The deceased

* When they wash a deceased body some take the wasted water by which the body has been washed with to use it in black magic to separate lovers.

* If the piece of white cloth that is used to wrap the body in it is larger than the deceased size they say that he/she did not wish to die.

* Scissors are not used to cut the cloth used to wrap the body in it. It is just torn by hand.

* They destroy any piece of cloth left from what they used to wrap the body in because they believe it might be used in black magic and this will be considered as the deceased sin in the afterlife.

* When a person died in a family, whatever they had cooked as a meal or even jams and desserts would not be cooked or made any more because it was considered to be an omen for them.

* If someone’s collar were torn for whatever reason they would throw it away because it was considered to be an omen.

* The deceased clothes were donated to charity and only one piece of their clothing was to be kept. They used to cry over it for years.

* If a dead body is being passed by your home’s front door, you should pour some water after it so that your family would stay safe.

* A family who had lost a member could not chew gum, eat sunflower seeds, or other kinds of junk food. It was considered to be shameful.

* Every night that passes after someone dies, they would be separated as far as seven mountains; this is why people can live after they lose someone.

* If a butterfly flew into the house on a Friday night, they believed that this was their deceased spirit and no one should bother it.

The Grave

* When they visited the grave, no one was allowed to cry because they believed that the deceased eyes will go blind and they could not see us.

* One should not laugh at a graveyard.

* They pick a little stone and they hit the gravestone with it three times then they say hello to the deceased.

* The grave should not be covered with stone.

* It is recommended to plant beautiful flowers so that when they are moved by the wind they pray for the deceased.

* If nothing can grow on a grave’s soil they say the deceased did not like anyone.

* They used to wrap Sheikhs’ and Seyeds’ gravestones with a shawl and people could cut small pieces of it for good luck.

* The grave of the youths or the martyrs were covered with red veils.

* They collected pieces of broken glass dishes and put them around the graves. When the sunbeams were reflected on them, the whole graveyards looked shiny from a distance.

* It is not recommended to plant a fruitful tree in a graveyard because it is Haram to eat the fruit.

* The ants found in the graveyard should not be killed for the deceased will be punished for it.

* It is not allowed to wash a grave from the part where the head of the deceased is located.

* When they visited a grave, they used to sit closer to the deceased’s head so they could see their visitors.

* People used to visit Sheikh and Seyeds’ graves on Wednesdays and visit their own deceased graves on Thursdays.

* Sheikh and Seyeds’ grave soils were considered to be holy.

* Every Eid (religious celebration) they used to visit the graveyard first then they would attend the feast.

* The graves next to each other can affect each other’s afterlife situation so people had a tendency to be buried next to a child’s grave because they were pure and their afterlife was a pleasant life.

* If one sees a vacant grave, they should stop eating one kind of edible food.

* When the deceased was buried and the people were going home, a close member of the deceased family would stay behind so that when the angels are inquiring the deceased for the first time, they would not be afraid.

* The person who dies is a stranger to the new world.

Dreams

* If one dreams they were dead, their life will grow longer.

* If one dreams they take something from a deceased’s hand, this is considered to be fortunate but if the deceased takes something from you it is not a good sign.

* If one dreams they are going away with a deceased person, they will die soon.

* If one dreams of a deceased one in pretty clothes and a good mood it means that the dead person was faithful. If one dreams of a sad dead person it means she/he was not a faithful person and they are in pain now.

* If a deceased person asks for food in your dream, it means they need you to donate to charity in their name.

Source:

Mukriyan’s oral glossary, Salah Payaniayni

Mukriyan’s oral glossary, Food, Salah Payaniayni