Evil eye and other ways of cursing (1)
(i'll be talking mainly about how "mal de ojo" was and is seen in Spain, the cultural context in which I have a deeper understanding of the topic)
While evil eye and oral curses were totally different concepts, as one was generally involuntary and the other had full intention, they both can be classified under the common category of public acts done in the moment, with the aim of the curse present, unlike the vast variety of spells that were done in the privacy of people's homes and by the aid of additional materials that tried to imitate the victim and the harming action directed to them. This will be the formulae that we will observe in this writing, the ones that only needed a look, some muttered words and maybe a spit on the ground.
In this post I'll be focusing on evil eye, meanwhile in the next one I'll be talking about oral curses.
Evil eye
Evil eye was the ability to curse someone simply by looking at them, as the envy or ill intentions were believed to be transferred with the eyes as a subtle substance in order to cause illness, misfortune or even death. It was treated as an innate condition and certain groups were thought to be more prone to it, typically women, who were allegedly weaker and easily tempted by demonic influences or disabled people, especially the blind in one eye. Sometimes it even happened without the perpetrator's acknowledgement, as if they couldn't even help it.
Evil eye accusations were conceived in a particular context that allowed to incriminate someone without evidence, as the own crime was impossible to prove. However, it is undeniable that it left behind a deep rooted cultural substrate.
The most vulnerable to this phenomena where usually infants, who were systematically protected with all sorts of amulets to avoid or reduce devious influences. It was no strange to connect the event with the praise of a neighbor, being compliments a common way to hex children, voluntarily or involuntarily. That's why, when praising a children it was common to add some kind of blessing to avoid the maleficent influence of praise.
Animals, specifically stock, were no strangers to this phenomena either, as they were a source of wealthiness for their owner and, therefore, cause for envy.
All kinds of amulets were used to counteract it, particularly those made of coral, jet, bone or silver. The material they where made of was just as important as the shape. During the sixteenth century "Higa" amulets, a closed hand with the thumb between the index and the middle finger, became popular, although there are some that date from pre-Roman times. Animal fangs, shells, horse chestnuts or badger claws were also common ones.
Roman Higa found in Santomé (Ourense)
Despite evil eye being considered by the Catholic church a superstition of ignorant women, common people were familiar with protecting themselves against it calling upon saints like saint Luis Beltrán and his famous prayer against evil eye or wearing saint Benedict´s (san Benito) medal, as it was believed to guard against illness and evil powers.
San Benito´s medal inscriptions in detail
When one was believed to be already "aojado", it was habitual to resort to a healer to lift the evil eye. They usually confirmed it by doing a test with a bowl of water and some oil drops, watching what shapes oil made. It was thought that these people had innate powers, a very similar situation to the ones that cast the evil eye, and were able to heal simply by blowing on the patient, with their spit or laying on hands. Certain prayers, depending on the region, were also used.
Eventually, mal de ojo belief started to decrease notably during the twentieth century, remaining among rural communities, Romani people and traditional healers.
