Superstitious Beliefs In Constructing Buildings

Foundation

The foundation of a post should be bathed with the blood of a pig or white chicken to appease the
spirits presiding on the land on which the house was erected. This is based on an ancient Filipino
pagan tradition.

To make a house typhoon-resistant, the posts should be turned clockwise before being permanently
cemented and secured.

Roof

The ridge of the roof should face neither east nor west.

To bring good luck to a child, its first extracted milk tooth is hidden under the roof.

Location

Erecting a house in front of a dead-end street will bring bad luck to its occupants, whether it is the
original owners or tenants. Although this superstition is locally attributed to the Pampangos of Central
Luzon, it probably originated from the Chinese who believe that a house with such a location is
bad feng sui and will bring financial misfortune or a death in the family.

Stairs

An orientation towards the east is also required for stairs. Ilocanos position their stairs so that they rise
with the morning sun. To them, if it were the other way around, meant turning one's back on fate. But
builders in Pandi, Bulacan, just like many typical Filipinos, believe that a stairway facing east is
considered bad luck because, they say, anything facing the early sun dries up ahead of all others and
in the same token, wealth taken into the house will dry up much faster.

Among the Tagalogs of Southern Luzon, the number of the stair-steps is crucial and must be counted
in a series of threes called oro, plata and mata or gold, silver and death, respectively. The counting
should start from the bottom rung and end on the topmost rung. If the topmost rung coincides with oro
or plata, it will attract good. If, however, the aforementioned rung coincides with mata, it will bring bad
luck.

Doors and Windows

Doors should always be on the right side of the house and the stairs should always turn to the right to
keep a married couple loyal to each other for life. Doors erected on the left side of the house and stairs
that turn to the left will encourage infidelity.

Doors should not be built facing each other for it portends that money will come in easily but will also
rush out quickly. As a stopgap measure, doors can be built parallel to walls so that money entering the
house will stay in the house and be saved.

It is advised that one must plan neither the doors of one's bedrooms in such a way that when it is
opened, one would face neither the foot nor head of the bed. There should always be ample space
between the door and the bed itself. Position the bed such that the headboard does not rest against a
window opening. Neither should you put any bed under a cross beam, regardless of whether the beam
is of wood or concrete, and position the bed so that the occupant will not be lying perpendicular to the
beam. Overly strict homeowners do not have exposed beams at all even if these are veneered with
different materials.

In Bontoc, the front door of the house must face against the flow of a nearby river according to ancient
folk beliefs. In Romblon, the roof of the house must slope following the direction of the incline of the
nearby mountains. In the Cordilleras, it is different. The ridge of the roof is always positioned at right
angles to the ridge of the mountain on which the house stands.

Opposite windows are not to face directly to each other, for it is believed that whatever good fortune
may come to the family will just pass easily. In manner, the main door and the back door of the house
should not be in line with each other for it would mean a welcome sign for sickness and death to
frequent the household.

Construction

It is imperative that a house faces east where the sun rises to guarantee prosperity. In contrast, a
house that faces west where the sun sets is a jinx and will bring bad luck. This superstition was
borrowed from the Ancient Chinese.

Avoid constructing a building when the year is about to end. A better time is when the year is about to
start. (January to June)

The construction must start on Monday and never Friday.

Dont start the construction of the house at a period when the moon is waning or entering its last
quarter.

Never have a house built when your wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth at that very month

Another popular house-building superstition is the cornerstone laying ritual of burying coins under the
posts of a house being erected to attract prosperity and good luck. This practice originated from the
Ilocanos of Northern Luzon.

For those living in concrete houses, an old coin must be imprinted on the cemented doorstep to ensure
a steady flow of money.

Among the Ibalois, a Benguet ethnic group in the Cordilleras, it is customary to give ample space
underneath their houses by elevating their floors to accommodate the future tomb of the owner to
ensure perpetual guidance over the house the dead leaves behind.

For houses with second floors, it should be observed that no drainage pipe runs inside or under the
floor where the bed is located. Drainage pipes contain unclean fluids associated with bad energies
which may affect the good spirits of the people sleeping over these pipes.

Septic tanks must not be constructed higher than the ground for it would demand a sacrifice in human
life. Neither should septic tanks and toilets be built near the kitchen because it would contaminate the
food in a psychic sense and will bring sickness to the family.