Folklore: Superstition and belief

Also, one time, told by my mom, this guy was tending his horse and a person came out of nowhere. It was a silhouette (individual thing, doesn’t happen to everybody), he was freaked out and the guy told him straight out, “I’m the devil.” But he says, “whatever” and shoots the figure. But the figure made fun of him, saying “Ow! That hurts!” and just starts laughing.

Analysis:

The guy was either drunk, maybe the person was having religious issues. It’s basically saying to believe there are other powers in this world. I believe there’s a fourth dimension I don’t see. I do believe there’s things we don’t see that are against us. When I pray and stuff, you can still fall into temptation of evil or lust. And I think the angel goes back to God, saying there’s too many demons in the way. The enemy’s against you but the word of God is for you.

My Analysis:

Once again, in the Latin American countries, many of the indigenous people mixed the Christian faith (angels) with magic and mysticism (the mysterious figure). The feelings were often dark and fears of evil were widespread.  In this story, it kind of ends on a weird note – one of laughter.  It is nearly an antithesis, but also a display of the man’s weakness against this mysterious figure.  It plays once again on people’s fears of the devil, and it’s sometimes hard to predict what shape or form he will take.  The devil also cannot be killed, and takes on a aura of invincibility in this tale.

Folklore: Superstition

“Cadejo”

In Guatemala, when you’re out at night by yourself, it comes out. My mom told me this story. The word is a hybrid of cat and bunny in Spanish. Mom says it’s a creature that comes out at people when you’re by yourself.

It’s white and small if you’re a girl. And it’s black and very big if you’re a guy and you’re by yourself.

Someone saw it, he was so scared that he died, just out of being scared. It doesn’t do anything to you, it’s just there, it stares at you. Actually, wait, never mind what I said. If there’s a drunk lying down on the street, it sits down next to you until you wake up. And sometimes it acts as a guide.

But there’s also this saying that if you’re a woman and a black one comes out, it chases you and barks at you. If it’s a white one to a guy, it means bad luck. It’s known for the sound it makes: it whistles and screams like a human being.

If a person heard the screams and starts looking for the person that he thinks is injured, the whistling goes farther and farther away.

To prevent it from happening, you walk with a little kid and nothing ever happens. I believe little kids are like angels.

In Guatemala, they carry their little kids when they go out. In Guatemala, especially that place, it’s the definition of darkness, literally, freakily kind of dark. We’re talking like “Wow.” I know, I’ve been there. These people believe it’s real. I guess someone saw it and it spread.

Analysis

It’s from Guatemala, from specifically a region, “The Progress,” or “El Progreso” in Spanish. It’s about 70 kilometers south of Guatemala City. The majority of the population there is indigenous, but not me, I have pure Spanish conquistador blood in me.

It’s very rural, not like a city, it’s a village. I’ve heard it there commonly too. If you go for a BBQ or hangout with my family, one or two things usually happen.

You joke around and tell stories about memories in Guatemala or these kind of dark tales. I heard it as a kid from my mom and then I wrote it down for one of my papers in junior college. My dad says he saw it, but I don’t know what’s up. He didn’t make a big deal of it.

I think the people are more inclined to believe things. They’ll say things, supernatural things, especially negative things, and they’re more inclined to believe it. The indigenous people are very witchcraft-oriented.

My Analysis:

This story plays on a fundamental fear of the dark, mixed with mysticism. Black and white are considered universal symbols of death, so to have something in this color cross your path would signify bad luck or coming misfortune.

Folklore: Chinese superstition (numbers)

The number four is bad because it means death. Mom told me when I was small. She said sixes and eights are good. Six means it flows well according to well. Eight means you’re going to be rich and wealthy. Everyone concurs with that.

If you go to China today, you can choose cell phone numbers. There are cards you can refill. Numbers with sixes and eights cost more, like 20 to 50 percent more. Hotels don’t have the fourth floor or the 13^th floor (only after foreigners came in.) When in red envelopes, they give you 6, 6, 6. They give you $666 yuan or $888 yuan. It’s like good numbers. They never give $500.

Analysis

It’s bad luck just because it sounds like death. The character for death sounds like the character. So when you say it without context you can’t tell the difference between the two. Therefore, the number four is bad because no one wants to die. So people just kind of hold on it from generation to generation. Chinese people don’t like death.

My Analysis:

The number four symbolizes death, an idea that scares many Chinese people who do not believe in an afterlife.