According to the dictionary, a myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
There are some Nigerian myths that are so outrageous that I wonder how people believe this things in this modern times. Some of this myths I believed while growing up as a kid but now that I’m older and wiser, I can see how dumb and stupid they are.
One myth popular here in Nigeria is whistling at night. One time my friend had told me that his parents had warned him never to whistle at night because it invited evil spirits. Of course I thought it was truth and had immediately stopped whistling only to find out years later that it was all a lie. I have tested the theory countless times, waiting for the spirits to come torment me or do whatever it is spirits does to people but nothing has happened yet or maybe it has, I just don’t know it yet.
Another one is hitting a boy with a broomstick. I think this was the one I believed the most because he was linked to something I valued the most in my body. It was believed that if you hit a boy with a broomstick, his manhood would shrink and remain tiny forever if you don’t hit the broom on the floor three times after hitting the boy with it. I remember how I would shout at my friends and force them to hit the broom on the floor three times whenever I was touched with a broom, I didn’t want to take any chances with my manhood.
The last one I remember was the one my dad told me himself and so far that is the only one I thinks that works. My dad had taught me a way to prevent boils from growing on my eyes. He had instructed me to always pluck out my eye lashes whenever I felt pain there which clearly was an indication that a boil was about to come out there. He said not to pluck out any random eye lashes but to look for the one that hurts the most because that is where the boil is likely to come from and trust me, I’ve been doing this for the past six to eight years and there hasn’t been a boil on my eyes ever since.
I know you guys might think this is a lie but you should try it. Unfortunately that won’t stop boils from growing on other places on your body like your buttocks, because there isn’t any lashes there to pull out.
I’m sure most of you have some myths of your own, do share them in the comment section below.