Superstitious

Seems how I have received a number of facebook posts regarding the fact that this October has 5 Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Somehow, that fact will provide me with great wealth if I use it as my facebook status. I find it hard to believe that Chinese feng shui cares about status I share with others. However, I thought I would share with you some of the stories we have heard regarding certain superstitions.

Our students were sharing some of their beliefs regarding spirits- which are very important in Indonesia. We were asking about the Gamalan, which is a musical instrument (or series of instruments). Basically, it is a bunch of brass pots, cymbals and gongs. In fact, that is the origin of our gongs (gong show). It is a traditional instrument of Indonesia. Sounds like a bunch of tin cans, but traditionally important.

Anyway, Marni and I noticed how the lights are always on around the gamalan. Apparently, spirits of the gamalan get upset if they are in the dark. So, the staff here always leave the lights on. Also, the gamalan needs to be alone. It doesn't like being surrounded by other instruments. So, in the school, we have a room specifically for the gamalan. Ironically, the night we heard this story, I noticed that the gamalan lights were off. I sneaked in, turned them on (the lights, not the spirits) and gained some brownie points (I hope).

Another superstition surrounding instruments is that you cannot play them alone at night. There is, apparently, something haunting and evil about the sounds instruments make and you cannot play them alone during the evening. Having a band, fine. I guess, though, not playing with yourself at night could be a reason there are 240 million Indonesians.

One of the Indonesian staff members was sharing a story with Marni about how she will not travel to Bali. The last time she was there, she had all kinds of sores on her feet, she was sick and just had a horrible experience. Allegedly, the day she left she was fine. According to her (and I am sure many scientific minds) a spirit in Bali fell in love with her. When it realized it could not have her, it made her sick. Weird. She will never return to Bali.

Even when we had our lock-in, we played a game called Zombie tag. Many of the students were very careful what they said about Zombies. They have a healthy respect for the dead. Nothing wrong with that. They are totally into watching every type of horror movie, but they won't disrespect the dead.

I am unsure as to what they think of, and how they celebrate Halloween. I will find out this weekend.