Category Archives: Protection

Flight Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: Dance Studio Owner
Residence: Downers Grove, IL
Language: English

Ritual:

“Whenever I fly, I say the Lord’s Prayer, then repeat “please bless this flight, please bless this flight, please bless this flight.” I do this twice on the ground once we leave the gate and once as the plane is starting to climb.”

Context:

My informant told me that she started this ritual when she was 25 years old. For many years, she had to travel almost every week for her job, so she flew frequently. However, she has a fear of heights as well as motion sickness, so flights always made her nervous. She does not fly as often anymore, but she still performs the ritual when she does. She is Catholic, so saying the Lord’s Prayer is a way to try to combat her flight anxiety.

Analysis:

What is interesting about my informant’s ritual is that she uses something institutionally recognized — the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father”) — in a folkloric way. Her ritual is apotropaic, meaning that the intention behind her saying the Lord’s Prayer and repeating “please bless this flight” is to protect the flight she is on from any harm. What is also interesting about this ritual is her repeating “please bless this flight” three times. Early on in the semester, we talked in class about the cultural significance, specifically in the United States, of the use of threes. Interestingly enough, threes in the United States, for many Americans, represent balance, which is then equated to goodness. So, her repetition of “please bless this flight” three times is another symbol of her protecting her flight, even if she does not realize it.

Sit before the Journey

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Language: English

Text:

The informant learned a Russian superstition which is that before you leave to go on a trip, you must sit down in the house with everyone who is leaving for a safe trip. You sit around the table for about ten seconds or you sit on your suitcases.

Context:

This is one of many Russian superstitions that my family believes in. They make the informant feel honestly pretty anxious because when the informant goes on a trip with her friends she freaks out if everyone does not sit down and join the superstition. This tradition has been around since the 1800s but she learned this when she was a very young girl but has been doing it ever since, and will pass this tradition along to her children. 

Analysis:

This superstition is able to make the informant feel safe and secure when traveling, even if it may not make the person anxious it’s always better to do this beforehand. This follows contagious magic because once they sit at the table this safety superstition stays within their mind while traveling even if they may not still be at the table. Frazers article emphasizes that this style of magic is interconnected, you are able to participate in this with others and stay connected during your travels. It is also highlighted in the article that magic is power and who is able to have power in certain situations, in this case one has the power to do this superstition to keep safe.



Post Funeral Practices

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Occupation: Home renovator
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text:

“After funerals, we always wash our hands with pomegranate leaves in a bowl before we can enter the house. Also, you cannot go straight home directly after a funeral, as it will bring bad luck. You always need to go somewhere else.”

Context:

My informant learned this from the older Chinese generation in his family. His mother would always remind him to do these rituals after attending a funeral.

Analysis:

Chinese culture has many superstitions regarding funerals, as demonstrated through these rituals. This practice of washing your hands before entering the house is related to apotropaic magic in that the symbolic action is intended to wash off any bad luck or ward off evil spirits. This falls under the category of contagious magic, the idea that things that were once in contact will influence each other even after the contact is broken. In the context of a funeral, individuals who have come into contact with impurities must wash it away to break the connection.

Knock on Wood

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text:

“Anytime someone in my family is talking about something that has the potential to go wrong, we will knock on wood immediately as a way to protect ourselves or sort of prevent it from happening. If we were in the car or there was no wood nearby, my parents would remember to knock on wood when they got home.”

Context:

My informant’s parents have done this for as long as she could remember. While her parents are immigrants from Asia, they likely picked it up from popular culture. 

Analysis:

The exact origin of this superstition is not known for sure, but some believe it is based on ancient pagan traditions. They believed that spirits and gods lived inside the trees, therefore knocking on tree trunks was a way of asking for protection. When individuals knock on wood, they are engaging in a form of apotropaic magic. Even though they know that knocking on wood isn’t actually going to do anything, many do it as a way of easing their worries. It may be a way for people to feel as if they are in control of their own fate. 

“Sukob” – Filipino Wedding Superstition

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 51
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: Naperville, IL
Language: English

Text:

Sukob is the belief that siblings should not have their weddings within the same calendar year. It’s also believed that the older sibling should get married first.

Context:

The performer grew up in the Philippines with many siblings who were born at similar times as one another. He has also been married and made sure to not to have his marriage within the same time as his siblings. His marriage has been going strong for 30 years so far.

“So it’s not competing with progress or prosperity and benefits or well-wishes. It’s like a known information like everybody knows it. Especially if you and your siblings are in the same age range, they will normally check first who is older and work with the other siblings for the dates. For example, Tito A got engaged the same year but Tito A gave way to Tito R and waited another year to get married. It’s a practicality thing. It’s also the superstition that the benefits will compete for the rest of your marriage.”

Analysis:

Filipinos are extremely superstitious with many believing that life events carry energetic, or spiritual, weight. To ensure a strong, hormonious, and propserous foundation for their lives, they must set themselves up well for life events. Apart from birth and death, marriage is the only other universal life event that is celebrated cross-culturally, putting a lot of weight on how the event occurs and how important it is in one’s life. Marriage, in particular, holds profound cultural significance as one of the few universal rites of passage celebrated across societies and is treated with a lot of intention. In Filipino culture, where family unity and respect are paramount, avoiding the overlap of weddings within the same family is seen not only as a way to prevent misfortune, but also as a gesture of deference. It ensures that each family member’s major life moment is honored without being overshadowed.

Additionally, “Sukob” superstition has risen in popularity due to the Filipino horror film Sukob which features a couple breaking this rule and the terrifying, dramaticized “karma” that ensued. Cementing a negative perception of Sukob in pop culture has lead to amplified anxieties around violating traditonal norms. Filipinos are especially superstitious due to many of them adhering to Cathiolisism. In a predominantly Catholic society where religious doctrine and folk beliefs often intertwine, the combination of spiritual caution and cinematic storytelling has reinforced the fear and observance of Sukob.