- Thread starter calala2k
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what is it with dominicans believing in real witches that fly???
Anna Coniglio said:
A witch is a bruja/brujo (female/male).
And yes I have heard something about this too.
My husband was telling me some story..about some neighbour they had who was a bruja and wanted to eat the baby in the family, since that is "apparently" witches customs...(who knew they had customs??)
And she would fly up to their roof everynight (apparently they heard her walking on the roof)..and something about salt on the roof...
Sorry I didn't pay more attention I thought it was funny too...I don't know..didn't make sense to me...sorta thought he was joking...
Weird stuff...especially since my husband isn't the supersticous type really...
I'm very intrested in hearing if there is a background to these beliefs...
Anna Coniglio said:
Also as an insult...sometimes a joke insult...but an insult nonetheless..I have heard ppl called witches.
Like "bruja vieja" or brujo viejo".
Witches must have more importance to their culture then they do in ours. It's not all that common to call people witches up here.
Although there are alot of Haitians in the DR who practise voodoo...don't know if that affects anything. But they aren't really bruja/o's are they??
PeachezNcream84 said:
I think every Dominican I know has told me stories of "brujeria". Usually practiced by a haitian or brujo that has been paid to get revenge etc.
I think they trully beleive those things. They practice rites all the time to prevent it. The salt on the roof, the aloe plant hanging over the door. Many even believe that if babies aren't baptized that "la bruja" is going to come round them up. I heard that a lot as a Mormon missionary.
just my point sorry i didnt quite explain it well, but yes we do have a child and i was told to be aware of these 'brujas' who do try and eat the babies! i have to laugh it off but hes very serious and so is his family. im not worried in the slightest as im not a believer , he was telling me that they fly off hanging around waiting for the baby or actually have the baby whilst flying, while everyone would throw salt at it .....then melt! lolPeachezNcream84 said:
also about people turned into cows or dogs(with a gold tooth) by voodoo.
im intrested if you've been told similar stories to this??
calala2k said:
nope heard nothing about the the ppl being turned into cows or dogs. Maybe because I was so skeptical of the first one...lol. It just really surprised me...cuz my husband is usually so level headed and not supersticious..so I couldn't believe he thought this!!
Actually, there are many very fascinating beliefs; witches is only one of them. These beliefs were once widely and openly held. Today, though I think there are still many believers, many are not as open about it as they once were, but having grown up hearing them, they are not ready to call them nonsense, either.
There are bac?s, humans that can transform themselves into a large animal that kills goats by biting the throat and sucking the blood.
There are ciguapas who live in caves, often near a river, who have backward feet. When pursued, their tracks lead the hunters to where they have been.
There are duendes, once children who died without being baptized. They pass the time playing tricks on humans. For example, when you can't find your eyeglasses or sewing scissors, even though sure you left them in a particular spot, it is probably because they were hidden by the duendes.
There are the speedy zanganos, who are able to travel amazing distances in a very short time.
There are the resguardos, amulets that are worn for protection against enemies that are purchasedfrom suppliers. The most effective, they say, is a bag with a small cross attached they contains a special prayer. Others include the tooth of a cow, a fragment of burro bone, and a black coral cross.
And there are the ceremonies for expelling evil spirts that have taken possession of someone. Witches and exorcists expel them with rituals and procedures in which they employ various tools, techniques and materials, including: persuasion; drawing crosses with garlic on the hands, forehead and back of the possessed person; striking the victim with whips of brooms made of the leaves and branches of certain plants and bushes (e.g. guandule, anam?). The churches also have ceremonies for expelling evil spirits that are led by the minister or a member, usually an elderly, very devout person, who is qualified to do so.
There are bac?s, humans that can transform themselves into a large animal that kills goats by biting the throat and sucking the blood.
There are ciguapas who live in caves, often near a river, who have backward feet. When pursued, their tracks lead the hunters to where they have been.
There are duendes, once children who died without being baptized. They pass the time playing tricks on humans. For example, when you can't find your eyeglasses or sewing scissors, even though sure you left them in a particular spot, it is probably because they were hidden by the duendes.
There are the speedy zanganos, who are able to travel amazing distances in a very short time.
There are the resguardos, amulets that are worn for protection against enemies that are purchasedfrom suppliers. The most effective, they say, is a bag with a small cross attached they contains a special prayer. Others include the tooth of a cow, a fragment of burro bone, and a black coral cross.
And there are the ceremonies for expelling evil spirts that have taken possession of someone. Witches and exorcists expel them with rituals and procedures in which they employ various tools, techniques and materials, including: persuasion; drawing crosses with garlic on the hands, forehead and back of the possessed person; striking the victim with whips of brooms made of the leaves and branches of certain plants and bushes (e.g. guandule, anam?). The churches also have ceremonies for expelling evil spirits that are led by the minister or a member, usually an elderly, very devout person, who is qualified to do so.
Wow! That's very interesting!! Thank you for that informative post 
I had no idea there were so many supersitions.
So my husband is not going crazy with thses stories...it's just a cultural thing! Glad to hear it!
I had no idea there were so many supersitions.
So my husband is not going crazy with thses stories...it's just a cultural thing! Glad to hear it!
PeachezNcream84 said:Wow! That's very interesting!! Thank you for that informative post
I had no idea there were so many supersitions.
So my husband is not going crazy with thses stories...it's just a cultural thing! Glad to hear it!
No, he is not going crazy. I'm sure he grew up hearing stories to support these beliefs. If not told him by his parents, then certainly by grandparents.
But who is to say, and who is to question? Think about your own beliefs? Can a black cat cross in front of you without causing you at least a bit of concern? What if Friday falls on the 13th?, etc.
Ken said:
But those at least make sense , Ken
.I wouldn't dare tell any of my friends or family this, but my husband told me the same thing. I laughed so hard, because I thought he was joking...then I saw he was really serious...I started to explain that it's not true, but then remembered it's best to pick your battles wisely. Dominicans, I find, are a much more suspicious lot than us North Americans.
Don't laugh at me! But...
In Uruguay, when I was about 6 or 7, my little sister (maybe 4 or 5 at that time) and I shared a bedroom, and every night before we went to sleep, she would start saying in a very low an scary voice...
"The witches are coming to get you tonight"..."they are going to drag you by the feet and take you away"...
Needless to say, I would start screaming and my Mom would come to the room and scold her, but nevertheless she would have to leave a night light on all night or I would not be able to sleep...
Even now, sometimes since I live alone, if I hear any weird sounds in the apt., I have to turn on a light and leave it on all night!!!
Hey, I asked you not to laugh at me!!! I get scared for real!!! Can't even hear of these stories, never mind seeing scary movies!!! :nervous:aranoid:
So you see, it's not only in DR!
MQ
In Uruguay, when I was about 6 or 7, my little sister (maybe 4 or 5 at that time) and I shared a bedroom, and every night before we went to sleep, she would start saying in a very low an scary voice...
"The witches are coming to get you tonight"..."they are going to drag you by the feet and take you away"...
Needless to say, I would start screaming and my Mom would come to the room and scold her, but nevertheless she would have to leave a night light on all night or I would not be able to sleep...
Even now, sometimes since I live alone, if I hear any weird sounds in the apt., I have to turn on a light and leave it on all night!!!
Hey, I asked you not to laugh at me!!! I get scared for real!!! Can't even hear of these stories, never mind seeing scary movies!!! :nervous:
aranoid: So you see, it's not only in DR!
MQ
Ken said:
Ken, you are right on with these discriptions.
One night when I was living and working in Santiago (the Nibaje, Cristo Rey area), I got into a conversation with a couple of older gentelmen. They started telling me stories about shape shifters. Men that could become not only large animals, but anything they wanted. They had some really cool stories of stuff they swore to have seen personnally. The intersting thing was that they were sure that Jorge Blanco and other men close to the infamous Trujillo belonged to this cultish society of shape shifters. The men seemed genuinely concerned about these things. I thought it was fascinating. Of course, my wife, from a younger generation, has heard all the stories. But isn't as apt to believe them.
many people have real fears about what fate can befall the un-baptized child. I remember a conversation with a young couple that baptized their baby. Not for any religious belief per say. But specifically protect her fro La Bruja.
I think that many Dominicans resent Haitians because of the voodoo. They really fear what may happen to them. Everybody has a story about a relative that had some horrible disfigurement or financial disaster befall them. It was almost alway traced to an argument with a Haitian.
Say what you will. But Santeria and voodoo and actively practiced by Dominicans. If for no other eason than fear and the percieved need for protection.
What makes sense is whatever you were brought up to believe.
I still don't know where Friday the 13th originated from. Someone had a bad day at work? :laugh:
I was brought up thinking that 13 is a lucky number. They even have a charm with 13 for charm bracelets.
There's very old thread somewhere about Dominican superstitions and some are very similar to what I've heard all my life from my Mom and Nonna but I can't remember anyting about witches.
Evil people with evil thoughts, maybe.
I found one that has many replies
Dominican Superstitions
I still don't know where Friday the 13th originated from. Someone had a bad day at work? :laugh:
I was brought up thinking that 13 is a lucky number. They even have a charm with 13 for charm bracelets.
There's very old thread somewhere about Dominican superstitions and some are very similar to what I've heard all my life from my Mom and Nonna but I can't remember anyting about witches.
Evil people with evil thoughts, maybe.
I found one that has many replies
Dominican Superstitions
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Anna Coniglio said:I still don't know where Friday the 13th originated from. Someone had a bad day at work? :laugh:
I was brought up thinking that 13 is a lucky number. They even have a charm with 13 for charm bracelets.
I believe there is a biblical reference to this, but am not positive. Anyone else know?