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When it comes to the human head, no feature has quite the reputation for villainy as the old hairy eyeball. . |
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We don't refer to the murderous mouth, the nasty nostril or the baleful ear. Oh, the tongue
may lash, but its bark is worse than its bite. True terror resides in the eye.
It has always been this way, or at least as close to always as we can tell. The theme of the Evil Eye runs deep and wide in human history. Universally it describes a look inspired by maliciousness or jealousy. Also universally it is blamed for causing everything from garden-variety bad luck to toothaches, headaches, disease and death. An envious Evil Eye falling on your pigs may presage an impending sausage shortage. And to this day in Turkey, many parents keep new babies under wraps for 40 days, for fear that their defenseless beauty will inspire a jealous glance. Many Turks still use blue-glass "eye" brooches to ward off the gruesome gaze. "Silly them," you say, but you may be wearing an Evil Eye charm, too. Here's a partial list of items whose roots may be anti-ophthalmological: |
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Why the eye? . |
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"Staring is a way of asserting one's dominance and of expressing interest in another
person," says Ohio State University psychologist Gerald Winer. "It can be viewed as an
intrusion. And it's a short step from casting a glance to casting a spell."
Winer's research has shown that many children -- and even college students -- believe some type of emanation from the eye facilitates the process of seeing, a belief that mirrors ancient theory. Furthermore he speculates that the act of looking, which is more obviously focused than the act of, say, listening, makes it seem more invasive. These aspects of looking, plus all that emotional "window of the soul" stuff, make the eyes a formidable force indeed, and ripe for supernatural speculation. |
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Raise your hand if you can tell when someone's staring at you, or if you think you can get someone's attention by staring at the back of her head. . |
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The vast majority of college students subscribe to this theory, Winer says, and unlike
superstitions about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, this one gets stronger with age, not
weaker.
Yeah, I said superstition. Numerous experiments have demonstrated that people can't tell when they're being watched, and Winer is openly skeptical of the few experiments that found people can tell. Don't you feel dumb? You're walking around wearing an anti-Evil Eye amulet, plus you believe you can bounce vision-beams off your friend's head to make her turn around. Heh. Hey, stop giving me the Evil Eye. I can feel that.
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 Vocabulary Envy, n. The word evolved from the Latin verb, invidere. Although that's simply "to see into," even the word's original shade of meaning was negative and intrusive.
Check out more of "The Skinny On ..." stories:
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Hannah Holmes wields her not-so-evil eyes in and around Portland, Maine.
In addition to her numerous contributions to Discovery Online, she writes for Escape,
Outside, Sierra, Backpacker, Eco Traveler and Women's Sports and Fitness. Write
her at skinny@online.discovery.com.
Main WebLinks Picture: Brian Frick | Copyright © 1997 Discovery Communications, Inc. |