SUPERSTITIONS: Some

SUPERSTITIONS: Some strange, some sinister, some simply silly Part One

Talking to my oldest friend, Diane (it’s the ‘friendship’ that’s the ‘oldest’ not the friend!) on the phone last week we fell into conversation with the emphasis on ‘remembering’. We are the same age, lived in the same street, went to the same schools and, being only children with no siblings, we naturally spent a lot of our childhood time together sharing so much, - sums, swimming, pretending, exploring, playing brides, the list goes on.

We enjoy our weekly catch-ups but tend to fall back on the past, shared memories, and try to fill in the details of events long ago by reminding each other of matters which meant much to us at the time. We talked about walking to junior school together avoiding the cracks in the paving without knowing why we were doing it. Bad luck was mentioned, but we were too young at the time to comprehend such an abstract concept.

This led to a discussion of other superstitions, and questioning where had they come from? What did they really mean? And are any other readers of this magazine still avoiding the cracks in the pavement?

Consulting ‘The Readers Digest Universal Dictionary’ cleared up my confusion regarding ‘superstition’. What did it mean? Where had it come from? This is what the Dictionary had to say of the word, Superstition:-

1. An unfounded belief that some action or circumstance completely unrelated to a course of events can influence the outcome.

2. Fear of the mysterious or the unknown.

3. Any belief, practice or rite unreasonably upheld by faith in magic, chance or dogma.

4. Fearful or abject dependence upon such beliefs.

The Celtic Nations and many others have enjoyed listening to storytellers since, and likely before, the Romans arrived. The oral tradition continues to be very strong but perhaps today the later generations prefer small magic boxes with buttons to press? Personally, I think that words heard are words better remembered.

This continuing tradition was evidenced some years ago when I was involved with a project which involved attending a serious, monthly meeting. All chaps around the table, as usual, so I was the only woman. At the end of one of the meetings, I was asked to read out an article I had written for The Mining Times. The article was an update and a plea for those responsible to hurry up and get on with it, the project that is. I had decided the safest way to write it was from the point of view of the colliery cat. The coffee was brought in, chairs were pushed back from the table edge, ties were very slightly loosened. I had a captive if not a captivated audience.

A month later, as the next meeting was drawing to a close, the chairman leaned over to me and whispered to me, “We are all hoping for another story today?”

Professor Anne Ross writes in ‘Folklore of Wales’ that in ‘Celtic storytelling both early and late the Druids passed on their learning by word of mouth, as did the early bards, and this tradition was also current amongst those who tilled the land and did not have the benefit of a fundamental education’.

Throughout the Dark Ages the establishment of Llans or parishes, the growing monastic settlements and the topography of Wales created the landscape of Wales. That landscape changed little for centuries. Farms were spread out across the country not clustered around villages. There were no village greens, no village ponds, few signposts. However, events and there were probably very few of them, were clearly recalled, in particular, if they resulted in good fortune or disaster. There was also the tradition of travelling pedlars, drovers, and, wandering troubadours and minstrels. They carried Tales and spread any News that was to be had. Nothing was written down. Few people in remote areas were literate. The oral tradition reigned. I would therefore suggest, that storytelling folk are, traditionally, very knowledgeable about superstitions.

Gradually over the decades belief systems established themselves. They only started to fall

by Sara John

away in the late 1800s when there was a major migration to the valleys of South Wales with the promise of paid, regular employment. The younger men who travelled and sought employment would have heard tales of rites and superstitions from their families during their childhoods, but much must have been forgotten, set aside or simply ignored when they settled into their new environments.

However, superstitions still linger on. In particular, for children who lived in a household with both parents and grandparents, the youngsters were more likely to be made aware of the strong beliefs and superstitions of the older generation who had lived during the late 18th and early 20th centuries.

My own grandmother had a particular dread of thunderstorms. If after a hot summer’s day the clouds gathered, the light changed, the sky darkened and we heard distant sounds of thunder, she insisted on the following;

-The curtains had to be drawn. All cutlery had to be put away.

-Everything electrical had to be switched off and covered over.

-The front and back doors had to be opened, and left open. A wise form of protection, perhaps, as her concern was that if a thunderbolt arrived at the front door it would travel (roll?) through the house and out via the backdoor onto the garden, devastating all before and after it including humans.

Sabbath rules were also very strict. No newspapers. No recreation of any sort. The use of scissors was forbidden. You were not permitted to look in a mirror as you might see the devil looking back out at you. Playing board games was not allowed. Playing cards were not even permitted in the house! Church attendance was mandatory. Naturally, you walked to church, notwithstanding the weather. Knitting, sewing, crochet, tatting, drawing, jigsaws were all considered the Devil’s work.

I am glad to report that surveillance by and appearances from the Devil appeared to ease off through the week! Only to return the following Sunday.

Perhaps as mentioned earlier, being brought up in remote farmhouses with no near neighbours, low levels of literacy and a serious shortage of ‘outside influences’ encouraged superstitions, belief in the Devil, and decades of generations fearful of the dark, the unknown, pain, punishments and death.

Mr Gladstone removing the tax on newsprint, the laying of railway lines across the country and major rows after the publishing of the report on the provision of education (or rather the lack of provision in Wales in particular) known as The Disgrace of the Blue Books, then the passing of Education Acts, all in the mid to later 1800s, brought a dawn of daylight and at least, a stiff breeze of change if not a wind. Times were changing.

Concerns with superstitions reminds us of a related topic, that of luck. Good Luck. Bad Luck. Where does it come from? Where does it go? Man has always tried to discover a consistent pattern in the ways of the world. Man constantly fails to do so.

I am reminded of a Tale from the past said to have emanated from Cardiganshire way before the coming of the railways. Referring to the people of Aberystwyth the belief was reported as,

‘Their custom was to begin dinner with the pudding ever since a member of one of the families had chanced to die before reaching that course. The change was introduced by people who rarely tasted pudding so as to embody a habit of securing the best thing first’.

Objects that were thought to bring good luck included talismen, small stones, precious stones, a small piece of parchment with a symbol on it, a piece of paper with a signature, ribbons, small pictures of a loved one, a small item of jewellery, even a piece of coal as this was considered a lucky charm in places other than the mining areas, and items described when lost as being of ‘sentimental value’.

Spending some time in Dar es Salaam, some years ago, I was at supper with a lecturer at the Dar University. Other guests at her house that evening were colleagues, some from Zanzibar, some from Tanzania. All well educated and working in Education or Government at various levels. The topic inevitably turned to careers, opportunities for advancement, promotion and consequently job application procedures.

That afternoon I had the chance to talk to some Masai women who were selling spells down at the harbour - to order. You just had to explain what your problem was and they would make up a spell to suit. They wrote it out on a small piece of paper and rolled it up and put it in a jam jar of water, lid on and ready for you as the ‘spell wisher’ to take home and DRINK, in order to achieve its aim. preparation prior to a job interview, one woman spoke up at once about what she was doing to achieve the promotion she felt she deserved. In order to increase her chances and ensure she was LUCKY, she had prepared on likely questions and suitable answers. BUT, she added, had also bought a spell, just in case. And, yes! She was a science graduate. We all wished her good luck.

All the recent advances in technology, communications, space travel, medicine and so on seem unlikely to completely blow away the treasured superstitions of the past. Reading recently a book first published in 1911 on Folk Lore, one of my interests, I looked at a long list of superstitions, some of which were still familiar. I had forgotten them but recalled them easily as they made up part of who I was, or had been, what was said and what I did. And what would happen next. Or not.

However, a small number of the superstitions were unknown to me: many had referenced activities, items, behaviour and so on which are, nowadays, no longer likely. You are not going to travel to town in a horse drawn carriage that then gets tangled up with another, all due to you rolling your unlucky green parasol the wrong way. Are you?

Today it could, of course, be a skirmish with another very busy lady driver.

Or on another occasion, it could be that you had heard from an older relative how unlucky it was to return home after you have started a journey because you have forgotten an item, (your passport? your airline ticket?). Try telling that to passport control or the customs officer as an explanation. With a long queue forming behind you.

To help you to recall other superstitions not already mentioned, here is a selection of Miscellaneous Beliefs from Folk-Lore of Mid Wales by Jonathan Caredig Davies published in 1911. Llanerch Press. (My italics).

1 To find a horseshoe on the road or in a field is considered extremely lucky. - but not for the poor horse.

2 Never begin any new work on a Friday or a Saturday - these days that would mean no live weekend sport.

3 A woman near Narberth in Pembrokeshire said that Tuesdays and Thursdays are lucky days in that part. - Jonathan Ceredig Davies the author adds that, “I have discovered that the days which are

considered lucky in one part of the country are considered unlucky in the other parts.”

4 Odd numbers such as three and seven are said to be lucky numbers. Thirteen is considered very unlucky. - This is said to refer to the number of guests at The Last Supper.

5 When moving house it encourages good luck if you take with you a piece of coal, a silver coin and a lump of salt. - This is to ensure plentiful supplies in the future of fuel (coal), money (silver coin) and food (salt).

6 To break a looking glass signifies bad luck for seven years - especially if it belongs to your older sister.

7 To put the bellows on the table is considered unlucky. (And these days very unlikely). There is also the same superstition all over Wales, but about boots - the most unlucky part, I would suggest is your Mam coming in and finding them on a white, hand embroidered tablecloth. Next to a plate of cakes. Cream cakes. With visitors due any minute.

8 Never mend your clothes while you are wearing them. - An Irish actor explained this to me years ago. “The only garment you are ever sewn into is your shroud!”

9 If you see a pin pick it up to ensure good luck. - This superstition has survived from the 18th century when pins, which were imported from France, were very expensive and in short supply. So when someone says, “for two pins I would tell him what I think is best,” really means, “It would take a goodly sum of money for me to tell him to his face.”

10 To cross your knife and fork is considered unlucky, and crossed knives foretell some approaching disaster. Even more unlucky was to receive a knife as a gift! - It was also believed, and still is by many that you can forestall any misfortune by giving the gift-giver one penny in token payment.

Professor Anne Ross sums up in ‘Folklore of Wales’ that, “The challenges of the city with its ready pleasures have done much to render the old tales and lore superfluous, and so with the old ways.” However, I hope that the above samples have jogged a few memories for readers.

Look out in next month’s magazine for Part Two on this subject. The topics will include, The Little People, miracles, healing hands, death portents and other traditions long lost of long ago.