A History of the left handedness

 A History of the left handedness.

Left-handers have it harder than righties. Not only do they have to face scissors that won't cut and the pain of writing for long periods of time in a spiral notebook, but they also have to contend with a long history of stigmatization.

Left-handedness has historically been regarded as the mark of the devil, and during the Salem Witch Trials, it was considered the sign of a witch.

Although attitudes toward left-handedness have changed over the past 50 years, laws against preferring the left hand existed as recently as the 1970s. For as long as movies and media convey that the devil sits on the left shoulder, the idea that left-handedness is evil will be present in the culture.

1
The Ancient Celts Valued Left-Handedness For Its Advantage In Combat

The ancient Celts came to celebrate left-handedness because they realized the benefit it could provide in combat. The Kerr family of Scotland treasured the characteristic after it gave Sir Andrew Kerr a leg up in a sword fight circa 1513. The Kerrs even built their castle specifically for left-hand use.

Kerr taught his sons and armed guards to hold their swords and axes in their left hands because he believed it gave them an advantage against their enemies.

2
In Roman Augury, The Left Was Considered Favorable

In early Rome, augury was the practice of divining messages from the gods based on the movements of birds. Augures, or priests who performed augury, assigned significance to the direction birds flew.

In Greek culture, birds that flew from the right were considered positive signs from the gods, but Romans believed the opposite. Roman augures marked templums, or sacred spaces in the sky. If a bird flew into the templum from the left, it meant the gods approved. Flying in from the right or from behind meant they disapproved.

3
Inca and Maya Cultures Viewed Left-Handedness Positively

In Inca culture, left-handedness was associated with good deeds. The name of Inca chief Lloque Yupanqui means "left-handedness." People admired him for his goodness.

The ancient Maya similarly viewed left-handedness with favor. The Maya term for left is dziic, which is derived from dziicil, meaning "soldier" or "brave."

4
The Left Became Associated With Femininity And Inferiority

The left has historically been associated with femininity, which eventually came to represent weakness or passiveness.

Right-handedness, which has always been more widespread and dominant, came to be associated with masculine traits that conveyed power. In ancient Greece, for instance, the right side was linked to strength and virtue.

Many religions, including Hinduism, Jewish Kabbalah, and Christianity, all make the same association between gender and handedness.

6
The Spanish Inquisition Sometimes Slew Left-Handed People

During the Spanish Inquisition, left-handedness was associated with witchcraft and people who didn't practice Catholicism. Lefties were condemned and sometimes even slain.

7
African Cultures Viewed The Left As Lesser
Several African cultures had stigmas against the left. The Zulu people punished children who were left-handed by dipping the left hand into a pot of scalding hot water, thus rendering it unusable.

African communities along the Niger River held similar biases. Women were commanded to cook with their right hand. Should they have cooked with their left hand, they would have been accused of witchcraft or of attempting to poison the food.

8
The Maori Of The South Pacific Inflicted Punishments Against Left-Handedness

The Maori once believed the right side of the body was the side of life, whereas the left was the opposite. The women who wove ceremonial cloths were required to do so with their right hands. They believed that if the work was done with their left, it would curse the cloth. A woman found using her left hand could be slain.

9
Left-Handedness Sent Women To The Stake During The Salem Witch Trials

Left-handedness was cited as proof of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. At least one woman, Mary Barker, was burned in part because of her preference for her left hand. A court cited this trait as evidence for why Barker was a witch:

The Examination and Confession of Mary Barker of Andover.

After several questions propounded and negative answ’rs Returned she at last acknowledged that Goody Johnson made her a witch, And sometime last sumer she made a red mark in the devils book with the fore finger of her Left hand, And the Devil would have her hurt Martha Sprague, Rose Foster and Abigail Martin which she did upon saturday and sabath Day last, she said she was not above a quarter of an hour in comeing down from Andover to Salem.

10
Well Into The 20th Century, Psychologists Classified Left-Handers As Having Emotional Issues.

Around the 1950s, Abram Blau, a prominent psychoanalyst from America, speculated that left-handedness was correlated with perversity and obstinacy. Blau believed left-handers grew up to be rigid and sometimes obsessed with cleanliness.

Similarly, British psychologist Cyril Burt asserted that people who were left-handed grew up to be "stubborn" and "awkward."