"We have nothing to lose anyways" — this is what we always say when we follow age-old traditions from the many different cultural groups that came and went to the Philippines. But some of these beliefs stayed with us even through the years and became the silliest of superstitions that we know today. Here are 10 of them that are related to our houses — whether it's in the kitchen, living room, or elsewhere.
1. Turning Plates In The Middle Of A Meal
Your grandmother has probably done this a million times on her wooden dining table. It's been said that spinning your plate in the middle of a meal is done when someone gets up and leaves. This is because it's believed that it prevents them from getting into an untimely accident on the road or really, any type of threat to their lives.
Never mind your sinigang splattering all over your shirt or your liempo flying towards someone else's plate if you turn yours hard enough; what's important is that the one who left the dining table is safe out there – or at least that's what the older folks claim.
2. Skipping Sweeping At Night To "Save Money"
You can sweep to your heart's content during the day, with your walis tingting taking care of dust and hair on your indoor floors, and your walis tambo for dried leaves on the porch. But whatever you do, don't sweep indoors at night - it's believed that when you do, you're throwing away fortune for the whole household.
If dirt accumulates in your home at night, then you'll have to be patient and wait until the morning to be able to sweep everything clean. So don't be surprised when your grandmother drops by your condo and stops you from cleaning your floors at 8pm - you know where she's coming from.
3. Dropping Cutlery Means Visitors Are Coming
This only works if you drop utensils by accident; if you do it on purpose, it won't take effect (apparently). And it's not just random pieces of cutlery — you can actually predict if a male or female visitor is coming over. If you accidentally drop a fork, it indicates a man is coming over. If it's a spoon, it's a woman dropping by.
These associations come from the shape of the utensils: the concave shape of the spoon's head resembles the womb of a pregnant woman (but it doesn't necessarily mean that the woman coming over is expecting), while the head of the fork supposedly represents a man's legs spread apart and revealing his sensitive parts (which assumes that all forks are 3-toothed only).
4. Sprinkling Salt Around The House To Make Unwanted Visitors Leave
As a Catholic country, we're very familiar with house blessings officiated by priests to drive away unwanted spirits from a new home. But did you know about driving some people away too? Apparently, we can do that: by sprinkling some table salt all over the house.
For the sake of having fun, you can do this if you're having some people over that you've grown too tired to deal with already, and see if it actually works. If it does, then call up your friends and teach them this trick to make their unwanted visitors go elsewhere too.
5. Being Particular With How Many Staircase Steps You Have
"Oro, plata, mata" as the counting of steps goes. This belief basically tells us to avoid having a staircase with steps that are divisible by 3, as this means bad luck for the household. When you're going up the stairs, your first step is "oro" which means gold, then your second step is "plata" which means silver, and your third step is "mata" which means death, then you repeat the counting.
This could make it more difficult for architects and engineers, as they would have to go the extra mile to prevent staircase counts from amounting to any multiple of 3. However, this won't be a problem if they believe in "oro, plata, mata" themselves.
6. Leaving Grains Of Rice In The Rice Cooker
It's said that if you leave rice grains in the rice cooker, you're inviting more blessings in your home especially in the form of food. It's believed that if you do this, your family will never go hungry.
So if you ate for dinner a rotisserie chicken you're supposed to have for breakfast, you can just leave uncooked rice grains in your cooker according to this belief. Who knows, you might miraculously have free food delivered to your doorstep the next day.
7. Never Opening An Umbrella Indoors
When you open an umbrella indoors mindlessly, you're bound to knock things over. This idea stuck to the people and led some to believe that there will be a domino effect of bad luck if you open an umbrella indoors, whether or not you do it with care and precision.
8. Throwing Coins Before Entering Your New House
Filipinos sure do love prosperity, as shown in this belief: if you throw coins all over you new home, you'll have a lot of money. Alternatively, you can place coins in the most random places at home like on your window sill or under your bed. This is also said to "invite" money into your life.
9. Planning Specific Door Positions
This is more of a feng shui belief, but many Filipinos follow it. If 2 doors face each other, those who are inside those rooms may often argue and have disagreements. But this can be "cured" with a curtain on the bedroom door, or placing a Chinese knot or painting of a peony near the doors.
10. Getting Plants With Rounded Leaves
For all self-proclaimed plant lovers out there, it's time to purchase plants with rounded leaves, as these are believed to bring happiness and abundance into your life. Rounded leaves are also said to bring growth and wealth into the household.
Do You Believe In Superstitions?
Have any of these stuck to you from your parents or grandparents? Which do you find the silliest or most sensible? Whether you're into home-related superstitions or not, you can always find great deals if you're selling a property or moving to a new place with PropertyAccess Philippines.
Just search for your desired property, contact the agent, and seal the deal! It's easy as on, two, three! For updates, you may follow our social media channels or send us a message at customercare@propertyaccess.ph.