Strange Superstitions Around the World #2

What do you think only India believes in superstitions? If you think yes, comment yes, and if no, then comment no. If you are in India and a science lover, you will definitely say yes. I am correct, isn't it?

Hello guys, welcome to the 2nd article of  "World-wide Superstitions". I hope you liked the 1st article. Today we will talk about the superstitions of Africa and European countries such as Russia, France, Germany. Let's start from Africa!

Africa

In some areas of Africa, superstitions carry a lot of weight. They are a big part of daily life, especially when it comes to sickness and success. Many villages across the region have a witch doctor, who will be consulted before consulting a medical professional. 

Some of the cures that are suggested involve the patient acquiring ingredients such as the eggs of a snake or the claws of a wild cat. I imagine it reduces the number of people calling in sick of work. Imagine, if you needed to get some alligator teeth to be written a sick note…um… no thanks, I’ll be at my desk🤢🤮.

In Sierra Leone, Alhaji Suliaman Kabba runs the union of traditional healers (a person who seeks to cure diseases or heal injuries by means other than conventional medical treatment) and one major area of concern for them is Witch Guns.

They are not pointy-hatted women holding firearms as you might be thinking but killing with, but a way of killing with a curse. According to Kabba, “The earliest and deadliest type of witch gun is made out of the husk from rice”. So, beware of anyone carrying a bag of basmati through the airport check-in.

Although you do not need to be on the plane to do the damage. Since the range of these guns is unlimited. And although witchcraft is not officially recognized in the courts, suspects have still been tried and convicted for these suspicious killings nevertheless.

Anyone who dies young without a clear cause is often thought to be a witch gun attack. And if you can not find a witch gun, then grab her broomstick. Since, in Nigeria, it is thought that hitting a man with a broom can cause him to becomes impotent. Even making his entire genitals (relating to the human or animal reproductive organs) disappear.

Fortunately, the victim can quickly save himself if he grabs the broom and returns at least seven brooms to his attacker.

I don’t even want to think of what happens if you hit someone with a vacuum cleaner. Speaking of manhood, to reach it within the Maasai tribe in Kenya, the young boy must head out to the plains and catch himself a lion, using only a spear.

Europe

We come to Europe now, and well will start with one of the favorite pastimes; drinking. From Russian vodka to  German beer and French wine, the Europeans love to drink. A report from the World Health Organisation, published in 2014, showed Belarus leading the world in alcohol consumption per capita – with 17.5 liters of alcohol drunk per person per year.

Just to be clear, that’s pure booze. So in more realistic terms, that would be equivalent to about 900 per year of beer, per person, per year. In fact, European countries occupy 26 of the top 30 alcohol-consuming nations, with only Grenada, South Korea, Australia, and South Africa joining in for another round at the winner’s bar.

So, given Europe’s love of the bottle, there are plenty of alcoholic superstitions going around. In Russia, you should always finish all of your drinks. If it’s a shot, you must never put it back on the table until it is empty. You should clink glasses for each new round of drinks unless you are at a funeral.

If you want to send friends to their funeral in Germany. You just have to say "cheers", or “prost" in German, with a glass of water. It is considered very rude in places like Bavaria. Since you are wishing death upon everyone. But the Germans often meet up for a drink down their local, often called a Stammtisch – meaning regular's table.

When you walk in, rather than waving to the group, you should knock on the oak table that they are sitting around. Now, as you all know, the devil can not touch oak. He has some sort of allergy, I believe. So, to prove you are not the devil, you should rap on the table.

In France, if you are drinking, you are likely to be eating too. They have the generic fear of the number 13, like much of Europe and the US. But it is especially true for a dinner party. Thirteen guests will mean things turn out very badly for one unlucky dinner. This is thought to come from Jesus's last meal, where Judas turned out to be a traitor(a person who betrays someone or something, such as a friend, cause, or principle). 

Any bread on the table should always be the right way up. Since upside-down bread is the bread for the hangman.

In olden France, the bakers did not want to serve the hangmen. But the king warned them that it was either that or they would end up as toast themselves. So they picked out the worst bread and turned it upside down, in disdain for their least regular customers.

So, not only India but almost whole world is in the trap of Superstitions. You know what's funny? In India, still superstitions are formed due to some reason. Others don't even have a reason.