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 dont 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 oneNative American dream-catchers purport to trap bad dream, the European succubus was definitely a physical creatureindeed 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 purificationsuch 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.
Zsuzsa, who is originally from Hungary, told me about a Hungarian tradition that happens every year on Easter Monday. On Easter Monday, boys and men go around town (door to door)even to unknown peoples houserecite a poem which in fact said that I have come along way, and I was wondering if I can spray you with perfume. Then the hostess says yes and then they spray the person, and at the same time the hostess brings out a basket of painted and ornamented red eggs or sometimes chocolate. And then if the hostess knows the men or the boys, then she invites them in, and they treat the people with snacks and drinks and the drinks are such that by the end of the evening, the older men get really drunk because every place they went they got something to drink. The older version is that the boys go on to these visits with a bucket of water, and they actually get the girl into a conversation, and then they throw the whole bucket of water on the girl. Since its in April, the water is cold since it comes from a well, and the weather is still cold so sits quite a shock. Invigorating.
Kerek erdõn jártam
Kék ibolyát láttam.
El akart hervadni
Meg szabad-e locsolni?
This is loosely translated to:
I went round-woods
I saw a blue violet.
He wanted to fade
It is to be watered?
Essentially, according to Zsuzsa, it basically says Can I spray you? at the end.
Zsuzsa and I discussed the origins of this tradition. She said the following: My understanding is that this has to do with the spring festival. Interestingly, when I saw the video of the water throwing, is when I first realized that maybe they were throwing it at her crotch, so it reminded me that maybe the original meaning means to reinstate fertility and celebrate spring fertility. Its probably been happening for hundreds of years. Hungary has a history of two thousand years, and this probably is a Christian tradition, and it was King Stephen who converted the whole country to Christianity in the year 1000, so we have a 2000 year history, with 1000 years of Christianity. Tradition has its origins in throwing water at each other because it has the idea of renewal in the spring with it, and that slowly changed to perfume throwing. The Biblical origin has that the soldiers were at Jesus grave and they were protecting the grave and the women who were around there. When the women saw that Jesus rose, the soldiers were trying to calm them by throwing water at them. Also, the red color of the eggs given out after the perfume spraying has to do with Jesus blood, and the coloring and painting of eggs is a worldwide tradition.
We also discussed the differences between this celebration of Easter and other celebrations. This is the modern version of what we call Easter Monday. In Hungary, Sunday is when people go to church, and Monday is the day when people socialize and go around with this spraying thing. The big difference I find between that and in the United States is that Easter Monday in the United States is such a regular day but in Hungary Easter Monday is a big holiday. People dont go to work, they have the day off. And thats what they go to do, they throw perfume at each other.
In terms of personal experience with this tradition, Zsuzsa said: Its funny when you get that splash of perfume on you, and its stinky. Most of the time they use cheap perfume because they are going to use a whole bottle. As a child you start resenting the idea. People then visit for a long time, so the socializing aspect of meeting up with people sometimes its the only time of the year you get visits from people you havent seen in a long time. Its the idea that you get so stinky that you really have to get a big shower and wash your hair at the end of the day because of the perfume smell.
In terms of this tradition and traditions in general, Zsuzsa is usually in favor of tradition. I like traditions, I like when people like to maintain and support and practice traditions, be that religious or whatever. I like it. And Im not one who is good at maintaining or practicing them. So I really love that people do it, but if I had to make the effort I probably wouldnt. If I were the guy I probably would not go and do it. But as a girl, because they do come to your house, you end up just preparing anyway. I love traditions, I love these cool ceremonies.
Annotations
A website dedicated to Hungarian culture, called Hungarotips, has a separate page dedicated to Hungarian Easter traditions, including the spraying.
