Thursday 24 September 2015

Evil Eye; Believes and Uses


If you have ever been in Turkey, you might have noticed the Evil Eye, here called 'Nazar'. The name sounds a bit wiccan and mystic, and if you are not very familiar with Turkish culture you might think that only superstitious people believe in it.


But until now I have yet to meet someone who does not take 'Nazar' seriously around here, so much so that even we act accordingly as I have witnessed some interesting things even if though I am far from superstitious or religious for that matter.


Evil eye is something that ‘happens’ almost outside the will of the beholder, for instance when somebody praises you, or something that you have on, without meaning it, or with envy in their heart or jealousy, causing you to loose the item or the quality you are being praised for. You also can bring the evil eye upon yourself, by bragging or simply being overconfident, for instance, saying ‘I’m never ill’, you might start sneezing a few hours later.


If you ever visit Turkey you might not see them right away but if you look for them you'll see an Evil Eye in every shop and vehicle you enter, and you won't see a house without at least one. We too have a big Evil Eye hanging from the rear view mirror of our car :)


New born babies are especially susceptible for the evil eye, so that they are kept in traditional house holdings with a fine cloth loosely draped over their faces for their first forty days. After that they seem to develop some sort of immunity. Evil eye is brought upon a baby not only by malicious looks, but by any look from an unclean woman, that being a woman having her period or not having washed herself properly.
So, no visits to new born when having your ‘curse’, and when you want to praise your friends baby, you say: ‘Thank God, what an ugly, ugly baby’, that to demonstrate that your intentions are good and you wish no harm.


The concept and its significance vary widely among different cultures, primarily in West Asia. The idea appears several times in translations of the Old Testament. It was a widely extended belief among many Mediterranean and Asian tribes and cultures. Charms and decorations with eye-like symbols known as nazars, which are used to repel the evil eye are a common sight across Turkey, Greece, Albania, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Southern Italy (Naples), the Levant, and Afghanistan and have become a popular choice of souvenir with tourists. Known as nazar (Turkish: nazar boncuğu or nazarlık), this talisman is most frequently seen in Turkey.


We have made some evil eye pieces in the past, actually funny enough our very first sale on Etsy was an evil eye necklace :)


Well a person can always use some extra luck and protection, you can find the evil eye jewelry pieces in our StarDelights shop and the Home decor and keychains in our StarHomeStudio shop.

15 comments:

  1. A very interesting article! I wonder if it means anything if you drop and break a nazar shortly after you've received it...

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    1. They say when an evil eye breaks that it has protected you against something and has done its duty :)

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  2. So interesting information about Evil eye. It's like Eye of Gor in Egyptian legends?
    Your jewelries are so beautiful!

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  3. I've actually been to Turkey for my honeymoon back in 2011 and of course i bought myself an ankle bracelet with evil eyes (i still have it today!) It was a very interesting read since i had no idea why it was so common over there! :)

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  4. I love evel eye - for me it's very turkish and even though I have a lot of eyes at home I brought few new from each trip to Turkey )))) Oh no< I don't buy them but get as a gift ))) Some people pretty sure they must give it as a gift )))

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  5. Interesting read. Love the part about "ugly babies" ;)

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  6. I have two nazars in front of me right now!!

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  7. Very interesting! I'm not superstitious and I love all about superstitions, they tell a lot about humanity...

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  8. Really interesting post Estella! I know some friends and relatives who bought evil eyes when they visited Turkey :)

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  9. I used to have a bracelet with that evil eye! I never knew the actual reason behind it. Thank you for sharing!

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  10. Ah! I did notice a lot of eveil eye jewelry before, glad I now know the story!
    The baby is funny! A woman having her period should not visit sounds totally bonkers though, as if you should be ashamed of that, life is hard enough as it is..

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  11. Great article of the evil eye. I believe it has a similar meaning in the Greek culture. Greece is full of evil eyes, too. I love the evil eye ring!

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  12. I have a pair of earrings with evil eyes (made from Evihan, when we went to Istanbul in 2010) but I never knew all the superstition behind it.
    The "unclean "woman ah well... women always have it tougher, don't they?
    Thanks for the explanation, very much enjoyed reading it!

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  13. Really interesting article and there are so many details common in the greek culture too! Yes, we are full of evil eyes, but we call them "mati" (eye)!

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  14. I have noticed that one of my colleagues at work wears a bracelet (bought in Turkey) all the time. I did not know the story behind the evil eye, thanks for sharing.

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