Tag Archives: Superstition

“Quiet” Jinx in Nursing

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Text

“So basically if it’s a calm night, never say it’s a calm night or shift, there’s a specific name for it but I don’t know what it is, oh right it’s “a quiet night”. “It sure is a quiet night” that’s how you immediately destroy everything, especially on the ambulance, never say that it’s a quiet night.”

Context

This piece of nursing superstition is something which NA has heard from her mother, where they believe that saying it’s a “quiet night” will lead to the shift/night immediately turning very chaotic. She believes in the superstition “in a funny way” and she thinks it’s ironic but true. Both of NA’s parents have experience in the medical field, and she said that she’s heard multiple stories of them personally experiencing this phenomenon and that they both believe the word holds power. 

Analysis

This superstition is one that I know exists in many emergency services such as hospitals, firefighters, emts, etc. Many truly believe that saying the word “quiet” would cause everything to become chaotic, contrary to the word’s meaning. Because this belief in the power of the phrase is strengthened by experience, this superstition is something which unites people within the who have all shared this experience. 

Bloody Mary

“Okay so when I was younger, in like elementary school or something probably around third or fourth grade I would be scared to go into a certain girls bathroom because the older girls, like the girls in fifth grade, would tell all the younger girls that this girl named bloody Mary lived in the front bathroom of the school. One time I went in there, and to mess with me, they turned the lights off when I was using the bathroom and made ghost sounds so that I would think bloody Mary was coming to get me, and I avoided that bathroom for like the entire rest of the year because I was afraid that I would get sucked into the mirror because that’s what they said would happen if she caught you looking at her. They also would try to get girls to stand in the bathroom and say bloody Mary three times in front of the mirror as a dare which became a big thing throughout the school and if you would do it, it was like you were super cool and not afraid of anything.”


Context: This was an over the phone interview with another classmate of mine who told me about her personal experience in elementary school. All text was transcribed from audio.


Interpretation:
This legend (as told through personal significance) speaks to the significance of evoking fear through the supernatural, and how middle schoolers are often gullible or easily manipulated into fearing certain things. It can also be a cautionary tale/dare that is often enacted during gatherings to see who “chickens out,” acting as a litmus test for social standing.

Pet a Pig for Good Grades

Myth:

“Well, Another legend from [boarding school] was about the statue of the boar outside of our school library. Basically, our school mascot is the wild boar, and there is this really big, really iconic statue of a boar (which is basically just a hairy pig haha) outside of the library which is basically the center of campus at the top of the hill and right next to the dining hall. The legend goes that if you have a really big test or exam that you’re worried about, if you rub the boar’s snout before, it will give you good luck and you will pass all of your exams.”

Context:

IL was a highschool student in the late 2010s attending a New England preparatory boarding school.

IL: “I’m not sure if I actually believe that it works. To be fair, I never majorly failed any tests or exams or whatever in highschool [laughs]. And I think it’s probably just a placebo effect, like if you’re that worried about the assessment that you’re willing to turn to superstition then you probably put in at least some work to prepare or study, and I think that probably has more to do with the result than the statue of a pig. But if it helps it helps, y’know.

I first heard it on my first day of school freshman year. I was on the international student program so we arrived a bit earlier and got a bunch of tours and stuff with and without our parents and I think on one of the tours the guide mentioned it as we entered the library. I also heard it reiterated among students over that year when they were stressed they would mention that they tried the boar. It kinda became less prevalent as the years went on I think. I think it’s more so new students that enjoy the novelty of legends and traditions like that”

Analysis:

This legend is one of hope. Perhaps it is a placebo effect, however, that is the joy of folklore. It takes the hopes and aspirations of a group (in this case students desiring a good grade) combined with genuine world occurrences (perhaps a few students did get a high score after petting the boar) and transforms it into myth and legend. It is perhaps a bit less exciting that the more commonly known legends of objects or certain actions causing supernatural events or powers, nonetheless, it is passed down between people and the myth lives on, true or not.

“Cuando el Tecolote Canta, el Indio Muere”

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican
  • Residence: San Diego
  • Primary language: Spanish/English

Text and Context:

M.W grew up in a small rural town in Mexico, where superstitions are dominant in everyday life. From a young age, her parents instilled in her the belief that owls are a bad omen. She says, “Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere.” This translates to,  “When the owl sings, the Indian dies.” Basically, if you were to hear the owl sing, it was thought that someone known or close to you is about to die. M.W says there are lots of superstitions involving owls, and all are negatively associated. She recalls once when it was night, an owl sang and then something unexpected happened right after. A bird hit itself on a wall shortly after, and then in the morning it was known that her neighbor passed away around the time the owl sang. M.W recalls that every time she heard the owl, someone died, ended up in the hospital, or very sick. In her culture, the owl was feared and when seen, it led to an eerie sensation. 

Analysis:

When talking to M.W, what stood out was when she told me, “Something about the owl had always unsettled me. In the night time, the eyes are so spooky and the fact that they can move their head 270 degrees is just creepy.” After doing some research, I found that the association between owls and bad luck runs beyond just Mexican culture. Amongst many cultures, owls are also seen as omens of death and are avoided. For example, in Native Cherokee culture, the owl is believed to be an embodied spirit of the dead. In my Mexican culture, I was also told that owls are also called “lechuzas” in spanish. Lechuzas are typically referring to barn owls or larger owls. There are lots of myths associated with owls, another one being that witches can transform themselves into owls. 

Loss of Knowledge Conversion Superstition Ritual

Context: The informant, A.V., is an 18 year old student with parents who immigrated from Gujarat and practice Jainism. This isn’t necessarily specific to North India, as she has seen South Indian people do it. However, she’s never seen anyone non-Indian do it. She was taught to do this from a young age by her parents, and continues to do it even when on her own/living away from home.

Text: The informant explained that every time she accidentally touched anything containing the written word with her feet, she would have to touch the item and, with the same hand, touch her forehead immediately after. These items could include books, loose papers, and iPads, as long as the written word was directly on the item.

Growing up, she was told that the reason they did this was because if anyone touched the written word with their feet, they were disrespecting knowledge. If knowledge was disrespected, the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, would take it as an offense and leave; knowledge would abandon you. By this, her parents meant that one’s intelligence and opportunities would disappear. Touching your hand to the item and then to your forehead would allow you to apologize, making it clear that you had not intended to do that.

Analysis: This is a conversion superstition ritual, done to rectify or invalidate actions that would normally result in bad luck in the future. Feet are considered dirty, and touching something with one’s feet is seen as a way of saying that whatever was touched doesn’t matter enough for you to treat it well. Knowledge, being a goddess, is held sacred in Indian culture, and books/words are seen as an extension of her. Much in the way that like produces like in homeopathic sympathetic magic, disrespecting items of knowledge with one’s feet is an imitation of disrespecting knowledge itself and will convey that message unless some apology is made.