Across the world, Leap year has all sorts of beliefs, superstitions and customs associated with it. February 29 seems to somehow possess special powers, enough to convince many that they should avoid auspicious events as it brings with it bad luck.
In Goa, the feeling in not so different. The leap year has been extensively avoided especially with traditions like marriage. But it’s not only the leap year that seems to have magical powers of control for many, Indians by and large are known to have their own share of quirks and other rituals that they sacredly observe with the same intention of avoiding a bad outcome.
Superstitions are in fact very fascinating for a behavioral scientist as it reveals the mysteries of the human brain. Being brought up in Goa, I am no stranger to such beliefs that often confronts my scientific quest for human understanding. I believe that knowledge empowers, but my experience with supernatural traditions has baffled me enough to stand back and comprehend rather than argue and prove my point. I do know one thing, that lucky charms work for many, how and why it works although is interesting.
In a study conducted with young students who were asked to keep their lucky charms, and those that were not allowed to keep them, while performing simple task of solving anagrams, researcher Lysann Damisch and team found stark differences in performances. The reasons they identified was that the students who had their lucky charm with them spend more time in trying to solve the anagrams. Such results point to an amazing power of the human mind to possess certain beliefs that vary the outcome. This is not because such external powers exist, but because our belief in them enhances our confidence, which translates into “ ‘try till you persist’.
A belief in a greater external force, that seems illogical but magical in quality, is not only comforting but acts as a powerful psychological lever that we can use to access the force within ourselves that actually affects our ability to achieve what we want. It gives us a sense of control and confidence.
Superstitions are almost ritualistic in nature and begin from a simple association. The associations we make between our lucky dress and good performance or the unlucky number and bad day is what urged the first experiment in trying to understand superstitious behaviors.
In 1947, the famous psychiatrist Skinner, published his pioneering study on pigeons who developed superstitious behavior for food rewards. The birds would act in particular ways like rotating their head clockwise, or moving in particular patterns , believing that by acting in this particular way, or committing a certain action, food would arrive. If birds can be so easily trained to behave in a particular pattern although illogical, it is not surprising why humans would not be subject to such quirks of reinforcements.
One area that has received much attention related to superstitions, is sports. The reason why your favorite football player wears a lucky number is being explained in terms of control of unpredictable outcomes, measures used to reduce anxiety and build confidence. The uncertainty hypothesis also explains why a football fan is so particular about his own behavior at a football match and will wear his lucky shirt so that his favorite team will win.
Some superstitions might seems quirky and others perplexing like the superstitions of the evil eye, which is worth the probe. There is not much research that points to the associative component of this superstition but there is much mentioned about the various traditions that are practiced worldwide about this behavior.
In attempting to write this article I had to inquire about what was the general feeling regarding dishthi, or nodor, which is what the evil eye is commonly referred to in Goa. People swear buy their own experiences of how their ripe papayas would fall off a tree and their mango tree would become barren for the rest of the seasons as a result of Bhuri Nodor.
The evil eye is a human look believed to cause harm to someone or something else. The supernatural harm may come in the form of anything - various illnesses, such as a loss of appetite, excessive yawning, vomiting, abscesses and fever.
The association of the evil eye is not difficult to comprehend, given that the eye itself is an important source of energy and a gateway to the soul. However it is interesting to note that evil eye is more prevalent in societies where there is an underlying inequality in the socio-economic status. The victims see themselves as being more fortunate than the offender.
It is tempting to state that the evil eye is almost ancient and that the educated would not consider it a practice to follow but my own inquiry states otherwise, reiterated by folklorist Dundes , in his book The Evil Eye: A Casebook. The evil eye affects the behavior of countless millions of people throughout the world. Young, old, educated, uneducated, across caste and creed, believe in the magical powers of the evil eye. Like other superstitions, this belief can be harmless as long as it does not become a source of denied opportunities, unwarranted anxiety and dismayed relationships.
Dr Aldina Braganza e Gomes is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and associate professor, HOD, Dept of Psychology Carmel College
