PP is a teacher who currently resides in Bothell Washington. She is originally from Yakima, WA but her family descends from Guadalajara in Mexico. Much of her family spoke Spanish as their first language and her grandma was the first to immigrate to America. Much of her influences and culture come from that region and her upbringing in a single-mother low income household.

Do you have any stories about bizarre things your family believed?

PP: There are so many weird remedies and superstitions that Mexicans have I don’t even know where to start. One my mother used to do a lot was when I had bad dreams she would put an egg yolk in a glass and keep in under my bed directly where my head was above.

That is very odd, what was the purpose for this?

PP: She believed it would ward the bad spirits away and protect you and it was like a common day dream catcher. The white part of the egg was meant to catch the spirits and the yolk was there for some other purpose I cannot remember but it was specific too. The glass had to be clear or transparent and had to be placed in the right spot. Also, it had to be removed the next morning after.

Do you believe it worked?

PP: Not really. Sometimes it may have just been a coincidence that I happened to not have any bad dreams the next night. I think my grandma was very superstitious about it so that’s what made my mom believe it. I don’t practice that anymore because I don’t believe it actually works. I’m not even sure where the belief came from or when it started because it is kind of random and just doesn’t make any sense.

Analysis:

I researched this belief and it is commonly found in Mexican culture. The egg was used by healers just like holy water because it had spiritual properties to ward off the evil eye or bad spirits. The evil eye can be brought on by many things such as envy or a stare, but the egg yolk was used to heal people when they were sick or anxious or had any mental or physical illness. The belief is still widely accepted among Mexican tradition today and although it is not widely known among other cultures, it is practiced still.