Belief In Evil Eye Research Articles

“I am afflicted with the evil eye!” How Islamic cultural beliefs influence college students’ perceptions of their academic experience

PurposeIslamic culture believes the evil eye can cause distress, mental illness, physical illness and even death through envious glances. However, the gap was highlighted about the influence of college students’ religious beliefs, particularly those of the evil eyes, on their academic failures. Based on this notion, this study aims to explore how evil eye beliefs affect students’ academic experiences with failures in a culturally diverse educational environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study included 18 female Sunni-Muslim students from Kuwait University by using Heidegger’s phenomenological framework. The study conducted 18 face-to-face interviews over four weeks and analyzed the data using NVivo 14 with thematic analysis and phenomenological assumptions.FindingsThis in-depth study shows how the pervasive belief in the evil eye in academic settings challenges students. The study found how this cultural belief affects students’ mental health, academic performance and social interactions. The study also explored cultural sensitivity’s wider implications, how educational institutions face the psychological stress this belief causes, cultural effects on academic failure and student coping mechanisms.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the study was qualitative and exploratory, the findings provide depth rather than breadth of understanding about students’ evil eye perceptions. The study does not consider the possibility that “evil eye” beliefs might be psychological delusions, complicating cultural beliefs and mental health symptoms. This oversight makes it challenging to select participants who have genuinely experienced evil eye effects. Teachers interviewed students who might withhold private information or alter their responses due to power dynamics or a desire to appear positive. This setting might bias data, reducing its authenticity and depth.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that academic institutions should address cultural beliefs to support students’ education and academic performance rather than promoting hate, evil eye and oppression.Originality/valueThis study highlights the need for academic environments to address and mitigate the evil eye belief’s unique challenges, creating a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students.

Leah’s ‘soft’ eyes: Unveiling envy and the evil eye in Genesis 29:17

The seemingly innocuous description of Leah as having ‘soft’ eyes in Genesis 29:17 has captivated scholars and readers for centuries. This article advances an ironic interpretation, suggesting that Leah’s ‘soft’ eyes were not a sign of weakness but, rather, an indication of envy and malevolence, potentially contributing to fertility issues faced by her sister Rachel in terms of the ancient Near Eastern evil eye belief complex. In this context, the article delves into ancient belief systems that entwined beauty, fertility, and the malevolent gaze.Contribution: Drawing from biblical texts, historical sources, and contemporary scholarship, this article reveals the intricate layers of meaning within this minor detail.

Mock impoliteness in Saudi Arabia: Evil eye expressive and responsive strategies

The belief in evil eye is an intriguing phenomenon attested in many cultures across the world (Dundes, 1981; Elworthy, 2004; Ross, 2010 among others). According to this belief, a person can bring damage to others and their possessions by (i) staring at them and (ii) wishing them misfortune (Sheldrake, 2003; Ross, 2010). The current study undertakes a sociopragmatic exploration of evil eye as a constructed speech act in Bani Buhair, a small tribe located in the southwestern province of Saudi Arabia. It argues that evil eye is neither a haphazard phenomenon nor a subsidiary form of compliments. In contrast, evil eye is executed following strict protocol. The analysis shows that Buhairi eyers use similes, metaphors, questions and negation among many other strategies in their evil eye performance. In response, Buhairi eyees react with revengeful expressions, religious invocations of misfortune, complaints and/or threats. These strategies diverge in terms of age (young or middle-aged) and reinforce humor, solidarity and identity among Buhairi in-groups. In this paper, it is argued that evil eye should not be accommodated within either politeness or impoliteness models (Leech, 1983; Brown and Levinson, 1987; Culpeper, 1996) but within Haugh and Bousfield’s (2012) model of mock impoliteness. Both the strategies and the audience's evaluations thereof indicate that evil eye is a non-impolite speech act.

Amulets from Anatolia: the material culture of the evil eye in Turkey

ABSTRACT Belief in the Evil Eye is strong in the Mediterranean region and equivalent practices based on ancient beliefs continue to exist across Anatolia today. In this context, the evil eye belief of Turkic peoples dates to early times within a pre-Islamic religious framework. Even with the Turks’ acceptance of Islam, evil eye belief continued side by side with the new faith. Over time, humans have developed practices to avoid evil and minimize fear and have likewise conferred power on prophylactic objects, combined with ritual practice, to ensure good fortune. Amulets based on such beliefs have an important place as protective items and are still found in popular use across Anatolia to prevent the negative outcomes of the envious gaze. In various forms and materials, they constitute a ubiquitous, if seldom studied, element of Turkish material culture. This paper presents and describes some common examples providing contextual information about their usage.

The Evil Eye in Canticles

The belief in the evil eye has been closely associated with the emotion of envy in the folklore of numerous cultures of various periods in history. This paper explores this link in the book of Canticles, with specific reference to the notion of beauty. Firstly, it is demonstrated how, due to its susceptibility to envy, beauty is particularly vulnerable to the evil eye. It is further demonstrated how the theme of the evil eye is used to typify the transformation of the female lover from vulnerable beauty in earlier chapters into a frightening visual aggressor in later chapters of the book. Finally, the implications of the evil eye belief for theological interpretations of the book of Canticles are assessed.

A case of the evil eye in Genesis 16:4-5: A social-scientific perspective

The nature and function of Evil Eye Belief and Practice (EEBP) in the world of the Old Testament has been understudied. The majority view has been that the belief was limited to the notion of largesse in this collection of literature. This article demonstrated that the idiom םינעב ללק in Genesis 16:4-5, routinely interpreted as a metaphor for scorn on the part of Hagar, could in fact be interpreted as a linguistic vehicle for the concept of the malevolent eye of Sarai. The author argued for an interpretation wherein Sarai, driven by envy, accused Hagar of casting the evil eye on her and used this alleged transgression as an excuse to abuse her slave. The evil eye in the Old Testament was not restricted to the idea of generosity, but was also closely associated with the concept of envy, as has been the case in the majority of ancient and modern cultures in which EEPB has featured. It further confirmed that the social function of the evil eye in the ancient world was not only constrained to the avoidance of envy-related violence but also served as an instrument of oppression in the hands of the rich and privileged. The key method utilised in this study was the social-scientific approach to the interpretation of biblical literature.

The economic origins of the evil eye belief

The evil eye belief is a widespread superstition according to which people can cause harm by a mere envious glance at coveted objects or their owners. This paper argues that such belief originated and persisted as a useful heuristic under conditions in which envy was likely to trigger destructive behavior and the avoidance of other people's envy, effectively prescribed by the evil eye belief, was a proper response to that threat. We hypothesize that in weakly institutionalized societies wealth differentiation and vulnerability of productive assets were the key factors enabling envy-induced destructive behavior and contributing to the emergence and spread of the evil eye belief as a cultural defense mechanism. Evidence from small-scale preindustrial societies shows that there is indeed a robust positive association between the incidence of the belief and measures of wealth inequality, controlling for potential confounding factors such as patterns of spatial and cross-cultural diffusion and various dimensions of early economic development. Furthermore, the evil eye belief is more prevalent in agro-pastoral societies that tend to sustain higher levels of inequality and where vulnerable material wealth plays a dominant role in the subsistence economy.

The Economic Origins of the Evil Eye Belief

The evil eye belief is a widespread superstition according to which people can cause harm by a mere envious glance at coveted objects or their owners. This paper argues that such belief originated and persisted as a useful heuristic under conditions in which envy was likely to trigger destructive behavior and the avoidance of other people's envy, effectively prescribed by the evil eye belief, was a proper response to that threat. We hypothesize that in weakly institutionalized societies wealth differentiation and vulnerability of productive assets were the key factors enabling envy-induced destructive behavior and contributing to the emergence and spread of the evil eye belief as a cultural defense mechanism. Evidence from small-scale preindustrial societies shows that there is indeed a robust positive association between the incidence of the belief and measures of wealth inequality, controlling for potential confounding factors such as patterns of spatial and cross-cultural diffusion and various dimensions of early economic development. Furthermore, the evil eye belief is more prevalent in agro-pastoral societies that tend to sustain higher levels of inequality and where vulnerable material wealth plays a dominant role in the subsistence economy.

Social-scientific criticism: Perspective, process and payoff. Evil eye accusation at Galatia as illustration of the method

This article explores a presentation of the method, emergence and contribution of social-scientific criticism (SSC) as an inter-disciplinary operation of New Testament exegesis. A description of ancient evil eye belief and practice and its appearance in Paul’s letter to the Galatians illustrates how the method contributes to a more accurate translation of the biblical text, a clarification of its logic and a fuller understanding of the social dynamics involving Paul and his opponents.

Martin Luther’s Conception of fascinare (Gal. 3:1)

The evil eye belief is a universal phenomenon and present in the Bible, both in the Old and the New Testament. Christian scholars have usually discussed this phenomenon in their comments on Gal. 3:1. Luther, for example, concentrated on the manifold notion of the bewitchment of the evil eye (Gr. βασκαίνω, Lat. fascinare, Ger. bezaubern; Gal. 3:1) in his Scholia (1516), Commentary (1519), and Large Commentary (1531/1535) on Galatians. Luther understood fascinare as a higher-level concept that included witchcraft (e.g. harming through the evil glance) and both psychic and spiritual disturbance. Luther’s interpretation of this concept is fascinating mix of folklore, Biblical scholarship and the perspectives of ancient authors. In spite of the many similarities between the different Commentaries, there were also differences—especially between early Commentaries (1516, 1519) and the Large Commentary (1531/1535). I will prove in detail how Luther contextualized the evil eye belief to his various comments on Gal. 3:1 and who and what were his models in doing this.

Ethiopian evil eye belief and the magical symbolism of iron working

Whilst undertaking an archaeological survey in the area around the northern Ethiopian town of Aksum in late 1995 I spotted what appeared to be an obvious short cut on our map. Suggesting to my Ethiopian colleague that we could take this route, he dismissed me with the statement: “we cannot go through that village. They are all Buda there.” What, I asked, was the Buda? The answer came back that these people were variously mad, dangerous, strange, outcast and had the power of the evil eye; they would be liable to curse us. This was not the first time that I had come across such a belief; it was well known in the town itself that many of the artisans engaged in metalworking possessed the power of the evil eye, and walking past green pea fields, what I had mistaken to be simple scarecrows (pieces of rag and plastic tied to poles) actually turned out to be amulets protecting the crop from those with the power to blast it.

The Evil Eye and the Sermon On the Mount

AbstractBelief in the malignant force of the Evil Eye and strategies to ward off its destructive power pervaded the cultures of the ancient Near East and Circum-Mediterranean basin. This belief was shared by the biblical communities who in their writings refer frequently to the Evil Eye, its associated dispositions, and means of protection from its injurious effects. This paper situates one such biblical Evil Eye text within its cultural context. Following a summary of salient features of Evil Eye belief and practices and a review of biblical Evil Eye texts, the focus is on one reference to this belief in the teaching of Jesus: Matt: 6:22-23 in the Sermon on the Mount. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how reference to the Evil Eye was culturally and conceptually appropriate in this segment of teaching, how the Evil Eye here and generally was associated with the vice of envy, and how this Evil Eye allusion functions in both its literary and cultural contexts. A related aim is to use this topic to demonstrate the utility and procedure of social scientific criticism as a necessary supplementation of conventional historical-critical exegesis.

Health beliefs and behaviors of Saudi women.

This paper describes perceptions of familiarity with symptoms and beliefs about illnesses based on interviews with 50 Saudi women. The sample was young, with 82% under the age of 40, and not well educated by Western standards, with one-third being illiterate and 80% having no more than a primary school education. More than half lived in households of six or more. Although there was greater awareness of germs as causative factors in illness than previous studies in Saudi Arabia had demonstrated, beliefs in multiple causes, including religious beliefs about disease causation, persisted. There was an apparent lack of understanding of specific causes of various illnesses or of the rationale for preventive measures. This lack of understanding may be related to the low education levels and/or deeply ingrained cultural beliefs.

Matthew 20:1-15: a Parable of Invidious Comparison and Evil Eye Accusation

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-15) contains one of numerous biblical references to the Evil Eye. Belief in the Evil Eye, its expression of envy, and its destructive power pervaded the ancient world of the Circum-Mediterranean. The frequent references to the Evil Eye in the Bible—modern translations and commentaries notwithstanding-indicate the extent to which the biblical communities also shared this belief. The present study reviews salient features of Evil Eye belief and behavior, typical aspects of the environment in which the belief has flourished, and references to the Evil Eye in the biblical writings. This information clarifies the cultural script latent in the Evil Eye parable of Matthew. The thesis advanced is that Matt 20:1-15 is a parable in which a typical Evil Eye accusation is employed to denounce envy as incompatible with life in the kingdom of heaven and detrimental to the community's well-being.