anupabbajjā (Pali, India) giving up worldly life in imitation of another
Magic numbers
Certain groupings have particular significance, particularly in Southern Asia.
3 tam-cuong (Vietnamese) the three fundamental bonds – prince and minister, father and son, husband and wife
4 tu-linh (Vietnamese) the four supernatural creatures – dragon, unicorn, tortoise, phoenix
5 bani khoms (Yemeni) practitioners of the five despised trades (barber, butcher, bloodletter, bath attendant and tanner)
6 luc-nghe (Vietnamese) the six arts – propriety, music, archery, charioteering, writing and mathematics
7 saptavidha-ratnaya (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) the seven gems or treasures of a Chakrawarti king – chariot wheel, wife, jewel, elephant, horse, son, prime minister
8 ashtāng (Hindi) prostration in salutation or adoration, so as to touch the ground with the eight principal parts of the body, i.e. with the knees, hands, feet, breasts, eyes, head, mouth and mind
9 nasāya-ratna (Sanskrit) the nine precious gems (pearl, ruby, topaz, diamond, emerald, lapis lazuli, coral, sapphire and garnet) which are supposed to be related to the nine planets
10 dasa-mūtraka (Sanskrit) the urine often (elephant, buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep, horse, donkey, man and woman)
Whistling in the wind
itinatalagá (Tagalog, Philippines) to place oneself at the mercy of fate
uhranout (Czech) to cast the evil eye on somebody, to be-witch someone
bino (Gilbertese, Oceania) an incantation to get a woman back by turning a gourd very rapidly and allowing the wind to whistle into the opening
naffata (Arabic) a woman who spits on the knots (in exercising a form of Arabian witchcraft in which women tie knots in a cord and spit upon them with an imprecation)
The crystal ball
You might think that the advice of spirits and gods would be enough to comfort and direct humankind, but not a bit of it. We are so desperate to know what the future holds for us that almost anything will do:
fakane (Bugotu, Solomon Islands) to divine, using a broken coconut shell
koffiedik kijken (Dutch) reading tea leaves, predicting the future (literally, coffee-grounds-looking)
ber-dreymr (Old Icelandic) having clear dreams as to the future
Iowa (Setswana, Botswana) a particular pattern in which a diviner’s bones have fallen
onnevalamine (Estonian) telling one’s fortune by pouring molten lead into cold water (on New Year’s Eve)
vayasa mutírtsu (Telugu, India) a crow crossing from the left side to the right (which Hindus consider a good omen)
Fringed with noodles
We all hope things will turn out well but there are all kinds of superstitions that wishing each other good luck might bring its re-verse. When someone in Norway goes fishing, he is wished skitt fiske, lousy fishing.
German has two expressions for being lucky: Schwein haben, to have a pig – as a pig symbolizes good luck and lots of sausages; and Sott haben, to have soot – because, according to folklore, touching a chimney sweep brings luck. The French describe someone who is incredibly lucky as il a le cul bordé de nouilles, literally, his arse is fringed with noodles.
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
When pigs fly
na kukovo ljato (Bulgarian) in a cuckoo summer
kad na vrbi rodi grožđe (Croatian) when willows bear grapes
når der er to torsdage i en uge (Danish) when a week has two Thursdays
quand les poules auront des dents (French) when hens have teeth
am Sankt Nimmerleinstag (German) on St Never-ever-day
quando Pasqua viene a maggio (Italian) when Easter falls in May
tuyaning dumi yerga tekkanda (Uzbek) when the camel’s tail reaches the ground
când o fi bunică fata mare (Romanian) when my grandma will be a virgin again
kag-da rak svist-nyet (Russian) when the crayfish whistles
balik ağaca / kavağa çıkinca (Turkish) when fish climb trees/poplar trees
cuando las ranas críen pelos (Spanish) when frogs grow hair