Category Archives: 18F Superstitions

Funeral Procession

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Title: Funeral Procession

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: India
  • Informant: Athi
  • Date Collected: 10-10-18

Informant Data:

  • Athi is a male psychiatrist of The Woodlands, TX. He was born in Nager Coil, India in 1970, but moved to the United States in 1998 following his marriage. Besides work, he enjoys playing golf and watching television. Today, he lives with his family in a small, suburban home just outside of Houston.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Indians consider death to be a painless escape from the cycle of life. Lord Yama, the God of Death, is believed to claim souls from the mortal world at a specific, pre-determined time. Following death, the body is taken through the village while onlookers chant mantras. The soul remains attached to the body over the course of this procession, only separating from the body once the ritual is complete. Then, on its journey to Yama, the soul is believed to take along all the sorrow/pain/wishes/desires it encountered from the mantra-chanters.

 

  • Social Context: The informant first learnt of this superstition on his way to school as a young child. As a funeral procession passed by, everyone stopped in their tracks. The began chanting mantras and silently praying.

Item:

  • The viewing of a funeral procession on the way to work, school, college, etc. is auspicious. It indicates the destruction of evil and sorrows from life and suggests that all pending desires and work will soon be achieved/accomplished.

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

Transcript:

  • “In South India, it is believed that seeing a dead body while walking out of the house is considered very lucky because whatever you want to finish or accomplish on that day will happen without any problems.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • This superstition is interesting, since one would expect that viewing a dead body would bring about bad luck, but under Indian beliefs, the opposite occurs.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is an example of a sign superstition, as it follows the form, “If A, Then B”. If one sees a funeral procession on his way, then all his sorrows will disappear and he will be able to accomplish anything he desires.

Collector’s Name: Sanjena Venkatesh

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Superstition
  • Funeral Procession / Dead Body

Salt, Dried Chilis, and Camphor

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Title: Salt, Dried Chilis, Camphor

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: India
  • Informant: Vandana V.
  • Date Collected: 10-10-18

Informant Data:

  • Vandana V. is a female student in her senior year of high school at John Cooper. She was born in Temple, Texas in 2001, but has lived in Houston for much of her life. In her free time, she enjoys playing the flute in the Wind Ensemble and competing with her Varsity Tennis team.  She plans to attend Dartmouth College in the fall, where she will study pre-med and economics.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: A central aspect of Indian culture is based upon the idea of the evil eye – a look/glance rooted in jealousy that is associated with malevolent spirits and believed to bring about bad luck. Numerous superstitions, as such, act to inhibit, or prevent the effects of the evil eye.

 

  • Social Context: Despite being brought up in American society, the informant’s cultural origins are primarily Hindu. Her grandparents and extended family all lived in India, and as such, she visits every summer. There, she has learned of the various Hindu superstitions, rituals, beliefs, etc. The informant in fact first saw this superstition in practice at a young age, during a summer visit to India. She had fallen sick following the wedding ceremony of her aunt. So, her grandmother circled the plate of camphor, salt, and chilis around her head three times. Within a few days, she had begun to feel better.

Item:

  • This particular superstition attempts to cure someone infected by the evil eye. Here, an elder takes a plate of salt, dried red chilis, and camphor in their right palm and circles it around the infected individual’s head 3, 5, or 7 times depending on the severity of the misfortune. Such an action is believed to remove the drishti.

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

Salt, Dried Chilis, Camphor-2mqqvx7

Transcript:

  • “If you go to a special function and you come back with vomiting or a headache, then it’s said that you have the evil eye. So an elder must take salt, chilis, and camphor in their right palm and circle it around your head and then throw it out.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • According to the informant, this superstition has been strongly conserved/practiced in her family, and passed down from generation to generation.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is a concrete example of a Magic Superstition, as it follows the form of “If you do A, Then B”. After all, if a plate of salt, chilis, and camphor is circled around one’s head by an elder, then the sickness brought upon by the evil eye will be cured.
  • Further, this superstition seems to have originated to make sense of the world – to explain and cure sickness

Collector’s Name: Sanjena Venkatesh

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Superstition
  • Evil Eye

Direction of Sleep

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Title: Direction of Sleep

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: India
  • Informant: Rama
  • Date Collected: 10-10-18

Informant Data:

  • Rama is a female software engineer of Houston, TX. She was born in Tirunelveli, India in 1975. She moved to the United States, however, at the age of 21, with her first job. Besides work, she enjoys gardening and reading. Today, Rama lives with her family in a suburb just outside of Houston.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: In India, bodies are often cremated. However, if a body is buried, it is always, without fail, placed with the head pointing towards the North and the feet towards the South. This is due to the belief that Yama, the God of Death, resides in the south.

 

  • Social Context: This superstition is particularly prevalent in South India. Houses are often constructed with properly oriented bedrooms to allow for beds to fit in the “auspicious direction” (East-West).

Item:

  • This superstition declares that if one sleeps with his/her head pointing towards the North, he/she will experience bad luck. This is because if one’s head is pointing North, his feet are pointing to the South, where Yama resides. On rare occasions, sleeping in this direction is believed to bring death.

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

Transcript:

  • “If you sleep with your feet pointing towards the South, you will be plagued by bad luck. At its extreme, you may die.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • According to the informant, this belief stands strong within her family. Each and every bed in her house, prior to its placement, was ensured to be facing the correct direction.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is a concrete example of a Magic Superstition, as it follows the form of “If you do A, Then B”. If one sleeps with his feet pointing towards the south, then he will face bad luck in the near future.

Collector’s Name: Sanjena Venkatesh

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Superstition
  • Sleep

Black Cat

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Title: Black Cat

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: India
  • Informant: Rama
  • Date Collected: 10-10-18

Informant Data:

  • Rama is a female software engineer of Houston, TX. She was born in Tirunelveli, India in 1975. She moved to the United States, however, at the age of 21, with her first job. Besides work, she enjoys gardening and reading. Today, Rama lives with her family in a suburb just outside of Houston.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Just as in many parts of the world, in India, the black cat is believed to be a bad omen, or a carrier of witchcraft. Each culture, however, has its own mechanism for ridding oneself of the curse, and its associated bad luck. In India, this mechanism is taking a sip of water at one’s original location.

 

  • Social Context: This superstition is today primarily practiced by elders in rural villages. With modern transportation and technology, people of urban areas are able to travel far distances to work, school, etc. This in turn makes the practice of this superstition far less practical.

Item:

  • This superstition relies on the belief that black cats are carriers of witchcraft and sorcery. So, if they cross one’s path, he/she is believed to be infected by a curse. The only way to rid oneself of this curse is to return to the original location and drink some water.

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

Transcript:

  • “If a black cat crosses your path, you’re thought to be cursed. And in order to rid yourself of the curse, you need to go back home, or wherever you came from, and take a sip of water. Otherwise you’ll keep having bad luck.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • This superstition, while it may be believed by some, is largely not practiced.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is an example of a Conversion Superstition, as it follows the form: “If A, Then B, Unless C”. If a black cat crosses one’s path, then bad luck will befall him/her, unless he/she returns to the original location to drink water.

Collector’s Name: Sanjena Venkatesh

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Superstition
  • Black Cat

Coins In the Socks

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Title: Coins in the Socks

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: American Superstition (Good luck)
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Unknown
  • Informant: Andrew Fava
  • Date Collected: November 8, 2018

Informant Data:

  • Andrew Fava is a sophomore at the University of Florida. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and has one sister named Alex. Andrew spends his time playing baseball and hanging out with friends. He is a member of the Varsity Basketball Team and a double major in Psychology and Criminality at the University of Florida.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant was interviewed over FaceTime in regard to his superstition. He says that he accidentally left coins in his socks during his baseball game. He ended up playing really well that game and started to put coins in his socks whenever he played. His teammates saw his success and the entire team began putting coins in their socks.
  • Cultural Context: Many sports players have unique superstitions that they believe help them perform better. This particular superstition is unique to Andrew and his friends. The sport f baseball is often describes as “America’s Pastime.”

Item:

  • Every high school baseball game, Andrew would put coins in his socks in order to have good luck in the game.

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

Andrew Baseball-11e4tgq

Transcript of Associated File:

  • “The superstition I developed was playing baseball with coins in my socks. My freshman year of high school I stopped at a 7/11 to get some Big League Chew on the way to one of my games, and I didn’t have any pockets to put the coins in so I put them in my sock. And then I ended up playing the game with the coins in my socks, because I forgot they were in there, um, and it turns out I went four for four that game. So for my entire high school career I played with coins in my socks.”

Informants Comments:

  • “After I started to have success with putting coins in my socks, my whole team started to do it as well.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is one of the many sports superstitions that we were told in our interviews.

Collector’s Name: Oliver Campbell

Tags/Keywords:

  • American. Superstition. Coins in the Socks. Magic Superstition.

God Bless You

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Title: God Bless You

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: American Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Unknown
  • Informant: Carl Marvin
  • Date Collected: November 4, 2018

Informant Data:

  • Carl Marvin is a freshman at Carleton College. He grew up in Wilmington, Delaware with one younger sister and one younger brother. Carl spends his time working out and playing golf with his friends. He is a member of the varsity Football Team and studies Economics at Carleton College.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant was interviewed over phone call in regard to his superstition. He says that his parents taught him to say “God Bless You” after someone sneezes because the person’s heart skips a beat and they are blessed to be unharmed from it. If he doesn’t say God Bless You, it will give both of them bad karma. It is something Carl does every time he hears someone sneeze.
  • Cultural Context: While Carl says God Bless You out of superstition, many Americans say it out of politeness. It is considered rude not say God Bless You.

Item:

  • If someone sneezes, another person should say “God Bless You” or it spells bad luck for the person who sneezed. It may even spell bad luck for the person who didn’t say God Bless You.

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

Transcript of Associated File:

  • “My superstition is about sneezing—because—I was taught that when you sneeze your heart skips a beat, so it’s always important to say “God Bless You” because it gives you bad karma if you don’t.”

Informants Comments:

  • “It gives you bad karma if you don’t (say it).”

Collector’s Comments:

  • Saying God Bless You is one of the most common superstitions in American culture.

Collector’s Name: Oliver Campbell

Tags/Keywords:

  • American. Superstition. God Bless You. Conversion Superstition.

Break A Leg

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Title: Break a Leg

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: American Superstition (Good luck)
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: America
  • Informant: Blake Crossing
  • Date Collected: October 28, 2018

Informant Data:

  • Blake Crossing is a junior at Dartmouth College. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Blake spends his time playing baseball and video games with his friends. He studies Computer Science at Dartmouth and is a member of the Dartmouth College Varsity Baseball Team.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant conducted an in person interview about his superstition. As a youth, Blake’s younger brother was very interesting in acting. He would participate in many on stage productions and Blake and his family would attend. Blake’s mother would tell his younger brother to “break a leg” before he went on stage, and soon enough, Blake started saying it as well.
  • Cultural Context: Some people think that the phrase derives from the 1865 murder of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. After shooting the President at Ford’s Theater, Booth leapt off the stage and broke his leg.

Item:

  • Blake tells his brother to “break a leg” before every performance. Telling a performer to “break a leg” is a good luck superstition that helps ensure the performer will not make any mistakes.

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

Blake Leg-qeri8c

Transcript of Associated File:

  • Oliver: “So Blake, I understand you have a superstition?”

Blake: “Yeah, so every time my little brother would get on stage—he used to be an actor—um, right before he would get on stage, my mom would tell me to tell him to break a leg, and you know, obviously that’s just kinda like a little saying we have for good luck. He always had good performances, and I always said it so there’s no way I wasn’t going to say it one time and risk him having a terrible performance.”

Informants Comments:

  • “Although my brother doesn’t act anymore, I still think of him whenever I hear this superstition.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is a common superstition I have heard throughout my life.

Collector’s Name: Oliver Campbell

Tags/Keywords:

  • American. Superstition. Break a Leg. Magic Superstition.

 

The Same Flavor Gum

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Title: The Same Flavor Gum

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: American Superstition (Good luck)
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: America
  • Informant: Austen Michel
  • Date Collected: October 22, 2018

Informant Data:

  • Austen Michel is a junior at Dartmouth College. He grew up in South Hamilton, Massachusetts with one younger sister. Austen spends his time playing baseball and hanging out with his friends. He studies Economics at Dartmouth and is a member of the Dartmouth College Varsity Baseball Team.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant conducted an in person interview about his superstition. During his sophomore year of high school, Austen would chew gum while studying.       Once, he did not have gum for his test, and ended up doing extremely poorly on the test. After that day, he always made sure to chew gum of the same flavor on test day as well.
  • Cultural Context: Some psychological studies have suggested that chewing the same flavor of gum when you take the test as when you study actually helps a person retain more information. While there may be some scientific aspect to this superstition, the informant does not practice the superstition for this reason. He does it because he truly believes he will have bad luck on the test if he does not do it.

Item:

  • When Austen has a big test or quiz, he always chews the same flavor gum (Original Double Bubble) when he studies as when he takes the test, or else he will do poorly on the test.

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

Transcript of Associated File:

  • Oliver: “Austen, I understand you have a superstition?”

Austen: “Yes. So when I’m studying and also when I’m taking a quiz, test, exam, whatever it may be, I like to chew the same flavor of double bubble gum. The original flavor with the blue, yellow, and pink wrapper, uh, that is the stuff that gets me going for a quiz. Uh, the superstition actually started back in high school, um, I think it was sophomore year (my first sophomore year) in which I was chewing the gum for studying and then didn’t have it for the exam, and failed the exam. So then I decided I would start using it for studying and for the test/quiz/exam and I actually did very well throughout—whenever I did that, and it stuck with me ever since.”

Informants Comments:

  • “I have an Economics test later this week, and I already have my Double Bubble ready to go.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • More than one informant we talked to had some form a studying or test-taking superstition.

Collector’s Name: Oliver Campbell

Tags/Keywords:

  • American. Superstition. The Same Flavor Gum. Conversion Superstition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knocking On Wood

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Title: Knocking On Wood

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Folklore: American Superstition (Bad luck)
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Unknown
  • Informant: Katie Slinkosky
  • Date Collected: November 1, 2018

Informant Data:

  • Katie Slinkosky is a sophomore at the University of Florida. She grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with one older sister. Katie spends her time hanging out at the pool with friends and rereading the Harry Potter book series. She studies Architectural Design and is a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Chapter at the University of Florida.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant was interviewed over online video chat in regard to her superstition. She says she first learned of knocking on wood as a youth one summer in Florida from her group of friends. While in the pool, Katie remarked that a bee never had stung her.  All of her friends told her she should “knock on wood” so that she would not be stung by a bee. Katie was not sure what they were talking about, and decided not to knock on wood. Nevertheless, two days later, while playing kickball with her friends, Katie was stung by in a bee in the field behind the pool.
  • Cultural Context: The origins and culture behind the knocking on wood superstition are largely unknown. Some have traced the superstition back to ancient pagan cultures that believed that deities lived in trees. If you knocked on the trees, it would bring protection from the Gods. Also, some believe the superstition came from knocking on wood to chase away evil spirits from listening in on human conversations.

Item:

  • If one says that something good will happen to them, they should knock on wood or else the good thing will not come true. Also, if one says that something bad has not happened yet, they should knock on wood or else the bad thing will come true. It is a conversion superstition.

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

IMG_7510-1eqy7gf

Transcript of Associated File:

  • “I’m a very superstitious person. Um, I knock on wood because, for example, I’ve never broken a bone in my body, but knock on wood (*knocks on wood*), because one time I said, ‘Oh I’ve never gotten stung by a bee,’ and then two days later I got stung by a bee and I learned my lesson and I will never say something without making sure I knock on wood before.”

Informants Comments:

  • “I’m not sure where my friends heard it from, it was just something that they had always did and then passed it on to me.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • More than one informant that we interviewed mentioned Knocking On Wood as something that they do at least regularly.

Collector’s Name: Oliver Campbell

Tags/Keywords:

American. Superstition. Knocking On Wood. Conversion Superstition

Tying Red Ribbon Around Aloe Vera

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General Information about Item:

  • Mexican Superstition
  • Language: Spanish
  • Country of Origin: Mexico
  • Informant: Thalia Dominguez Bautista
  • Date Collected: 11-03-18

Informant Data:

  • Thalia Dominguez Bautista was born in the state of Washington but her parents originate from Mexico. She is currently studying Digital Arts at Dartmouth College. Thalia only speaks Spanish at home with her parents. Although Thalia grew up in America, her parents made sure to instill the Mexican culture in her upbringing. Thalia is the last child of her parents.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: In Mexican culture, red symbolizes blood and power. Thalia’s family members practice this superstition as they have seen the effects Aloe Vera has. It is believed that within the spirit world, Aloe Vera prevents accidents
  • Social Context: The Aloe Vera plant has many medicinal uses. In addition to its many medicinal uses, it can be used to treat burns, cuts, and scrapes. It is also known to reduce inflammation, pain, and redness quickly. When ingested, Aloe Vera can reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics. Due to the many beneficial uses of the plant Aloe Vera in society, Thalia believes it is fitting that the Aloe Vera plant is used as a precautionary item to ward off bad energy.

Subgenre: good luck superstitions (preventing bad luck)

Item (Transcript):

“Since I was little my family has this superstition where you tie a red ribbon around an Aloe Vera leaf and it is supposed to ward off evil and bad spirits and bad luck and anything bad that is trying to get you or your family and it is supposed to replace that with good energy.”

Collector’s Name: Ama Kyerewaa

Tags/Keywords:

  • Mexican. Superstition. Tying Red Ribbon on Aloe Vera. Homeopathic Magic