Pernese Superstitions

Pernese Superstitions

The idea of what superstitions exist on Pern was raised recently on the Pern Connect Discord server and it's got me thinking.

It's been thousands of Turns since Pern's first, selected-for-their-lack-of-susceptibility-to-religion colonists came to Pern, so despite McCaffrey's insistence that Pern is beyond such things there's plenty of canon ones:

Bronzes hatching first is a sign of good luck (practical, because bronzes are rare and take more effort for an egg to grow into due to being bigger, this could mean a more healthy clutch)

Robinton in Masterharper of Pern wonders about ghosts of dragons watching over Fort Weyr (Anne says this is his own fancy and not common superstition, but come on, young boys also dare each to spend the night in abandoned weyrs)

Threadfall's return, by the end of the 9th Pass, without any tools to predict this or people trained in predicting space weather

(What kind of person impresses what colour is technically a superstition, we're shown time and time again that dragons buck the trend with their choices)

But what else? Earth is littered with tons of superstitions, what else exists in the corners of Pern we aren't shown in the books? I've had some ideas based on various English/British existing superstitions!

Hold Superstitions

Local superstitions will obviously vary. Black Dogs exist as an idea broadly across England and Europe, but Black Shuck is an East Anglian interpretation.

Saying Goodbye to the Hold Wher: the wher keeps everyone safe, saying goodbye to it before a long or important journey brings good luck

Telling the Firelizards: like the old tradition of telling the bees important details, what if local wild firelizard fairs similar things became important? They help destroy thread, afterall!

Black Whers: a wild wher might have actually killed someone, Turns and Turns ago, what if people still talk about it hanging around? Haunting the beaches?

Runners with night sweats: England used to believe finding horses sweaty in the morning was because they were being ridden by witches, but what if on Pern this is due to dragons lost between coming back briefly

Weird rocks: there was the Benden warning of D'lin getting stuck in rock betweening, there might be more...A mining hold has a shaft no one but the least superstitious will go down due to a 'wing shaped' piece of rock sticking out of the wall, a mountain pass with a 'dragon shaped' bit of rock near the entrance is unlucky – or watched over depending who you talk to

Weyr Superstitions

Then there's the weyr. Dragonriders, exposed to danger all the time, might have even more superstitions:

Trinkets or phrases to ensure a trip between (especially longer ones) goes without a hitch

Weyrlings whispering tales of riders stuck between that will knock them off course and trap them there, unless you do this one specific thing before betweening the first time...

Lighting fires on the ridges to keep riders and dragons returning from between away during Turnover

You have to toss one piece of firestone from a spilled bag away, or it'll bring back luck in 'Fall

Are dragons with certain 'markings' (in canon this would be more like slight changes of colour, or more hoselike shading) bad luck to have in your wing? That green's wing marking looks kind of like an eye...

What superstition would you like to add to Pern, if you could? Even small, tiny local ones!