Don't Eat Malunggay When There's a Dead Around...

Image from http://fromkoreawithlove.org

Nope, not malunggay (moringa), or kamote (sweet potato), or any vegetable that can possibly produce intestinal gas, as it will bring you bad luck.

When there's a dead around, make sure to cover all mirrors in the household, whether it's your dresser or some glass-doored cabinet. Drape your blanket over it if you must, just find a way to temporarily rid your home of those reflective surfaces.

Don't stack the dinner plates after eating, the elders said it's no-good.

And when your visiting, grieving house guest is on his way out, don't bother walking him to his car. Don't thank him for visiting you, either -- such acts bring ill fortune to those who commit them.

It's amazing what 1.5 hours drive away from Quezon City showed me today. For all the distances I've travelled (though they're not a lot, really), it thoroughly amused me to witness cultural differences as they were enacted.

This was in the city of Tanauan, Batangas. Not so far away from Metro Manila, I tell you, but the manner in which the community behaved around the departed is such a stark contrast from how I was influenced to act. Which leads me to reflect about how certain Filipinos respond to a family member's death, too.

In the (not so recent) past, I thought hysteria was nothing but media's exaggerations of how people can grieve over a loved one's departure. But after seeing it happen with my own eyes, from one fainting family member to the next, and to the next, and the next, it again reminded me of how different one person can be from the next, no matter how seemingly similar and agreeable we are in our everyday interactions.

For all the same Facebook pages we "Like", and Tweets we re-Tweet; for all the articles we share and photos we re-Pin; for all the same cheesy quotes we forward, and the same set of jokes that we laugh at...there's equally so much difference to define, to share, and to celebrate.

The daughter-in-law of the deceased stated it so candidly: "Our elders' superstitions may not be scientifically tested, and may not necessarily be real. But if it doesn't hurt us or cause us stress to follow them, then why shouldn't we follow them?"

Though in my mind I was ready to refute this kind of logic, I also thought it would be best to just let it be.

After all, if the family simply ate whatever they wanted to eat when the dead was around, then my morning wouldn't be half as interesting as it genuinely was.

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My prayers and condolences go out to the family of our vegetable supplier, Ms. Leony Bautista. May your Inang rest it peace and continue cracking her jokes up in heaven. :)