A large number of people comprising the educated ones believe the sight of a black cat as dangerous.If a cat crosses our path,we consider it as a bad omen.Why a cat in general and a black cat in particular are believed dangerous?
This is a thousand years old belief. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the cat.They had a goddess called pasht whose head resembled that of a cat.They believed that this goddess had nine lives.Whenever a black cat died in Egypt, its dead body was preserved as a mummy.Remains of thousands of cat have been recovered from a cemetry of Egypt.Killing a cat then was consideredas an offense,punishable with a death sentence.Thus people feared a black cat.During the middle ages witches and doctors always used the skull of black cat to prepare mysterious medicines. As a result people started thinling that a black cat was a bad omen.The truth is that no cat is dangerous. The cat is a pet animal that was domiscated about 5000years ago.
Other superstitions are: If you hear a dog whining, get ready to start mourning because someone close to you is going to die.
If you are leaving the house and someone calls you back for something, you had better give up your programme for that day.If you go ahead with it, you will fail and flounder.
If an owl lives somewhere near your house,block your ears. If you hear the hooting of an owl, someone will fall sick.
Some people believe that starting out on a journey on a saturday is bad luck.So they miss some interviews even when they could almost certainly land some very good jobs.The people of Randikarna in Orissa do not clip their nails because they believe that this protects them from a certain disease.
These irrational beliefs are simply superstitions. Needless to say superstitions make us afraid.These fears do serious harm to us by limiting our possibilities for growth.
DEVENDRA SRIVASTAVA
This is a thousand years old belief. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the cat.They had a goddess called pasht whose head resembled that of a cat.They believed that this goddess had nine lives.Whenever a black cat died in Egypt, its dead body was preserved as a mummy.Remains of thousands of cat have been recovered from a cemetry of Egypt.Killing a cat then was consideredas an offense,punishable with a death sentence.Thus people feared a black cat.During the middle ages witches and doctors always used the skull of black cat to prepare mysterious medicines. As a result people started thinling that a black cat was a bad omen.The truth is that no cat is dangerous. The cat is a pet animal that was domiscated about 5000years ago.
Other superstitions are: If you hear a dog whining, get ready to start mourning because someone close to you is going to die.
If you are leaving the house and someone calls you back for something, you had better give up your programme for that day.If you go ahead with it, you will fail and flounder.
If an owl lives somewhere near your house,block your ears. If you hear the hooting of an owl, someone will fall sick.
Some people believe that starting out on a journey on a saturday is bad luck.So they miss some interviews even when they could almost certainly land some very good jobs.The people of Randikarna in Orissa do not clip their nails because they believe that this protects them from a certain disease.
These irrational beliefs are simply superstitions. Needless to say superstitions make us afraid.These fears do serious harm to us by limiting our possibilities for growth.
DEVENDRA SRIVASTAVA
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