Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education (DepEd)

Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)
Division of Leyte
PALOMPON SOUTH DISTRICT
Mazawalo Elementary School
Palompon, Leyte

ENDURING BELIEFS AND VALUES IN OUR

LOCALITY
1. If a person dreams of having his teeth pulled out, this means that a family
member will die.

2. A woman who sings while cooking will not be able to marry throughout her life.

3. If a person bites his tongue, it means somebody is thinking of him.

4. Taking pictures of a pregnant woman will cause an abortion.

5. There should be a “pansit” or noodles on birthday celebration so that the

celebrator will have a long life.

6. Throwing rice grains at the newlyweds will bring them prosperity.

7. Do not share with the food being eaten by a pregnant woman. If you do, you will
either become sleepy or drowsy.

8. Brides should not try on their wedding dress before the wedding day or the
wedding will not push through.

9. Black ants means money

10. If one gets lost on his way to a certain place, he should invert his shirt and he will
find his way.

11. One should open his window early in the morning so that grace will come in.

12. If one meets a black cat while crossing the road, a misfortune will occur.

13. One should not sit on his books because it will make him dull.

14. If one’s palm becomes itchy, she/he will receive money.

15. If one removes the plates while an unmarried woman/man is still eating, that
woman/ man will stay single all her life.

16. The woman who eats crabs during pregnancy will have a baby with six fingers or
with other physical deformities.

17. During Holy week, people should not go out or travel in order to avoid accidents.

18. Women who have a mole under the eyes where tears fall will be widowed early.

19. No bringing food from the wake because if they’ll do, someone of their family
will get sick.
20. Avoid sweeping at night time because they cannot receive more blessings in the
family.
21. Avoid buying things every January 1 because they cannot save money for the
whole year.
22. If brown butterfly will come inside the house it means visitors coming or money
23. Doing nail cutting at night is prohibited because it’s a sign of bad omen.
24. Taking bath on Tuesday or Fridays is strictly not allowed to some family because
those are the days for not like ours to take a bath.
25. Taking picture should be even numbers because add numbers connotes bad
omen.
26. A single girl who always wears pearl jewelry or always sing while cooking in front
of the pot will never marry and become an old made.
27. Black ants inside the house are a sign of good omen or good luck, so don’t drive
them away.
28. Throwing of salt to the sea, it will make the waves of the sea calm.
29. If you want to get rid of unwanted visitors, secretly sprinkle salt around your
home and they will soon leave.
30. All windows inside a house should be opened on New Year’s Day to let good
fortune come in.
31. Very early in the morning before the chicken find food, you plant a small amount
of corn so that when you plant after breakfast there will be no chicken eats the
planted corn all throughout until the harvest.
32. If there is heavy rain especially when the rain lasts for two days. You get an
amount of ash; you pray the ash then after praying you throw the ash outside
after throwing the rain stops.
33. If one catches the bride’s bouquet after a wedding ceremony, she will also get
married soon.
34. A baby born with a big birthmark on its body will be lucky
35. If during the time a house is being built the carpenter meets with accident, the
owner of the house will have misfortune in life.
36. A girl who sings before a stove while she cooks will be married to an old
widower.
37. If a pregnant woman cuts her hair, she will give birth to hairless child.
38. One should not sit on his books because it will make him dull.
39. A boy who sleeps on a table will someday marry a widow.
40. When an adolescent plays, it will rain.
41. A couple will not be happy in their marriage if loud thunder occurs during their
wedding.
42. One will have bad luck if he breaks a mirror.
43. If one points his finger at a rainbow, his finger will be cut off.
44. When the ants start to climb up the house, it will rain.
45. If one reconstructs his house, he should not cut the post because that might
cause him to lose his wealth.
46. The family that lives in a house in which the stairs face the sun will have bad
luck.
47. During menstruation a woman should not touch or pinch plants, otherwise, the
plants will die.
48. Old clothes given to other people should not go out travel in order to avoid
accidents.
49. Whistling in the evening is bad.
50. Drying clothes, especially underwear, at night causes pregnancy.
51. If single lady dreams of a wedding, she will become an old maid.
52. No cooking of Malunggay if someone’s dead/ if someone in the family passed
away because all the family members will die.
53. No singing in front of the dirty kitchen while cooking because your hair will turn
white.
54. Putting/offering food on the altar during all soul’s day because the souls of their
love ones will visit in their house.
55. A visitor will arrive if a big brown butterfly will come inside your house.
56. If a black butterfly will come inside the house it means a member of a family will
die.
57. Avoid going to wake when you’re pregnant because it affect the good health of
the baby.
58. Avoid wearing red when here’s a wake because wearing red means you’re
happy.
59. When the neck of the pregnant woman is black means that the baby inside the
womb of the woman is a baby boy.
60. If you will cut yourself and get wounded on Good Friday it will not be cured.
61. Taking a bath before delivery will hasten the birth of the baby.
62. The groom must arrive before the bride at the church to avoid bad luck.
63. Sharp objects are said to be a bad choice for wedding gifts for this will lead to a
broken marriage.
64. If a person dreams of having his teeth pulled out, this means that a family
member will die.
65. No sweeping the floor of the house until after burial.
66. A lingering black butterfly is a sign that one of your relatives died.
67. Burying coins under the post during house constructions will bring abundance in
everything.
68. If two sisters/brothers get married within the same year, one will have a
prosperous married life, the other a sorrowful life.
69. During Holy week, grilled food is strictly not allowed to be eaten because skin
will also get burn like grilled food.
70. Sewing at night, using hand needle is not allowed because it’s a sign in the family
of bad omen.
71. When somebody die in the family, all members with in the household, are not
allowed to take a bath within the house, not unless it will be interment. They
may take a bath in other house if they like because members of the family if not
all, will follow to die.
72. When a member of the family is dead, and it is still in the house, nobody is
allowed to sweep the floor or even in the surroundings because some members
of the family if not all, will follow to die.
73. House Building Superstitious
Doors should always be on the right side of the house and the stairs should
always turn to the right to keep a married couple loyal to each other.
74. Sundry Superstitious
A spoon that accidently drops on the floor means that an unexpected female
visitor will arrive. If it is a fork that drops means that the surprise visitor will be a
man.

75. Money-Related Superstitious

Bills should be arranged neatly inside the wallet or purse from the largest to the
smallest denomination in such away, that when you open your wallet the first to
be seen will be the largest bill.
Never let your money passes through a window because money will run away
from you.

76. Meaning of Moles

A mole on the back of the neck means that the person is a liar and is an
unfaithful lover.
A person who has a mole on the center of his forehead means that he possesses
an acute intellect and will be successful in business.

77. About the Burial

For as long as the deceased was in state, sweeping the floor and taking a bath in
the house were forbidden. The bereaved were also cautioned to keep their tears
from dropping in the coffin.
78. About the All Saints/Souls Day
November 1 is a day for remembering the dead. According to the catholic belief
though it is not biblical. Tradition has it that the immediate members of the
deceased go to the cemetery a few days before All Saints Day to clean and
white-wash the tombs of their dead. On the day itself, the family attends a mass
before going to the cemetery bringing with them flowers, drinking water and
food to last till midnight. The cemetery becomes a busy and crowded place.
Candles are lighted during the day and all through the night to the house of the
next day.

79. Walking Under a Ladder

An open ladder forms a triangle, and triangles were once considered a symbol of
life, so walking through that shape was considered tempting your fate. It is also
through that because it has three sides, the triangle symbolizes the Holy Trinity,
and breaking it by entering the triangle is bad luck.

80. Tossing Salt

The belief of tossing a pinch of salt over your left shoulder to get rid of bad luck
come from the legend that the devil is always standing behind you, and throwing
salt in his eyes distracts him from causing trouble. Nowadays, most people only
do this after spilling salt, which is thought commodity long ago and folklore it to
unlucky omens in order to prevent wasteful behavior.

81. Knocking on Wood

Knocking on wood, or simply saying “knock on Wood” after making a hopeful
Statement, is rooted in the idea that you’re tempting fate by acknowledging your
good fortune. The expression comes from the ancient belief that good spirits
lived in trees, so by knocking on something wooden, a person was calling on the
spirits for protection.

82. Sweeping the floor at night is a big no-no in most household because they
believe it will drive away the blessing and good luck.

83. Sleeping while hair is still wet will make you crazy.

84. The Fiesta Celebrations

Fiesta are held on the birthday of the patron saint celebrated with the holding of
a novena, a nine-day devotion of masses followed by special prayers of praise to
the patron Saints. The plaza around the church is decorated with colorful
buntings. On the ninth day, which is the feast day of the saint, a high mass is
celebrated by one or several priests. There are ready made clothes, toys,
Fruits and native delicacies being sold. A brass bond plays after the mass playing
popular Filipino songs, marches and kundimans.
The town fiesta is an event that the residents look forward to. Three or four
months before the fiestas the family takes good care of a piglet and chickens
earmarked for the fiesta. Of course, the fiesta is an occasion when friends and
relatives can be together, enjoy each other’s account of the past year’s
experience and partake of the palatable dishes prepared for a day.

Submitted by;

GALAHAD D. ZARAGOZA