To spit over one's shoulder so as not to offend: how this belief appeared

The tradition of spitting over the left shoulder, which may seem strange or unacceptable in the modern world, has its roots in ancient beliefs and rituals. This action was performed for various reasons, such as averting calamity or purification, and had an important place in the cultural heritage of many peoples.

Folklorist and anthropologist Daria Antsibor and researcher of folk beliefs and ethnologist Anna Nikolayeva told about it.

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One of the important aspects of spitting in the popular imagination was its protective function. It was believed that saliva has the properties of water and can ward off negative consequences or "cleanse" words of negative meaning.

"The very act of spitting for protection is the concept of water and purification. Because saliva is the same as water. And when we symbolically spit, we cleanse our own or other people's words of negative meaning," noted ethnologist Anna Nikolayeva.

One common variant of spitting was to spit three times over the left shoulder, as in popular belief the left side was considered "evil" or associated with the "sly".

"It is believed that a good angel sits on our right shoulder, and the devil sits on the left. Therefore, when we spit over the left shoulder, it is as if we are spitting on the evil one so that he does not tempt us," added Anna Nikolayeva.

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It is worth noting that people have always been wary of secretions from the body, as they had a double effect at that time. The use of such allocations could have both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, people used them for their protection. But, on the other hand, other individuals could use these allocations against them.

For example, the carriers of traditional culture believed that "knowing" people could transmit disease if they had access to the blood, sweat, saliva, or excrement of the right person.

Also, people were afraid to leave their footprints on the road because they believed that witches could collect these footprints and use them against them by making a person talk.

Previously, UAportal wrote about why you can't give flowers in a pot, as well as about omens and superstitions associated with the arrival of guests.

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