Whether or not you believe in curses and hexes, everybody knows about the ‘evil eye’. The nazar boncugu is a protective talisman that originated in Turkey and quickly spread across the middle east and then the rest of the world. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed in the evil eye and it appears in religious texts from the Bible to the Koran. It’s an indisputable fact that the nazar amulet has an extremely long history but is it something that you’d be interested in wearing? It looks pretty and can easily catch looks from across the room, so let’s talk about the meaning and history of the nazar amulet and see if it’s right for you.
If you think that wearing an eye is weird, you should check out some of this truly gross jewelry.
Care For Your Eyes
Nazar amulets are always gorgeous but that beauty won’t last if your jewelry isn’t properly cared for. Luckily, Simple Shine has you covered our complete jewelry cleaning kit has all that you need to maintain your nazar amulet (or any other piece of jewelry in your collection) in pristine condition. If you really want to take that clean to the next level then our ultrasonic jewelry cleaner is guaranteed to astound. With that out of the way, let’s learn all about nazar amulets.
Evil Goes By Many Names
- It was called malus by the Romans.
- The Greeks called it baskania.
- The Persians call it the chesm nazar or nazar ghorboni.
- The nazar was called mallochio by Italians
- The Spanish called it mal ojo which means bad or evil eye.
- In Hebrew it is called ayin hara.
The name evil eye and the amulet meant to ward it away go by the same name in most languages which is pretty confusing. Nazar means ‘sight’ in Arabic so the connection is pretty easy to make. The nazar amulet looks like an eye, the evil eye comes from a malicious glare. What happens when someone gives you the evil eye?
The Evil Eye Curse
It is interesting how widely recognized the evil eye is. Almost every negative thing possible has been blamed on another person shooting out that evil eye. Symptoms of illness caused by the evil eye include loss of appetite, excessive yawning, hiccups, vomiting and fever. If the object attacked is a cow, its milk may dry up; if a plant or fruit tree, it may suddenly wither and die.
The evil eye might even affect inanimate objects. If someone casts their jealous gaze on your car it might break down and need automobile repair. The evil eye might cause a house to start leaking and develop a case of black mold severe enough to send the tenants running for the hills. Luckily we have the nazar amulet to fight back against these threats either real or perceived.
Making A Nazar
A nazar is characteristically a blue glass bead containing smaller concentric circles within it. These are often pale blue, yellow, white or black. Just because it’s usually a glass bead doesn’t mean that we need to limit ourselves though. If you want to protect your fancy new doghouse? Paint a little nazar somewhere on it… You can probably also make a giant one. The jury is still out on whether or not size matters. The nazar is found in various styles and can be used in different ways, including in wall hangings or as an amulet to hang in your car or workplace.
Should I Wear The Nazar?
Cultural appropriation is a word that gets thrown around a ton these days but most people don’t seem to understand the reasoning behind the outrage. Anyone can wear the nazar boncugu. It’s a great way to spread awareness of one of the most ancient cultures around. The nazar is not a culturally sensitive design. If you take a trip to Turkey you will likely see nazar necklaces and bracelets sold as souvenirs in almost every shop.
If you’re capitalizing on a symbol that originates from a culture that you don’t identify with, that’s where the cultural appropriation allegations start to ring true. This article isn’t about selling nazar amulets, it’s about wearing them and wearing a piece of jewelry that contains the nazar is simply a way of expressing your style. Whether it’s a fashion statement or something deeper, the nazar offers something for everyone.
