By: Candice Stewart
Does the sight of a black cat spook you? Do you knock on wood to ward off negative situations? Steer clear of ladders that form a triangle against a building? Have you ever heard, “Tikya the blackheart man, children!” How about, “Hang a horseshoe on your door with the open end up for good luck?” Did you say yes to any of the above? This, friends, is proof that you are surrounded by superstitions and that you believe in a few.
But, what really is superstition and why does it exist? It is a widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially having to do with good or bad luck? Though not sound in science, the point is, people need to have an explanation or a method to avoid evil or bring good luck; so the use of irrational actions and beliefs not only makes a good story, it gives hope In addition to the usual spook by a black cat, fear of the owl (patoo in the Jamaican parlance) or fear of the number 13, there are some superstitions inclusive of “duppies” (ghosts) that might make sense to you. Here is one, it is bad luck to leave a plate of unfinished food out overnight because you welcome the devil in. In truth, you welcome ants, rats, roaches and flies. Makes sense, right? We racked up a few of the spine-chilling, stomach-churning and hair raising superstitions to share and at the end, you may be so spooked that you’ll find yourself second guessing some of your actions or you may end up doing new and odd things. Now, these are strange, but you may have heard of stranger things
Our top 10 superstitions
If you pass your baby over a fence, he/she will grow up to be a thief.
As nonsensical as this may seem, there are people who dare not practice this. In reality, a thief becomes a thief by choice and not by being passed over a fence.
If you point on a grave, bite your 10 fingers or they will fall off.
I guess we should all be without fingers and have our ghostly friends by our side. Pointing is next to second nature; especially when we search for the graves of our loved ones.
During pregnancy if you have a carving and scratch your STOMACH, the child will have a birth mark IN THE IMAGE OF THE FOOD YOU CRAVE FOR.
Are pregnant women even aware that they are scratching while having these cravings? Nine months of cravings, would’nt these babies be a road map of fruits and pastries? Not sure if you can put much stock into this one but be careful when you scratch when you are pregnant.
Don’t go straight home after a funeral.
It is believed that ‘duppies’ will follow you home, but where else should you go? Even if you delay going home, you eventually have to. I suspect many of us are living with ghosts considering the many funerals we attend. “boo!” Don’t
let your purse touch the floor
They say this brings bad financial situations. Putting your bag on the floor habours bad luck and the longer it stays there, the worst your money problems will get. Hmm! This may ring true considering that my financial situation has not changed in a while. I better keep that in mind…just in case.
If a bird poops on you, prepare for good fortune
In that case, all birds should poop on you; imagine how lucky you would be. Right? No! You’ll be left with the task of cleaning bird poop from your person. Tell me how is that good luck cleaning bird poop? If there is a death in your house, move the furniture so the duppy doesn’t linger inside.
I call this redecorating for somewhat of a fresh start. It’s good to rearrange your spaces every now and then . It adds balance in people’s lives. If it happens to keep away those lingering spirits , well, so be it. If you cut your baby’s hair before he can talk, he will be mute.
My nephew is 18 months and has not yet said an intelligible word. The wild unmanageable locks growing from his head will not see a barber’s shear because his mother, even though very grounded in reality, will not consider it until he is able to speak. Mi nuh blame har! Best to err on the side of caution.
If you walk over a child he will never grow up.
Considering the many times I have seen kids slipping between a parent legs in play or a parent hopping over a child to avoid crushing him/her…I am surprised we aren’t a nation of ‘little people’.
If you open an umbrella indoors you will never get married.
Entering a building to shelter from a down pour with your umbrella in use is unavoidable, yet some of these people will go on to get married while others won’t. Could it be that they haven’t found their soul mates or have they entered a building with an open umbrella once too often?
Weirded out as yet? You may even be confused. Here is a tip; do not allow irrational and illogical beliefs to scare you into nonsense. Otherwise, you can always throw salt over your right shoulder, ‘spin yuh roll’ three times or wipe yourself with frankincense and myrrh
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By: Candice Stewart
Does the sight of a black cat spook you? Do you knock on wood to ward off negative situations? Steer clear of ladders that form a triangle against a building? Have you ever heard, “Tikya the blackheart man, children!” How about, “Hang a horseshoe on your door with the open end up for good luck?” Did you say yes to any of the above? This, friends, is proof that you are surrounded by superstitions and that you believe in a few.
But, what really is superstition and why does it exist? It is a widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially having to do with good or bad luck? Though not sound in science, the point is, people need to have an explanation or a method to avoid evil or bring good luck; so the use of irrational actions and beliefs not only makes a good story, it gives hope In addition to the usual spook by a black cat, fear of the owl (patoo in the Jamaican parlance) or fear of the number 13, there are some superstitions inclusive of “duppies” (ghosts) that might make sense to you. Here is one, it is bad luck to leave a plate of unfinished food out overnight because you welcome the devil in. In truth, you welcome ants, rats, roaches and flies. Makes sense, right? We racked up a few of the spine-chilling, stomach-churning and hair raising superstitions to share and at the end, you may be so spooked that you’ll find yourself second guessing some of your actions or you may end up doing new and odd things. Now, these are strange, but you may have heard of stranger things
Our top 10 superstitions
If you pass your baby over a fence, he/she will grow up to be a thief.
As nonsensical as this may seem, there are people who dare not practice this. In reality, a thief becomes a thief by choice and not by being passed over a fence.
If you point on a grave, bite your 10 fingers or they will fall off.
I guess we should all be without fingers and have our ghostly friends by our side. Pointing is next to second nature; especially when we search for the graves of our loved ones.
During pregnancy if you have a carving and scratch your STOMACH, the child will have a birth mark IN THE IMAGE OF THE FOOD YOU CRAVE FOR.
Are pregnant women even aware that they are scratching while having these cravings? Nine months of cravings, would’nt these babies be a road map of fruits and pastries? Not sure if you can put much stock into this one but be careful when you scratch when you are pregnant.
Don’t go straight home after a funeral.
It is believed that ‘duppies’ will follow you home, but where else should you go? Even if you delay going home, you eventually have to. I suspect many of us are living with ghosts considering the many funerals we attend. “boo!” Don’t
let your purse touch the floor
They say this brings bad financial situations. Putting your bag on the floor habours bad luck and the longer it stays there, the worst your money problems will get. Hmm! This may ring true considering that my financial situation has not changed in a while. I better keep that in mind…just in case.
If a bird poops on you, prepare for good fortune
In that case, all birds should poop on you; imagine how lucky you would be. Right? No! You’ll be left with the task of cleaning bird poop from your person. Tell me how is that good luck cleaning bird poop? If there is a death in your house, move the furniture so the duppy doesn’t linger inside.
I call this redecorating for somewhat of a fresh start. It’s good to rearrange your spaces every now and then . It adds balance in people’s lives. If it happens to keep away those lingering spirits , well, so be it. If you cut your baby’s hair before he can talk, he will be mute.
My nephew is 18 months and has not yet said an intelligible word. The wild unmanageable locks growing from his head will not see a barber’s shear because his mother, even though very grounded in reality, will not consider it until he is able to speak. Mi nuh blame har! Best to err on the side of caution.
If you walk over a child he will never grow up.
Considering the many times I have seen kids slipping between a parent legs in play or a parent hopping over a child to avoid crushing him/her…I am surprised we aren’t a nation of ‘little people’.
If you open an umbrella indoors you will never get married.
Entering a building to shelter from a down pour with your umbrella in use is unavoidable, yet some of these people will go on to get married while others won’t. Could it be that they haven’t found their soul mates or have they entered a building with an open umbrella once too often?
Weirded out as yet? You may even be confused. Here is a tip; do not allow irrational and illogical beliefs to scare you into nonsense. Otherwise, you can always throw salt over your right shoulder, ‘spin yuh roll’ three times or wipe yourself with frankincense and myrrh
Share this post: