L'aura del Campo

Legends ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ... and curses

Legends ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ... and curses

In your entry today, write about superstitions, legends, and curses. Are there any legends in your culture that you take to heart? Are you superstitious? Do you believe in Pele’s Curse?

No! I'm not superstitious. I'm careful about retribution though. The Sicilian evil-eye might not kill you but a stiletto in the back most assuredly will.

I grew up around Germans, Irish, Polish, Italians, Sicilians. They all had myths and legends and stories and attitudes... Yeah, attitudes. I suspect many of the stories were to keep children in place and tell lies about anyone who was different than them.

I don't remember anything within my family though. We weren't musical nor were we story tellers. We did discuss politics (my parents were New Deal Democrats) and played cards (rummy, cribbage). We had 3 encyclopedias, the two daily newspapers and a few books. The lack of story telling has crippled my attempts to write flash fiction... really... I'm having trouble getting the hang of it. I can't just retell a story with my own personal twist if I can't even tell the original!

The Irish and Sicilians may have been more fortunate with both myths and curses. The Germans? Just morality plays about what happens to naughty people (think Grimm's Tales).

All of these cultures had taboos though. A long list of what you weren't suppose to do and with whom. But I wasn't raised with them. My upbringing was more "puritanical" and therefore no fun at all. The "don'ts" were just don'ts with little explanation.

Tūtū Pele? I don't worry about her. I have visited volcanoes in Costa Rica and been in lands with earthquakes and volcanoes, so yes, I respect them. And if personifying helps people to respect then that's okay too. But personally, I don't think Tūtū Pele cares much about my opinion nor whether I take a rock or two.

I've never been to the island of Hawai'i, only O'ahu. Tūtū Pele let me stay and go in peace.

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