Nepali Urban Myths
1. Never light three cigarettes with one matchstick.
[I have discovered that some of my British and Italian friends do the same but surprisingly, it is not in practice in Bangladesh and I have even been laughed at. In my circle, we basically consider it a bad luck – the reason.]
2. Don’t cut your nails after dusk.
[Reason - I think its bad luck again though I am not really sure.]
3. Don’t stay out on Saturdays and if you were out the day before, stay right there because Saturday is not a good day to return home.
[Reason – Bad Omen]
4. Women are not allowed to cook and touch kitchen appliances and water while they are having their periods.
[Reason – Women are considered impure during this stage. Scientifically, there’s this unhygienic factor and in my opinion, it must have been put to practise ages ago to prevent women from working for their own safety which has been misinterpreted by fanatics.]
5. When you see a shoe turned upside down, make sure you flip it over.
[Reason – Bad Luck]
This is a very good post. We also have the “three on a match” myth. There was even a film about it from the 1930s. Numbers are often considered to have magical properties, or lucky/ unlucky. Entire religions are based on this concept (eg Kabbalah).
J-