Wan Phing Lim

June 13, 2010

Did the moon cut your ear?

As a child, I was told many superstitious lies to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid. Then I realised this was a common phenomenon among Asian parents.

One of these lies is that the moon will cut your ear if you point at it. Well, did it cut yours? I was 8 years old when my father told me it happened to him as a child. That night, there was a bright crescent moon shining outside my window. I decided to brave it.

I remember that night vividly. I was sitting up in my bed in my pyjamas, a pair of floral flannels, hugging my little pillow tightly. I raised my hand slowly and looked away, my face twisted in anticipation of a painful slit. But nothing happened. Quietly, I slumped back into bed and went to sleep. No nightmares, no fat horror moonface speaking into my ears.

The next morning I woke up and the first thing I did was check the back of my ear. I checked for signs of dried blood, any form of scab or scar, a slit, anything that proved my ear had been cut by the evil crescent moon.

Lies, all lies. I never trusted one of these superstitions ever again.

This is is the issue my flatmate and I address in our latest podcast. Our podcast is called The Shin & Wan Phing Show, and our latest episode is entitled ‘Another Lie of the Ancestor’.

Click here to listen.

13 responses to “Did the moon cut your ear?”

David

September 27, 2015 at 3:16 am

That happened on me. Maybe not all people will get a cut. But it happened on me a few times.
Anonymous

April 2, 2017 at 6:11 am

I pointed to the moon and then my mom told me not to and why and I was worried and my mom told me to spit the water in the mouth not the drink one the one that comes out of your mouth she told me to spit it out three times but not making the water from your mouth come out and the next day it didn’t hurt and I was happy :D
Anonymous

April 2, 2017 at 6:13 am

Yay it didn’t :D but what about other people D:
Anonymous

April 2, 2017 at 6:14 am

Try my moms idea if you don’t want it to happen :D
Wei Zeng

October 14, 2017 at 2:28 pm

I point at the moon, but I didn’t get my ear cut off XD
Jailynn L.

July 22, 2018 at 6:20 am

My Auntie and my older Cousin always told me dont point at the moon or your finger will fall off. So one night we were taking my grandma home and there was a big bright moon out and i was just staring at it to the point where I was so scared that I put my hands inside my shirt. So the whole ride to my auntie house I had my hands in my shirt. So we get to my auntie house and I was spending the night. So I fell asleep and you know how you you close your eyes and then it feels like you are blinking? That’s how it was. So we got there and they asked me, ” why do you have your hands in your shirt?” And I was like ” because the moon was gonna chop my fingers off” And they were laughing. I was only 6 and I didn’t know any better. And from that day forward, I never pointed at the moon.
Anonymous

October 4, 2018 at 10:41 pm

But once I was 6/7 I pointed at the moon, and my ear had a slight cut the next day
Shannon

January 21, 2019 at 8:50 am

But my ear “rots” every time I point to the moon… I don’t even dare to do it now.
sou saechao

July 24, 2020 at 10:01 am

although this might have been a “lie” for you, it was not for me. before my parents ever told me not to point at the moon, i pointed at it already by the age of four. the next morning i woke up with a cut under my ear and dried puss. no blood, but it was cut. i was confused. i told my mom about my ear and she asked me if i pointed at the moon, and i told her yes. she told me that i’m not supposed to point at the moon or else i’ll get a cut.

fast forward into my adult life, i as a iu-mien person, met other asians who shared this superstition, particularly hmong people. they also tend to have this experience too. i also told my tongan friend about this, and he told me his in-law, a fijian woman, has had worse than a cut, they also began to experience paranormal activities.

just bc it wasn’t true for you doesn’t mean it’s an ancestral lie. it’s also a shame to have named that episode “another lie of the ancestors” based on your own experience. just bc you didn’t see the results you had hoped for doesn’t mean it’s a lie. and to label it a lie, in my opinion, is disrespectful to the ancestral world.

i honestly don’t understand how and why i did get cut after pointing at the moon. but i believe that it doesn’t need to be explained, not all things need to be explained.

the only reason why i did point at the moon was bc i was always fascinated by the moon as a child. i learned to point with my eyes, and not with my finger. this is the special connection i personally grew to have with the moon. i respect and admire the moon, as a child and now as an adult.

that cut i received, felt like it created a special connection between the moon and i.

but no, it isn’t an ancestral lie.
Valerie

October 11, 2020 at 1:12 pm

Lol it happened me me before which is why I never dare do it again but not all people get a cut. It sort of depends on how many times you do it. I remember waking up with a pain in my ear. It was a slight cut on my left air but that was 2-4 years ago. It’s healed now.
Anonymous

October 15, 2020 at 9:20 am

So my brother pointed at the moon then the next da his ear had a cut!
Derrick Yang

March 14, 2021 at 2:49 am

Sounds unrealistic but as a child I did and there was a slit/cut on my ear the next morning. May not have happened to you but as for me definitely true at one point. Tried it when I was older but didn’t happen any longer.
sabrina

June 20, 2021 at 4:04 am

i pointed at moon before