Monday, November 7, 2011

Superstitions

Before i full sink my teeth into this pathology textbook which i am going to be romancing all night, let me say a quick hello and goodbye. Today was an experience. We finally got called for the autopsy viewing and boy oh boy. I can't get the images out of my head. Due to the viewer's agreement i signed, i am unable to share the details of any of the cases. I will say this though, if you are thinking of blowing your brains out, don't! You won't look any kind of pretty when you are done. I just finished cornrowing my friend's hair (which i had to squeeze out time to do, luckily she is natural and it was without any kind of extension) and now there's hair everywhere in my apartment. I hate hair!!!! The only way i can tolerate it is if it's on a head where it rightfully should be. Otherwise i think it's disgusting. Sigh!!!!

Now to the main point of this post. For the last 3-4days in the midst of studying, i put together a little something to amuse myself and i want to share with you guys. Remember all those wacky things we believed as kids or even some adults still believe? I thought about one and decided to compile a list of all i could remember. My sis and a friend added a couple more.
  1.  Pluck your eyelash and put it on ur head, so you don’t forget something 
  2. Never leave your cut fingernails (or hair) lying around, so that they can’t be used for juju purposes 
  3. Don’t whistle at night because it attracts snakes or evil spirits 
  4. Don’t write your name in red ink unless you are going to die 
  5. Rub spit on your navel so you don’t forget something. 
  6. If you sneeze, someone somewhere else just called your name 
  7. Don’t eat food from “outside” so that you don’t get initiated into witchcraft 
  8. You circle you head with your thumb and middle fingers touch, shrug your shoulders, snap said fingers and say “tufiakwa” or “God forbid (bad thing)” to ward off evil or bad luck. 
  9. Never accept anything with your left hand. 
  10. If you have hiccups, put a piece of white thread on your head. 
  11. If the sun is shining and rain is falling at the same time, it means a lion just gave birth 
  12. Don’t tell people you are pregnant. 
  13. If you hit your leg on a stone on your way out, something bad is going to happen
  14. If your ear “rings” you are about to hear bad news. 
  15. Actually believing that “leke leke” will give your “Waterfinger” if you sing hard enough and fling your fingers fast enough. 
  16. If you swallow an orange seed, it would grow in your tummy. (Older siblings are bad!) 
  17. If you are pregnant and you fight with someone, the baby will look like the person. 
Feel free to partake in the fun and add to the list with the ones you remember.

*I really don't want to study..............

21 comments:

  1. Omg. Ohh the memories!!!!!! I remember the day that I started whistling in the night. Could not sleep!
    P.S. Go and study, it will all be worth it when you see the result.
    -From an individual who should be studying herself :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. So many I think I've heard

    1.That hitting of your foot...Hitting your right meant a good thing was coming and the left...well not-so-good.....i still worry when I stumble...lol

    2. Leke-leke(Water Egrets)...supposed gave you 'white-finger'...you're the first I've seen call it 'water-finger'...

    3.If your palms itch....money is coming

    4.If you have a pimple on your nose..you must have insulted an elder

    And so on and so on...lol

    Read ooooo...

    Cadaver viewing...eeeewww...I give doctors hand and borom Sting....RESPECT!!!

    All the best...x

    ReplyDelete
  3. hehehehe the plucking the eyeleash and putting on the head for me was to make my mum forget an offense I had committed.

    when you rub one ant like that (kuluso) on your breats, it will grow

    When you rub okra on the swelling arising from beating and bury it, the beater's hand will swell

    ReplyDelete
  4. ehneh,
    If you cross over a laying pregnant woman, the baby will look like you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Adede: Trust me, i have no choice.

    @Tega: The song we used to sing called it water finger.

    I wish it was just cadaver viewing, it would have been good. They cut open the body, take out all the organs, including the brain. We have experience with cadavers from a semester of anatomy, but this is different because these are people who very recently (some less than 24hrs) passed away so everything is still very fresh, including the food they last ate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @honeydame: I remember the crossing the pregnant woman one. There's also one about if you are pregnant and you fight with someone the baby will look like the person. I'll add that to my list.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If you hear someone calling your name in your sleep, don't answer. If you do, u will die after answering the third time (like it happened in those yoruba movies)

    If you bite someone and the person puts lizard's pee on the bite area, your teeth will fall out. My uncle used to tell me this to stop me from biting him. He succeeded.

    ReplyDelete
  8. haha, memories! I especially remember the ones about cutting your nails and whistling.

    If you open an umbrella indoors, it will rain on your wedding day :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. If you wistle in the night, evil spirits will come and catch you. Lol

    Adiya
    http://museorigins.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. haha good old days. What of too much coke or fanta can cause diabetes lol.

    I know that feeling. You can't force yourself to read, but you have to study :(

    ReplyDelete
  11. LMAO.. Memories of my childhood right her, I vividly remember number 11. The day I told my mum, she laughed so hard.

    ReplyDelete
  12. if your teeth falls off throw it away as far as you can

    and dont let a lizard see your open teeth if not it wont grow again

    if your eyes is twitching u go see bera, money de come any of the above..

    ReplyDelete
  13. I got white fingernails from Cheke Leke, don't know what you're talking about o, lol...And yeah, white thread stops hiccups too. Will certainly be doing it for my kids. When they're older, they'll swallow water 12 times, lol...

    ReplyDelete
  14. haha...we Ghanaians believe in many of the superstitions u've mentioned

    ReplyDelete
  15. Don't let anyone cross over your outstretched legs otherwise your growth would be stunted.
    @Honeydame, I heard the 'kuluso' thing too, was sooo tempted to try it out, but was scared they wouldn't stop growing.
    @Myne, yep, the leke leke finger flapping thing worked for me too :).
    Sting, a beg, read o, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  16. dont whistle at night. i still dont do it. and i never collect with left hand or give with left hand. over here, it is sign of disrespect. that sneezing thing no be joke o. then as hiccups, threads only work with babies to my knowledge and i do it till date. for adults, we swallow water seven times in quick succession.
    funny things really.
    and i also remember from childhood that, once you eat a mango, if you drink garri immediately, you will die. I love life too much to even think of trying it now. and I still am not comfortable if someone crosses my legs. I dont want my children to look like anyone else but me. lol.

    grandma taught us not to do dishes at night, so that spirits can eat their share. I refuse that one. cant leave dishes in my sink. was also taught after sweeping at night, gather the dirt and not pack it, till the next day, something to do with spirits. Na there own be that.

    ReplyDelete
  17. na, Lekeleke did give me white fingers o, I am so not joking. there was a white line across my finger tips. about two or three. seriously

    ReplyDelete
  18. There is one about throwing stones with ur tooth up the roof else it wont grow.

    ReplyDelete
  19. shekeleke and the white crescent on the nails. Sometimes i think all that vigorous hand shaking could have done sthing to the blood supply there :)

    #16..not just orange, raw rice grains too. used to scare me so much. I had visions of a rice plant growing on my head.

    I remember being told that if you are stingy, a boil will grow on your eye lids. top or bottom.

    And if you are wicked, hairs will sprout on your jaw.

    ReplyDelete

Hey guys, welcome to my blog. Sit back, relax, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

  © Blogger template Writer's Blog by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP