(Mga Pamahiin)
Superstitious beliefs and customs are very much a part of Filipino culture. We have a whole panoply of pamahiin ranging from beliefs in supernatural beings (spirits, engkantos, witches, talismans, amulets); beliefs connected to marriage, conception, birth, & child rearing; and beliefs linked to death & afterlife. Many of these beliefs are considered ridiculous and silly but many people believe it to be symbolic. For instance many of the beliefs that could be categorized under human actions or activities are important to the lives of people such as sleeping, eating & gift-giving. These actions feature highly in the imagination of our people and much symbolism has been attached to them.
Actions
Marriage
ACTIONS [top]
If you bite your tongue accidentally, someone is talking about you or thinking of you.
It is not good to take a bath right after eating for this will cause the stomach to enlarge.
After bathing at night, do not sleep while your hair is wet for you will become blind or insane.
If you dream that one of your teeth is being pulled, it means death to one member of your family.
Have a new car blessed to avoid accidents & for greater car longevity.
Boiling egg while saying the Lord's prayer assures a soft-boiled egg. [This is because saying the Lord's prayer takes about 15 sec thus assuring a soft-boiled egg :-) ].
A broken mirror given by a beloved presages a broken engagement.
In building stairs, be sure to count the steps with oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (death). The last step must fall on oro or plata to insure good luck to the house dwellers.
When building a house, the door and stairs must face the East where the sun rises to insure good luck.
Children should not be allowed to play in the afternoon for they might bump into unseen beings. (Of course this probably came about because parents just want their children to take naps in the afternoon.)
When you bury dead animals under fruit trees, the fruits of these trees will be sweet.
Buying anything on New Year's Day results in extravagance throughout the whole year.
MARRIAGE [top]
Clearing the table while others are still eating will cause the diners not to ever get married.
A mole on the forehead or nose means luck in business.
A lady singing while cooking will marry a widower.
A girl sitting at the head of the table becomes a spinster.
Stepping over a person while he/she is lying down removes the person's chances to marry. Another variation is it will cause the person not to grow. To reverse the curse, the person who stepped over the person lying down must retrace his step backwards.
If the younger sister or brother gets married before the older siblings, the older siblings will never get married.
Getting married the day before a full moon brings prosperity to your marriage.
It is considered bad luck for siblings to marry within the same year.
During the wedding ceremony, the groom must be the first to arrive at the church and wait for the bride, but not vice versa, otherwise it is a bad omen.
It is bad luck to see the bride in her wedding gown before the wedding.
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