Title: Kajal
General Information about Item:
- Customary Lore, Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: India
- Informant: Athi
- Date Collected: 10-10-18
Informant Data:
- Athi is a male psychiatrist of The Woodlands, TX. He was born in Nager Coil, India in 1970, but moved to the United States in 1998 following his marriage. Besides work, he enjoys playing golf and watching television. Today, he lives with his family in a small, suburban home just outside of Houston.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: The evil eye is a central Indian belief. A look/glance rooted in jealousy, the evil eye is believed to be associated with malevolent spirits and to bring about bad luck. Indians, but south Indians in particular, practice a number of rituals to inhibit, or prevent the effects of this evil eye.
- Social Context: Weddings are grand ceremonies involving hundreds and hundreds of people. These people can, from time to time, become jealous of the bride, either for her beauty, happiness, or big-budget wedding. This gives way for ample opportunities of becoming infected by the evil eye. The bride, as such, requires protection. Here, this protection takes the form of a black dot of kajal on the cheek.
Item:
- This particular superstition works to inhibit the effects of the evil eye. By penciling a dot of kajal upon her cheek, the bride is believed to be protected from the jealous eyes of friends and family.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- “In South Indian marriages, the bride always will have a black dot on her cheek. This is mainly to prevent the evil eye on her from relatives and friends who come for the marriage.”
Informant’s Comments:
- This black dot of kajal is not exclusive to brides. It can often be seen on babies, children, or really anyone who wishes to protect herself/himself from the evil eye.
Collector’s Comments:
- This is an example of a Magic superstition, as it follows the form, “If you do A, Then B”. If the bride pencils a black dot of kajal on her cheek, then she can prevent infection by the evil eye.
Collector’s Name: Sanjena Venkatesh
Tags/Keywords:
- Customary Lore
- Superstition
- Evil Eye