Ich weiß, dass meine Großeltern abergläubisch waren, aber ich erinnere mich nicht an Einzelheiten. Ist Malta ein allgemein abergläubisches Land oder ist Aberglaube etwas, das hauptsächlich von der älteren Generation kommt? Ich bin neugierig auf die gängigsten Glaubensvorstellungen, insbesondere den bösen Blick und alle Arten von Symbolen. Ich habe diesen Link gefunden, der darüber spricht "das Auge des Ra".
Von Mad_Juju
2 Comments
Yes I would say Malta in general is very superstitious, but with each passing generation it’s getting less and less.
The eye you mentioned specifically is designed to work like the horns as protection against the curse, rather than inflicting it. I’ve only seen it used on boats by fishermen.
My mother, who is in her 50s, is extremely superstitious. Some examples of superstitions she believes in:
The evil eye which you mentioned (L-għajn). To her this is when someone marks you for bad luck, mainly because they are jealous. This can be anything from someone actually looking at you funny to thinking about you negatively.
The way to combat it is by making the horns (il-qrun) in a hidden manner (e.g. Under a table). The horns look like rocker horns and you point them to the floor. You have to make this quick or else the curse is irreversible.
The curse (is-saħta) is another favorite of hers. This is when someone basically speaks and curses you, even unintentionally. This has no way of prevention, apart from praying of course. An example is, someone tells you that they really like your shirt and then suddenly it rips.
When I was a kid I remember not being allowed to tell anyone I was going on holiday, or waiting for my exam results, or saying I’m hopeful or happy of anything to anyone, just in case they are curse throwers and the whole thing comes crashing down.
Then there is the standard practice of carrying and wearing as many religious icons as you can in the hopes that at least one will step in and help you in a time of crisis. That’s about all I can remember.
I think combining small island life and extreme religious upbringing naturally leads to superstition. You need to find some way of explaining all the bad things that happen that are out of your control.
I don’t consider myself superstitious but I do find myself making “il-qrun” or knocking on wood or not talking about something I’m hopeful for still every once in a while. I guess old habits (and superstitions) die hard.
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Side story, I personally don’t believe in the “saħta”, except for one single case. There was this woman who everyone said was the worst curse thrower around. Everything she said was a curse basically. One day I had a necklace I had gotten as a gift. She saw it and said “What a pretty necklace you have”. Right at that moment, the necklace broke and fell to the ground. To this day, I don’t know what happened, but maybe some superstitions can be true?
Depends on your level of education and critical thinking. Now marry that to Malta’s census and you will have a rough idea.