The Discovery

I have always thought that superstitious beliefs were an African thing.  It is very common to hear some Africans say that “superstitious beliefs are not good for many an African. We need to put all these beliefs behind us if we want to succeed as a continent.” Neither is it strange nor unheard of for some Africans to say: “our superstitious beliefs will one day kill us. There is no such thing as superstition in the West, and that is why the Westerners do not have as much developmental problems as we do have here.” While there is an element of truth in such comments, it is also very true that indeed superstitions are everywhere – not only in Africa.

So we had just devoured some salads and pasta with pasta sauce, and the Kleins, like they normally do, were having various discussions at the dinner table. By the way, the Kleins are a nice and amazing family I visited over the Christmas holidays. We were talking about ice-skating when the breaking of limbs became the subject matter. “Oooosh… I have never broken a limb before,” I said. “Eeeh… you need to knock on wood,” responded Mr. Klein, Rachel, and Kristen, knocking on the wooden table. Ron added that it’s a belief and that I should do it if I don’t want to break a limb – given that I have never broken one.

“That’s superstitious,” I said. “Wait, wait…… you have superstition in America?” I asked. “Yes,” they all responded. “Didn’t you know?” asked Mrs. Klein. “Em….yeah I know, but em… I thought it was only in Africa.” Quickly, I asked them to get me a pen and a piece of paper. “Please give me a listing of some common superstitions you know,” I requested with all excitement. They gave me the following:

• 13 is an unlucky number here
• Don’t walk underneath a ladder, it’s a sign of bad luck
• Don’t break a mirror or else you will have 7 years of bad luck – hmm… how cool is that?
• If you find a penny heads up, it’s a sign of good luck
• For students who do not want to go to school in the winter, wear your pajamas inside out and sleep with a spoon under your pillow the night before your school day. It will snow very hard and schools will be closed down. (Of course this came from Rachel and Kristen because they knew how cool it was to be at home instead of school.)

Then out of curiosity, I asked: “Is it also true here that if your palms are itchy, you are going to get money?” “Yes,” said Mr. Klein, “that’s an earlier generation superstition, though.” Upon hearing that, I flipped to the back of my paper and this led to my next listing, entitled: Similarities.

• If your palms are itchy, then you are going to get money soon or someone is going to give you money.
• If you eat from a pot/pan that is on fire (on the cooker) before your wedding day, it shall rain on your wedding day.

I guess you can tell I am not an expert in African superstitions either. I only know a few, let alone enough to compare with others. Anyway, not long after I had finished writing, the car was ready to take me home. I enjoyed the night and thought it was one of a very interesting discovery. Thanks to the Kleins for the listings.