Blogpost # 2 Philippine Superstition

Very Superstitious...


                It's no secret that we have a tendency to be very superstitious people. Many citizens that live in provinces still keep much of their cultural heritage and still interact with the tribal cultures that live along side them. Provinces like Siqijor and Capiz are shrouded with mysticism with a variety of interesting hear say regarding the supernatural. However This blog will not be dealing with anything heavy on myth for now. Instead we will deal with us Filipinos in general and our superstitious tendencies.

From the slightest "tabi tabi po" to our wearing of red on Chinese New year to our disregard of wearing red on funerals. Whether or not you believe in these, your mother or your grandmother would probably endlessly tell you about them and set you up in a position to abide by it anyway. It's really no surprise that we as a population act this way.

A typical Chinese New Year sight

I read an article named  "Superstitious Beliefs of Filipinos" by Felix Fojas found on the website "felixfojas.worpress.com" the article states the various superstitions our Country has and the many others that were adopted from other Cultures. It lists examples from House building superstitions to the meanings of the moles in our skin. Examples from the superstitions listed from the "Money Superstitions" are would be to never pass money under a window because it would run from you. And never pay a debt at night. Early in the Article, Mr. Felix Fojas writes:
 
"Some of these superstitious are distinctly Filipino while others have been derived from other cultures. Some are amusing others appear downright ridiculous if not exasperating."
 
Remember that the Philippines is a melting pot of cultures in an Archipelago that was already shrouded with interesting legends. The Chinese traded with us long time ago and we had adopted many of their traditions, the Spanish converted much of Luzon and Visayas and while they did contribute to us Catholicism, the religion in itself has it's fair share of superstitions. Let's not forget the Japanese and our very own Muslim Denizens of Mindanao.
 
Superstitions don't exactly stop with old folk ways passed on by oral tradition. Just like our culture, they seem to find a way to adapt to modern society. When I was in fourth year high school people were really desperate to enter their dream schools. Someone told me that there was a chapel somewhere in Katipunan where, if you were to offer a hard boiled egg on its altar you would pass the UPCAT...Many years later I'm now laughing my ass out as I am typing this. What makes it funnier is that, during that point in time, I actually believed it. Despite the fact that I wasn't planning on taking the UPCAT I still wanted to give it a shot.
 
The point of that small tale was that, up to date, out of desperation, faith, etc. People tend to look to superstitious beliefs as a medium of comfort or as a simple conclusion to a coincidence that occurs frequently. I read an article named "Superstitions" by Michael Tan found in the website www.Inquirer.com, they article is about how superstitious beliefs now hold a place in human tradition. It talks about modern superstitions and how they will keep on evolving over time regardless of our age. I quote from a passage in his article:
 
"Superstitions are powerful because culture is mobilized to propagate them...any Chinese will recount stories about freak accidents and even deaths that occurred during that month, as proof that this is indeed a month of hungry, malevolent ghosts roaming the earth and looking for victims."

We've reached this modern way of thinking where everything must have a certain threshold of rationality to be passed as acceptable evidence. Yet, so many of us, whether we believe it or not still pass around these superstitious beliefs while unconsciously letting them take psychological effects on our minds or even influence our daily lives.
 
Many of us would dismiss these as old wives tales or just outright ignore them, however we can definitely acknowledge that a large chunk of our population holds them in high regard and sometimes live by these superstitions as a guide. There are negative and positive side effects to these but the main thing I would like to acknowledge is that they still affect many peoples livelihoods.