Superstitions in Tamilnadu

Tamilians’ Superstitions

·        A bird’s nest in the house, where pregnant woman lives is not to be removed.

·        A girl born as a fifth child in a family will bring good luck and wealth.

·        A new vehicle is to be driven over lemons to start its journey.

·        A portrait of Kandhrishti Ganapathy, Kan Drishti Ganesha or Kandhrishti Vinayagar hung at the entrance of your house will destroy evil eye. 

·        A pregnant woman is not to walk in the dark for fear of attack by spirits.

·        A pregnant woman’s desire of eating any thing must be fulfilled, or else the baby will be born with ear problems.  

·        A toad should not fall on a pregnant woman, or else the baby would be weak.

·        Fruits like lemon, pumpkin and coconut can absorb negative energy.

·        If Non vegetarian food is to be carried at night, it must be taken with charcoal (aduppu kari).

·        If you suspect a person as the cause of evil eye, bring some sand or earth on which the person has set foot. Circle this thrice over the victim. Allow the victim to spit on this sand thrice. Add red chilies with this and throw in fire. This will eliminate evil eye.

·        Lemon with some chilies is tied and hung in front of the entrance of a house will shield the house from evil eyes. 

·        Salt and red chilies kept in the fist and circled thrice clockwise and thrice anti clockwise in front of a person and throwing them away through the backyard will clear all the evil eyes on that person.

·        Item like salt, needle, curd, soap nut powder, money etc is not to go out of house at night.

·        Taking of photograph will reduce the life of photographed person.

·        To remove negativity around a person, camphor is to be burnt and shown near that person (Dhristi Pariharam or thirusti sutruthal).

·        To ward off the evil eyes, a child is to be applied with a black colour mark called kan drishti pottu (dhristi pottu) on its cheek.

·        Wearing of a black thread brought from hanuman temple will chase away evil eyes.

Eye Twitching Superstitions

According to an old Chinese saying, "the twitching of the left eyelid indicates the coming of good fortune; while the right one is a warning about the coming bad luck." 

A twitching right eye is considered a bad omen which foretells of ill luck headed your way! In women the tables are turned as a twitching right eye signifies good luck while a twitching left one is considered a bad prognostic.

According to the Chinese, the twitching of the right eye in men signifies an important windfall or good luck, but a twitching left eye would signify ill luck.

A twitch in the lower left eyelid means you can expect to cry soon or someone is gossiping about you.

In India, a twitching right eye is definitely a good sign while the left eye twitching is considered inauspicious.  While left eye twitching is considered good for women it might be a bad sign for men.

In some parts of Africa, twitching in your lower eyelid signals that you will soon be shedding tears or when the upper eyelid twitches, it’s a sign you will meet someone unexpectedly.

In Hawaii, twitching left eye can signal the arrival of a stranger, or mourning in the offing.

In general, if your right eye twitches there will soon be a birth in the family. If the left eye twitches there will soon be a death in the family.

To cure a sty, stand at a crossroads and recite,

“Sty, sty, leave my eye
Take the next one coming by.”

If an eyelash falls out, put it on the back of the hand, make a wish and throw it over your shoulder. If it flies off the hand the wish will be granted.