Superstitions, Beliefs and Customs XII

About Different Occasions:

1. New Year - All the basic necessities, good and supplies should be complete and full so that there will be no missing, lacking or scarcity of anything throughout the whole year. The paminhe is the first step in planting. Different kinds of seeds or grains were collected and put in a plate covered properly by a coconut shell or anything. The location, site or area where the seeds are planted were properly noted, remembered or memorized. In the following day or last day of the year or eve of the New Year, the first thing to do is to see if there's some seeds that changes or switch places or area. It was said that the seeds are moving. The seeds which switches places or position will become deficient or inadequate the following year. So, one can prepare well for this kind of scarcity or inadequacies. Prepare also a lot of food so that there will a plenty or bounty of food throughout the whole year.

2. In Dumangas and in other towns in Iloilo, at around 12 midnight of the new year, the people jingles some twelve (12) coins. Each coin represents a month. The twelve coins were kept for a year to bring some abundance and prosperity to the owner.

3. In Guimbal on the other hand, on the midnight of the New Year, one should wake up and listen carefully to the first sound or noise created by the farm animals. If the sound heard was that of a dog barking, it is a bad omen. If it's a carabao or cow, it foretells of a good harvest.

4. In Balasan, if the carabao cries unga-unga, the harvest will not be good; if its a cattle crying, the harvest will be good.

5. If the church bells are ringing that signals the New Year, the elders are starting to gaze at the sky because they pray it will separate finally as a sign of the coming of the new year.

6. The wearing of dotted clothes or any dress or garments with circle designs in it is also practiced because it symbolizes the coins which is a money.

7. Many people believed that if the first day of the year will start on a Tuesday or Friday, the year will be full of misery, hardship and calamity. If the first day of the year will fall on any other days, the year will pass as great.

8. One should wake up early on the first day of the new year. If this is not done, one will not receive the blessings of the year.

9. From the first day to the twelfth day of the year or of the month of January, people observe the weather conditions. Each day represents each month of the year. The weather condition in each day foretells the weather condition of every month of the year; for example, if its a sunny day on the first day, most days of January will be sunny, if its rainy on the fifth day it means that it will be rainy for the whole or most days of the month of May and if it rains, farmers can start to plant rice, if its windy and rainy on the ninth day, the month of September will be very windy aside from being a stormy month and so on and so forth for other days.


About All Soul's Day:

1. On this day, people believed that the souls or ghosts of the dead returns or go back to the Earth.

2. People prepare local or native delicacies like pancit, suman, baye-baye, muasi, ibos, kalamay-hati etc. for the ghosts or soul some of them are favorites of the ghosts when they are still alive. They do this to appease the ghosts of the dead. A portion of what they prepared is set aside for the ghosts to partake while the rest is shared by the people and their family members.

3. The food is put in a table or set aside in a secluded or isolated room with a lighted candle and drinks (eg. water, coffee, soda, juice etc.) for the ghosts to eat and partake with.