A beautiful flash of brilliant cobalt blue caught my eye in the Saturday sunlight. I picked up the Turkish handmade object and the seller grimaced, “I don’t know what that is…” she trailed off. I laughed at her expression, explaining that the solid piece of art glass, with its distinctive design of contrasting concentric circles in white, pale blue and black, was an ancient amulet.
The eye-shaped or oculiform symbol that I purchased in a favourite colour at an animal charity sale, is known as a “nazar,” derived from the Arabic for sight and related concepts like providence and point-of-view. It has remained unchanged for thousands of years and continues to be popular as a traditional form of protection against the “evil eye” in a range of countries including from within Asia, to the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Guyanese designate it “najar” or “bad eye,” Trinidadians term it “maljo” after the Spanish “mal de ojo,” and Brazilians describe it as “mal-olhado” the “act of giving a nasty look” or “olho gordo” casting a “fat” or “gluttonous eye” like those who are envious or jealous whether over prosperous plants, plentiful plaudits, prime property, political and Parliamentary power or projected oil wealth.
