Essay writing "Superstitions in my culture"

                                                                   Superstitions in my culture (Cambodian culture)

Most people around the world have superstitions even in industrialized countries where reason and science seems to be the king of home. We cannot measure which country or people is more superstitious than other because it depends on where they live and how their cultures are. Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia where I am living in, has also its superstitions believed by its citizens, and those are divided into two: good and bad luck superstitions. Although it seems fishy, people found it is hard to ignore.

As I am a Cambodian, it is easy for me to find superstitions related to bad lucks in my culture. My neighbors believe that falling kite on the roof will bring them bad lucks. When the kite falls on their roofs, they immediately do a ceremony, invite monks to go to their house and pray, in order to avoid bad lucks. If not, members in their family will sick, face terrible accident or run into dangerous situation. My grandmother believes that being three people together in photograph is not a good thing to do- one of three is sure to have troubles and disappear or die. So, she always blames me when I take a photo with tree people in a photo. Then there is some people avoid their children from singing when they are cooking. This, they conceive that their children will marry widow or live alone all their lives.

Besides those bad lucks, we notice also some superstitions people believe will bring them good lucks and good fortunes: if we look at some people’s houses, we will see something on the door written few word on it. It is Khata or magical spell, a big design written in Pali language with Khmer letters, which people use it to protect them from evil and bad luck or for charm. People feel safe to live in a house with Khata or plenty of customers will come to buy their goods if they are sellers and have it in their shops. If you are traveling in my country, along the way, there are some worships with small or big status of Buddha or of holy people, where people stop and pray in order to ask for happiness and ask to bless their trip. This, will make them have a safe trip and happiness in life, they believe. Before building a new house, people in my village always do a ceremony in order to ask permission from spirits of land. They believe that they cannot live happily in that land or house without celebrating a ceremony to honor those spirits.

Personally, I am not superstitious. I don’t have a lucky or unlucky days or numbers, and I always against my friends who tell me about superstitions. Incredibly, I still find myself praying, sometimes, with my friends when we are on the way going place. Superstition is not what we have to believe or to follow, it depends on what you think of it.

Written by Sothea Sak