Superstitions in the DR

[toby]

[quote=Forbeca]If you drop a knife in the kitchen, a male visitor w/b stopping by. If you drop a spoon, it w/b a female.

This supersition is still used in our house hold with some variety. My daughter loves this one as it means relatives will arrive. If you drop a fork here is what happens. If the tines of the fork point to the roof (up) an angry sibling will arrive (based on the fact that there are several tines on a fork=several siblings in a family.If you step on the fork in this position it will hurt,therfore the angry sibling theory), if the tines of the fork point to the floor "they will come looking for more" siblings will arrive looking for food or lodgings, a celebration.
When you drop the spoon look how it lands...when the bowl of the spoon is up it looks like a pregnant women...and you know what that means...a new family member will be arriving soon.
Keep them coming...very interesting reading...

[daisyone]

[quote=toby]

Originally Posted by El Tigre

One my family always uses is to put cermic elephants with their A$$ facing to the front of the house. I believe it is done for "good luck".

..this was one of the superstitions that my daughters new friend told us about. Interesting that elephants are used in the DR as a symbol to ward off evil and bring good luck. We have a family policy that should an elephant ornament be brought into the house the elephant must have its trunk in the air as this is a way of catching good luck from the surroundings it is placed in. My sister told us this one as she has lived and worked on the african continent most of her adult life.
...i wonder if african cultural supersitions is the basis for this one and others and have evolved over the years in the Carrabean areas? Would be interesting to hear of Haitian superstitions , Hebrew superstitions in the Sosua area, or other ex-pat superstitions that have stuck to the DR cultures physic...knot on wood more responses will arrive to this interesting thread.
Toby

....My mom is of Italian decent and always had her ceramic elephants with their trunks raised up facing the front door for good luck.

[Talldrink]

I guess we can start another thread on 'odd' things that only happen in DR:
Pasmarse
Sereno
Patatu
Calambrina
Way Way (said in Spanish)

One that I've heard (I dont believe in any of them):
Dont put your wallet/purse on the floor - "se te va el dinero"

Dont run into the beach after you have eaten, i guess this is more of a true health issue...

[jsizemore]

that was an old wives tail in the US also. It had to do with cramping and so forth. Of course some doctor got a huge grant and did a study and now they changed that recomendation.
John

[Chris_NJ]

If you are eating with a pregnant woman you must defer to her anything on the table that she might want - if not you will get a sty in your eye.

[El Jefe]

The biggest superstition I ever heard in the DR is that certain people (usually uglier women) poseessed the ojo malo (evil eye) and if they looked at you you were in for bad times or worse.

[daisyone]

[quote=El Jefe]The biggest superstition I ever heard in the DR is that certain people (usually uglier women) poseessed the ojo malo (evil eye) and if they looked at you you were in for bad times or worse.[/QUOTE
The evil eye is an Italian superstition too. But they also say you can be 'overlooked' by the evil eye if your wearing something red.

[miguel]

Some of these posts are very funny. Have you heard the one that says that, when in the DR, you must drink as much presidentes as you can. If not, your friends would not drop by like flies. No wonder my home is full of friends every single day. Go figure.

[toby]

[quote=daisyone]

Originally Posted by El Jefe

The biggest superstition I ever heard in the DR is that certain people (usually uglier women) poseessed the ojo malo (evil eye) and if they looked at you you were in for bad times or worse.[/QUOTE
The evil eye is an Italian superstition too. But they also say you can be 'overlooked' by the evil eye if your wearing something red.

....this supersition seems to have crossed all cultures in one form or the other. When I was a child my mother would make us do the following to ward off the evil eye. If you see a nun from afar, it is good luck and the evil eye will be blinded. If you are in the presense of a nun you must kiss her hand in greeting and you will be saved of troubles until you meet another nun. As a child this was a habit we all did and to this day when i meet a nun I have to remind myself not to reach for her hand and kiss it as not to look the fool. Recently i was visiting an old age home and met a nun in her nineties,I greeted her and she held out her hand for me to kiss. I did so and enjoyed a wonderful conversation with this women who devoted her whole life to her faith.She was french canadian and had hundred of supersitions to share and reminded me of my mother and her family. Interesting how these supersitions become metaphors of cultures we each experience. Keep them coming...Toby

[toby]

...P.S. on my Christmas trip to the DR I was driving in the car with a resident of Cabarete who was kind enough to give us a tour. My family burst out laughing as I announced that we would be safe and free of the evil eye on the trip...I had seen a nun in the car beside us and recieved a warm smile and wave...I waved back and I think she understood my feeling of gladness when I saw her....I know silly... but after that we all relaxed and had a really marvelous time with no worries. Toby