AFRICAN SUPERSTITIONS/PRACTICES

Superstition is excessive credulous belief in, and reverence for the supernatural. Also referred to as a widely held but irrational belief in the supernatural influences.

Prior to civilization however, Africans generally hold in high esteem some beliefs, which though civilization has made us to realize has no scientific or realistic backings, but might not be totally wrong after all.

Generally, the African culture is quite interesting, and worthy of note are the numerous practices together with our superstitions. And while some of them are relatable, others are simply hilarious in addition to being logically unexplainable.

 Nevertheless, for the benefit of non-Africans or even the children of the soil but are bred in open-eye cities, enjoy my listings;

• A baby snake is believed to be totally armless until it surfaces at the gathering of people, who now unintentionally christens it by the chant of snake for it to become poisonous.
• Blowing whistles at night is believed to invites snakes, or that it invokes the spirit of the night, funny right?.
• Fish-heads are sweet (and please don’t say yuck!). I once relished in chewing the eyes till it fades in the middle of my tongue. But in African homes however, fish heads are reserved for dads for being the ‘head of the home’. Kids aren’t even allowed to chew same because, it is believed to drain their intellect and this particular correlation still confuses me till date. Did I even mention that gizzards were also for dad’s consumption whenever chickens are killed for home delicacy?
• Kids in their teeth growing ages are advised to shield their broken tooth from the view of lizards else it’ll never grow again. This explains why we threw it at the roof-top way back for those who still remember.
• New brides are not allowed to look into the mirror on their great day. Mirrors were believed to be sacred and could make a new bride become barren.
• In the same vein mirrors, believed to be so consecrated that it is shielded away from corpses. And having to sight the reflection of the dead is imminent if looked into at dusk. Sounds scary and weird though.
• Hitting one’s left foot at the start of a journey is a bad omen. But it signifies good, if it was the right foot, weird!!.
• A heavy rainfall prior to a burial is an indication that the ‘person’ to be buried must be mean, and so the earth is refusing to accept him/her. Ironically however, rainfall during a wedding ceremony means the anticipation of a blissful union. Odd twist though!!.
• Unconsciously putting on the rear side of one’s clothe is regarded a sign preceding the gift of an unexpected cash grant. Hilarious!!.
• The sudden appearance of soldier ants in one’s home means an oncoming wealth too. A very big comedic twist anyway!!.
• It is generally believed that the character of the first person you see in the morning determines how your day would go. A nasty person means a mean day, but a meek person screams a splendid day.
• Lemon seeds are not to be sighted first thing in the morning, they are believed to bring bad luck.
• When you cross the feet of a pregnant woman, there is a possibility that the unborn child would be your doppelganger.
• Monarchs are not culturally allowed to see the inside of their ancestral crown. They abhor sighting corpses too and are not allowed to cry in public. All of these are taboos and detrimental to the peace of the kingdom that they govern. This culture holds sway till today.
• Pregnant women are advised to stay off walking underneath a scorching sun, between 12 noon to 3pm precisely, else the unborn child becomes possessed. Defiant preggos or those who have no other option than to hit the street at that time usually have pins tapped to the strap of their dresses as protections.   
• In some families, two women married to the same man are not to engage in physical fisticuffs else they lose their kids to premature death. The antidote is dancing naked at the market square to appease the gods as only a mere face off is allowed.
• Another family tradition, more-like the traditional DNA. In the event of a dispute over the paternity of a child, there’s a special river in some villages where the controversial child is dipped in. While a legit child stays afloat (regardless of the weight that science believed should float same) a bastard automatically drowns and dies.
• In some more tradition, the financial fall of a once upon a wealthy husband is an indication that the wife has been promiscuous.
• The female genital mutilation of the female child in Africa was done to reduce her sexual urge.
• The feet of new brides are washed before entry into matrimony, a peace atonement of sort.
• Now near extinct, facial tribal marks were done on new born to distinguish ethnicity. It was prominent during the slave trade so that a proper identification isn’t lost on those that were forcefully migrated.
• Baldness was touted to be a sign of wealth.
• Sudden palm itching means being on one’s way to wealth.
• A child born into a family that just experienced the demise of an elder is believed to be a reincarnate of the latter. So much that the child is christened accordingly; Iyabo for females (mum is back), Babatunde for males (dad is back).
• If you sit by the door to eat, you’ll never be filled.
• Running into a snail first thing in the morning would slow down the proceedings of the day.
• And when the eyelids blinks uncontrollably, it’s the oncoming of a news, which could be good or bad.

The list is endless, but bearing in mind the good that Civilization has brought which has exposed all to the realities of life and then to our fundamental human right, we can then say Civilization is not totally a bad idea after all.

Featured image, source: Guardian.