Collectanea

Posted  By : Ashley Dsouza 
 
East Indian Community Age old Superstition beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy, and certain spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events

If the hen after taking sand or mud bath should come into the house to shake off the dust, it is believed that a visitor is due that day.

If the visitor is due after nightfall, the sign is different, and the housewife or the person baking appas or chapaties is the first to notice it. In this case the pan, called khapri, shows more than once tiny sparks of fire in a line, a little below the rim, outside. The one who notices it usually says: "Khapri hansteya, kon pauna yeteya?" The khapri is laughing, who is the guest that is coming

The crow is considered a bird of ill omen. His persistent crowing that peculiar raucous manner near the house is a sign that all is not well. Usually a messenger arrives with the news of a relative's death.

If a number of crows should perch on trees or house tops and begin their cawing, then in a body leave still cawing fly a certain distance, come back; and then repeat the procedure several times, it is a sign that the village will soon be visited by a pestilence.

Should a person going on a business find a cat cross his path from right to left, he will stop short and wait until another passer-by goes past him. He will then continue his journey as the bad luck which might have befallen him has been counteracted by the passer-by.

The hoot-hooti: "Who-did- it," a bird usually heard during nights and particularly in the hot season, is considered unlucky. A pinch of salt thrown into the fire counteracts the evil.

Rocking an empty cradle gives baby a stomach-ache.

The spider is always associated with good luck. When it is found crawling on one's shoulder or arm he or she is in for money.

Sweepings from the house, especially from the kitchen, must not be thrown out at night, but allowed to remain in a corner until the morning; if they are thrown out the prosperity of the house will suffer.

When a person sneezes, or whilst drinking the liquid should enter the wind-pipe resulting on a choking sensation, it is a sign that some one is thinking of him.

Giving fire from the chula to your neighbour at night time is considered bad luck to the giver.

Among the many small points for good behaviour the young bride carries with her from her mother's home, the first is that she must place her right foot on the first step when entering her husband's house the first time.

If a person drinks water at sundown, that is, while the sun is sinking below the horizon, he deprives his relatives who may be in Purgatory of their quota of water for that day. (The inference is that every mortification in their behalf helps the souls.)

The Broom, especially the reed one, must not-be kept vertically (standing) in a corner of the house, but must be left flat on the floor after use, otherwise it creates a friction in the home, and is also a sure source of quarrel with the neighbours. On the other hand a vertically placed broom has the power of sending away in haste a boring, or an unwelcome visitor,—provided the '”zaroo” is intentionally so placed: that is in the name of the wearisome person.

Married persons, and even unmarried ones, must avoid eating the twin banana (plantains stuck together) lest twins be their portion.

An old discarded sandal, slipper or shoe, tied to a fruit-bearing tree keeps away the evil eye.

The rearing of pigeons is considered unlucky : usually the breadwinner of the family dies.

After death the soul appears before the judgment seat on the third day, until which time the body lies in the grave intact. After the soul has been judged, the earth begins its work—the tip of the nose being the first organ of attack.