2018 May 28
Growing up in Sri Lanka means that you’ve undoubtedly heard or been the subject of superstitions arising from old wives’ tales. Often intended to act as a compelling reason to perform or refrain from certain activities, many of us find that these come to play a huge role in our lives (often replacing scientific and objective evidence that points to the contrary!)
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the common old wives’ tales we’ve all heard growing up!
Let us know if we’ve missed any in the comments below.
1. Taking a bath when you have your periods is bad for you
This is a tale almost every girl has grown up hearing. Even now, head baths are warned against with just as much vigour and gusto of the stranger-danger lecture. In most cases, bathing before the third day of your period is strictly warned against unless you’re prepared to endure tumours or other such calamitous consequences.
Where does this belief come from and why is it said? There doesn’t really seem to be an answer to this one. What we do know is that all swimmers who’ve gone for practices on the first few days of their period, or those who’ve braved the consequences of the unknown and bathed during this time, turn out just fine.
There’s plenty of scientific evidence out there to show that the only thing that happens if you take a head bath on your period, is that you maintain your health and hygiene. Plain and simple.
2. Cutting your nails in the evening/night is bad for you
Stemming from beliefs relating to black magic and voodoo, cutting nails in the evening (generally after 6 PM) is believed to make you more vulnerable to spells and curses. Because it is believed that such summoning rituals are performed at dusk, if you decide to undertake some basic grooming at this time you could be the victim of dark spells and curses*
Despite the strength of such beliefs in present-day Sri Lanka, however, the origin of such a claim was most probably due to the fact that cutting your nails at night, in the past, meant that you were doing so in the dark (as there was no electricity), with a knife (yep, there were no nail clippers either). These factors when taken together, would undoubtedly spell out disastrous consequences, thus providing a more practical (yet outdated) reason as to why cutting nails after 6 PM was highly discouraged.
*This is same in terms of the old wives’ tale warning young women against combing their hair in the evening
3. The gender of an unborn baby can be determined by the shape of an expecting mother’s stomach
Tales relating to pregnancy are quite widespread in Sri Lanka and are adhered to with great reverence. One of the more common myths relating to expecting mothers states that the gender of a baby can be predicted by the shape of the mother’s stomach. It is believed that if the stomach hangs low and is somewhat spread out, it is likely that the child will be a girl. If, on the other hand, the stomach takes on a pointy shape or is positioned a little high, it is possible that the mother carries a boy.
It doesn’t seem that science or medicine backs this particular tale, given that the size and shape of a mother’s stomach really depends on a number of other factors.
4. Carrying meat in the night without aluminium/iron is bad
Arising out the belief that pork and other meats are vulnerable to attacks/possession by the devil, many are of the opinion that if meat is being carried about/delivered in the night it must be wrapped in aluminium and contain some sort of iron to ward off evil spirits. If you receive any delectable ribs or some delicious pork curry in the evening hereafter, watch out for foil wrapped containers and disappointed evil spirits lurking around.
5. Bending over during the last trimester of your pregnancy can deform your baby
Perhaps passed down to every expecting mother in the hopes that they would move about with greater care and caution, this particular old wives’ tale has inspired fear in expecting mothers for generations. Despite the sincerity of this belief, however, science shows that bending over will not harm your baby in the way that it is believed, given that the foetus is safely cocooned in your stomach under several layers of muscle and fat.
While it doesn’t hurt to be careful with your movements at any point in your pregnancy, it isn’t likely that your child will be hurt or deformed if you find yourself needing to bend over.
6. Pregnancy Cravings
In many rural parts of the country, it is a common belief that when a woman is pregnant she must be given the food she craves, lest she suffers severe consequences. It is believed that if an expecting mother doesn’t have her cravings satisfied, she might become weak and her foetus angry, risking the possibility that the child will turn out deformed.
It is also believed that it is possible to gauge the sex of the baby based on the cravings of the mother. If the mother is shown to crave sweet food, chances are that the baby is a boy. If, on the other hand, a pregnant woman craves more acidic food, it is believed she will give birth to a girl.
