SUPERSTITION IN INDIA

Presented by :-
Upasna Chhikara
"Superstitions are habits rather than beliefs." -
Marlene Dietrich
WHAT IS SUPERSTITION?
 A superstition is the irrational belief that future
events can be influenced or foretold by specific,
unrelated behaviors or occurrences. The earliest
superstitions were created as a way to deal with
ignorance and fear of the unknown.

 Superstitious beliefs are more common among

certain groups of people than others, and vary from
culture to culture: For example, the number thirteen
is considered by many in western society to be
inherently unlucky whereas in Japan the number
four is often considered unlucky.
Cntd…
The number 13
 Some groups are more prone to superstitious
beliefs than others. Miners, fishermen, and
gamblers all tend to be more superstitious
than average; the success of all these
occupations tends to be more out of the
control of the individual.

Cntd…
 Superstitions can also be learned behaviors.
Children who watch those around them
perform superstitious actions like "knocking
on wood" or not walking under ladders may
adopt these behaviors.

 The true origins of certain superstitions can

be centuries old, having been passed down
from generation to generation through such
an observational learning process.
SOME RELEVANT QUESTIONS:-

 The broken mirror with its bad luck, the ladder, or

the black cat. How did all these items acquire
significance in our society?

 Why do you cross your fingers when awaiting the

answer to an uncertain situations?

 In other words, if you cross your fingers hoping that

something will occur, and if in fact it does occur,
you assume that it’s because you’ve crossed your
fingers.
The black cat
A mirror broken
EXAMPLES:-
 Seeing an elephant when one is leaving for a journey is considered lucky.
This is because an elephant represents Lord Ganesha, the Indian God
who is the harbinger of good luck and removes obstacles.

 A guest is predicted if a crow starts crowing early in the morning at one’s

rooftop.

 Seeing a peacock on a journey is also considered lucky, but hearing its

shrill sound is bad.

 Indians feel happy if a sparrow builds a nest in a new house because it

signals good fortune.

 A very old belief is that if you kill a cat, you have to offer one in gold to a
priest.
 If one sneezes, it is not considered good to go out.

 It is considered an ill-luck if we see a man with an empty

pitcher or if a cat crosses one’s way.

 Seeing a one-eyed man early in the morning is considered so

bad that people think that they won’t get any meals during the
day.

 If an owl is seen sitting on top of house, it is taken as a sure

sign of coming ruin and destruction to the family of that house.

 It is said that the small babies should not be fed outside,

under the open sky, their food should always be given in
covered places.
Shooting star
The horseshoe
Conclusion
 If something goes right it becomes our luck.
 If something goes wrong it becomes our bad
luck and we become superstitious.

To avoid this superstition we have to believe on

ourselves and not on these things because human
make its own destiny by his/her hard work that they
do in their life.