Title: Evil Eye Cure

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre: Customary Folklore– Superstition

• Language: English

• Country where Item is from: Greece

Informant Data:

• Mary Wallenmeyer provided us with this piece of folklore. She is a 55 year-old woman from Shermans Dale, PA. Both of her parents, her two sisters, and her one brother were born in Greece. Her parents were raised in a small village in the mountains of central Greece. Her father came to the U.S. first and worked for two years so he could bring the rest of the family to America. She was born a year after her parents were reunited in the U.S., and her younger brother was born seven years later. Her father and his siblings are deceased, but she still have cousins from his side of the family that live in Greece. Her mother has six siblings still living in Greece along with their families.  Growing up, Mary and her family spoke Greek at home and attended Greek classes. Her husband and children do not speak the language fluently, but they do understand some of it. Her family belongs to the Greek Orthodox church, which she says “ helps keep the ‘Greek’ alive in [their] lives.” Their family still prays in Greek and cooks many Greek foods. They are very proud of their Greek heritage.  

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This practice is used in people’s homes to cure people affect by the evil eye eye. The process can only be conducted by a “trained” individual.

• Cultural Context: The Evil Eye is recognized by the church as a legitimate religious phenomena. It is believed that evil is generated by the devil. This belief serves as an explanation for bad things that occur, especially illnesses or pain.

Item:

• The superstition is that if a trained person says prayers over clothing of the affected, then they will be cured. This is a magic superstition (If you do A, then B) and is also an example of contagious magic.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

• None

Transcript of Associated File:

• None

Informant’s Comments:

• None.

Collector’s Comments:

• This interview was conducted over FaceTime, as Mary does not live nearby.

Collector’s Name: Interview conducted by Katie Spanos. Webpage published by Carmen Braceras.

Tags/Keywords:

• Evil Eye, Cure, Contagious Magic, Greek Superstitions, Clothing, Prayers, Customary Folklore