Funny Beliefs And Myths
ALTERNATIVE TITLES:
Don’t Dismiss Siam’s Superstitions and Myths Thailand’s Traditional Myths and Funny Beliefs
Thailand is a land that holds myths galore and beliefs that may amuse foreigners, but during a visit don’t dismiss them, otherwise you never know what might happen!
Let’s break these down into some interesting sections. The first being something all Thai’s wish for:
Good luck:
- If you espy a monitor lizard entering your house, don’t panic too much. Talk to it nicely (perhaps from a barricaded place of safety!) and it will bring you fortune.
- The same goes for any wild animal that enters your household, but the process to bring good luck is of a different nature. You should say prayers, have candles and incense sticks lit and flowers laid out, then kindly ask it to take any traces of bad luck out of the house as it leaves.
- If a toad enters your house this will bring good luck.
- Twitching of the right eye is seen as good luck.
- Twitching right arm muscles will bring you money.
- Essential items to have in your kitchen at all times are eggs and oranges. This will bring happiness to the household.
- When leaving your house, it is important to lead with your left foot first as this will bring a good day in whatever you do.
- Finding bees have made a hive in your house is good luck. Do not destroy it as bees are diligent and this will bring good luck to the household.
The points in the next section should be avoided at all costs:
Bad luck:
- If a passing bird splatters poop on your head the rest of the day will be potentially disastrous.
- The barn owl is a symbol of curses evil. Beware if one happens to land on the roof of your house. It is a sign of horrible things to come.
- The family of Geckos who share your house (rent paid by keeping the rodent population at bay) are allowed to make loud calls at night, but if you hear them during the day it is considered an omen that bad events are approaching.
- Don’t get your hair cut on a Wednesday. This will bring bad luck. To confirm this check-out the number of hairdressing salon’s that remain closed on the middle day of the week.
- Anyone taking a tree from temple grounds to plant at home should think more than twice. Trees growing in the grounds are considered sacred and are meant to be left untouched. By moving one elsewhere it is said that bad events will occur in the place it is re-planted.
- Twitching of the left eye is a sign of bad luck.
- Twitching left arm muscles are a sign that you will lose money.
- Sweeping the house floors at night will mean you are sweeping out the money earned that day.
- If you have a dream that involves you kissing someone this will bring bad luck.
This section is very close and believable to all Thai’s, so treat the topic of ghosts, spirits and the after-life very seriously:
The spirit world:
- Hearing strange human voices calling you during the night should not be answered, because it could be ghosts. Responding to and acknowledging the voices means you are allowing them to enter the house.
- Randomly smelling incense sticks burning in the middle of the night mean that the spirits of close relatives are in your company.
- When visiting any building with a threshold you should make sure to step over in and not on it. This is because Thai buildings including houses have different spirits living in and around the premises. One of these is said to make their home in the door threshold. Standing on the threshold means you are risking antagonising it and this could bring bad luck for family members of the house.
- When having a meal do not bang your dishes together or with cutlery. Doing so is an invitation for hungry spirits to join your meal.
- It is not recommended that a pregnant woman attends a funeral. If doing so the spirit of the dead will disturb the baby and is potentially deadly.
- Upon seeing a newborn baby, you should not call it “cute”. Always call it “ugly”, otherwise it will be kidnapped by a jealous spirit.
- Cutting your nails at night will cause your ancestor’s spirits to worry that you will cut yourself.
We must end on a lighter note, and these points should make your ‘people watching’ all the more fun while out and about in the Kingdom:
Appearance and love:
- Anyone with a mole on their lower lip is seen to have a big mouth.
- Those with wandering eyes (and hands) commonly have wavy hair as well as a noticeably shorter neck and face.
- Bald people (usually male!) are seen as being sneaky, flirty characters. To confirm this, ask your Thai friends about the fictional character “Khun Chang”.
- Big ears mean the owner will have an easy life filled with more luck than most, but those with thick ears could well end up lonely and doomed.
- Anyone using different tones during a single conversation is seen to be insincere.
- Babies born with birthmarks have had past lives.
- A single girl should never sing in the kitchen. By doing so she will end up with an old boyfriend or none at all.
- Giving a handkerchief as a gift to a lover or friend is not recommended. It means you will soon part.
- Placing a mirror near your bed so that you can see yourself while in bed means you will obsess about sex.
- Do not have sex on your birthday or on Buddhist holidays. These are days of purity.
Many more to contend with:
We have only really skimmed the surface of strange Thai beliefs, myths and perhaps truths.
Speaking with locals during a stay in the Kingdom will bring lots more interesting superstitions to the fore and send you to bed with something to think about and on that note….
Do not push your bed against the wall of the bathroom as this will ensure your wealth slips away, and when sleeping do not snooze with your head pointing west, or facing the bedroom door. Doing so are two sure-fire ways to have bad dreams!
