Tales from the Nile
For centuries
superstitions have been Egyptians’ daily companions, writes Mai Samih
There are
three types of superstitions in Egypt. The first are the superstitions we have
inherited from our ancestors, the ancient Egyptians. The second are the ones
that have come from foreign conquests, even as far back as the Roman conquest
in the first century BCE, and the third are modern superstitions that are the
synthesis of ancient and more modern stories.
Among
ancient Egyptian superstitions there are many that deal with children. For
example, one says that a baby should not be bathed for the first two weeks
after birth to protect him from the evil eye. Some people still hold this
belief and dress their babies in worn-out clothes. Others go to extremes by
putting earth on the cheeks of a newborn child to protect him from the evil eye
or by drawing a small blue human hand on its head to prevent it from having
cross eyes. This is still practised in some rural areas.
If a child
is a girl, some superstitions hold that this means the parents will come into
money. During the seboa, the celebration that takes place seven days
after a child's birth as seven was a lucky number for the ancient Egyptians, a
baby is shaken in a sieve to cleanse it from evil spirits. This is an
originally ancient Egyptian tradition that has been practised by many Egyptians
no matter what their religious background.
Other
superstitions inherited from the ancient Egyptians have to do with behaviour in
everyday life. One should never suddenly awake a person, for example, as this
could separate the soul from the body. Cats were sacred animals to the ancient
Egyptians, and they associated them with the goddess Bast, the goddess of the
protection of women and children and fertility. As a result, cats were
venerated and treated the opposite to the Western superstition that says you
should worry if a black cat crosses your path. The opposite was true in Egypt.
However, if
cats do not bring bad luck, owls do. Among the ancient Egyptians, owls were
feared, and hearing one could be a bad sign.
Other
originally ancient Egyptian superstitions are more practical. Women should
throw salt over their left shoulders before cooking, for example, to ward off
any evil spirits that may lurk in their kitchen. Shoes should never be left
upside down as this way they are facing the gods, which could make them angry.
Black magic was believed to cause failure in all fields of life, and as a
result the ancient Egyptians wrote charms and spells on buildings, doors and
tombs in an attempt to ward off spells.
The ancient
Egyptians placed ladders in the tombs of kings because they believed that these
could help them climb to heaven. For them, if a bird flies into the house, this
could be an omen of death. If a bee flies into the house, this means a visitor
will come. Don’t kill it, as if you do the visit will be unwelcome. If you have
a painful ear, someone is talking about you in a bad way. If you have a nervous
tick in the eye, this could mean bad news.
Other
superstitions related to events. If the bridegroom dropped the ring during a
wedding ceremony, this could only mean the marriage would be a failure. The
ancient Egyptians were among the first to use rings and bracelets to celebrate
marriages, which they considered to be sacred relationships. To ward off evil
spirits they used to break a piece of pottery behind a person they did not like
or thought was evil. This still goes on today in some rural areas.
To spill
coffee is a sign of good fortune. Knocking on wood is a way of calling good
spirits to protect you from misfortune as the ancient Egyptian believed such
spirits lived in trees. They also believed the colour turquoise was a sacred
colour that could ward off evil spirits, which is why they made so many blue or
turquoise statues of their gods. The scarab beetle was sacred for the ancient
Egyptians, and it was also believed that it helped keep women fertile. A blue
stone scarab was used as a good luck charm and still is today.
The ancient
Egyptians used to celebrate birthdays on the exact day a person was born and
never before it as this was believed to mean that that person would not live
after it. They thought that snakes could be summoned by music, notably by
playing the recorder or flute.
The ancient
Egyptians worshipped animals because they saw them as related to the gods and
the spirit world. They believed in black magic and wrote spells on amulets and
charms that they would carry around with them. A man might write a love spell
on a piece of papyrus, for example, and tie it to a lock of the hair of his
loved one. If she found the spell, she would fall in love with him. If he could
not get a lock of her hair, he might draw her face on a piece of ceramic and
attach the spell to the drawing.
The ancient
Egyptians also believed in prophecies and dreams that would be interpreted for
them by temple priests, especially those from the Amon Temple who were believed
to have knowledge of the future. Dreams were sacred and a means of
communicating with the gods.
Other
superstitions inherited from the past that still exist today include the idea
that you should never throw away your cut hair, especially not on the floor,
because you will feel pain if someone steps on it. If you want your hair to
grow fast, you should look for a generous person to cut it for you. You should
never cut your hair before visiting a new mother as that could make her milk
dry up. A newly shaved person should not visit a new mother for the same
reason.
If you
leave a warm seat, you may come into a fortune. You should never leave part of
your drink not drunk when visiting a family as this could turn their daughters
into old maids. Never leave a pair of scissors open, and never sew a black
garment at night as this brings bad luck. If you put a pair of scissors under
the pillow of a person suffering from nightmares, the bad dreams will stop.
Never wear
other people's marriage rings, as this brings bad luck. Never tell anyone how
much you earn if you want to avoid the evil eye. Do not count money as it could
become useless. If a pregnant woman is not given what she wants, her baby could
end up with an image of that thing on his body. Always step into homes or
buildings with your right foot first, as this brings good luck. Never use the
left foot.
Never let a
black cat pass you, especially at night. If a man obeys his wife, this could
mean that she is using black magic. Never kill ants in a mosque or a church as
they are guarding these holy places. A blue human hand or blue eye can help
ward off evil spirits and the evil eye. Some people also hang little sachets of
salt around the necks of children to ward off the evil eye. Piercing paper
dolls with pins can be a way of warding off envy and defeating enemies.
If a beetle
is burnt in an abandoned house it will soon have inhabitants (a belief coming
from the ancient Egyptians). Whether a day is good or bad will be determined by
the first face a person sees. The sound of an owl at night or a raven by day
can bring bad luck.
If a girl
wants to get married, she should pinch a bride on the knee. It is never a good
idea to spray water on someone, especially a relative, as this means these
people will never see one another again. After burying the dead, the ancient
Egyptians used to spray water on the ground so the deceased could rest in peace
in the afterlife. An old abandoned house is considered haunted, and the best
cure for this is hanging an old shoe on one of its walls to bring happiness to
its new inhabitants.
A jin (genie)
can marry human women and produce offspring. In the Siwa Oasis in the Western
Desert, it is believed that a bride to be should take a shower under a
waterfall to have beauty and good luck. On the other hand, a girl who is in the
habit of staring in a mirror at night will never get married and will go mad.
The same goes for a girl who eats fish or drinks milk on Wednesdays.
According
to the custom of nadr, if something good happens to you or a member of
your family, you should give something to the poor. In ancient times,nadr was
in the form of a gift to the gods as a sign of obedience and fear of their
anger. Another traditional belief is in vengeance: family members must avenge
deceased relatives in order to placate their spirits. This idea is still
present in Upper Egypt, where it is called al-tar.