Tag Archives: water

How the Irish keep from drowning

Nationality: Irish/Italian
Age: 85
Occupation: English Professor
Residence: Massachusetts
Performance Date: March 13, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Spanish

My informant told me of an old Irish superstition that he learned from his father:

“If you bless yourself before diving into the water, it keeps you from drowning”

My informant swims often, and he said that he always blesses himself before going into the water. He does not remember a time when he didn’t, and believes that he would surely drown if he did not.

I have seen my Irish relatives make similar gestures before doing things like: crossing the street, getting on an airplane, or even carving the Thanksgiving turkey, so it did not surprise me that crossing or “blessing” yourself before diving into water was also practiced. It again highlights the strong connection between the Irish and religion, and the fear that comes along with it. In this case, the fear is drowning.

 

Chinese Religious Folk Legend – Unjust Deaths and Vengeful Spirit Women

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 54
Occupation: Retired Banker
Residence: DeXing E. Rd. Lane 331 #28 7FL, Taipei, Taiwan
Performance Date: 3/18/2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

This folk legend was collected from my Father. My father was born as a farmer’s son into a veteran’s family in Taipei, Taiwan. His father and mother ran away from China to Taipei during the Chinese Civil War. Much of his cultural practices and beliefs are taken from mainland Chinese culture. Because of his background, he is considered a “mainlander” in Taiwan (Chinese in Taiwan are divided into Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese or indigenous). My father graduated from Iowa University with an MBA. His B.A was obtained in Taiwan. During one of our telephone sessions, he mentioned the following superstition that he learned in his childhood from his parents. I’m paraphrasing and translating it here to the best of my memory:

“When a young unmarried virgin dies an unjust death because of a man…like if they were attacked or if they commited suicide because a man rejected them or cheated on them… the women needing a soul to reincarnate, they…as spirits… sit at the riverside as ghosts and transform into seductive women who are brushing their hair to punish and entrap lusty men. The vengeful spirits wait at the riverside, of course, late night, for lusty men to come and flirt with them. When the lusty men do come, the spirits take the men to their spirit homes, drink wine, talk, and have sex. However, the men, waking up the next morning, find themselves next to a pile of bones, leaves or decaying forest matter…and because of this…the men usually get so frightened they fall into a great illness and die.”

When I inquired my father on the truth of this superstition and his own beliefs in it, he said that he wasn’t sure if it was true or not, but he definitely believed in the riverside spirits. Furthermore, he said that when he heard this story in his childhood, his mother cited several relatives of neighbors in her village who drowned to death because of these vengeful spirits and one neighbor in particular who passed away because he fell to a great sickness after meeting one such vengeful female spirit. But, ultimately, my father thinks that parents tell their children this story to warn them against being too lusty or perverted; however, he reiterates that he doesn’t doubt the existence of these vengeful female spirits. While the belief in the supernatural and the implicit moral lesson (control one’s lust) taught to children is important in this item, I think the values the item attributes to men and women are more important. The superstition portrays women as weak individuals who are unable to fend off sexual attackers or “evil” men and because of this, fall to their demise. However, they come back as strong, powerful and vengeful beings to prey on their previous attackers. This suggests a belief in some sort of latent evil or vengeance in women. On another note, the item portrays men as lusty sexual predators who are unable to control their instincts and who lose their lives because of an uncontrollable lust. That is to say, the item also suggests and attributes an animalistic or predatory quality to men. Yet, this predatory quality seems to be frowned upon based on how this story is put to use–it’s a cautionary tale that tells its audience to restrain their lust. So we can infer that perhaps, in Chinese culture, a more idealized version of man is one who is in control of their sexual tendencies.

Interestingly, the vengeful spirit women in this item seem alike to the Banshee of Irish folklore and even the La Ilorona of Chicano folklore.

Folk Belief – American

Age: 53
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

It is bad luck for whomever you are making a toast if you drink from a cup containing water.

Barry explained to me that it is considered bad luck for someone if you raise your glass filled with water to make a toast on their behalf.  He said that, traditionally, toasts are made using some sort of alcoholic beverage, such as champagne, wine, or a mixed drink.  However, he said that it is perfectly fine for children or those opposed to alcohol to toast using some sort of a soft drink.  The one thing that is not considered good etiquette is to raise a glass filled with water, as many view it as bad luck that you are wishing upon the guest of honor.

Barry remembers learning this superstition from his grandfather at a wedding he attended for his cousin when he was approximately age twelve.  A toast was being made so Barry, being the minor that he was, raised his glass of water in honor of the guest.  His grandfather scolded him for the action as he said it was rude and improper to do such a thing.

Barry said he did not know where the reasoning comes from to support this superstition.  He continued to explain that this, like many superstitions, could have roots stemming back hundreds of years that help clarify the reason this superstition exists.

Doing some research after the interview, I discovered that this superstition comes from the United States of America’s Navy.  The reasoning they use to support this superstition is that toasting with a glass of water is essentially dooming the person to be honored to a watery grave.  Now after knowing this it is much more understandable.  People in the navy spend large amounts of time on the water, so it would be bad to toast with something that could end one of their lives at any moment.  I have not been able to ask Barry since the interview if his grandfather was in the Navy or not.

I found this superstition at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_%28honor%29#Beverage_choice

Ritual – Mexico

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 27
Occupation: Barista
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 17, 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Leave a cup of water on the nightstand before you go to sleep every night.

Notes:

The subject told me that both her mother and her neighbor leave a cup of water on the nightstand before they go to sleep every night. The idea behind this is that the ancestors come to drink the water. The subject said that she has heard of a couple of people doing it, but does not know where it exactly comes from, she refers to the Day of the Dead celebration that occurs in early November, in which the entire neighborhood travels to the cemetery to bring food and drink offerings to the dead. She says that taking care of their ancestors is a big part of Mexican culture.

I think that this custom reflects the idea of taking care of and looking after the dead, much like the Day of the Dead celebration. I think that leaving the water out at night shows the ancestors that the people have not forgotten about them, it shows that there is still the respect there. Leaving water is also a part of the Day of the Dead celebration, and when I asked the subject about this she said that it’s the only drink the ancestors drink. She said that everyone brings water for the dead. The fact that her mother and her neighbor do it every night shows their dedication to this custom. I asked the subject if she continued the custom since she lives alone now, and she said no. She said that her mother moved here from Mexico, so she continues a lot more of the traditional beliefs, while the subject does not. This is known as acculturation and assimilation. The subject, being a second-generation immigrant, has taken on more elements of the American culture, and lost some of the traditional Mexican ones.

Superstition – El Salvador

Nationality: Salvadorean
Age: 32
Occupation: Truck Driver
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: February 12, 2008
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Placing a bowl of water near the pillow will help prevent nightmares.

Jorge sleeps with a large bowl of water next to the head of his bed. He told me that it is something that he learned from his mother. Supposedly, the water will absorb any bad spirits or bad dreams, letting him sleep in peace. “It does help,” he told me. I asked him if this is a common custom in El Salvador, and he told me he is not sure. “You don’t really go around asking other people, you know,” he said.

This custom reveals the belief that bad dreams come from an external source, and can be captured physically. I find this belief to be an extremely common one—Native American dream-catchers purport to trap bad dream, the European succubus was definitely a physical creature—indeed the word nightmare echoes the widespread belief in the mara, the female creature who caused people to have nightmares by sitting upon their chests. Fortunately for Jorge, the source of his nightmares is soluble in water.

I think that this simple, convenient solution might also have inherited a belief in water as a powerful agent. Water is almost universally believed to have powers of purification—such as we see in so many religions. It seems like this folk remedy is an attempt to purify the air around the sleeper, cleansing it of whatever they are evil things that cause people to stir in their sleep.