Heritage Series: The Curious Practice Of Rotating One’s Plate When Someone Is About To Leave The House Mid-Meal

I think the same holds true for most Filipino households back in the day. A big part of the culture of Filipinos is superstition. I know a lot of people, especially the younger generation, would often dismiss superstition as traditions or beliefs of old folks and say that these are not science or evidence-based, and at times, illogical. Nonetheless, as our grandparents would often say, there’s no harm in practicing and respecting traditions. Well, that’s also correct; that was why we listened to them (out of respect to them, too).

Over the years, though, the old practices seem to have faded quietly. I think it was partly because people have begun to relax and veer away from the seemingly daunting task of sticking to superstitious practices. Modernity has also somehow emboldened Filipinos to gradually let go of old practices.

When I began living in Metro Manila, I began to see less and less of this practice. Only when I went home to San Antonio (Nueva Ecija) for vacations would I encounter this practice again. Even in my in-laws’ home, this is a practice that they are unfamiliar with. However, just a few weeks ago, while we were eating, our yaya, who happens to be from San Antonio, too, told us to rotate our plates when a visitor was about to leave our house. I felt a wave of nostalgia and a sense of amusement upon hearing her say it because I had forgotten about it as well.

I made a little research on social media about this old practice and found a few comments from users about it:

“Kahit ngayon pag ka ako’y umaalis sa isang kamag anak ko na kumakain sila sabi ko’y iikot muna ang plato o di kaya ay hindi ako umaalis hangga’t hindi sila tapos kumain”

“Totoo ang pamahiin yan iikot ang plato kapag may aalis kung kumain pa ang iba.kasi nangyare yan sa akin, kumakain pa yung mga anak ng umalis ako papasok sa trabaho. Nalimutan ko ipaikot yun plato, nagaabang ako ng sasakyan hindi ko napansin yun kanal pag-urong ko nahulog ako. Ayun puro galos yung braso ko.”

“Tama ginagawa ko yan pag may umaalis ikotin mo plato mo kung kumakain ka pa.”

“Yes po, kasabihan din yun na me maaksidente kapag umalis ng kumakain pa.”

In the end, whether it’s practiced or not these days, or if people still believe in it, old practices such as rotating the plates when someone is about to leave the house are very much part of our culture and tradition. It’s nice to look back and revisit these folklores.

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