Philippine superstitions

[Tommy T.]

Two more recent instances just occurred to me....

L is very religious as are many Filipinos.

When our new home was completed and we moved in she insisted on a house-warming party - that's cool except I didn't know most of the attendees. But also a priest to bless the house and squirt "holy" water around the place. It did not offend me in the slightest, but just was different to my way of life.

A few weeks ago we bought a small new car. On the day we picked it up L insisted that we needed to get it blessed also. So we had to run around to find a church with a priest available to bless our car. We, fortunately, found one and he read from his laminated page all the blessings and squirted "holy water," inside and out. I had to quickly wipe it off the instrument panel and some other sensitive equipment. Again, no offense to me, but just a bit of wonder to observe this rite.

Oh, I forget the "donation" for the house blessing, but the car was P500. 

I should have been a priest!

 

[Snowy79]

What about the superstition that it's bad luck to give borrowed money back! 

[JJReyes]

On 9/12/2023 at 7:00 PM, Tommy T. said:

When our new home was completed and we moved in she insisted on a house-warming party - that's cool except I didn't know most of the attendees. But also a priest to bless the house and squirt "holy" water around the place. It did not offend me in the slightest, but just was different to my way of life.

What about the Hawaiian lady who insisted having her newly constructed home blessed by a Hawaiian Kumu, a Catholic priest and a Shinto priest.  Got everything covered.  The house burned to the ground less than a year later.  Faulty wiring.  She should have spent the money hiring a licensed electrician.

[Tommy T.]

14 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

What about the superstition that it's bad luck to give borrowed money back! 

Unless it is an "official" loan from a bank or whatever.... my experience is that "borrowed" money is not truly borrowed, but rather a gift. And I know you are likely familiar with this? Imagine how unseemly it must be to return borrowed money.... Yes. I think that must be a superstition. (or a stupidstition?)

[Tommy T.]

13 hours ago, JJReyes said:

What about the Hawaiian lady who insisted having her newly constructed home blessed by a Hawaiian Kumu, a Catholic priest and a Shinto priest.  Got everything covered.  The house burned to the ground less than a year later.  Faulty wiring.  She should have spent the money hiring a licensed electrician.

Ah.... I think just a squabble between religions..... Too many religions spoil the brew? (or something like that?) 

[Viking]

On 9/19/2023 at 2:09 PM, Snowy79 said:

What about the superstition that it's bad luck to give borrowed money back! 

Then the pinoys must be luckiest people in the world 😂

[Tellamugalie]

So,

What is the thinking with the Aswang, is it strictly a children's story or is there a genuine belief in parts of the Philippines. 

My wife indicated that when she was in school her uncle told he killed one on a rural property.   

Is it a belief system from pre religion or does it navigate religion beliefs as well.

[craftbeerlover]

1 hour ago, Tellamugalie said:

So,

What is the thinking with the Aswang, is it strictly a children's story or is there a genuine belief in parts of the Philippines. 

My wife indicated that when she was in school her uncle told he killed one on a rural property.   

Is it a belief system from pre religion or does it navigate religion beliefs as well.

Absolutely a genuine belief and it transcends religion (and then again it doesnt).   And no, it is not strictly a childrens story, it is an actual superstitious belief passed on the the children by the parents.  No worries, the Aswang is not alone, there are hundreds of other like beliefs to keep it company.  These beliefs are very very widespread throughout all of the Philippines.    My son's Aunt was a little darker because her mom ate burnt toast while she was pregnant.   I know people that swear they have seen people change into bats.   Others cannot ever go to the river because of the dwarf that lives there, the list is endless.  IMHO much of this is a direct reflection of the education system in the country.  To make things worse, some of the teachers pass this nonsense on to the students.