Bananas are BAD Mojo on a fishing boat. Please don’t bring them! They are a delicious fruit that we all love, but just not on the boat. We will likely throw them overboard.
Why, you may ask?
Fisherman are a very superstitious lot. Spend more than a few days aboard a fishing boat, and you start to understand the feelings of “luck” that come with good streaks and slumps of slow fishing…and everything in between. There are two very long standing superstitions aboard crab boats that have been passed down to fisherman of all kinds. Namely – never bring a banana or a suitcase aboard a fishing boat.
There are many theories on why people believe bananas are bad luck for a boat. One superstition is that boats carrying bananas don’t catch fish. The origin of this belief dates back to the Caribbean trade of the 1700s. The wooden sailing boats of that time had to move quickly to deliver bananas before they spoiled, and fishermen had a hard time trolling for fish on such fast-moving boats, which is how the superstition came about. Another superstition that originated during that time is that bananas will cause a boat to sink. This belief developed after many boats never made it to their destinations, and all of the doomed boats were carrying bananas.
Suitcases onboard is a fishing boat no-no as well. Even when camera crew boarded crab boats to film Discovery Channel’s reality series “Deadliest Catch,” they were asked to leave their equipment suitcases on the dock [source: Deadliest Catch].
- source: http://people.howstuffworks.com/fishing-superstition1.htm
So why do these superstitions still exist? The ocean can be a mystical and dangerous place. Despite the help of the modern technology of GPS, radar, sonar, and other scientific assistance, sometimes the weather can still sneak up on you. These superstitions have been passed down over hundreds of years through generations of fisherman. Do you really want to temp the fates?
If you will be fishing, and you have recently consumed, touched, or came in brief contact with the fruit, plantains, red plantains, or even the sunscreen brand, you may want to considering apologizing to Kompira.
The Bananas Aboard Repentance Prayer
Oh great Konpira
please, hear my plea
I am sorry for my mistake
A banana I brought to seait was an honest gesture
a noble means of nutrition
I had no ill intent
I brought fruit of my own volitionPlease forgive my idiocy
I meant my friends no harm
We just want to go fishing
and go home with a sore armWe beg of you to release the curse
upon which I have brought
In your honor I consume these bananas
a sacrifice all for nought
