darkness. It would have been hard to see properly, making it more difficult to clean up and more likely that one could cut oneself.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This superstition follows a definite theme in Indian superstitions as well as Asian superstitions as a whole. It was also one of the first mentioned by everyone interviewed, which means it might be one of the more prominent.

Collector’s Name: Mitchell Tang

Tags/Keywords:

  • Indian/Bad Luck/Superstition/Fingernail/Night