Superstition: Shards Of Yesterday

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Philippine Superstition: Shards of Yesterday My experiences with Philippine superstition have only surfaced the deep and mysterious world that it is, but the weekly afternoon strolls I took with my lola have given me enough material to put under the light of study, and eventually fashion into a personal definition. The Philippine beliefs and superstitions that circulate in our traditional and social tracts today are remnants of a time when the Filipino had yet to see the light of science. It is evident in the pamahiins of our elders that those who came up with them applied no variation of the scientific method, nor did they present concrete and recurring proofs. In logical terms, they were assumptions, attempts at making sense of what they observe around them. In this essay, those beliefs will be placed in the frame of reference that is the 21st century, in hopes of understanding them with the advent of science, objectivity, and reason. Some beliefs are relatively harmless, when applied to the times today. My lola used to tell me about why she wouldn't sweep at night. She told me that doing so would 'sweep out the fortune' in the household, putting everyone in the midst of financial turmoil. Now, putting it in a sequence of events, there is no justification as to how sweeping at night would suddenly jump into sweeping out money, unless the figurative elements of sweeping out are put into play. However, avoiding such would pose no real threat, except to the procrastinating chore-doer who put off sweeping until the end of the day. Another thing she told me about was that women should avoid singing while cooking because it would turn them into maidens forever, never to marry. Again, there is no logical continuity that would make sense of it, but avoiding singing while cooking would really make no big difference. She also mentioned that I should be wary of
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