{"id":172,"date":"2018-02-02T06:38:31","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T04:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.ambogdan.com\/?p=172"},"modified":"2020-11-03T19:51:49","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T17:51:49","slug":"evil-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ambogdan.com\/evil-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evil Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just as the garlic has been thought to ward off vampires or other evil spirits, it is also found in the mythology of countries as a repellant for what is generally known as Evil Eye. This was first recorded in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago in cuneiform on clay tablets, but it may actually have originated as early as the Upper Paleolithic age.<\/p>\n

The belief in Evil Eye is much present in the Roman times when it was named\u00a0Oculus Malus, turpicula\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0fascinus<\/em>\u00a0and authors such as Hesiod, Plato, Theocritus, Plutarch, Heliodorus, Pliny the Elder, Tertullian, Saint Augustin and others often mention it in their writings.<\/p>\n

In other parts of the world, the Evil Eye is known as: Mal ojo<\/em> (Spanish), mati<\/em> (Greek),\u00a0Ayin Ha\u2019ra<\/em> (Hebrew),\u00a0Ayin Harsha<\/em> (Arabic), Bla Band<\/em> (Farsi),\u00a0Nazar Boncugu<\/em> (Turkish),\u00a0Mal Occhio<\/em> (Italian),\u00a0B\u00f6ser Blick<\/em> (German),\u00a0Droch Shuil (Scottish) or\u00a0Mauvais Oeil <\/em>(French).<\/p>\n

What Romanian tradition says …<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“The Evil Eye, just like other diseases, is seen by Romanians as a being, an evil spirit.” – Gh. F. Ciausanu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The belief in the Evil Eye is still very much present in the Romanian society, yet it\u2019s also spread across many cultures, from Jewish, Christian and Muslim to Buddhism and Hindu societies.\u00a0Romanian ethnologist Gh.F.Ciausanu comments that\u00a0\u201cThe Evil Eye, just like other diseases, is seen by Romanians as a being, an evil spirit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Given intentionally or not, the malevolent glare can cause yawning, headaches, heartaches, fever, back pains, insomnia and an overall feeling of exhaustion. Animals and plants can also get this evil look.<\/p>\n

To protect against the Evil Eye Romanians have many incantations (Romanian\u00a0\u201cdesc\u00e2ntece\u201d<\/em>) and a very old one I know mentions \u201cred garlic in the eyes of the one who gave me this spell\u201d\u00a0(Romanian\u00a0\u201cUsturoi ro\u0219u \u00een ochii t\u0103i, celui ce-ai f\u00eecut aceast\u0103 f\u0103c\u0103tur\u0103\u201d<\/em>). Ciausanu also mentions an old protection phrase: \u201cGarlic<\/a> between my eyes to protect me from the Evil Eye\u201d\u00a0(Romanian\u00a0\u201cUsturoi \u00eentre ochi, s\u0103 nu-mi fie de deochi!\u201d<\/em>). A garlic clove hanged with a red thread around the neck of the baby or on its cap will protect the newborn from getting the Evil Eye.<\/p>\n

What the Ancients believed about it<\/h3>\n

Ancient Greek and Romans also believed garlic can serve as a protection talisman against the Evil Eye. For the same reason, ancient Greeks used a triangular amulet containing coal, salt and garlic. An old Macedonian tradition says that for the newborn to have good luck and be protected against Evil Eye and bad spirits, one must put in his\/her clothing a garlic clove, three lemon seeds, a piece of bread and a ring.<\/p>\n

Eric Block, a chemistry professor at Albany University and author of more than 220 papers, 5 patents, 4 books, mentions the way Sephardic Jews used garlic as a way of protecting themselves against Evil-Eye. When a neighbour came and said something complimentary about her neighbour\u2019s child she would often add \u201cMay the evil eye not fall\u201d<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0\u201clet it go to the garlic.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Blocks also adds:<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir houses were protected with crocheted bags with five tiny finger-like sacks each holding a single garlic clove. The bags were placed outside a window or in a balcony just like a\u00a0mezuzah.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The possible explanation why, as you have seen, so many cultures believe that garlic has the power to protect against us from evil or\u00a0\u201cdark energies\u201d<\/em>, including the Evil Eye, also comes from Block:<\/p>\n

\u201cthe view that garlic and its relatives are impure and linked to the underworld suggests that these same plants are especially suited for offerings to underworld forces, e.g., evil spirits, in seeking their protection, or eliminating the evil they brought on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Regardless it’s a Mezuzah, garlic or other herbs, potions, rituals, “icarros”<\/em> (Peru, Bolivia), ancient “desc\u00e2ntece”<\/em> (Romania) or other symbolic objects, it’s clear that across cultures the belief in what is generally called “evil spirit” or “bad energy” is a common one.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as the garlic has been thought to ward off vampires or other evil spirits, it is also found in the mythology of countries as a repellant for what is generally known as Evil Eye. This was first recorded in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago in cuneiform on clay tablets, but it may actually have originated as early as the Upper Paleolithic age. The belief in Evil Eye is much present in the Roman times when it was named\u00a0Oculus Malus, turpicula\u00a0or\u00a0fascinus\u00a0and authors such as Hesiod, Plato, Theocritus, Plutarch, Heliodorus, Pliny the Elder, Tertullian, Saint Augustin and others often mention it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[661],"tags":[61,59,53,62,56,57,519,60,520,54,58,55],"yoast_head":"\nEvil Eye - what it is and what people across the world think about it<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The belief in the Evil Eye is still very much present in the Romanian society, yet also enountered in Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu societies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ambogdan.com\/evil-eye\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evil Eye - 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