A Discursive Analysis of Religio-cultural Perceptions about Evil Eye among Female Residents of Ghareebabad, Multan

Abstract

Evil eye is a malignant glance that can damage well being of the person upon whom it’s casted. Evil eye can be intentional or unintentional. The roots of evil eye lie in envious feelings towards someone’s health, wealth, social and personal growth. Evil eye is a widely accepted belief across the globe as it elucidates inexplicable misfortunes faced by an individual or a group of people. By conducting an ethnographic fieldwork of four months among females of Ghareebabad, this study explores varied cultural and religious perceptions about evil eye prevalent in Pakistan. For this study, in-depth interviews were conducted by using purposive sampling technique. The descriptive analysis of data collected reveals greater reliance on local cultural remedies rather than religious rituals to ward off evil eye. The indigenous remedies used by respondents to ward off evil eye highlight the deep embeddedness of superstitious beliefs in local cultural cognizance.