12 lies you were told as a child which you totally believed

stacey

July 11, 2016 7:11 PM

From avoiding the forest to whistling, there were myths every Ghanaian child heard and believed growing up, but how true were they?

1. If you sing in the shower your mother will die.

This myth was a fallacy. Parents condone that act purposely because they wanted to prevent lather from entering our mouths.

2. Don’t pound an empty mortar or else your mother will die.

Another myth to scare children into thinking they will kill their mother. Really, it was only to prevent the destruction of the mortar.

3. Don’t sweep at night or you will invite ghosts into the house.

This was to prevent us from sweeping valuables away because there were no lights.

4. When you whistle at night, dwarfs will come and take you away.

Another blatant lie because your folks just wanted to prevent you from disturbing their beautiful sleep.

5. When you walk too much you are asked if you have chewed the legs of a dog.

Another weird one - we were told this because dogs like to roam a lot.

6. Never leave water in a mortar overnight or else you will see ghost in the water.

Unbelievable! Parents just wanted to prevent the mortar from degrading.

7. That if you eat with your hands on the floor, the food will pass through and enter into the ground.

As little as the food was you would sit upright and eat to your satisfaction. These oldies wanted to avoid improper digestion.

8. That we should never throw the broom at night otherwise, the broom will spin us in our sleep.

I can’t believe I believed that lie myself but this was to get us to keep the broom well.

9. When you kill a spider and you visit the loo, your anus will burn.

This one we are still struggling to understand, maybe they were scared that killing a spider will leave a mess or a bad smell... who knows? Do you?

10. We should never go to the forest at certain times of the year otherwise you will die.

This was only to mean that those periods were the breeding times for animals, and if anyone should go there it will tend to disturb them.

11. A spit of saliva is put on the ground when you are sent, and you are told that you are supposed to return before it dries otherwise your navel will rot.

Another impossible threat, but this was to prevent us from playing when we are being sent.

12. That when you talk while eating, you will die.

Most children believed this but it was only to prevent food from choking you.

How many of these do you remember?

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stacey