The other answers here here have covered quite a few, even some I wasn’t aware of. But I’d like to take the time to call attention to probably the most widespread superstition of all, in addition to potentially being the most dangerous: Pasma.
If that term sounds familiar, it’s because it’s from the Spanish word “espasmo,” which apparently translates to “spasm.” They probably named it that because one of the most common signs of being “pasmado” are hand tremors and muscle spasms; this alone should give you an idea of what potential dangers I’m talking about.
“Don’t let sweat linger on your body, you’ll get sick.”
“Don’t bathe/get wet/wash your hands after physical exertion, you’ll become impotent/get cancer/fucking die.”
“You’re not sick, those bumps you feel are just from the cold inside your body.”
This ridiculous belief is so widespread it’s normal to see a parent chastising a child for a bit of sweat. “Tignan mo oh, basang-basa ka na ng pawis! Magpunas ka bago ka magkasakit!”(“Look at yourself, all covered in sweat! Wipe it off before you get sick!”)
Whereas other superstitions will only net you a bit of wasted time or effort, this one has all sorts of health concerns attached to it. And I’m not just talking about the bit of stink that can come from someone who didn’t bathe after sweating the whole day.
It’s to the point where people believe the cause of an illnesses is pasma and so do not seek appropriate treatment. I know of someone who died from meningitis and people thought it was because he bathed after playing basketball. Now I don’t think anyone else in the same area got sick(fortunately), but considering that meningitis can come from viruses and contaminated water and the prospect of what could have been are horrendous.
Another, less dangerous side effect of this superstition is that people have used it to slack off work if a job involves moisture after a strenuous activity. Although I have to admit that even I have used that excuse before.
I blame the widespread subscription to this superstition on the nation’s high poverty rate and the Filipino’s “hayaan mo na”(“just let it be”) attitude combined with our intrinsic stubbornness as a people:
People being poor means they probably lack access to both better education and healthcare, which means they don’t know any better and would rather go to more affordable, folk-based healing to ease their woes.
That latter reason is probably why the belief still exists among the higher social strata despite better education and the ability to afford real medicine; either they got the belief from the older generation and never found a reason to change their minds, or they don’t bother trying to inform other people because it’s generally fruitless to do so. People will most likely just ignore you and think you’re being a presumptuous know-it-all pakialamero/a.
I honestly didn’t expect to write such a bloated spiel about this, but I just really, really, really, really hate it when people mention pasma as if it’s not complete nonsense because it’s a sign of how severely fucked up my beloved country is. That and I despise the asinine.
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