I
have seen this thing done a couple of times over the years; again this
morning. Each time I thought to myself that I must try to find out why
and what the origin of it was, but somehow had never actually done so.
Some Spanish people sitting right next to my table in the cafe were having breakfast. One of them asked a table companion to pass the salt. When this was handed to him, he took the salt, put some in his palm, raised his arm, & threw the salt over his shoulder behind him. ( I later learned that if you got hit by it, bad luck ). The one who passed it to him, laughed out loud but apologized that he had forgotten the custom.
Some Spanish people sitting right next to my table in the cafe were having breakfast. One of them asked a table companion to pass the salt. When this was handed to him, he took the salt, put some in his palm, raised his arm, & threw the salt over his shoulder behind him. ( I later learned that if you got hit by it, bad luck ). The one who passed it to him, laughed out loud but apologized that he had forgotten the custom.
When
these people had left, I asked the owner of the cafe why this custom
and what the significance was. He said it's just a superstition of good
luck, or bad if not observed. It dated back to the days when salt was a
rare and valuable commodity, not easily acquired. There had been the
era when salt was kept in solid form, like a small brick, and it had
been used as means of payment to work or service rendered, or for
bartering.
In
changing of hands, if the salt brick should by accident slip off the
hand and fell onto the ground, it was near impossible to decide which
party to blame for the loss. Therefore, the custom was established and
exercised that the salt should always be put only on the middle of the
table ( which was even marked with a division line )by the giver, and
the receiver picked it up from there. He emphasized that he wasn't sure
of this and it could just be a silly superstition without being the
proven truth.
Most
likely some people do it just for fun these days, not really
superstitious, more to keep the game going. Like knocking on wood when
mentioning one's good health or fortune, avoid walking under a ladder,
never open an umbrella indoors, say 'Bless you' when someone sneezes
... endless little peculiar customs unquestionably established and
observed, which have stood the pass of time, marching shoulder to
shoulder with the present day science and technology.
- How do you catch a rabbit?
- You put salt on his tail.
Tags: superstition, saltytale
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