Some shopkeepers consider the act of spitting on the cash from the first sale of the day as a way to repress bad luck. The practice of lightly spitting to the side of a person as a way to guard the person against evil forces and protect them from buri nazar (buri nazar is a phrase in Hindi whose English equivalent could be 'evil eye or evil gaze' pertaining to a stare believed to cause misfortune) is still rampant in some rural parts of North India. Since ancient times, the act of spitting has been linked to several culture-bound beliefs. There are specific reasons that maintain this behavior. 6 In the country, the act of public spitting is considered admissible and is only infrequently frowned upon in the Indian culture.
Along with the public health perspectives involved, in India, compulsive spitting has been proposed as a culture-bound symptom. 5 While in the west spitting was considered heinous and demanded a civic responsibility to one’s health and the health of others, studies from Southeast Asian countries paint a different picture altogether. 4 Spitting can be a similar pleasurable behavior.Įven today, cultural expectations, responses, and attitudes towards public spitting exist. The psychoanalytic theories link spitting with the phallic phase of psychosexual development. 4 Ejaculation and urination are associated with pleasure by means of sexual gratification and a sense of release from discomfort. Psychological theories link spitting with ejaculation or urination. Spitting can even be a pleasure-generating phenomenon. Voluntary spitting can be an expression of hostility and disrespect, but this has not always been the case.
Over time, as the knowledge about infectious diseases progressed, spitting has been acknowledged as a means of infection transmission, and public health awareness campaigns too followed. Public spitting is widespread enough to meet the eyes of policymakers relevant restrictions are already in place in various parts of the world, reflecting the seriousness of public spitting. However, the prevalence of these spitting behavior patterns, and public spitting in particular, is unclear.
Spitting and public spitting are ubiquitous.
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