Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Evil Eye Jewelry

Main Piece

Informant told a story about the Evil Eye within Arabic communities, involving a ritualistic wearing of an object (and phrase, within some communities).

“So the concept of the Evil Eye is that you have to wear it somewhere on your body, otherwise when people think bad thoughts about you it’ll come true, and then, like, the Evil Eye absorbs them all. And then, once it’s absorbed too much, it breaks…this is only in some Arabic cultures, but when someone goes ‘Oh my god, I really love your purse,’ they have to go ‘مَا شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ’ (informant then translated phrase as “praise be to God”) after it, otherwise you have to give it to them – like, cause then the Evil Eye will get you. It’s kinda like a “oh my God, I love your earrings!” and now they’re jealous, so if you don’t give them the earrings or they say ‘مَا شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ,’ their jealously will start ruining your life – like seep into you.”

Interpretation

Informant Interpretation: Informant heard about it from his Mom, who told him to wear it all the time for protection. “It wasn’t something I learned, it was just something I knew.” He still frequently wears Evil Eye jewelry as a method of protection for himself, and knows many others who do. He sees it as something more inherent to his family and society, and directly associated with paying attentions to others’ emotional states.

Personal Interpretation: This is an example of a folk belief or superstition involving a ritualistic object and many ritualistic tendencies, primarily practiced as a method of protection for oneself. I personally found its interaction with ‘magic’ to be the most interesting–the idea that someone else’s negative thought of you could seep into you feels like contagious magic to me, which wearing the folk object (Evil Eye) or repeating a ritualistic phrase can protect you from.

Background

Informant is a 20 year old college student primarily raised in Birmingham, UK. He is male-presenting, Black, and of Sudanese descent, and speaks English and Arabic fluently.

Changing Teeth

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 23

Nationality: Chinese

Primary Language(s): Mandarin/Cantonese

Text

“So mine is when changing teeth as a child in Chinese families. This happened sometime around when I was in lower school (grade 1-3??). So basically when one of the upper teeth fell down, my family buried it underground for me to grow properly downward; vice versa, when one of the lower teeth fell down, my family threw it over the top of a building or ceiling for it to grow properly upward. It’s kind of a ritual of wishing a child to change teeth successfully and wishing nice-looking teeth after changing.”

Context

This informant is a classmate. She is from China but has been studying in the United States since High School.

Analysis

This ritual is practiced in the presence of change with the purpose of eliciting a positive outcome for the child’s future. It is a ‘coming of age’ ritual and a ‘transition rite’ (as defined by Arnold van Gennep) because it ritually marks the transition from childhood to adulthood (or rather, childhood to older childhood). This ritual also follows James George Frazer’s homeopathic Principle of Sympathetic Magic – the informant’s family buries teeth underground to promote downward growth and throws the teeth overtop structures to promote upward growth.

Ritual Psychedelics

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 40

Nationality: Mexican/American

Primary Language(s): Spanish, English

Text

“Before doing some amount of psychedelics, I would do a ritual around setting intention and connecting with whomever I’m with. It happened before we would ingest whatever the substance was – ideally a calming presence because taking drugs can cause anticipation. I think the intention depended on what was going on in a person’s life. It could be shared or kept personal. Connecting could be physical like holding hands or just presence. I think I tried to mention something about how difficult things could come up and how to sit with them. I think each time was unique because there are so many variables, so who you were with definitely changed things.”

Context

This informant is interested in meditation and other mindfulness practices.

Analysis

This ritual is practiced in the presence of change. Specifically, this ritual aims to lessen the negative effects of the mind/body alterations associated with psychedelics and simultaneously connect with those around the informant. Additionally, this ritual could be considered a ‘transition rite’ (as defined by Arnold van Gennep) because it ritually marks the transition from one mental/physical state to another.

Tea Ceremony

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 40

Nationality: Mexican/American

Primary Language(s): Spanish, English

Text

“When I make matcha I roughly make it an homage to the Japanese tea ceremony I saw in Japan. Basically I try to treat it like something more special than just making a drink. I’m more intentional about it – I rinse the match bowl with hot water, I sift the matcha slowly, I froth it up real good. It’s a meditation, and it’s so effective that I lose myself. That part is maybe hard to explain more clearly. I went to Japan in 2019 for fun. It was at a tea house where they specifically perform the ceremony. It wasn’t the most organic thing but still beautiful. Everyone got to drink some and it was splendid.”

Context

This informant travels frequently and has visited countries across the world. Japan is one of his favorite places to revisit.

Analysis

This ritual is practiced in homage to another ritual. By performing the ritual the way it was intended to be practiced, the informant is showing respect and admiration. His intention to reach authenticity demonstrates a respect for an admiration of the original cultural practice. Additionally, there is a spiritual component to the practice. By making the drink slowly and intentionally – the same way the tea house made the drink – the process of making the drink becomes a spiritual, meditative practice distinctive from any other method of beverage-making.

Funeral Parties

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 21

Nationality: American

Primary Language(s): English

Text

“So for ‘funerals’ we do celebrations of life where we get drunk and party to our loved ones’ lives. We normally don’t have a funeral service. Instead, we make powerpoints, speak on our favorite memories, and take shots in their honor. That’s the funeral.”

Context

This informant is one of my close friends. She is fairly close with her family and visits her parents often.

Analysis

This ritual is practiced in the presence of death with the purpose of celebrating the deceased family member’s life. It is a ‘separation rite’ (as defined by Arnold van Gennep) because it ritually marks the separation of a loved one from his or her family, friends, and life. By choosing to celebrate the family member’s life rather than mourn the family member’s death (in other words, seeing death as an opportunity for positivity and connection), the informant’s family is more easily able to cope with the passing of their loved ones. In other words, partying in the face of death is another form of mourning/coping.