Moffat Mungazi
Post Reporter
TREPIDITION!
This probably aptly describes the feeling that grips those of a superstitious disposition among our lot each day a Friday falls on the 13th of a month.
To them, this is no ordinary day as they consider it a harbinger of bad omen. Such is their hunch — with or without evidence.
Some premonition of sorts, perhaps.
Conviction that finds expression in the strong persuasion that some of the creepy occurrences on Friday the 13th are strikingly spine-tingling to ignore as ordinary coincidence.
Their beliefs are steeped in the notion that misfortune is always lurking, and disaster looming large to strike on this particular day.
Well, today is a Friday, and it is falling on the 13th!
The enigma behind Friday the 13th
This day is largely associated with myths and mysteries in some cultures.
It is believed, by those who accept everything that comes and goes with it, to bring ill luck.
Every calendar year has at least one Friday the 13th, but can have as many as three.
Usually, any month that starts on a Sunday — like September and December of this year — will have a Friday the 13th.
This year has two such — the first of which is today, and the second coming exactly 13 weeks later in December.
In 2023, there were two Friday the 13ths in October and January.
The year 2025 will have just one in June.
It is not clear, however, when associating Friday the 13th with mysterious occurrences began; but indications are that the myth has been around for centuries.
Friday the 13th, according to online sources, is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition.
This occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday.
Going by this belief, the number 13 may be associated with misfortune as well as impending and inevitable doom.
In Norse mythology, online sources further suggest, the god Loki was the 13th to arrive at a feast in Valhalla where he tricked another guest into killing the god Baldur.
In Christianity, Judas — the apostle who betrayed Jesus — was the 13th guest at the Last Supper and Christ was betrayed on a Friday.
In simple terms, some circles think of the number 13 as despicably unlucky.
Omission of 13th floors, rooms, decks
The number 13 has come to be known to have been omitted on some infrastructure around the globe.
This, according to online sources, is premised on triskaidekaphobia — which is fear or deliberate avoidance of the number 13.
Some hotels around the globe do not have room 13, while other multiple storey buildings do not have 13th floor.
Some airlines do not have row 13 in their cabins, just as some ships, including cruise liners, have omitted having a 13th deck.
This also holds true for elevators.
They are just numbered up to 12 and skip straight to number 14.
In London, several notable streets like Oxford, Park Lane and St James’, among others, do not have a Number 13 owing to “superstitions of London”.
Closer to home on Friday, January 13, 2023, three people — including a senior police officer, Inspector Maxwell Hove, apostolic sect leader, Chrispen Kanerusine (Madzibaba Sirage), and a bartender, Munashe Majani — were allegedly killed by murder suspect and former police detective, Jaison Muvevi, who went on a shooting spree after first opening fire at a church gathering in Hwedza.
These alleged callous killings, for someone with supreme conviction in superstition, hardly came as any surprise, given the day and date on which they occurred — Friday the 13th.
The coincidence, they argue, was too pronounced to ignore, and fail to associate with a connection to Friday the 13th.
Back in the day, a horror movie franchise by that title — Friday the 13th — premiered in the 1980s, and eerily is said to be based on the real life murders of three teenagers at Lake Bodom in Finland by the fictional character, Jason Voorhees.
Voorhees’ reign of terror rattled Camp Crystal Lake and the surrounding area, as he massacred people to avenge the death of his mother, Pamela Voorhees.
Perceptions on Friday the 13th
Different people have various perspectives on this phenomenon, depending on their world outlook.
The Manica Post Editor, Mr Cletus Mushanawani, was noncommittal over the issue.
He said his birthday, which is on October 13, fell on a Friday last year, and he actually enjoyed blissful commemorations on the day.
Senator Chief Mutasa
“My birthday is October 13, and last year it was on a Friday. On that day, I had one of the most remarkable celebrations in living memory. It was a pleasant blast as family, friends and colleagues organised a banquet that we thoroughly soaked in. This was despite it being a Friday the 13th. I look forward to making merry on many more happy returns occasions of my birthday even when they fall on a Friday. In actual fact, I was also born on a Friday,” said Mr Mushanawani.
The next Friday the 13th that falls in October will come in 2028.
To Senator Chief Mutasa, Friday the 13th is a foreign concept, borrowed from the Western culture. It is alien to our African traditional religion, he said.
“Friday the 13th is by and large a Western idea. We have no such thing in our traditional religion as Zimbabweans. Nothing in our local customs relates to that in any meaningful way. Something ominous might have happened on that day to the Western people, and it is fine for them if they attribute it to the bad luck they associate with Friday the 13th, but for us to embrace the same notion without critiquing it will be misleading,” said the traditional leader.
He added that ascribing any connotations to a day that holds no significance in our history is tantamount to losing both our moral and cultural compass.
“Just like Christianity as a religion, some of these things were imported to us and are not originally ours. As part of our history and heritage, we must be more interested in such days like when Nehanda Nyakasikana was hanged by the British colonial settlers because she was inspiring the Chimurenga revolution in the quest to free the oppressed masses,” said Senator Chief Mutasa.
He highlighted that local communities have their own superstitions they observe because they have a meaning and are important to them, citing examples of “chisi” (the day when local people rest in honour of the guardians of the land).
Added Senator Chief Mutasa: “In our own local context, November is sacred as no cultural rituals or activities like marriage, eloping and tombstone unveiling are carried out during this month. This is part of the norms, values and beliefs that define our culture unlike the unfamiliar Friday the 13th.”
Senator Chief Mutasa said local communities should not have any qualms about holding functions or ceremonies on Friday the 13th as our traditional ethos are not in tandem with the day.
Clergyman, Father Simbarashe Rukanda of the Roman Catholic Church, said the concept of Friday the 13th is just a superstition without any historical grounding in the scriptures.
He said by placing all their faith in God, believers can never be moved by myths.
“In the Christian community, we do not believe in Friday the 13th as its origins are unclear and cannot be traced in the Bible. This is a myth or superstition borrowed from elsewhere. In the scriptures, the numbers that we normally talk about, among others, are three for the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit); seven as God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh; 10 for the 10 commandments; as well as 12 for the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. These numbers hold importance because of the meaning they have, and there is no Friday the 13th because it carries no significance in the Christian world,” said Father Rukanda.
Quoting from the scriptures, Father Rukanda said people must be wary of the superstitions they follow; especially those that are alien to them.
“The Bible is very clear about this in Deuteronomy, Chapter 18 Verse 9, as it reminds us to refrain from imitating or embracing foreign customs as they may be abominable ways of life,” he said.
Academic and Great Zimbabwe University lecturer, Dr Pauline Chiripanhura said there has been scholarly research that has tried to look into how the myths and mysteries surrounding Friday the 13th have shaped people’s views of the world around them.
“A superstitious belief has the power to affect how people go about their day-to-day lives, and can also dictate how they act in certain situations. This is the reason why some people avoid holding events on Fridays that fall on a 13th because of the misfortunes associated with it when the day and date coincide. This is informed by their scepticism that the mood or atmosphere and outcome of that event may be affected by the bad omen of Friday the 13th.
“Some psychologists in America in 2019 carried out a research and published an article on how Friday the 13th influenced decision making. They sought to find out how superstitions, luck and mood affected the decisions they made. As such, some people ended up avoiding travelling on Friday the 13th because they believed that it could increase their chances of being involved in an accident. Scanlon and other scholars in 1993 also looked into how some British people feared being hospitalised and undergoing medical procedures on Friday the 13th basing on the misfortunes associated with the day,” she said.
Dr Chiripanhura added that another research in 2021 found out that some American college students detested taking examinations on Friday the 13th for fear of failing the exams because of the bad luck.
Along with Dr JD Tena of Liverpool University, Dr Jan Fidrmuc — who was at the time an economist at Brunel University London — published an academic paper in 2017, which explores the enduring myth that Friday the 13th is a particularly unlucky day.
Dr Fidrmuc said “triskaidekaphobia”, the scientific name for the fear of the number 13, has real final consequences which concern economists.
“Commonly, the bad luck is attributed to Jesus being crucified on a Friday, and there being 13 people at the Last Supper, one of whom went on to betray Him. But until now, no one has come up with a scientifically robust way of establishing whether or not there is any objective evidence either way. People are much more likely to remember something bad happening on an “unlucky” day. And we know that superstition about 13 measurably affects behaviour. So by exploding the myth, we hope to have added our own little fiscal stimulus to between one and three Fridays in a year,” he concluded.
A local musician who declined to be named said several people were injured in skirmishes during a show he had held on Friday the 13th several years ago. Following that unfortunate incident, he never accepted bookings again when this day and date coincided.
Since then, he added, he never encountered any work-related misfortunes again after avoiding holding live performances on Friday the 13th.
“I still vividly recall that experience like it happened yesterday. It all started when our vehicle broke down on the way to the show, forcing us to arrive late. When we eventually got to the venue, the crowd was restless, and we could attribute this to the disturbances that ensued. Luckily, no deaths were recorded, but some revellers were badly injured in that incident and had to be hospitalised,” said the artiste.
