How effective do you think a single glance can be? The belief that one look could bring so much curse was so widespread. It led ancient civilizations to seek protection. The birth of the evil eye bead happened with this need.
In Frederick Elworthy’s 1895 book “The Evil Eye: The Origins and Practices of Superstitions”:
“It is firmly believed by all ancients that some malignant influence darted from the eyes of envious or angry persons and so infected the air as to penetrate and corrupt the bodies of both living creatures and inanimate objects.”
They firmly believe because of methods of protection against the evil eye encountered throughout history. We can say that the evil eye has two different meanings. There is the evil eye bead found on jewelry and the belief in the evil eye curse, which is said to be transmitted through someone’s envious glare.
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The History of Evil Eye
The first examples of the evil eye beads/symbols found in Irish tales and the Greeks. It also featured in religious books such as the Bible and the Qur’an, despite its pagan context. Belief in the evil eye dates back to Ancient Ugarit and marks the 3300’s BC. The first example of it was found among this civilization’s ruins, with geometric figures carved from alabaster. This bead was found in the excavations in Tell Brak. One of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, located within the borders of today’s Syria.
Ancient Symbol of Protection
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However, numerous blue Eyes of Horus, or the ‘Moon Eye’ charms found during excavations in Egypt. This could be the most prominent ancestor of the evil eye. Horus was an Egyptian god of the sky, depicted with the head of a falcon. This falcon-headed Horus has the keen gaze of birds of prey. Since he is a god who does not miss any movement of people, Horus symbolizes that nothing escapes the eye of the conscience. The hieroglyphic image of this eye illustrates the same keen gaze of this merciless judge who does not overlook every single act of man. In ancient Egypt, the vision of Horus began to be drawn on things that needed to be protected. For them, the evil eye could protect ships, cars, mummies, or vases.
“Evil Eye” In Different Languages?
Yes, it has different names in different languages. Humans across various cultures have always believed in the eye and feared the malevolent gaze. They thought someone’s envious look could harm another’s good fortune. Ancient people even found scientific explanations for it! According to the 1st-century Greek philosopher Plutarch, the human eye emitted an invisible ray. It was powerful enough sometimes to kill small children or animals. Some believe the evil eye is a curse for the person who has it. For example, an old Polish tale tells of a man who took his eyes out so his loved ones would not be harmed by his evil eye.
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So, there are two sides of evil eye. One is the evil eye bead which can also be found on jewelry and objects. The second is the belief in the evil eye curse, which is said to be transmitted through someone’s envious glare. Oddly enough, a very common belief says that people with blue eyes have that evil eye power. So be aware, and maybe you can start wearing evil eye beads. T
oday, many stars wear evil eye beads around their necks, from Jennifer Aniston to Gigi Hadid. After all, as Gigi said, “It is about protecting oneself from bad energy.”
The Myth and History of Evil Eye Bead
You can follow your ancestors’ path and wear blue evil eye beads. However, some immutable features must observe while making evil eye beads: Lead must be poured into it; just to bring good luck. According to some bead masters, yellow eyes shoul placed on blue. In addition, the lead to be used must be melted in a particular place (which has a protective spirit according to older folk beliefs) as an “Eye Furnace.”
Special ceremonies accompany the establishment of evil eye bead hearths. These furnaces are exclusive to evil eye bead creation, no other glasswork happens here. Masters in the same workshop rely solely on the central stove for making these beads. Natural evil eye beads require hand-crafting. Machine-made beads serve as mere ornaments, lacking deeper significance.
The Village of Evil Eye Beads
Today, finding beads produced by transmitting these old rules is difficult. Luckily, there is a village in İzmir, Turkey. Here, the masters practiced this work just like the old ways live. Nazarköy -which means “the evil eye village”, gets this name from the number of glass amulets you could find there. At least here, you can find original evil eye beads made by hand, in old stoves.
For those who are curious, you can watch a short documentary about Nazarkoy.
