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Beliefs and Superstitions
There are endless beliefs and superstitions
governing every aspect of life from birth to death
and every single item of daily life. Learned people
disregarded some of these beliefs and superstitions of
the folk, but sometimes meet with obstacles and they find
themselves with problems to which there are only very
difficult or as yet unfound answers. They ultimately betray a
medieval mind, impervious to the winds of change blowing all over the
world.
Beliefs Regarding Birth of Children
These are many and varied. A child should not be born at mid
day or at mid night. A child should not be born with
Chitrai as the birth star, because, Chitra guptan, the faithful
servant of Yama was born in this star.
Birth in swati star is said to be bad for any child.
A boy
is extremely lucky to be born in Moola but woe unto a girl born
under this star. A person is considered fortunate if he
has a piece of agricultural land near his village and a
child born in Uttradam star. He who is born in Bharani will rule the
earth. A grand father may, prefer to death to hearing that his grand son's
star is Kettai. A father will become a beggar if a boy is born in the
Chitrai star. A birth in Rohini is inauspicious for the child's
uncle. A girl born in avittam will find gold even in a pot of
bran. Pooradam is an undesirable star for girls.
Daughter should be born in odd number in the
sequence of birth i.e. first, third, fifth children
should be girls. A fourth-born girl is said to ruin
the house, but a fifth-born girl will bring gold to the house.
A fifth born boy will squander away all the wealth. A six-born
girl brings either prosperity or poverty. A seventh-born girl will
utter poverty to the family. She cannot be successful even as a beggar.
An eighth-born girl destroys everything. She has a glimpse of Ettavathu
penn ettipatha idam kuttichuvaru. A tenth-born girl makes wealth
fly away like cotton. In view of these beliefs, contracting parties to a
marriage make enquires about the number of the
birth of the groom or bride.
When twins are born,
if both of them are boys, the family is
said to have turned a leaf for the better and there is very great
rejoicing. It is not inauspicious if both the children are girls.
A boy and a girl born together forebode evil to the family.
Beliefs about Children
A mirror should not be shown to babies as it is
supposed to make them dumb. A person should not clean his teeth while baby
sitting.
When the first tooth of a child falls out the
fallen tooth is carefully placed in a lump of cow -dung, symbol of
fertility, and thrown over roof in the belief that such action will hasten
the re-growth of the child 's teeth.
On suspicion that a person's jealous eye is the cause of
child's illness or some misery in the family, at his next visit some one
in the family follows him, collects a handful of earth on
which that person had set foot and circles it clockwise around
the child's head thrice, to ward off evil and then throws it in to the oven. If
a child has breathing difficulty immediately after birth its forehead is
scorched with a hot needle.
When the fist two children die, the death of the third
child is averted by disfiguring its face, by piercing the left
nostril and putting a gold wire ring through it. These
mutilations are effected to make the child ugly and thus prevent
him/her being the cynosure of this child by giving the child a
humble name like Kuppusamy (Lord of refuse), Kuppammal (lady of refuse ),
Pakri( Fakir) or Pichai (beggar).
Beliefs about Pregnant Women
It is believed that a pregnant woman should not be
photographed. A pregnant woman's requests for edibles and
consumer articles generally acceded to since it is though that
refusal may lead to ear-diseases for the child in the womb.
Therai ( toad) falling on a pregnant woman may be the
cause of some diseases to the off-spring. Between conception
and delivery, a woman should not do any tailoring work. A woman bitten by a
scorpion during pregnancy immunises the future child to
scorpion-bites. A nest being built inside a house by a bird or wasp assures
safe delivery.
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