The sweetest and most common Indian belief about hiccups is that someone is remembering you, and that once you guess their name the hiccups stop. It is a folk belief, not a prediction; hiccups actually come from a sudden twitch of a breathing muscle and usually go away within minutes. In Hindi it is hichki aana.
What tradition says
This belief is not frightening; it is affectionate. Its common forms:
| Situation | Common belief |
|---|---|
| Hiccups out of nowhere | Someone dear is thinking of you |
| They stop when a name is said | That was the person remembering you |
| Hiccups while eating | Someone remembered you at mealtime, or you ate too fast |
| Hiccups that go on and on | Someone is missing you badly |
| A baby with hiccups | In places, "the baby is growing" |
In villages, when someone gets hiccups the family runs through names one by one: "Your uncle? Your aunt? An old friend?", and the game often makes the hiccups forgotten. In Hindi film songs and poetry, hichki has become a symbol of remembering and longing.
Where the belief comes from
When letters took weeks and there were no phones, looking for a sign of distant loved ones was natural. Hiccups arrive suddenly and seem to have no cause, so they were read as a message sent from someone's heart. The belief is not only Indian: in Russia and eastern Europe too, hiccups are said to mean someone is remembering you, and people there also run through names. The same belief in different places suggests that the wish to be remembered is the same everywhere.
Why hiccups really happen
Between the chest and the abdomen lies a dome-shaped muscle, the diaphragm, which does most of the work of breathing. When it contracts in a sudden jerk, air rushes in and the vocal cords snap shut; that is the "hic". Common triggers:
- eating too fast or too much
- fizzy drinks
- very spicy, very hot or very cold food
- sudden excitement, laughter or nervousness
- a sudden change of temperature
When to see a doctor: if hiccups last more than 48 hours, keep returning, disturb eating or sleep, or come with chest pain, breathlessness or vomiting.
A simple thought
If hiccups make you think of someone and you give them a call, there could be no better use of this belief. Otherwise, a few slow sips of water and a moment's rest are usually enough.
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