What We Haven't Scared Us Yet: Strange Superstitions From Around The World

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The 21st century is already in the yard, but many of us still, on occasion, almost without thinking, knock on wood, "so that there is no trouble", and "for everyone" try not to look into the fragments of broken mirrors. Read about this, as well as what day the hairdressers of India rest on and what triskaidekaphobia is, in this article.

All people tend to believe in something. It is believed that if you follow certain rules, finding yourself in a particular situation, you can avoid all kinds of negative consequences. And also - to look into the future and even heal from some diseases.

Yes, Mother Russia has always been famous for folk medicine, fortune-telling and fear of all sorts of evil spirits. I'm not sure if today's children know who Baba Yaga and Vodyanoy are. What kind of plant, supposedly blooming on the night of Ivan Kupala in the forest, should endow the one who found him with magical abilities and unprecedented strength. Why was a horseshoe hung over the door.

There were so many mystics in our culture that at one time Vladimir Ivanovich Dal, our outstanding compatriot and compiler of the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language", even wrote a separate book about everything mysterious and inexplicable. It was called "On beliefs, superstitions and prejudices of the Russian people."

Thanks to Dahl. Thanks to his efforts, a comprehensive encyclopedia of the supernatural came to light. If you wish, you can read it yourself and find out what from the world of mysticism worried the minds of our ancestors the most.

So, if we are familiar with the mystical culture of predecessors at least briefly thanks to the course of school literature (almost all the fathers of Russian literature tried a lot: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Chekhov), then the riddles, beliefs and prejudices of other countries of the world are for us a dark forest.

Of course, everyone has heard: Friday of any month, which falls on the 13th, promises everyone and everyone in trouble. Nevertheless, most of our fellow citizens, most likely, will not see an obvious connection of this "holiday" with the personality of Jason Voorhees.

Unlike, for example, the Americans. At the same time, both residents of the United States and Russians are equally apprehensive about black cats and those striving to cross our path.

Let's find out what is common in the superstitions of the peoples of the world, and what is completely unusual for us.

Argentina

Let's start with the strangest on our list today. In Argentina, the face of universal evil is a specific individual - Carlos Menem, who served as the country's president in the 90s of the last century.

A number of "dark" stories are associated with Menem that occurred during his two presidential terms. Apparently, this is why the Argentines are so afraid to pronounce the name of the former ruler out loud. If suddenly someone accidentally mentioned Carlos - consider himself anathema.

Therefore, in order to protect his family from the curse, anyone who unfortunately heard this "spell" or foolishly blurted out himself, will have to imperceptibly touch his left breast, if it is a woman, while a man should quietly hold, sorry, for the genital area. For any Argentinean, this manipulation plays the role of our usual "knock on wood".

Brazil

In the country of hot girls and football, in which everyone, young and old, plays here around the clock, it is considered a big failure to drop a wallet on the floor - they say, you get poorer, how to drink. Obviously, the Brazilians are not aware that in Russia one needs, as they say, an eye and an eye for a wallet. But that's a completely different story.

China

In the Celestial Empire, there are a lot of things that are so mysterious and interesting: hieroglyphs, pu-erh teas and da hun pao, kung fu, finally. Superstitions are also interesting. The number 4 and all the combinations associated with it: 14, 24, 34 are considered extremely unlucky, because their pronunciation in the Confucius language is almost identical to how the word "death" sounds.

A funny fact is that the Chinese have also found out about a purely European prejudice - the number 13. Science gave this phobia the name "". Now the Chinese are afraid of that too. And the fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. Such things, guys.

Denmark

Let's mention some good things. Dishes are beating all over the world - they say that it is for luck. That is why in Denmark, broken porcelain cups and plates are carefully swept with a broom and then stored until the New Year in order to carry the fragments to the homes of friends and loved ones. After all, it is customary to share happiness! In principle, we also agree with this belief: at Russian weddings, do not feed people with bread - let them beat glasses for the happiness of the young.

Egypt

Egypt, as we know, is a country full of secrets. The Egyptians attribute magical properties to scissors. It is believed that if you took them in hand and did not cut anything off, there will be trouble. It’s even worse if you left them open. However, on the other hand, the same scissors, placed under the pillow, are believed to be able to save a sleeping person from the nightmares that torment him.

France

France has given the world a lot of good things. Some of the highlights of the country include Armagnac, French pastries, fashion and much, much more. However, the signs that the French believe in are not particularly sophisticated. If during a walk you got into dog feces with your left foot, then everything is in order, you should be lucky in something. But if you are right, then the matter is bad, but why - no one really has been able to explain so far.

Greece

The Greeks have their own version of the curse. When two people in a conversation say the same word or phrase at the same time, the next thing that should sound after this will be the saving spell "Piáse kókkino" ("Πιάσε κόκκινο", literally "touch the red"). Then you need to find an object of the corresponding color and touch it - otherwise, a fight is inevitable.

By the way, if you find yourself in a similar situation during the Easter holiday, then you are very lucky: at this time, throughout Greece, there are a lot of eggs painted red in honor of the holiday.

Haiti

In this republic, most superstitions are related to the health of the mother. For example, if you ate a watermelon or grapefruit peel, started sweeping the floor at night, or inadvertently walked at least a couple of steps in one shoe - consider that you have doomed your dear mother to certain death.

India

Hindus have special rules for caring for their appearance. This is extremely important! On Tuesdays and Saturdays (the same applies to the night time), it is strictly forbidden to cut your nails and hair or wash your hair. In fact, there has always been a lot of controversy around these signs, but in general, the majority agree with the opinion: taking care of the beauty of nails under the cover of darkness, you risk losing some small but valuable thing, such as jewelry.

As for the rumors associated with Thursday, this day has historically been considered a day off for all Indian barbers. Saturday is the day of Saturn (in Indian mythology - Shani, in Sanskrit - शनि). The sources say: Shani is the elder brother of the Hindu god of death Yama. The brother-gods have something like a family contract, in which Shani is responsible for encouraging or punishing a person during his lifetime, while Yama does the same, but in the afterlife.

And Shani is also a great teacher who carries wisdom and condemns betrayal and injustice. In short, on Saturday all Hindus are to be collected and pious.

Japan

In the Land of the Rising Sun, it is customary to teach children to close the abdomen during a thunderstorm. Japanese children believe: if in bad weather they behave imprudently, then the god of thunder Raijin will steal and eat the navel by all means. Horror, isn't it?

Korea

In Korea, especially South Korea, people believe that a fan running in a closed room where you sleep can kill you. The prejudice about the "breath of death" is so widespread in the country that most of these devices are equipped with an automatic switch-off timer during production. In our area, people are still afraid only of air conditioners and for a very common reason - "so as not to blow out."

Lithuania

As in Russia, it is not customary to whistle indoors in Lithuania. It is believed that this can attract all sorts of small demons, which then will not give you life. True, it is not specified what kind of troubles the whistle can turn into in Lithuania. In our country, a sign promises a carefree merry fellow financial trouble.

Malaysia

We will not go into details, just note: in this state of Southeast Asia, people will never sit on a pillow. Yes, yes, this can threaten the fifth point with all sorts of misfortunes in the form of all kinds of diseases associated with it. In short, never do that.

Nigeria

What do you think is the most dangerous weapon in Nigeria? Kalashnikov assault rifle? But no! It turns out it's a broom. If you hit a man with it, then he will lose his "masculine strength", and indeed the matter may end in the loss of the genital organ.

Nevertheless, some are inclined to believe that it is possible to be “disenchanted”: for this one should hit the offender on the back with the same broom, inflicting at least seven blows.

Oman

It turns out that in Oman there is a very effective, according to local, way to clear the car of the hostile presence of otherworldly forces. To do this, you need to literally drive the audio version of the Quran through the speakers of the car's music system for a week, or better than two. In addition, it can save you from another misfortune common in Arab countries - the evil (evil) eye.

Philippines

The blind, or, as it is also called, mushroom, rain is not very fond of in the Philippines. It is popularly believed that during the rain pouring down from the blue skies, there, above, the wedding is held by evil tikbalangi.

Tikbalang is a creature that resembles a cross between a man and a horse, as well as an analogue of the famous Russian fairy-tale character - Leshego. Like its Russian counterpart, Tikbalang wanders through the forests, forcing travelers to get lost and wander around the same places, unable to find their way.

They say that in order for him to untie himself, he must put on a shirt turned inside out. Or just ask the demon's permission to walk for a while in his domain.

Qatar

In general, in this country, residents no longer believe in any prejudices. Moreover, it is simply forbidden to believe in something like that. However, they say that earlier people here treated spiders with great respect: supposedly they are able to somehow magically protect the house from fire, so no one particularly touches the spiders.

Rwanda

Rwandan women know from an early age that goat meat cannot be eaten. Of course, you want, as they say, eat, but then you, beauty, will grow a beard. Almost like in a fairy tale about Alyonushka and her brother Ivanushka.

Sweden

If you find yourself in this Scandinavian country, watch the pedestrians. Some of them move around the city in a strange way: sometimes in zigzags, sometimes in a detour. The thing is that manhole covers in Sweden are marked with letters - some "K", others "A".

"K" is present in words that translate as "water" and "love". "A" - in those that mean "sewage" and "dislike". People tend to believe that the number of corresponding letters caught on the path can influence the course of fate and prejudge it.

Nevertheless, the negative effect of encounters with unwanted hatches can be neutralized: if someone casually pats you on the back three times.

Turkey

In Turkey, chewing gum at night and in the evenings is considered bad taste. Turks believe that after dark, chewing gum turns into the flesh of the dead. Downright nightmare, by God …

USA

Americans, it seems to me, regardless of where they live, are very fond of all sorts of horror stories. The state of Vermont, where the windows of many 19th-century houses were diamond-shaped, were also subject to prejudice. This was done in order to protect against witches: it was believed that a witch, riding on a broomstick, could not fly into a sideways window. By the way, these can be seen in some houses today.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, students who want to improve their academic performance deliberately avoid eating a number of foods. The most common bananas have become one of these objects of gastronomic taboo: peeled off, this fruit becomes slippery.

As you probably already guessed, the problem here is also caused by the articulatory peculiarities of the language - "slip" and "fail" (which may well apply to exams) are pronounced in Vietnamese in exactly the same way.

Wales

Residents of Wales believe that if you put on a wreath woven from leaves and twigs of hazel, this can fulfill one cherished desire. You have to check it yourself!

Yemen

It is naive to believe that in a country with a very low standard of living, medicine is capable of reaching sky-high heights. To this day, in Yemen, it is believed that a pregnant woman can determine the gender of her unborn child by tossing a dead snake into the air.

If she falls on her back, a girl will be born, and if her belly is down, a boy will be born.

Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, black magic (voodoo too) is really thriving. For example, a very common variant of protection against adultery, resorting to which the husband casts a spell on his wife. In the event that extramarital shura-moors do happen, the couple will be doomed to eternal joint wanderings.

As a rule, the fear of the inevitable punishment for such a misconduct acts as the main factor deterring spouses from cheating.

Summing up, of course, it is worth mentioning many other superstitions and magical rituals that are familiar to us: fortune-telling, swimming in an ice-hole at Epiphany, Maslenitsa, in the final celebration of which Russian people, gathered in a cheerful crowd, burns a ritual effigy. These are the pies. Pancakes, or rather.

So what about black cats and four leaf clovers? Do we believe in all this or not? You decide. But still, as for me, our life will not be so interesting without mysteries and surprises.

P. S. By the way, in 2015 there are already three Fridays falling on the 13th. Two have already passed safely (or not?), And the third is still on the way. Wait for her in November.