A popular saying is that if your ear is ringing, someone is talking about you.
This superstitious saying creates paranoia in many who believe in it mainly because they begin to wonder or try to figure out who is talking about them and why.
Don’t cut a baby’s hair before its first birthday.
The reason behind this saying is that if you do so, the child will have “bad” hair or bad luck. This may hold valid reasoning. Africans’ hair naturally changes texture many times throughout their lifetime, and different methods of haircuts can affect the look or texture. Then there were instances where babies fell ill because they did not have hair on their head to help in keeping them warm.
If you keep making funny faces, one day it will get stuck that way.
This one is mostly told to children, and of course, many fall for it. One teen recalls seeing a man with very big eyes, and believed that the condition was self-inflicted.
If your palm is itching, it means that you are coming into some money.
This saying suggests that an itch in the right palm of your hands means that you will gain money; an itch in the left palm means you will lose money.
Many modern-day Africans living in Guyana would buy lottery tickets whenever the palm of their right hand itches. On the other hand – pun intended – whenever the left hand itches worry takes over.
Don’t put your purse on the floor or you’ll stay or get broke.
The belief behind this saying is that since the floor is the lowest one can go, one should avoid putting one’s bag, purse or wallet there. Keep it in high places and you will live the high life. This goes along with the saying, “Do not hang your clothes upside down or that’s how your life will go.”
Fish dreams mean that someone is having a baby.
After a dream of fish, most African grandmothers would question the younger girls in the family to see if they “get catch.” It is also said that animals know when you are pregnant. Some scientists believe that a dog’s keen sense of smell allows it to notice hormonal differences in a woman when she’s pregnant.
Don’t go to the zoo when you are pregnant.
If you do, your baby will come out looking like an animal, particularly a monkey.
Perhaps, in some rare cases, this superstition keeps pregnant women away from the zoo. On the same note, there is a saying that you should not be bothered too much by a particular person during your pregnancy or your baby will resemble that person.
It’s bad luck to cross a black cat’s path.
This is a timeless myth that originates from multiple cultures. Black cats seen as mystical, sneaky, and even evil. If a man crosses paths with a black cat at night when walking alone, he might become afraid and be cautious of what might happen next.
Never buy your partner shoes as a gift or he or she will walk out your life with them.
Many have wondered about the logic behind this superstitious saying, but few have ever risked trying it out.
Never put your hat on a bed, or you will have bad luck (or die).
Africans believe that putting your hat on the bed somehow gives you bad luck. If one mistakenly puts a hat on the bed, he or she has to lay on it before removing it.