Playing lotto is an important part of Neapolitan culture. It originally came to Naples in 1682 where Neapolitans were already used to betting on predicting certain parts of daily life, like the sex of an unborn child, politicians, etc. By 1800 Naples was considered the capital of the Lotto. However, playing Lotto is much different process in Naples than in the United States. La Smorfia (derived from the name Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams) is the "book of dreams" that is consulted by Neapolitans before playing lotto. It is based on a belief, likely derived from Jewish Cabala, that reality and dreams have a connection and that number represents this connection. Some examples include:
48: ‘o muorto che parla (the dead man speaking)
10: ‘e fasule (the beans)
18: ‘o sanghe (the blood)
23: ‘o scemo (the idiot)
25: Natale (Christmas)
42: ‘o cafè (the coffee)
52: ‘a mammà (mom)
55: ‘a museca (the music)
72: ‘a meraviglia (the astonishment)
75: Pulcinella (Pulcinella Mask)
90: ‘a paura (the fear)
While one might think that this would be challenged by the largely Catholic beliefs of the city, many believe that God, dead relatives, or saints suggest these images/numbers in dreams to help the living. "The saint of the Lotto is Saint Pantaleone. He is olso the protector of future brides to which suggests the the numbers to play to win the dowry. According to tradition, before marriage, the girls prayed to the Saint for nine nights in a row; the ninth night they could hear some footsteps and a stick beating on the ground: the number of beats were the numbers to play. It is also said the souls of Purgatory appear in dreams and suggest the numbers to people that take care of them with the prayers. There is also a figure, called the “assistito”, that is between the real and the supernatural: he can interpret the dreams and the events from number. Frequently, the “assistito” comes also into contact with spirits of the afterlife who reveal to him the numbers." (visitnaples.eu)
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