Tag Archives: luck ritual

Indian home rituals and customs related to luck

“The head of the bed should not face the north and neither should the front door. When you buy a house, you have to make sure neither face north: it’s bad luck. Also, if you see a grasshopper in your house, [it means that] you’ll probably be rich.”

My informant is an Indian-American immigrant who has lived in America for almost his whole life. These customs come from his parents, so he doesn’t know exactly where these beliefs come from. 

Analysis: These rituals and customs have to do with the ways in which Indians have brought superstitions related to luck into their homes. For the grasshopper superstition, it seems to be a simple superstition about a rare event signifying good luck. In the West, a comparable superstition would be that finding a four leaf clover will bring good luck. It’s a superstition that seems like it does not really impact daily life too much. However, the superstition regarding North-facing doors and beds has a much larger bearing on the ways in which my informant and his family live. As my informant alluded to, this superstition greatly impacts the ways in which his parents buy and arrange their houses. In America, a country where this superstition is not prevalent, they have to search for houses that do abide by this belief. I assume that this complicates the home search process greatly, adding another set of requirements in an already competitive market. While a super small detail my informant offhandedly mentioned as a dated belief from his parents, it represents a significant concern for his immigrant parents who have more direct ties to India. Something as small as the way the door faces has highlighted the generational divide between immigrant parent and American son. 

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit

“Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit” is a saying performed on the first of each month to ensure good luck for the entire month.”

Context

“I’m pretty sure my mom is the one who started saying it – it’s an English tradition and she’s from India, so I don’t 100% know where she got it from, though. We differ in what exactly the rules are – I say you just have to say it first thing [in the morning], but my mom says someone has to hear you say it.”

Analysis

Wishes and rituals for good fortune or luck are universal. If your luck turns around, theoretically it would affect every aspect of your life. Wealth, romance, career prospects, health… there’s no need for a fortune teller when the universe seems to favor you. Luck covers a lot of bases, so it makes sense that it would be something to wish for.

Rabbits are, historically, creatures that embody luck. Holding onto a rabbit’s foot is said to bring you good fortune. Thankfully, saying the animal’s name three times at the start of the month helps avoid possible animal cruelty. Still, it’s important to note the thematic, rabbit-y overlap between two luck-based superstitions, as it shows how rituals that cover the same areas can draw from the same inspiration, but be performed differently.

Speaking of performing differently, it’s interesting to see the divergence in this superstition between the informant and his mother. Even within family units, the exact specifics surrounding a superstition can differ and be performed differently. For the informant, it’s enough to invoke the saying to only the universe. For the informant’s mother, the act only works if another is there to witness it. Why does this difference exist? Did the informant’s mother re-interpret the ritual when she adopted it? Did the informant develop their own version of the superstition after interacting with other demonstrations of it?

Chewing Gum for Luck

Text:

My informant, a college student at USC, describes a ritual she performs to improve her performance on tests. “What I do before any exam, especially if it’s one that I have to like sit in, I chew a piece of gum, like I have to have gum when I’m taking a test, otherwise I, like, I can’t really focus kind of? I didn’t realize it was magic until this class, but it does kind of have like a magical vibe to it because I feel like if I chew this gum im going to be able to like focus more, and so it’s kind of a way to like extract my memory this ensures that I do well and perform well on the test. If i don’t have my gum, I feel like the test is gonna go really poorly. But this is typically applicable for like, big tests. Where, like, I intentionally bring gum to like a big test and make sure that I kinda ration it out while I’m taking the test so I’ll like bite half of it, and then the second half of the test I’ll take the other half.”

Context:

“I didn’t really know if a lot of people do this, but, yeah, this is just a good luck charm, and gum tends to be a good luck charm to my anxiety, being in stressful situations.  I guess it’s some sort of magic where it’s ensuring that I perform well.”

Interpretation: 

The informant exists in a competitive academic environment, so performing well on tests is crucial to her success. Whether or not the difference between chewing gum or not should affect cognitive performance, is less important than the anxiety relief that comes from having a routine. Establishing this ritual may allow the informant to feel that she is in control of the situation, and is able to diminish some testing anxiety by doing something that is familiar.