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VIGNETTE
Superstitions Galore!
Don’t sneeze an odd number of times and leave the house. It’s bad
luck to have your shoes upside down. Don’t cut your nails at night.
These are just a few and random examples of super
stitions you are bound to have encountered while in
India. Most Indians, like people the world over,
are highly superstitious. While some superstitions were
formed with an aim to protect, with time, much of the reasoning
has gone to the dogs and almost all superstitions
seem unsubstantiated.
Superstitions exist by the dozen. To start with, ones life
is governed by dos and don’ts for each day of the week.
Monday is not an auspicious day for shaving, Tuesday
for washing hair or Saturday for buying oil. Most of these
superstitions are linked to the respective planets presiding
over each day.
Many omens, related to animals, birds and reptiles have
existed for centuries. The most auspicious omen is to see
an elephant when one is on a journey, as it represents Ganesha,
the god of good luck and the remover of obstacles.
The cawing of a crow in one’s house foretells the coming
of guests. A peacock seen while on a journey is said to be
good but hearing its shrill indicates robbery. A dog howling
near a sick man’s chamber predicts his death. Seeing
a cat or a cow’s face early in the morning brings ill luck.
A sparrow is encouraged to build a nest in a new house
for good fortune. A yellow or white substance dropped
on the threshold by a cow indicates the gain of gold or
silver. The wall lizard boasts the most superstitions. Every
movement of this reptile holds some signifi cance. The
colour, spots, stripes, chirping or twittering of the lizard
and where it falls on a person’s body are said to indicate
future happenings. A science called the Gowli Shastra
enumerates these.
There are other common beliefs devised for protection.
One should neither clip nails at night nor use scissors
for fear of angering evil spirits. This diktat prevailed
in the days of no electricity, when one could get an
injury in the dark. But many mothers still enforce this
rule at home. The reasoning, of course, is lost in time.
A persistent belief is that one must not sweep the fl oor
after the sunset; otherwise Lakshmi would also be swept
away. This too is a pre-electricity precaution against inadvertently
losing fallen valuables.
Some other popular superstitions are if a person gets
hiccups, it is believed that someone is talking about him
or remembering him. Breaking of a mirror is extremely
inauspicious. This belief is meant to urge caution while
handling something as fragile and potentially injurious
as glass, as most people were barefoot inside the
house.
The list of superstitions is long. The one thing that keeps
them alive is faith, mostly blind and irrational. Whether
or not you chose to believe in them is a decision that only
you can make.
By Prachi Bhasim