Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, MAY 17, 1897.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 4193, 17 May 1897, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, MAY 17, 1897.

The Greek peasantry are essentially supetstitious. One of the most ghastly of theirsuperstitions

GREEK SUPERSTITION.

is that of the Vryko lokas, or Vampire,

It is customary to visit the grave of a rieceasf-d relation j at the expiration of three years after burial, and asceitain if the body is decomposed. If this process hus been performed to their satisfaction, the bones are collected and, after a further religious service, placed in a mortuary. But should this not b» the case, the dead man is supposed to be possessed, and, in punishment of his known or unknown crime, walks the earth at, night as a Vrykoloka. Many of the local superstitions take the form of offerings to the spirits of the earth, air, or water. When a vine is planted a glass of wine is thrown in " for good luck." Wine spilt on the ground or the table is also considered a good omen. Oil, on the contrary, denotes the approach of evil. A child, stunned by a fall, was picked up by an English lady, who brought him to consciousness by sprinkling water on his face. His mother came to claim him shortly afterwards, and, after assuring herself that no bones were broken, poured a pail of water on the spot where he had fallen, and added a handful of sugar "to satisfy the demon." Thunder is believed to be produced by the demons of the upper regions, and bells were rang during a storm to drive them away. Saturday is considered an unlucky day on which to begin work of any kind, and equally unlucky to finish work upon. No money must be paid ion Monday, "or Saturday will find your purse empty." To admire a child causes the greatest consternation to its mother, and the caps of infants are 1 often decorated with coins or other bright objects to distract the attention of any evil eye they may chance to meet from the child. An expression of approval or admiration, even of the most trivial thing, is met with the entreaty " Don't give it* the evil'eye !" and two fingers are immediately pointed ! at the objfet or person in question, accompanied by the word garlic. Indeed, garlic is considered a sovereign j antidote against this malign powor. A lady, watching the flight of a stork to his nest in a cypress tree in the little town of Bournaba^, near Smyrna, i was suddenly assailed with a torrent of Abuse from two Greeks who were passing on donkey-back, and who imagined themselves to be the objects of h; r attention. They anathematised " he> eyos, that would cause them evil," with a fluency of vituperation o f which a low-class Greek alone is capable.