Superstition

When we moved from Singapore to Malaysia, I began to encounter a lot of new experiences that had a big impact on my life, part of the experiences was believing in superstition. I realized that superstitions are everywhere, and have been in existence for many years, so much so that it has thus become the culture of living.

Within the framework of our everyday lives, we accept that some things are lucky while others may be unlucky; therefore there are creatures, stones, materials that will be created and handed down through generations to be accepted as our belief in superstitions. I enter this entry today, after reading what my daughter was experiencing when along with that moment, she mentioned hearing the crow crowing and wondering what the indication to the whole scenario is. Well, it is important that I want to educate my kids and grandkids not to believe in what I have been taught to believe; only this way will you be able to break the taboo of being superstitious.

Let me share with you some of those superstitious here:

Crows, often feature in mythology as portents of doom , death and bad luck, merely this is because of their dark colors, their unnerving calls, and the things that they feed on. In my younger days, my mom, upon hearing the crows will say, oh someone just died, and apparently not long before a neighbor will come to inform us that so and so had died. Now, looking back and being forced to see crows everywhere, I conclude that that moment was just pure coincidence.

The association of crows with death, I would think so is because a group of crows is called a "murder", and also often we will see that a dying crow will be killed off by another member of the flock. They are scavengers and in one state in India, the crows are encouraged to breed, so that they can scavenge on the dead bodies, as the dead are not buried.

Then there is this myth on Ants: It is believed that ants are good creatures, mom told me that when your house is invaded with ants, this means that there will be more food on the table aka good luck. Well, of course I believe that too, however the logic is that when you leave food unattended for sure the ants will be swarming around right. Now, whenever I see ants in the house, I will spray them with the insecticide.

Myth on Bats: I don’t really know what it is about bats that give me the creeps. All I can think of is that they are often cast in vampire and witch movies/stories, so therefore. We pictured bats turning into witches or vice versa, so it is deemed bad luck. But my kids thought the bats are cute creatures.

Myth on Butterflies: I was told that when you see a butterfly entering your house, this is an indication that a guest is on the way. Well, coincidently, it does occur that way much once in a while. There were times when we were having lunch or dinner, and a butterfly flies in, mom will say ok hurry up and eat, clean the table as someone is coming soon. Looking back at it now, the reason why she told us to hurry up and finish is that we used to sit too long at the table, and at her age once lunch or dinner is done, she was just ready to rest. Because of their beauty, butterflies are happy things and people will not want to harm or kill them.

Myth on Woodpeckers: This is a very interesting one, I was told that when you hear a woodpecker pecking on the tree, this is a sign that someone is dying soon, and the living are getting ready digging his grave or building his coffin. Well, of course for a long time I swore to the truth of this myth, it was made worst when my dispatch rider was killed in a hit and run accident. Prior to that, I heard a woodpecker busy pecking on a tree just outside my window. At that point of time, I was living in a posh condominium area, and it is unusual to see or hear a woodpecker. Then the coincidence took place, the rider was killed a few days later, and of course I associated to the myth. However, a couple of times, especially when you go to the birds’ park or the zoo, you can’t help but see the familiar signal of a woodpecker and nothing takes place, so it is again just a myth.

Myth on Cats: Ancient Egypt worshipped the cats as divine creatures, it was once said that during this time if a cat died the owner of the cat would shave off their eyebrows in mourning. In almost every culture, there is a belief that cats have mystical powers be it good or evil. Black cats are supposedly to be evil; also it is very unlucky to kill a cat, if a cat leaves the house where there is a sick person and does not return, the sick will die. I remember when my young cousin passed away suddenly, and his cat was seen hovering around his dead body a couple of times, some of the old folks said let it be, but some who are more superstitious urged that the cat be kept in a cage, so in the cage the cat goes, until his body was out of the house. I don’t believe in this at all, cats are cats, they are beautiful pets. How do you escape running over a cat when there are too many stray cats on the road? So, if you run over one and kill it, at least have the courtesy to pick up the corpse and not let it be run over again and again.

Myth on Dogs: When I was living with my parents, our house was quite secluded surrounded by large gardens and farms, so we do not see many dogs running around, however, once in a while when we hear a dog howling, mom will say that the dog has just seen a ghost. The howling indicates that the dog is scared, I was scared too. Honestly, till today, I am scared of dogs and have yet to shed away the howling connection. Like cats black dogs are also bad luck. I don’t believe that animals can be bad luck, but dogs unleashed are a real nuisance.

Myth on Fish: I grew up with Chinese friends, my best friend was a Chinese, and somehow I just like to be with them more than my own race. Therefore, it is not surprising that I believe in what they do a lot, I would rather wear a Jade than gold, Feng Shui and fish. They believe that fish were intelligent creatures and contained water spirits. I was told to keep a certain fish in the house, as this fish will help against black magic (ikan puyu, English nya tak tau), and you can only find this fish in swamps, drains and small rivers, the fins are very sharp, and I still do believe in this till today. No particular happenings but it gives me the security to know that while we are sleeping, at least the fish is awake (lame right?).

So Alia, here you go, eat well, say your prayer, close your eyes and go to sleep. Kalau jumpa ikan puyu tu simpan la dalam bilik you.