Strange superstitions in the Caribbean

Recently I read a series of posts across this platform speaking of different beliefs and superstitions and characters of lore from different cultures. These posts were all entertaining and eye-opening. And so, dear reader, if you have previously shared posts speaking to your culture or beliefs, please drop the links below.

Today, I'd also like to share a few of the superstitions from the Caribbean, in particular my country, Trinidad and Tobago, together with my own little soliloquy.

As a point of note, because the Caribbean is relatively young, comprising part of the "new world", and the people who live here represent an amalgam of older cultures, a lot of our traditions, beliefs, practices, and folklore are inherited. And so, depending on where you are in the world, you may find similarity in some of our beliefs.

Incidentally, in the event that any of these are beliefs held by anyone, please know that while I do make some jokes to lighten the topic, no hurt or disrespect is intended, and in my penultimate paragraph, I speak to the reason behind some of these beliefs, at least in my country.

Okay, ready? Let's get into it.

1. A howling dog in the still of night is warning that there's an evil spirit or is warning of an impending death.

Growing up in a rural community, this was not the easiest superstition to live with. If, for example, all the village dogs are sleeping and then one dog begins to howl and other dogs take up his cry, I swear, you get spooked, start whispering prayers, begging for more time to live, crossing your fingers, and looking over your shoulder for an evil presence.

Added to this, because we didn't have running water and had to carry a creaky wheelbarrow to the village standpipe, making enough noise to wake the dead, guess what happened. Not cool, right?

This belief has since been debunked though. Dogs howl for a variety of reasons, but it's likely not because of death or an evil spirit.

1. Putting wax from a dog's eyes into your own will help you to see the spirits of the dead

Okay, so here's the thing. I'm quite okay with not seeing the undead. I'm okay with just dreaming them. Like they could come visit me while I sleep, we could reminisce about old times, they could give me deep advice about life, and then I could wake and everything would be fine. But like why would I want to see if I'm in a room full of other beings not visible to the human eye?

And as for putting a dog's wax (we call it yampee) into my eye, I'm sorry, but ugh. And I'll tell you this, I'm yet to meet the person who would admit that he or she actually did this, all right? But I'm guessing someone must have done it to come up with this theory.

And because the people of my country can sometimes irreverently make fun of any and everything, well....

1. When you're sleeping, if you hear someone you know calling to you, don't answer. It's a jumbie (evil spirit) come to steal your voice.

Easier said than done, bro. Like try controlling your reactions when you're asleep. Besides, if an evil spirit steals my voice, does it then mean I'm mute? And if, for example, I hear your voice calling me and that's an evil spirit, is it that the evil spirit stole yours? Is it that you answered when they called?

1. When entering your home in the night, walk in backwards to prevent evil spirits from slipping in behind you.

And some people would also say, make the sign of the cross at the entrance, or curse the evil spirits to chase them away or, some people will even say strip naked and then walk in backwards.

So get this, right, if the spirits are evil, like wouldn't they enjoy profanities? Like why would cursing be a deterrent?

And then imagine coming home at night, right, and someone planned a secret party for you, like a surprise birthday party, but you don't know that there are tons of people hiding in the dark in your living room, so you want to abide by this rule of stripping all down and walking in backwards. Now wouldn't that be a cold feeling when someone turns on the light and everyone jumps out yelling, surprise?

1. If a girl climbs a tree after she has flowered, that is entered adolescence, then the tree will no longer bear fruit

Okay, I think this one was absolutely made up just to ensure that young ladies remained modest.

1. Do not open umbrellas in the house, jumbies (evil spirits) would shelter

And I'm tempted to ask how did the jumbies even get into the house given that they would have already been roundly cursed and chased away by an irate tenant walking backwards into his or her home, but what do I know.

Personally, I think this was because umbrellas when wet could make a mess, and then they take up an awful lot of space and the spokes could cause accidents, so it would just be better to open them outside so that they'd dry, right?

1. Do not mess with mushrooms, they're jumbie umbrellas

Honestly, what's with jumbies and umbrellas anyway? Just in case you don't know, mushrooms are like these fungal plants that grow in the damp, dark usually underside of dead or rotting trees, right? Some of them are poisonous, and perhaps because children couldn't distinguish which were the correct ones to eat, I think someone came up with this story as a deterrent. That's what I think.

1. Demons and evil spirits live in the silk cotton (ceiba) tree

There are so many legends surrounding this tree. People believed the tree moved at night. They believed you couldn't cut a tree down because you'd be inviting evil spirits and so on. Coincidentally though, the silk cotton tree is revered in many cultures and believed to be sacred.

Other beliefs

There are tons of other superstitions, my friends.

• It was believed that if a colorful butterfly lands on your hand, you'd have a pleasant visitor, and if it's a black butterfly, well...

• It was believed that you will get money if your left hand scratches you, but you would lose it if your right hand scratches.

• If you pointed at a hearse transporting a dead body, it was believed that your finger will fall off.

• If a bird poops on your head, you'd have a lot of luck.

• If someone sweeps on you, you won't get married.

• If someone walks over your feet, they'd have to cross back over or your growth would be stunted

• Do not say the word snake or they would come. Rather, spell s-n-a-k-e. Would you believe my mother truly believes this? She cringes whenever I use the word.

There are countless others, my friends. Here's a link to a few more.

Now I've run out of time and space and I'd hate to bore you or lose your attention going on about our superstitions from yesteryear. I'll say this though, for all my scepticism and the fun I made above. On a serious note, previous generations had their own way of interpreting the world, their customs and their belief systems which kept them safe and helped them to thrive. These beliefs may seem incredulous to us today because as we advance as a society, maybe we have formed different theories and beliefs, but who knows what future generations may think of the things we cherish today, right? Maybe they will discover things that we don't know. And that's the process of evolution, I guess.

Anyways, my friends, what do you think of our superstitions? And what are some strange superstitions in your country? I'd love to know. Next time, maybe I'll share a post on our folklore characters as well and their stories, and I'd like to learn about yours as well.

Thanks for reading, my friends. I truly appreciate your time and attention.

Resources

1. https://rehome.adoptapet.com/answers/dog-rehoming/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dog-is-howling

2. https://www.facebook.com/sandotrust/photos/the-jumbie-tree-trinidad-folkloretaken-from-the-archives-of-angelo-bissessarsing/539224533079341/

3. https://trinituner.com/v4/forums/viewtopic.php?t=246834&start=30