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Jocelyn Arias
Ms. Caruso
UWRT-1102-001
June 7, 2016
Cultural Beliefs, Superstitions and Fantasy
Ever wonder if all the superstitions are really true? Has anyone ever told you about
stories of cultures around the world and their customs? There are certain beliefs and traditions
people partake in within ones culture where others wouldnt do in a million years. Seeing that
it has been in their family for generations the people dont question why they believe and
participate in such beliefs and customs. For instance, some believe that God created and
Adam and Eve who then evolved into a whole society, some believe that evolution took its
part into creating us and some believe in what they want to believe in. Its gets hard to
distinguish the real and fake between beliefs and superstitions and the unknown that is
fantasy. Therefore, where do we draw the line between rational cultural beliefs,
superstitions and fantasy? The mind gets curious and you start believing in other matters.
Believing in superstitions and fantasy depends on to what extent you let your mind wonder.
The problem with sorting out the authenticity versus the make-believe is one must really
investigate further into the origins of these culture beliefs and why people believe in such
things of superstitions and fantasy.
Cultural beliefs in my opinion should not be judged for its their culture and their
beliefs. In the Japanese culture there is a ritual, Seppuku, dating back to two centuries ago.
The samurai that is has fallen will commit suicide by disembowelment with a sword, as
he/she will not fall to the hands of their enemy. The ritual takes place in front of their people

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where the samurai will take the sword and start their incision from the left of the abdominal
area traveling to their right and then take it up. It is a slow and painful death but it is a way for
them to die honorably and courageously (Encyclopedia Britannica 1). In Bolivia, miners hit it
big with the silver rush in the mid 1500s. This tale is known by The Devils Miners where hid
the devil in a goat-shaped statue. That statue acquired the name El Tio meaning The Uncle.
Miners went in looking to the Devil for guidance and assurance for their safety down below in
the Earth. There is tradition to leave alms to him every day and at times sacrificing llamas,
gather its blood and apply it to the statue. Theyre to believe that if one does not believe in
him fallaciously and erroneously, events were to happen to that individual. (PBS 1) I cant
judge because I havent been a part of their culture or their traditions and of course I would
see it weird or wrong. For a line to drawn here on whether these are rational or not cannot be
made. To say this is rational or not and if theres a line to be drawn is not possible to
conclude. On a discussion board stated by Fareed about a guys claim saying there are
different systems of thought in each culture that will bring different value judgments (Fareed
1). Cultures and superstitions are made at some point in time and cannot be measured of
whats true by just one opinion. Opinions are left for whether one believes in the superstitions.
Dont step on the crack! Youll break your mothers back! Growing up I believed
that superstition and now grown up I dont believe in it exactly but I still dont like to step on
the cracks. Just in case. Superstitions are all around us and many people believe in so many of
them. Most superstitions are there to prevent the bad luck for instance never walk under a
ladder, break a mirror will bring 7 years of bad luck, seeing the bride in her dress on the
wedding day, opening an umbrella etc. ( ). The origins of many of these superstitions date
back to many periods of history. Opening umbrellas inside, for example the origin of it can

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come back to two possible times: Ancient Egyptian times and Victorian England times. In
having an umbrella open inside could and still can be dangerous for others and objects around
and certain vocabulary is thrown around where bad luck can be brought upon someone thus
the superstition came to be though some will say that it can be dated back to ancient Egyptian
times for pharaohs sunshades but quite different from our umbrellas these days
(Wolchover 9). Can we still call it a lie or judge it now that this can be dated back to a
culture? We come from a line of culture and over the years people lost that culture but the
origins are still there. The superstitions are there for a reason. Of course this does not excuse
some really out-of-whack superstitions. It gives us the opportunity to view now this
superstition with a different thought, letting the mind wander.
Where do we draw the line of the impossible if we the possible is infinite? When the
mind gets curious of the certain possibilities in life, some yet to be determined, how far can it
go? The mind and imagination help in bringing fantasy come to life essentially. And although
fantasy is related to fiction, Kajan Khanna wrote in a column where he stated, Fantasy is the
literature of the impossible (Khanna 1). There being multiple types of genres out there of
fantasy (movies, novels, games, art, etc.) we see what the possibilities are out there even if
some dont believe it. A line cant be drawn on something that can or cant be there because
do we really know if it is out there?
In conclusion, it can be stated that certain superstitions arent real and that fantasy is
fiction and none of it is to be accurate. That can be true or it cant. Without the knowledge of
everything and the knowing of the impossible, one cant truly define whats real and whats
fake. Therefore, where do we draw the line between rational cultural beliefs, superstitions
and fantasy? The world may never know.

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Work Cited
-The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Seppuku." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopedia
Britannica, Inc., 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 01 June 2016.
- The Editors at PBS. "El Tio." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 June 2016.
-Perkins, Greg. "Is It Wrong to Judge Other Cultures?" Objectivist Advice. Fareed, 26 Feb.
2011. Web. 05 June 2016.
-Farmhouse, Kentucky. "Superstitions Myths Legends Folklore Omens Lucks
Sayings." Superstitions. Kentucky Farmhouse, 27 May 2012. Web. 05 June 2016.
-Wolchover, Natalie. "The Surprising Origins of 9 Common Superstitions." LiveScience.
TechMedia Network, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 05 June 2016.
-Khanna, Rajan. "What Is Fantasy?" LitReactor. LIT Reactor, 09 Mar. 2012. Web. 06 June
2016.