Given the number of kitten litters that appear in the neighbourhood with frightening regularity, I would pretty much be rooted to the spot if I listened to the “a cat crossing your path is bad luck”; forever in wait for someone else to pass before me and take upon the purported ill luck. Fortunately, better sense prevails!
Even though the world has seen many changes and development in the field of science and technology, many people still believe in a variety of superstitions without really knowing the logic behind what is being said. With a diverse country come diverse superstitions. The word superstition refers to any belief or practice which is explained by supernatural causality, entirely contradicting modern science.
Lack of education especially in rural areas leads people into believing these superstitions. Superstitious beliefs and practices vary from region to region, with many regions having their own specific beliefs. The practices may range from harmless lemon-and-chilli totems for warding off evil eyes to serious concerns like witch-burning.
There is however sense in at least some of these age-old practices. Although outdated and irrelevant today, there is a reason why these superstitions became adages passed on over generations. Let us take a brief journey across time to understand their evolution.
Let’s start with the most common one, ‘A black cat crossing your path is a sign of misfortune and even death!’. During ancient times, people traveled through forests at night on bullock carts with a kerosene lantern. It was common that since it was a jungle, the carriage animals passed the big animals of the cat family like panthers, jaguars, leopards, jackals, etc. The eyes of these big cats glowed due to the reflection of light and this used to scare the carriage animals which further led to dangerous overspeeding and accidents. Therefore, people started taking breaks mid-journey. As time passed and traveling means and routes changed, people forgot about the forest cats and put this superstition for the domestic black cats instead.
‘No Haircuts on Tuesdays’. Earlier, a large portion of the Indian population was dominated by farmers. After a week of hard work, Monday was considered as their resting day. So, on Monday since they had no work, they cleaned their homes and had to complete their chores that day. So, the barbers wouldn’t have many customers on the following day, which is Tuesday, and would keep their shops closed. Soon, over the years this turned into a superstition.
‘The number 13 and Friday the 13th is unlucky!’ The number 13 is considered as an unlucky number in many countries; therefore, many superstition believers try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from number 13. Companies and manufacturers, try to avoid the number 13 and use another way of numbering or labelling their product. And they even don’t construct thirteen-floor buildings, even if they want to build they will miss the number 13 and will construct the floors as 12, 14, 15 and so on. And surprisingly enough this is yet another superstition. The actual reason is that during Jesus Christ’s last supper, there were thirteen people around the table including Christ himself and twelve apostles. People believe that one of those thirteen, Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus Christ. Coincidentally Jesus Christ died on Friday the 13th. Well, you can do the math now.
‘Twitching of the left eye is inauspicious.’ Eyes twitch due to medical conditions like stress, fatigue, excess intake of caffeine, or other medical imbalances. So you might just want to consider one of these as the reason when your eye twitches.
‘Hanging lemon and green chillies outside shops.’ Alakshmi, the god of misfortune brings bad luck to the shop owners or business. In order to prevent her entry, the shops hang seven chillies and three lemons at the entry. It is believed that Alakshmi will come at the door, eat her favourite food, satisfy her hunger, and leave without entering the shop. The scientific reason being, the cotton thread used to pierce the chillies and lemon absorbs the citric acid from the fruit while it is fresh, the smell keeps the pests and insects away from the shops. A simple pesticide keeps away nothing but the pests for sure!
‘No Cutting Nails After Sunset.’ Nail clippers have very sharp blades and if the light is not adequate then we are bound to hurt ourselves. It was always advised to complete this task while the sun was out as earlier electricity wasn’t there and it can be dangerous in the dark. This further turned into a frivolous misbelief. And funnily enough, people still believe it and back it with very weird explanations.
‘Bathe After Attending A Funeral Ceremony’. This has absolutely nothing to do with the departed soul. The logic here is that since our ancestors did not have cures for many diseases earlier, which include hepatitis, smallpox, and other deadly and contagious diseases, it was best to come home and have a thorough bath. The place where so many people visit, not to sound cold but dead bodies are left exposed, you never know what infections might be lurking around.
‘Do not sweep the house after sunset.’ It’s said that if we sweep our house after sunset Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth will walk out of the house and hence invite poverty. But the actual reason being that during those days there was no electricity and the light of the lamp wasn’t enough to spot the small precious ornaments and hence there were chances of sweeping them away with the dust, therefore it was advised not to sweep the house after sunset.
Our ancestors studied the intricacies of daily lives and formed a couple of rules which later turned into these bizarre superstitions because most of us especially in India end up blindly following anything remotely related to god or karma.
However, it's important to remember here that it is fear that drives us. When we’re told that something bad shall happen to us if we don’t follow these beliefs it registers in the brain. Then when we’re faced with the situation, we tend to remember what we were told and do as said because let's be honest, why take a chance? Therefore it becomes even more important to expand our knowledge and question these baseless beliefs.
So the next time you get a deluge of social media messages with a deity’s image or some other purportedly religious connotation, asking (or threatening !) for the message to be forwarded to an X number of people within X number of minutes, take a break, pat your neighborhood black cat and go for a long happy stroll!
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- Healthline