Cypriot folk beliefs and rituals endure through “magical memory”

Nicosia, Cyprus. Rituals, charms and protective practices were once widely used across Cyprus to ward off harm and bring order to an uncertain world. Anthropologist Theodoros Kyriakides says that while many customs have faded, the beliefs behind them remain embedded in Cypriot culture.

Beyond superstition

For generations, Cypriots viewed misfortune as more than simple bad luck. Practices now commonly described as superstition formed part of a wider understanding of how life worked, according to Kyriakides, a social anthropologist who has researched Cypriot folk religion and ritual practices since 2017.

“Superstition is a somewhat contested term which originates from societies trying to become rational and modern,” he says. “Superstition in such sense refers to ‘remnants’ of the past – irrational practices and rituals which people did back in the day, especially in peasant settings.”

Kyriakides says there were hundreds of beliefs and practices intended to protect people from illness and misfortune. Beneath them was a cosmological outlook in which individuals were understood to be shaped and challenged by cosmic and fatalistic forces that had to be negotiated through ritual knowledge and mastery.

Religion and protective rituals

Religion held an important place within this worldview. Kyriakides’ research focuses on chants and incantations known asyities, performed to ward off illness and bad luck.

“These would often be performed by priests,” he says.

As religion in Cyprus developed over time, it became more institutionalised, creating distinctions between rituals considered acceptable and those regarded as harmful or forbidden.

Customs in everyday life

Beliefs and practices varied between villages and households, but many older Cypriots would have recognised certain rituals and warnings. Some families hung garlic outside their homes for protection against the evil eye.

Others threw salt over their shoulders after accidentally spilling it, or scattered salt after an unwelcome visitor had left. In some homes, olive oil was not carried outside after sunset, while nails were not cut at night for fear of inviting misfortune. Visitors were also customarily expected to leave through the same door through which they entered.

“Magical memory”

Kyriakides describes the survival of older ideas as “magical memory”. He says people may no longer possess the ritual knowledge held by previous generations, but some continue to improvise protective practices based on stories passed down by parents and grandparents.

“Even though Cypriots retain oral histories regarding magical rituals of the past, they have been separated from the ritual mastery their ancestors required to perform them,” he says.

His research has identified cases of people adapting their own forms of protective rituals inspired by family stories, indicating that traditional practices may have evolved while the beliefs behind them remain entrenched in the culture.

Kyriakides says there also appears to be a revival of Cypriot “spirituality”, particularly among younger people.