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BELIEFS ABOUT DAYS OF THE WEEK
A bride does not leave her mother's house on Friday,
immediately after the completion of the marriage rites, the departure
ceremony is postponed to the next day.
Large number of people do not make any payments
on Fridays, except giving small coins to beggars. People do
not sell property on Fridays. A man doing an important
act on a Tuesday may risk losing his food. Wednesday is the best
day for important ventures and is as 'good as gold'. Thursday are unsuitable
to offer first hospitality to guests. A person setting out on a Sunday
for an important price if work may have to wonder aimlessly like a dog.
BELIEFS ABOUT MONTHS
The Tamil Ani and Panguni are avoided for
house-warming functions and the marriage of the eldest child and Adi and
Margazhi for all marriages
BELIEFS ABOUT DEATH
Old persons having prolonged illness are expected to get
worse or die on the new moon day. The new moon day is called 'heavy day', since
it takes a heavy toll of death. According to general belief, persons suffering
from Paralytic attacks die exactly after three days, three months or three
years after the first attack. Dream of a temple, car in motion or burglary,
foretells the death of some near relation. During certain
periods of the day known as Kulikai kalam in auspicious ceremonies like
funeral or burial are not performed.
BELIEFS ABOUT DIRECTIONS
The working desk in the house or office is usually placed
in the north-east or south-west corner, for it is believed that enemies
will be giving constant trouble, if the desk is situated in the other
corners. People do not sleep with the head towards north and feet towards
south, the direction of the regions of the Lord of death. There are
various beliefs also about the direction that structure should
face. The Nataraja shrine faces the south, since its look will cause the
destruction of the street it faces a sub shrine, a well or wall is
put up opposite this shrine.
There is a belief about the direction in which a
banana plant grows in the garden .If it sprouts in the north, it
foretells calamity, sprouting in other directions portends prosperity.
BELIEFS ABOUT MARRIAGE
In Thanjavur district,
it is believed that marriage
negotiations can be accelerated by performing an abisheka or sacred bath
to the image of the deity Kalyanasundara in Thirumancheri village. It is said
that if the garland placed around that deity is removed and worn by
a human being the wearer will get married with in seven weeks. This has local
variations, for instance at the Kodana Rama temple at Madhuranthakam
the performance of an archana (special prayer) to this deity is said to ensure
immediate marriage .
In some social groups,
it is forbidden to attend a
marriage after an oil bath, i.e. after anointing one's body with
oil and tasking a bath. It is ordained that mirth in funeral or grief in
marriage should be avoided and so tradition forbids attendance at
a marriage and funeral at the same day .
To get a lover of one's choice, some people prepare oily
concoctions and secretly place them in the toilet-case used by the beloved or
lover .
DON'TS AFTER DUSK
By tradition, a number of activities are avoided after sunset.
These include the cutting of one's hair or even nails, giving of dirty
linen to the dhobi, mention of words to denote snake or the barber,
lending or giving needles salt ,butter, milk or white articles generally .Similarly neither fire nor a match is lent after sunset . The custom is
to borrow a burning log of wood or glowing embers from a neighbours to light the
oven in the morning .Some families take pride in saying that the
oven is never extinguished in their homes. The fire kept alive
continuously is supposed to indicate prosperity to the extent of
being able to feeds guests around the clock .
BELIEFS ABOUT EARLY MORNING SIGHTS
Mirror,
a pot full of water, flag, light a pair of fish
and turmeric are auspicious articles. On getting up from the bed, a
person luckily to see any of these. He is also fortunate if he sees first a
lotus flower, gold, the ruler, light, the sun, fire, the sea, a
temple tower, a hill with signs of rain a cow and a calf, his own right
hand, his wife face, a lunatic, a black monkey, an elephant or a
percussion instruments called Mridanga (a small drum)
BELIEFS ABOUT DREAMS
Dreams in the early morning are expected to come true.
It is
stated that it is a good sign to dream about marriage. In Kanyakumari district,
it is felt that every dream will have the opposite result.
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