National Maritime Museum in Varna Opens Exhibition About Superstitions Among Sailors

BTA correspondent Mila Edreva, Filip Pavlov

Varna Naval Museum exhibition on superstitions among sailors (BTA Photo/Danail Voykov)

Varna, on the Black sea,

09.08.2024 17:21

(BTA)

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The National Maritime Museum in Varna opened an exhibition on Friday presenting various rituals and superstitions from ancient times to the present day on how to tame the oceans and seas, Museum Director Dr Mariana Krasteva said.

The exhibition was implemented with the cooperation of the National Museum of Military History and the commander and crew of the scientific research ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii, and will also feature artefacts from emblematic moments of Bulgarian sailing. Among them are evidence of the line-crossing ceremony, an authentic prop used aboard the research vessel in performing this ceremony, as well as evidence that indeed the captain on board a ship is first after God and has the right to marry, baptise and bury.

Sailors have their own mythology, which accompanies them in their daily lives, noted Krasteva. As an example of this, she gave the stories about scary and unknown sea creatures capable of creating serious problems in open water or the legendary story of the ghostly Flying Dutchman, though he was never detected in the Black Sea, Krasteva pointed out with a smile.

She pointed out that one of the most ancient sailor superstitions, that a woman on board brings misfortune, has actually an extraordinary logic behind it, as in the past the ship crews were male only, and the presence of a woman would distract the crew members, causing possible discord and fatally worsen the discipline on the ship. However, despite this belief, after the 16th century figures of half-naked ladies or deities were often placed on the prow of ships, with the hope of taming storms and hurricanes.

Krasteva noted that there are superstitions in every society, but perhaps there are more among sailors, as they are more vulnerable. This is also the reason for the saying “he who has not sailed the sea does not know how to pray”. Fishermen also have their own superstitions, as they believe that the first outing of the season should be with a new fishing net because this way they show respect for the forces that will bring them a rich catch. Krasteva also noted that seabirds are not caught and killed by fishermen, as it is the belief that they are inhabited by the souls of dead sailors.

/YV/