YEMENI Superstitions
YEMENI Superstitions
Little has been written on social superstitions spread among our Yemeni society. Many of those beliefs have been inherited through generations and are still alive among us. Here we describe the main Yemeni superstitions.
The Ram (Al-Hamal)
Al-Hamal is a superstitious animal which is also called the graveyard’s monster. It is believed that it disinters buried bodies in the first week of burial. Al-Hamal is interested in only those whose horoscope is the ram. During the first week of burial in which the ram is believed to appear, relatives of the dead keep on the watch.
(Al-Bodda)
Beliefs in this superstitious creature is spread in Tihama and its surroundings. Al-Bodda is a witch that can change her appearance into many different shapes. Recently, it has been said that a great number of them were burnt when people’s awareness about the spread of immorality increased. It is more interesting to know that young people who are not able to afford marrying expensive, beautiful brides go to Boddas requesting them to change themselves into their beloveds and make love to them on sand.
(At-Tahesh)
It is a lion-like beast with a smooth body. Its speed is compared to that of a bullet. That is why nobody has so far been able to capture or kill it. Al-Hawban Tahesh in Taiz has been most famous through Yemeni history and on which many stories have been told and written.
Quest for Treasures
In many villages, especially the remote ones, people believe in the existence of buried treasures. Stories of such treasures are told by old people. People leave homes for mountains in quest of treasures believed to had been left by their grandfathers in stores dug in the earth. Some people succeed to find such stores but all they find is invaluable items or coal. The failure to find treasures is always attributed to the fact that they did not slaughter sheep before searching the store.
Jinns’ Courts
Throwing hot substances and other material in bathrooms and deserted places is believed to be harmful. Doers may be paralyzed or run mad if they hit the invisible creatures. If a jinn is hit a court session is bound to be held soon inside the doer’s mind until they decide to forgive. During the period of holding those sessions the host is mad.
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