Thai Hair-Cut No No

Several years ago I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to a party in Nolita. The city skyline shimmered under a sky dotted by the few stars brilliant enough to pierce New York's light umbrella. Tourists flashed photos in the dark and the bridge hummed with the passage of cars and trucks. The night was bitter cold and I pulled down my hat tight, thinking that my last hair-cut had been in Thailand.

Two months ago.

There was a hair stylist in Chinatown, which cost $10.

Once off the bridge I walked north, passing through City Hall. The sidewalks were empty and I looked to the East, thinking about the rising moon. It would be setting in Thailand with the sun rising in the east. My son and his mother were asleep in Sriracha, then I remembered Mam saying that you shouldn't cut your hair at night and never on Wednesday.

I phoned to make sure.

"No cut hair on Wednesday. Only king can get hair cut on wan-poud and never cut hair at night. Bad luck."

"Thanks for that." I left her go back to sleep and once I returned from the party I went online to search for an edict against nocturnal hair-cuts. Nothing appeared on Google, although I suspected that the superstition was based on the night-vision of a barber. A further search revealed that Mam was right about the interdiction against Wednesday coiffures, since for centuries the royal family have had their hair trimmed on Wednesday during the day and commoners ie serfs are banned from mimicking any royal behavior.

Only trusted stylists were allowed this privilege to avoid the theft of the noble hair for the purpose of magic.

I have yet to had my hair cut.

It's getting long.

Other Thai Superstitions:

(1) Don’t whistle at night because you will invite ghosts into your house.
(2) Don’t let women eat chicken feet because they will have an affair
(3) Do not let pregnant women whistle because her baby will have a crooked mouth
(4) Do not allow an adult pay respect to a child (wai) because that child will have a shortened life
(5) Do not joke while you are eating because the ghost will steal your rice
(6) Do not cover your head when you go to a temple because this will make you bald
(7) Do not sharpen a knife at night time because you will offend the angels
(8) Do not look at naked people because your eyes will become swollen
(9) Do not have sexual intercours on holy days (wan phra) because bad things will happen.
(10) Do not let the bride and the groom meet three days before the wedding because their marriage will not last
(11) Do not smile while sowing corn because it won’t grow
(12) Do not stand in a doorway because a ghost will enter the house
(13) Do not sew at night because the ghost will haunt you
(14) Do not throw money away because you will lose your finger
(15) Do not sing while you are eating because the ghost will curse you.

And there's plenty more where those come from.

Superstitions of Thai Food

Every country has their own Old Wive's Tales. Thailand is no exception. Some might seem crazy on the surface, but most have been based on solid logic, so farangs will still hear the following axioms being said today in some Thai families about dining etiquette and they have nothing to do with using the wrong fork.

* Don't eat a double banana because if you are a woman you will give birth to twins.
* Don't eat before your elders because in your next life you will be born as a dog.
* Don't eat food without rice because you will get rickets.
* Don't eat salt under a tree because it will make the tree die.
* Don't eat other people's food without permission because it will make your throat swollen.
* Don't eat the leftovers from your child because it will make the kid naughty.
* Don't eat before a monk because you will become a bad ghost.
* Don't eat corn when you have the flu because it will give you a higher fever.
* Don't eat all of the rice during your evening meal because you should leave some for the elves.
* Don't eat cold rice with hot rice because you will lose your way easily the next time you go out.
* Don't eat egg when you have cut yourself because it will make it worse.
* Don't eat chicken feet because it will give you bad handwriting.
* Don't eat chili sauce in the mortar bowl because if you are a woman you will give birth to a child with big lips.
* Don't eat turtles because it will make you walk slowly.
* Don't eat dog because the dog's spirit will possess you.

Source: Translated from "Boran Oo-bai" by Sanom Krutmeuang

This list is thanks to http://www.enjoythaifood.com/thaisuperstitions.php

I especially like the 'don't eat chicken feet' one.

I hate them.

ps The last is about eating dog. I’ve feasted on dog in Indonesia. It doesn’t taste like chicken feet. It’s actually delicious, but Thais think if you eat it, then you will be possess by the dog’s spirit. Arf Arf.

Is that such a bad fate?