Il Mal’occhio
There are Evil Eye traditions from all over the world, but I am not familiar with them. I come from the rich Sicilian tradition of superstition and we call it il mal’occhio (literally “bad eye”). The belief was once quite strong throughout Italy, but since the unification of the country, globalization, and industrialization the belief has been fading, remaining strongest in Sicily. The main idea behind il mal’occhio is that jealousy creates bad luck.
There are several ways to protect yourself from il mal’occhio. Salt, spitting, cornicello or mano cornuta amulets are all common ones. The most well-known is probably the blue eye amulet, which comes from the eastern Mediterranean and Arab cultures where it is known as nazar. In Italy, the myth about the blue eyes goes way back to the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 387 BCE. The Gauls, a light-haired Celtic people, came down through the Alps and sacked Rome centuries before the Roman Empire was established. The violent episode had such an impact on the Romans that the Gauls became near-mythic in the collective Roman psyche until Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 50 BCE. As a result, the blue glass or ceramic eyes are seen as a reminder of the blue-eyed invaders (Gauls). Mosaics can be seen from the Roman period of large blue eyes being pierced by swords. This morphed with the nazar traditions brought over by the peoples of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.
While belief in the jealousy curse is much older, the reason belief is still strong in Sicily as opposed to other parts of Italy has its roots in the unification of Italy. Before the mid-1800s, the peninsula of Italy had been a collection of warring city-states and provinces since the fall of the Roman Empire. While I won't go into the history of Italy, basically there was a push for these factions to come together under one government. Sicily, which used to control the entire southern half of the boot, saw their language, wealth, and culture stripped away as they were forced to lose their independence. They went from being one of the most powerful and wealthy regions to one of the most destitute. It is seen by many as the effects of il mal'occhio on a huge scale. It is important to note that this folk belief (and many others) remains strongest in the areas where people were the most downtrodden. (Hint: this is kind of a big theme for us at Folkloric).
Il mal'occhio is an interesting piece of folklore because it encourages people to limit their enjoyment when good things happen to them. You buy a new, nice car? Better keep salt in the trunk so you don’t get il mal’occhio while you’re driving around town. Just had a baby? Better attach one amulet or another to its pudgy hand so no misfortune befalls your child. Giving someone a compliment? Don’t forget to spit after you do it so you don’t accidentally curse your pal. But, I think the main take away here is that we should be protecting ourselves against white people with blue eyes. They can’t be trusted not to sack your city.
How do you protect yourself from the evil eye? Where do the traditions come from in your culture? How will these ancient beliefs follow us into the future? What’s the post-apocalyptic version of the nazar?
[originally posted to Patreon on 5/2/25]
