(1) The evil eye. Chances are you have seen this famous symbol many times. You’ve probably even worn one and you’ve definitely seen someone wearing an evil eye amulet. You may have witnessed a person give the “evil eye” look (and you may have even given it yourself). But do you know the deep and meaningful history of the evil eye symbol, and do you know how popular and prevalent the evil eye is throughout a plethora of different cultures? * HISTORY AND MEANING OF THE EVIL EYE... The symbol and superstition of the evil eye is one of the strongest symbolic images in the world. Yet, despite the differences in the cultures which hold the evil eye myth, it retains largely the same meaning no matter where the story is told. In its most basic form, the evil eye is thought of as a look given to inflict harm, suffering, or some form of bad luck on those that it is cast upon. It is a look which clearly states that one intends for something bad to happen to the object of one’s focus, either out of jealousy or pure malice. The superstition of the evil eye holds that the malicious look is powerful enough to bring about actual disaster for the unfortunate person that is the receiver of the glare. The earliest known evidence for belief in the evil eye goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. There, it was believed that the evil eye was the largest threat to anyone who had been praised too much, or received admiration beyond what they truly deserved. The praised person would become so swollen with pride that he or she would bring about his or her own doom via the evil eye, which was believed to be able to cause physical and mental illness. In fact, any disease which did not have an immediate, obvious cause was thought to be caused by the evil eye. It was thought that the Gods and Goddesses were punishing those who had become too proud of their achievements, and destroyed them with the power of the evil eye to restore them to the level of mere mortals. A belief in the evil eye is widespread on every continent. The Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Central America all fear the evil eye. In Shahih Muslim Book 26, the prophet Muhammad warns about the dangers of the evil eye and says that one must take a bath in order to counteract the effects of the evil eye’s power. Much as in Classic Greece and Ancient Rome, Islamic culture holds that excessive praise will bring about the ill effects of the evil eye. Thus, instead of praising an adorable child, one is supposed to say that “God has willed” the child’s good lucks, or risk endangering the youth. Ashkenazi Jews also believe that excessive praise causes a vulnerability to the evil eye, and will repeat a Yiddish phrase, Keyn aynhoreh! meaning “no evil eye” in order to protect against it. The evil eye is a powerful superstition in India. Hinduism preaches that the eye is the most powerful point at which the body can give off energy. Thus, a strong fear of an “evil” look from the eye makes sense; the evil eye holds enormous powers. The Hindus fear that even an “admirable” eye can bring about ill luck, resulting in the supply of milk from cows drying up (again, this idea dates back to the fear of undue praise, first warned against in Greece). In fact, the Hindus will offer the “admiring” glancer a bowl of milk to counteract the threat of the evil eye. The Hindus believe that jealousy is at the root of the power of the evil eye, whether in the form of a malicious or admirable look. Interestingly, the Hindus teach that the times of change in life--as in during puberty, marriage, or childbirth--one is most vulnerable to the threat of the evil eye. What is more, Hindus believe that even animals such as the snake are capable of giving one the evil eye. The Hindus believe that, even though men are capable of casting the evil eye, women are the most common sources of the glance. For this reason, in South India women will paint their eyelids black to protect themselves from the evil eye, and to prevent themselves from eyeing another with the look. In South America, Brazil holds a superstition equivalent to the evil eye known as the “fat eye.” Compliments which are sincere are not feared to cause the evil eye to attack as in other countries, but insincere compliments are thought to put one at stake. In Europe, the myth of the evil eye also originated with the idea that envious or malicious looks had the power to bring about bad luck. The largest source of the evil eye was believed to be witches. Yet those with eye colours which were rare were also seen as powerful possessors of the evil eye look. For instance, Germans feared those with red eyes. In Ireland, those with squinty eyes were feared to be evil eye sorcerers. In Italy, the unibrow was another sign that one would cast an evil eye. The fear of the evil eye did not carry over to America, except in the form of a metaphor. While the superstition is not intense enough to take precaution, the evil eye is seen as impolite, and a warning that the source of the evil eye has bad intentions. In different languages, the evil eye is known as: Hebrew Evil Eye – Ayin Ha’ra Turkish Evil Eye – Nazar Boncugu Italian Evil Eye – Mal Occhio Farsi – Bla Band Arabic – Ayin Harsha Scotland – Droch Shuil Spanish – Mal Ojo or El Oja France – Mauvais Oeil Germany – Böser Blick ***Romans – Oculus Malus.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 03:37:38 +0000