With Halloween right around the corner I figured I would post something loosely related to the theme, so I decided to focus on superstitions. Superstitions are beliefs that can vary widely from culture to culture and what is bad luck in one culture can mean good luck in another. For example, the number 13 is bad luck in many western cultures, but in Chinese culture the number 4 is considered bad luck due to its pronunciation and how it sounds like the word death. 四 (four) and 死 (death) are both pronounced as “si” in Mandarin Chinese and though the tones are different, just saying the word can conjure up the idea.
So I wanted to share ten superstitions commonly heard of in Puerto Rico. This is not to say that they are only believed in Puerto Rico or originated there, if not, they can be heard/referenced culturally amongst the people. Most of these superstitions I grew up myself in New York City and in talking with other Hispanic or Caribbean friends, they have shared that their families have also told them these superstitions.
And of course… I had to share my favorite superstitious moment from the show “The Office”!
10 Puerto Rican Superstitions
…or rather 10 superstitions commonly heard in Puerto Rico…
1. People that are left-handed or flat-footed don’t get into heaven.
2. Laying flat on a table means you want/will to die.
3. Using an azabache bracelet will ward away the evil eye (mal de ojo).
4. Walking with one shoe off and one shoe on means your mother will die.
5. Sweeping someone’s feet means they will never get married.
6. Leaving your bag or purse on the ground is bad luck. Putting your hat on the bed is bad luck.
7. If you put an upside broom behind your door, your guest will leave. If you drop a fork, a man will visit. If you drop a spoon, a woman will visit, and if you drop a knife, there will be a fight.
8. Dreaming about your teeth falling out means someone will die.
9. If you have hiccups, get a piece of string (usually red) and with your saliva turn it into a ball and then place it on your forehead. Have a nosebleed? Take a penny and place it on your forehead while looking up.
10. If you hear cups or plates clanking in the sink, it means there are ghosts in the house.
You might read some of these and think “what the heck… how can that be real?!” Rest assured, like many superstitions around the world, they do not necessarily have to make sense or have any rhyme or reason. Some, of course, likely did probably start off as a warning or a story someone shared that ultimately become a superstition.
For example, laying down flat on a table is likely linked to the fact that before funeral homes, people in Puerto Rico would have their wakes in their homes. So the only time you saw a body on a table was when it was a dead one, and from there likely came the association to not lie down on a table. Others, like the left-handed one is linked to more general beliefs about the left-hand or side being sinister/evil (we literally get the word sinister from the Italian world sinistra meaning “left”).
While others I cannot explain and never wanted to test them – like the one shoe on, one shoe off superstition!
Why believe?
Overtime I stopped believing in many superstitions as I got older though there are still some that are very ingrained into my everyday life or how I conduct myself. Even though I was not raised on the island of Puerto Rico, my parents brought with them their culture which included things like superstitions. Despite some people finding these things silly, goofy or just unnecessary, they definitely belong to the intangible things that tie us back to our family’s homelands. The same way we may practice the same religion of our ancestors or speak their language(s), the same way we can believe in the things they did outside of religion.
I imagine if we studied all of these superstitions, we would find a lot of connections to our roots both in and off the islands. I imagine that the different roots which either were there, arrived, or were forced to Puerto Rico (Taíno, Spanish, African) gave us different cultural beliefs that are still present in our cultural physche today.
For me, I don’t plan giving up on some of them and I plan on passing them on to the next generation the same way they were passed down to me. Along the way I have also picked up other superstitions especially the common ones known in the United States such as not walking under ladders, bad luck on Friday the 13th, and breaking a mirror giving you seven years of bad luck.
My favorite ones are the superstitions I have picked up along the way while living abroad. For example, in Russia it’s bad luck to turn back home once left if you’ve forgotten something. To combat this, you must look in the mirror! For extra good luck, you can “spit” three times over your shoulder, which in modern times has just become the sound “tfy”. This three “tfy” spitting superstition is also in common for “knocking on wood” when you don’t want to jinx something.
I think it’s pretty cool how we have these beliefs around the world and how they can overlap or be completely contradictory to one another. They also serve as great conversation topics with friends as well!