20 Superstitions In Nepal That You Probably Don’t Know

Though we are living in the 21st Century, a world of Science and Technology. And the world where every topic is debatable and reasonable. There are superstitions existing in today’s world.

Superstitions have been an integral part of society. They exist from the very start of human civilization that we can’t completely eradicate from society.

Almost every society and community in this world is still full of superstitions, and Nepal is no exception. So, this blog post is about some of the most common superstitions in Nepal.

There are still many superstitions that exist in Nepal that you probably don’t know. Some of these may shock you, while some of these also may make you laugh.

What is the meaning of Superstitions?

According to Wikipedia, A superstition is any belief or practice based upon one’s trust in luck or other irrational, unscientific, or supernatural forces. Often, it arises from ignorance, a misunderstanding of science or causality, a belief in fate or magic, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy, and certain spiritual being, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific (apparently) unrelated prior events.

 
Things or beliefs are tagged as “superstitions” by today’s science if there are no logical or explainable reasons behind them. In a simple sense, the things that science can’t explain are also known as Superstitions in today’s world. 

List Of 20 Superstitions In Nepal

Superstitions are in every place where human lives. In some places, you may find more of it while in some you will find in less. The fact is there are superstitions in every society either it is an educated one or an uneducated one.

How can’t there be superstitions in a country like Nepal where there are huge diversities in the life of people? There are so many such superstitions that exist in Nepal and in its societies.

The meaning of superstitions in the Nepali language is “Andhabiswas“. It literally means people believing one something blindly or having blind faith in something.
 
Some of these superstitions may not be only found in Nepal. There are several superstitions that are very common worldwide.

Following is our list of superstitions in Nepal that you probably don’t know about.

1. Hanging Lemon And Chili In Shops And Cars

This is the most popular superstition that has been existing in Nepal for a long time. If you aren’t a Nepalese, and you are planning to visit Nepal, you will find dry lemon and chili tied together and hanging on the front of shops and in the front of the vehicles like cars, trucks, and others.

It is believed that hanging dry lemon and chili on the front of shops and cars protect those people and things from bad fortune and bad spirits.

2. Stepping On Pilow

According to some people in Nepal, if you step on a pillow, it is a bad habit. And by doing so, it is believed that you might suffer from headaches and migraines.

It is also believed by the people that if you step your legs on pillows, it will cause you to have really bad dreams and bad nights as well.

3. Cawing Crows Bring Unfortunate

This is one of the oldest superstitions among the people of Nepal. Whenever someone heard the crows cawing around their houses, they suddenly escape those crows by throwing small pebbles or sticks.

People of Nepal believe that if crows caws in your house or around your house, they might bring unexpected arrival of guests to your house. It is like cawing crows bring the information of someone coming to your house as guests.

4. Cat Crossing Your Path Is Bad Luck

Probably this is the universal superstitious. Even if you don’t believe this, you might have heard that if a cat, especially a black cat crosses your path, you have to either proceed backward.

Though it’s a kind of stupidity, people believe if a cat crosses your path, then your journey or the work for which you are going is supposed to go wrong and something bad might happen to you and your works.

Have you ever walk further or not after a cat has crossed your path??? Let us know in the comment box.

5. Don’t Do Anything After The Sunset

In Nepal, we have so many after the sunset superstitions. These may be in your places too. These are some after the sunset superstitions in Nepal:

-Don’t Deal With Money: It is said that if you deal with money at night time, then it will lead you to poverty.

-Don’t Cut Your Nails: The parents of Nepalese society won’t let their children cut their nails at night or evening time. It has been believed for a long time that, if you cut your nails in the evening or nighttime, then something bad will happen to you tomorrow.

-Don’t Comb Your Hair(Girls): This is so stupid. If a girl combs her hair in the night, then she will get a husband with some teeth missing.

-Don’t Broom The Floor: Well, cleaning the house is a very good habit. But will you believe, in Nepalese society, you aren’t allowed to broom the floor after the sunset?

According to some legends, brooming the floor after the sunset swipe the wealth and the good luck of the family.

It is also said that if you broom the floor of your house after the sunset, then the god and goddess of the house will also go away.

There are a few more superstitions related to broom. It is also said that if someone is brooming the floor, and you step over the floor, then you will never get married.

The story of the broom doesn’t end here.

Even if you leap over the broom or simply step your feet on a broom while it is on the ground. It is believed that doing this will bring bad luck to you. So it’s a better option to avoid bad luck according to this superstition.

6. Upside Down Footwears

In the house of Nepalese society, the luck of a person is also determined by the position of footwear like shoes, sandals, and slippers.

It is believed that if you keep your footwear upside down, then it can bring a kind of misfortune to you. Or even you see someone’s sandals or shoes in an upside position, you can’t ignore that and you have to keep them in the proper position, no matter who that footwear belongs to.

7. Odd Numbers Aren’t Good Sign

The odd numbers have great significance in many of the superstitions that exist in Nepal. Odd numbers have always been considered a bad sign.

For example, you can’t serve someone food in odd numbers. You have to serve them in even. Serving odd foods is considered a sign of bad luck. And this is also considered a bad manner to serve food to someone in odd.

Besides this, you can’t give anything to someone in odd numbers. It is believed that we offer something to anyone in odd numbers if we have any kind of dispute with them or we consider them as our enemy.

8. Don’t Sleep Placing The Head Toward North

Mostly, the direction in which we sleep depends on the position of our beds. But according to many, you shouldn’t sleep facing your head toward the North direction. It is believed that if you sleep facing towards the North, then it may cause various mental problems, can reduce blood circulation, and may cause heart diseases.

And also according to the Vedas, only the dead body is kept facing its head toward the North. So, this is also the reason for not sleeping by placing the head toward the north direction.

9. Eat Curd And Sugar Before Heading Out

Before doing any good work, or going for some good thing to happen, you should eat curd and sugar in order to happen everything good.

It is believed that eating curd and sugar before heading out for something brings good fortune and good luck to that work. For example, before going to attend any important exams or starting something like a business.

10. Chhaupadi

Chhauadi is moreover a tradition than a superstition. Even today, it is still a tradition that exists in most areas of the Far-Western hilly region of Nepal.

It is a tradition in which girls are kept in a separate place from the house during the menstruation period and aren’t allowed to touch anything of the house. Even if in some place they aren’t kept in a separate place, girls aren’t allowed to touch the stuff of kitchen and religious things.

11. Unmarried Boys And Girls Aren’t Allowed To Eat Twin-Vegetables Or Fruits

This sounds quite stupid as well funny at the same time. I don’t know if this superstition exists almost everywhere in Nepal.

But especially in the villages of the Terai region of Nepal, parents and other elders in the house don’t let their children and unmarried child eat joint vegetables or fruits.

According to the local legends, it is believed that if an unmarried boy or girl eats joint vegetables or fruits like bananas, they will have twin babies in the future. You read it absolutely right.

12. Stepping On Holy And Religious Things Aren’t Good

Stepping on something holy isn’t considered good in any religion. You can’t touch any holy and religious things with legs. If you do so, it is considered a disrespectful act towards the gods and goddesses.

We specifically considered that books have Goddess Saraswati; the Goddess of Education. So we can’t touch any things related to education like books, pens, or pencils with legs and shouldn’t step on them. Even though you stepped on them mistakenly, you have to bow down to them.

13. The Sound Of Dog Howling

Have you ever found the dog howling in front of your home?

In many places in Nepal, people don’t let the dogs wailing or howling in front of their houses. It is believed that if dogs cry in front of your house, then someone from your family may die in the coming days. Legends say dogs can see the souls of humans who are going to die soon. That’s why dogs begin to cry after seeing those souls.

14. Don’t Whistle At Night

What if I tell you, you aren’t allowed to even whistle at night. Though it doesn’t make much sense, it is believed that if you whistle at night, then you are inviting bad souls, devils, and ghosts to your house. So if you are planning to invite any of them, then the best idea according to this is whistling at night.

15. Twitching Of Left Eyes Means Bad Omen

 I don’t know how does this makes any sense. How does the luck of a person depend on the blinking of their eyes?

It is said that if your left eye keeps twitching, then it is a bad sign of something that is going to happen.

And just as its opposite, if your right eye keeps twitching, then you are going to have any good news or it is a sign of good luck.

16. Banging Head With Another

Have you ever got your head banged by someone mistakenly? And if yes, then in return have you hit their head because it has caused you pain? It is sounding strange again, isn’t it?

In Nepal, if you accidentally bang your head with another, then you have to bang their head in return, but not to take revenge on them. It is believed that if you don’t do so, you will have bad luck and your day will also be bad.

17. Jumping Over Someone’s Leg

If you mistakenly jumped over someone’s leg, then it is considered a disrespectful act. So clearly, you can’t jump over the leg of someone elder than you as it will be an act of disrespect to them.

Besides this, it is also said that doing so, will cause a kind of pain in their legs if you jumped over them.

18. Don’t Drink Water Of The Glass If Someone Jumped Over It

If there is water in the bottle or pot or glass kept on the floor and someone accidentally or willingly jumps over it, then that water is not considered drinkable. If you drink water from such glasses or bottles, then there might be severe pain in your neck.

19. Beating Your Nephew Or Niece Will Lead To Hand Tremor

This is one of the most popular superstitions in the Maithali community of Nepal. According to the elders if you beat the son or daughter of your sister, then in the future you will have a problem of shaky hand which is also known as a hand tremor.

Hand tremor causes very difficulties in the tasks of daily life. So, to avoid this, you shouldn’t hit or beat your nephew or niece.

Conclusion

We hope you like reading this list of superstitions in Nepal. These are some common superstitions that exist in Nepal. Some of the above-mentioned are truly very surprising as well as shocking.

There are many more superstitions that aren’t mentioned here in this article. You can let us know some more if you know.

Share this blog post if you find it informative and gives you some insights about the superstitions existing in Nepalese society.

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