Situations, that are considered harbingers/omens of death and practices to avoid possible death because of them. The public opinion, which is uneasy because of the pressure of the fear of death, often considered some events going on around them such as the position of certain goods, their dreams, etc. as harbingers of death. Here are some situations considered as the harbingers of death especially in the Anatolian (1) folk beliefs and customs and practices to avoid them:
Harbingers of Death
- Wide open scissors mean there will be death in the household.
- If someone dreams cauldron, there will be a death in his household.
- If stork brings rags, there will be plenty of death.
- If an owl crows on the roof of a house, there will be death in that household.
- If the washing bed underneath the dead while he is washed, someone else will also pass away.
- If the dead move in the coffin, there will be plenty of deaths in that year.
Avoiding Situations that Leads to Deaths
Besides the events that remind death, in other words, events that are considered signs of death, some events speed up or bring death, which we need to avoid.
If someone passes away in a neighborhood, all the containers filled with water should be emptied. This is because it is believed that Azrael rinses his sword in these containers after taking someone’s life. According to this belief, the water that contacts the deadly sword will obviously cause the death of the person who drinks or uses it.
Asleep people are awakened while the dead body is washed. In Islamic belief, according to some recorded words of the prophet of Islam, sleeping is considered a small death. It is believed that people who have identical status with the dead while it is being washed may also be affected by this status.
Once the dead body is buried and returned home, the relatives of the deceased should not look back.
Once the dead body is taken out from home, you pour water so that his energy can follow him.
If a coffin will pass in front of a door, water must be poured.
The bath puff and soap used in washing the dead will not take into the house. Just like the same belief, all the personal belongings of the dead person will be kept away from the house by giving it away to others, burying, or throwing away.
The bed of the dead is made while he is washed, and a stone will be put on the bed.
The cauldron you heat the water is turned upside down after washing the dead.
1. Anatolia: The peninsula that makes up most of the Turkish territory, which is located in the south of the Black Sea and the northeast of the Mediterranean. Today, it is widely used to refer to the lands of Turkey located in the Asian continent.
2. Washing the Dead: According to Islamic belief, and as an Islamic ritual, is the washing process of the dead person before the burial.