Birthmarks: Lucky or Not?

I think you have a birthmark in your buttocks. (May balat ka sa p’wet)

Often we hear that line from our aunts and uncles or I should say from older people. When something just went wrong they said “Siguro may balat ka sa pwet?” (Perhaps you have birthmark in your buttocks)

Yesterday, my wife requested me to take her and my daughter to the highway by motorcycle because they will go to my daughter's classmate. Our house is almost one kilometer from the highway and they will just walk through from the intersection to my daughter’s classmate as it is just near from there.

I put my helmet on but my wife and daughter don't have helmets with them. By the way it is prohibited to ride a motorcycle on the highway without a helmet and there should be only one back ride. If the back ride is a child, his feet should have reached the foot rest and be able to hug the driver close tight.

I suggested not putting helmets on them because the street from our house to the highway is two way narrow street and not accident prone. It’s not necessarily needed unless one will drive on the highway.

Upon approaching the main road, I slowly pull over to drop my wife and daughter. Unfortunately there was a Highway Patrol Group (HPG) on the corner and went near me asking for my drivers’ license. But then I explained my intention while extending my license to him.

As my wife stood on the pavement she humored our daughter, “May balat ka yata bebe sa p’wet” .

(Image might be inappropriate for viewers. For educational purposes only. Please click image for full information. )

Firstly, what is a birthmark? For sure most of you here know about it and some have at least one anywhere on their body. From the word itself it is a mark on the skin that develops before a baby is born or sometimes appears soon after. If you are curious enough to know more about it just open a new tab with whatever web browser you are using and ask Mr. Google.

But what birthmark in the buttocks has to do with the unexpected not so bad situation? Why not a birthmark under the armpit? How did they find out that a person with a birthmark in the buttocks is unlucky or has bad luck in him?

Going back to the HPG officer whom I handed my driver’s license to, it appears that he was a new guy because he went to the two HPG officers talking about the supposed traffic violation I committed.

I can hear their conversation from a distance. The other officer who seems at a higher rank asks the officer holding my license. “Is he at the center of the street”? Then answered “No, he already pulled over from a distance.” Said the officer who approached me. Then the other officer said, “Give him back his license so he doesn't have a violation.”

So the officer gave me back my license while trying to remind me of traffic rules and regulations. I politely responded and said thank you. Then I returned home while my wife and daughter headed directly to their destination.

Before that traffic incident, a city traffic enforcer confiscated my driver license a few months ago due to disregarding traffic rules violation. I fetched my daughter from the house of the same classmate whom she went to yesterday. I was fined 350Php just to get back my driver license.

See related post: We Learn To Live

So my wife can indeed say the idiomatic expression with my daughter having a birthmark in the buttocks. Second time an unwanted incident happened with the same people and the same plot of story. In a sense bad luck happens whenever you are with that person. But I am not saying that my daughter has bad luck with her. It only happened two times when she was with me on a motorcycle. I don’t normally accompany my kids on a motorcycle because it is dangerous. But only if necessary.

There are times that we experience repetition of bad incidents with the same person with us. It’s either that we think that the person has some bad luck with him. However, that person is also thinking the same thing to us.

Bad things happen not because of some unlucky person. Bad things happen because of some irresponsible act. As for my case I should be accountable for my own action and my daughter has nothing to do with it.

So a birthmark in the buttocks can be an acceptable expression but should not be taken literally.

I can’t find the origin of “balat sa p’wet” and its connection to bad circumstances on the internet. If you know some information or stories about it please share in the comment.

Thanks for reading. Ciao!

Lead image source credits to  Harley-Davidson

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