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EVIL EYE
The evil eye is the name for a sickness which is
transmitted usually without intention by someone who is
envious, jealous, or covetous. It is also called the
invidious eye and the envious eye.
The belief in evil eye is ancient. Virtually every culture
has referred to it. The oldest references to it appears in
the cuneiform texts of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and
Assyrians, around 3000 BC. In Hebrew it is ayin ha'ra (the
evil eye), which in Yiddish is variously spelled ayin horoh,
ayin hora, or ayen hara. In mainland Italian it is mal
occhio (the bad eye) and in Spanish mal ojo or el ojo (the
bad eye or just the eye). In Sicily it is jettatore (the
projection [from the eye]) and in Farsi it is bla band (the
eye of evil).
The ancient Egyptians used eye shadow and lipstick to
prevent the evil eye from entering their eyes or mouths.
Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible mentioned the
evil eye. |
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The deliberate or malevolent use of the evil eye is called
"overlooking." This is thought to produce such misfortunes as
illness, poverty, injury, loss of love, or even death. In the Middle
Ages witches were said to give anyone who crossed them the evil eye.
Also they were thought to be able to bewitch their convicting judges
with it, and this was why they were made to walk backwards toward
the judges.
The evil eye belief is that a person, otherwise not malcontent in
any way, can harm you, your children, your livestock, or your fruit
trees, by *looking at them* with envy and praising them. The word
"evil" is unfortunate in this context because it implies that
someone has "cursed" the victim, but such is not the case.
A better understanding of the term "evil eye" is gained if you
realize that the old British and Scottish word for it is
"overlooking," which implies merely that the gaze has remained too
long upon the coveted object, person, or animal. In other words, the
effect of the evil eye is misfortunate, but the person who harbors
jealousy and gives the evil eye is not necessarily an evil person
per se.
Variants:
Ayin ha'ra (Hebrew),
Ayin hara (Yiddish), Ayin horoh (Yiddish), Bla
band (Farsi, El ojo (Spain), Jettatore (Sicily), Mal
occhio (Italy), Mal olo (Spain), Yinepu.
An
eye for an eye...
A tooth for a tooth...
Hebrew Saying
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