Call The Wind

While in Jimenez last weekend Marissa informed me that when it was very hot and stagnant all you had to do was call the wind and a breeze would come. You just had to know how to do it.

Click on the above image to see Issa demonstrate how to “call the wind”.

Here’s how it works. During the hot time of the day, if the wind dies down you simply whistle for the wind, and then you just a wait a minute or two and the wind will come. It works like a champ. Every time Marissa called the wind, it came. Sometimes within seconds, sometimes it might take a few minutes and she might have to call it several times, like a poorly trained dog, but eventually it always comes. Needless to say, I am very impressed at how reliably this works.

This belief is actually a post hoc ergo propter hoc logical fallacy, exemplified by a false cause or a coincidental chronological correlation. Post hoc errors of rationalization are the leading causes of superstitions and magical thinking.

The Philippines is rife with these kinds of superstitions. Superstitions are so pervasive that I can even make one up and people will believe it. For instance, last week at I attended the birthday party of Auntie Gingging, the mother of Ann (the wife of Pampoy), one of five sisters of Marissa’s father.

I noticed that after an hour into the feasting that no one had touched the birthday cake. So I told Auntie Gingging that it was bad luck for someone to get a birthday cake on their birthday and not eat any of it. Her eyes opened wide, “Really?” she asked. I nodded grimly, as if to say, “how did you not know this”. She went for the cake immediately.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 1st, 2007 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Family, Superstitions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.