Hello people,
We have come to know about many cultural rules and norms of which most of us do not seem to understand. But our ancestors did not just do anything in vain. Whatever they said or did, had some implications behind them and a tangible reason as well.
These rules that were instigated by our forefathers are the same ones we call myths today. They are myths because, there is no scientific proof or ordinary sense behind them. Some of them are as follows;
- Do not sing/speak in the shower because you are calling snakes.
- Do not pound in an empty mortar or you are pounding your mother's breast.
- Do not sweep at night or you will sweep goodness from your life.
- Do not step over someone lying down since is a sign of bad omen.
Common sense should tell anyone that these are purely superstitions and quite outrageous. As such, there is no reason to believe in them. But the deeper meaning behind these myths would marvel you.
Do not sing/speak in the shower because you are calling snakes: As we all know, soap is made up of chemicals which can be quite corrosive and harmful when ingested. We must therefore be careful not to swallow some of it accidentally. This is why this rule what installed to protect us from such an injury.
Do not pound in an empty mortar or you are pounding your mother's breast: In most of our traditional homes, fufu is one of our favorite meals. And it is prepared with the aid of the mortar and pistol. Pounding in an empty mortar tends to weaken the tip of the pistol. And this is how come this one came about.
Do not sweep at night or you will sweep goodness from your life: At night, visibility is quite limited and any activity could lead to some mistakes, sweeping is no exception. In order to prevent us from sweeping away valuable belongings, our forefathers thought it wise to come up with this belief.
Do not step over someone lying down since is a sign of bad omen: For this one, the logical reasoning is that we should be careful not to harm our fellow man. Just advising people about this might not be enough so some level of fear must be instilled in them. Hence, this belief.
I think our ancestors did a great thing by coming up with these myths as they helped to shape the lives of many ghanaians we see today. Thank you for coming around.
