Society : Hilarious

By Princess Nsikak.

HILARIOUS
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Back then in Lagos, I was still in primary school. When classmates beg Onyinye for her 'Egg'. Her serious reply would be 'sharing her egg means her child won't be whole' and we all believed her.
Even in the compound, mothers rarely shared their eggs (the egg we eat o) for fear of having a child that's deformed or not complete. Funny thing is, we (I inclusive) believed it.
As I got older, I came to the conclusion they didn't just want to share their eggs with anyone or maybe, just maybe they were made to believe that sharing their eggs would actually lead to an incomplete child, you know?
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After watching Karashika back then, I'd be scared to sleep alone in my room. I'd even run out as soon as the power is off, I'd stay out till one of my parents came back from work.
So these kids in the compound told me if I didn't want witches to chase me, I should put salt always in my bathing water. This they said will chase them away. And then, there was one rumor that went around that, a man was bathing and a witch ‪#‎karashikaed‬ his water making him blind. Omo, after that I wise up, na so salt I dey pack put for my water.
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So what superstitions were you told and still believed in?
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1. Hitting your left leg on a stone is seen as an evil omen or warning to turn back from where ever the person might be going. This omen is taken seriously and the journey is usually forfeited for the future. Failure to heed the warning could lead to possibly loss of life.
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2. Don’t drink the water from a coconut else you automatically become an olodo
(E mean say almost all Nigerians would be dullards na)
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3. It is not a good idea to whistle at night. There is this belief that such whistling attracts snakes to the whistler.
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4. Don’t allow people to crossover your hand or leg,else you will give birth to a child with one hand or leg.
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5. Owls hooting on a rooftop or on a nearby tree is a bad omen as it is believed that someone in that house will soon die.
(Was told this by my cousin sef)
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6. If your hands are itching without reason, it is believed that some kind of fortune is about to come your way.
(My hands itches me every minute, I'm still waiting)
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7.Eating in the dark is forbidden. It is believed that such act could give room to the dead to eat with you and this could lead to your death or grave ailments.
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8. If you spit on the floor and someone steps on it you will have sore throat.
(This still disturbs me till now. I spit on the floor, I'd have to go back to clean it for fear of sore throat  )
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9. Don’t bend over and look through your legs in public, you may see witches.
(Was told this too, especially looking at the rear view mirror of your car)
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10. Hitting a man with a broom would make him impotent. It is believed that if a man is hit with a broom he becomes impotent until he retaliates by hitting the person back with a broom seven times.
(No wonder moms never beat the male sons with broom )
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11. Lending morning in the morning
If you expect the traditional Nigerian man to lend you morning in the early hours of the morning or to pay up its debts, then you have got the wrong think coming. There is this strong belief in the traditional Nigerian society that giving morning out in the early hours of the morning could bring a whole lot of bad luck across your way.
And this is why sellers never sell on credit in the morning. Don't even try it, if you don't want cusses. Lmao 
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12. Eating the food of a woman seeing her messes
Perhaps this belief came from the biblical perspective that women on their monthly periods are unclean. Eating the food of women seeing their periods is generally believed to reduce sexual potency and weaken any talisman used by the male. This belief is strongly held by the traditionalists in the Nigerian society.
( I don't believe this, hope you don't too, right? )
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Ever heard of food superstitions???
13. Garlic is not just great to spice up your food and ward off colds - it also wards off bad spirits. If you want to prevent someone from giving you the Evil Eye and bestowing bad luck on you, you should always carry some garlic in your pockets. Garlic is also a powerful deterrent for demons, werewolves and vampires. To protect yourself from vampires, wear bulbs of garlic around your neck, hang it in windows, rub it on chimneys and keyholes or place wreaths of garlic over your doors. To protect your newborn baby from evil spirits, hang some garlic in the room.
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14. Salt
Spilling salt is considered very unlucky. This is probably due to the fact that it was a very expensive commodity in the past – wasting salt was like wasting money! If you spill salt, the only way to turn your bad luck around is to throw some salt with your right hand over your left shoulder. It is believed that the salt will go into the devil’s eyes and blind him from seeing your stupidity and taking your soul.
Some people also believe that you should strew salt on the windows and threshold of a new house before the new inhabitants move them, to protect them from evil.
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15. Eggs
There are many strange beliefs around eggs. In Europe, some farmers plant eggs in their fields or throw eggshells between the rows of crops to ensure a good harvest. Jews believe that eating an egg with two yolks will bless you with bearing many children. And; if you want to bake a lovely cake, do it while the sun is rising and don’t throw away the eggshells before the baking is done.
If you want to start your day with a boiled egg, make sure that the witch does not get her way. There’s an ancient belief that you should always crush the ends of an egg’s shell after eating it, otherwise a witch would gather the shells and use them to build a boat and sail out to sea to raise terrible storms.
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16. Bread
According to a very old superstition, it’s really bad luck to find a hole in a loaf of bread when cutting it. The hole in the loaf symbolises the coffin and implies that someone is to die soon.
On a lighter note, if you’re serious about getting married, remember to never ever take the last piece of cake or the last biscuit on a plate – if you do that, you’ll never find a husband!
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17. Onions
If you throw onion peelings on the floor, you’ll throw away your luck. Protect your home from bad spirits by sticking a small onion full of pins and keeping it in a window.
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18. Tea
There are many beliefs – both good and bad – around tea. To put milk in your tea before sugar, is to cross the path of love, perhaps to never get married. Stirring your tea anti-clockwise also spells trouble and, if the tag falls off the teabag while in your cup, you’re bound to lose something within a week.
If you find undissolved sugar in the bottom of your teacup, someone has a crush on you. Spilling some tea while preparing it, is another lucky omen, whilst spilling tea while carrying the teapot means a stranger is to visit soon.
If you’re worried about evil spirits bringing trouble to your home, protect yourself by scattering tea leaves at the entrance of your house.
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I'm not saying these are real/true. They are superstitions. Don't know if going against these things brings bad omen.
But I was told most of these things and some I asked around and read too.
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What superstitions were you told or may have heard about?
Do share..
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