Evil Eye Curse

AncientPages.com – There is an ancient, superstitious and almost universal belief that certain people possess the supernatural power to cause disaster, illness, calamity and even death.

They have an ability to do it with a gaze or stare that gives an unpleasant emotion. The evil eye is widely feared in many parts of the world.

The oldest accounts of the evil eye go back to at least 3000 BC and mentioned in the Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian cuneiform texts. These ancient people of Mexico and Central America feared the power of the evil eye and so did the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who were particularly very afraid of it.

The evil eye is also mentioned in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In his celebrated “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus of Nazareth makes reference to the malignity of the Evil Eye:

Matthew 6:22-23 says,

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness…”

Proverbs 28:22 says:

“A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him.”

The superstitions related to the evil eye are continuously prevalent in certain countries in Europe, especially in the region of the Mediterranean, but also in Central America and in Mexico. In North India, there is also a strong belief in evil eye, the so-called “Buri Nazar” and a tattoo or an amulet are used to ward off the evil eye.

It is believed that medicine men, witch doctors and sorcerers are among those who can cast evil eyes and bring bad luck. According to the Native American beliefs, the so-called ‘death-dealing’ evil eye power is possessed by tribal shamans. Different tribes have always feared the evil eye.

Also other people can be the so-called ‘iettatore’ (or ‘jettatore’); they have the evil eye and bring bad luck, by nature. They have a malevolent influence on another person, animal, object, or even building by looking at the target.

This can be done deliberately by individuals seeking to cast a spell, or unintentionally by individuals who are unaware of their evil power.

There are recorded cases of individuals who were suspected to be cursed with evil eye from birth and did not even know about it. Two examples can be Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius IX who were said to possess the evil eye.
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