Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

[mahool]

Please share myths and superstitions in Afghan culture…

[mahool]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

• If your foot touches or hits another person's foot, you will get into a fight with that person, unless you shake hands right away.
• It is bad luck to cut your nails at night. Some say hunger and poverty will enter a house if someone cuts their nails at night. Also, it is bad luck to cut your toe nails and finger nails on the same day. Others say that it is bad luck to cut your nails at night, as well as cutting both finger and toe nails right after each other because you will always have all happy events in your life happen at the same time that sad things happen to you...In other words your life will always be bittersweet.
• If a boy chews gum, his beard will grow uneven.
• It's not good to let someone compliment your child or other loved one too much, because they may become jinxed and bad luck may fall on them ( This is called "Nazar"-ing a child). For example, if you say a child is beautiful, the child may become sick. You can ward this off by either saying "Nazar Nakona", or by reciting a surah from the Quran.
• If your cross under a rainbow, a sex change will occur. A boy will turn to a girl and a girl will turn into a boy.
• Jingling your keys will cause a fight to occur.
• If the palm of your hands itch, you will soon receive money.
• If the soles of your feet itch, you will soon travel.
• If you draw lines on the ground you will be in debt.
• If a bowl of water spills out with a sound, it means that you will soon receive guests.
• If flour spills, it means you will soon receive guests.
• Water is thrown on the floor where the person just walked, when a person leaves the front door ( While also walking under the Quran) to go on a long trip. This is done so the person will have a safe and pleasant trip, and return unharmed.
• If you bite your tongue, someone must be talking bad about you (backbiting).
• If your ears itch, someone is talking (gossiping) about you.
• Spotting a sitting magpie bird means you will soon receive a message.
• If your eye twitches, it means good luck will come soon.
• If you drink water and it goes down the wrong tube, causing you to cough, this means that either someone is thinking of you or someone is talking about you.
• After praying, you should fold a side of the prayer matt or the devil will come and pray on it.
• After reading the Quran, you should close it immediately, or the devil will come and read from it.
• You will be falsely accused of something if you feet touches a broom.
• On new year's eve, you should be at home, or for the rest of the year, you will not be at home.
• Don't look in the mirror at night, because someone will tell a lie about you.
• Bad luck will come if you open and close scissors without a reason.
• The smoke from burning incense (called span) will keep bad luck and bad spirits away.
• During an eclipse if pregnant woman scratches herself, a black mark will appear on her baby.
• If your baby is born with a belly button that is an "outie", place a clean coin on top of it and secure it around the waist for three days and it will become an "innie".
• If a baby has jaundice, let it lick on cleaned gold and the jaundice will go away.
• If a male child is circumcised, fasten a piece of feroza (pure turquoise) jewelry to it's bedding above the head and his cut will heal faster and nicely.
• When a new born is brought into the house and placed into his or her bed, hanging something (jewelry etc..) with the name of Allah on it will help keep the baby safe from harm when they sleep.
• Marriage between the two holidays Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha is prohibited.
• Shaving a baby's hair will make their hair grow thicker.

[Mezhgan]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

•      It is bad luck to click scissors (like opening and closing them) unnecessarily as this is will cause an argument in the home.  I think this one may have originated to keep children from playing with scissors.
  

•      When giving a present, you shouldn't gift people knives (or other sharp objects) as this will cause the friendship to end.
  

•       Jingling your (house) keys is bad luck as this will cause discord in your household.
  

•      If you sit on the threshold of your house, you will be in debt in the near future.
  

•      If you arrive at a party or gathering just as people are beginning to eat, you will get on well with your future mother-in-law.
  

•      Feroza (turquoise stone) is thought to repel nazar. Young children sometimes have small pendants with turquoise for this reason.
  

•      There was also a belief about sleep paralysis (rather, what we know to be sleep paralysis) but I can’t recall at the moment. I shall ask my grandmother about this one later.
  

[mahool]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

• It is bad luck to click scissors (like opening and closing them) unnecessarily as this is will cause an argument in the home. I think this one may have originated to keep children from playing with scissors.

It is same in Pakistani and Indian culture too...

[Mezhgan]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

@mahool

• The smoke from burning incense (called span) will keep bad luck and bad spirits away.

This is called espand (also spelled esphand) and is a type of seed. It’s burned on charcoal (or even over the flame on a stove) to ward off nazar, as well as remove nazar. The idea is to burn espand seeds during which time the seeds make a popping sound. The smoke that comes from the burning seeds is then circled around one’s head and around the home. The smoke and the popping sound are said to remove the nazar and also keep jealous people away.

Here’s what it looks like:

*The small metal utensil is used to pick up the seeds and place them over the heat. The coil part of the utensil is sometimes wrapped in foil to keep the seeds from spilling out and is then placed over heat.

[muqawwee123]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

. If a boy chews gum, his beard will grow uneven. (whats the logic?)

[Mezhgan]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

^No idea. Possibly to discourage people from chewing gum all the time? Who knows.

[Ali_Syed]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

@Mezhgan

This is called espand (also spelled esphand) and is a type of seed. It’s burned on charcoal (or even over the flame on a stove) to ward off nazar, as well as remove nazar. The idea is to burn espand seeds during which time the seeds make a popping sound. The smoke that comes from the burning seeds is then circled around one’s head and around the home. The smoke and the popping sound are said to remove the nazar and also keep jealous people away.

Here’s what it looks like:

*The small metal utensil is used to pick up the seeds and place them over the heat. The coil part of the utensil is sometimes wrapped in foil to keep the seeds from spilling out and is then placed over heat.

so this is where we got the nazar concept from. That’s another thing we use green chillies for the purpose

[muqawwee123]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

[QUOTE]
Don't look in the mirror at night, because someone will tell a lie about you.

[/QUOTE]

something about bure lachhan?

[ninja_hattori]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

@Ali_Syed

so this is where we got the nazar concept from. That’s another thing we use green chillies for the purpose

i heard about red chillies.Some ppl even claim that if one is suffering from nazar then red chillies will burn and release some weird smell…

[muqawwee123]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

I wonder whether the myth of taking rounds around a sick person to get his sickness on yourself was / is popular in Afghanistan or Central Asia? Or it was just an individual like Babar who followed it for his son Humayun?

[Ali_Syed]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

i heard about red chillies.Some ppl even claim that if one is suffering from nazar then red chillies will burn and release some weird smell....

maybe its red...i have only seen the chillies burning and the guy having (supposed) nazar running away

[mahool]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

I think... dry red chillies

[khubsoorat]

Re: Superstitions and popular myths in Afghanistan

@mahool

• If your foot touches or hits another person’s foot, you will get into a fight with that person, unless you shake hands right away.
• It is bad luck to cut your nails at night. Some say hunger and poverty will enter a house if someone cuts their nails at night. Also, it is bad luck to cut your toe nails and finger nails on the same day. Others say that it is bad luck to cut your nails at night, as well as cutting both finger and toe nails right after each other because you will always have all happy events in your life happen at the same time that sad things happen to you…In other words your life will always be bittersweet.
• If a boy chews gum, his beard will grow uneven.
• It’s not good to let someone compliment your child or other loved one too much, because they may become jinxed and bad luck may fall on them ( This is called “Nazar”-ing a child). For example, if you say a child is beautiful, the child may become sick. You can ward this off by either saying “Nazar Nakona”, or by reciting a surah from the Quran.
• If your cross under a rainbow, a sex change will occur. A boy will turn to a girl and a girl will turn into a boy.
• Jingling your keys will cause a fight to occur.
• If the palm of your hands itch, you will soon receive money.
• If the soles of your feet itch, you will soon travel.
• If you draw lines on the ground you will be in debt.
• If a bowl of water spills out with a sound, it means that you will soon receive guests.
• If flour spills, it means you will soon receive guests.
• Water is thrown on the floor where the person just walked, when a person leaves the front door ( While also walking under the Quran) to go on a long trip. This is done so the person will have a safe and pleasant trip, and return unharmed.
• If you bite your tongue, someone must be talking bad about you (backbiting).
• If your ears itch, someone is talking (gossiping) about you.
• Spotting a sitting magpie bird means you will soon receive a message.
• If your eye twitches, it means good luck will come soon.
• If you drink water and it goes down the wrong tube, causing you to cough, this means that either someone is thinking of you or someone is talking about you.
• After praying, you should fold a side of the prayer matt or the devil will come and pray on it.
• After reading the Quran, you should close it immediately, or the devil will come and read from it.
• You will be falsely accused of something if you feet touches a broom.
• On new year’s eve, you should be at home, or for the rest of the year, you will not be at home.
• Don’t look in the mirror at night, because someone will tell a lie about you.
• Bad luck will come if you open and close scissors without a reason.
• The smoke from burning incense (called span) will keep bad luck and bad spirits away.
• During an eclipse if pregnant woman scratches herself, a black mark will appear on her baby.
• If your baby is born with a belly button that is an “outie”, place a clean coin on top of it and secure it around the waist for three days and it will become an “innie”.
• If a baby has jaundice, let it lick on cleaned gold and the jaundice will go away.
• If a male child is circumcised, fasten a piece of feroza (pure turquoise) jewelry to it’s bedding above the head and his cut will heal faster and nicely.
• When a new born is brought into the house and placed into his or her bed, hanging something (jewelry etc..) with the name of Allah on it will help keep the baby safe from harm when they sleep.
• Marriage between the two holidays Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha is prohibited.
• Shaving a baby’s hair will make their hair grow thicker.

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