General Information about the Item

-superstitions

-Language: English

-Country of Origin: Venezuela

-Informant- NA

Date Collected- October 24, 2021

Informant Data:

NA was born in rural Venezuela in 2001. He immigrated to Miami, FL in 2008 with his mother to find a better life in the US after the oil crash that devastated the Venezuelan economy. He is a staunch supporter of capitalism and individual liberties, and is a Junior at Dartmouth studying Economics. 

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: 

Venezuelan children are thought of to me more susceptible to various evil spirits and forces, as they are relatively pure and defenseless. “El Mal De Ojo” (an evil eye) is one of those supernatural spirits; anytime a child is laughed at or envied, the evil eye places bad luck on both the child and it’s family 

Social Context:

The mother in a Venezuelan household is often the one tasked with protecting their children from anything that may come their way. NA’s mother is no different, and while the family is Catholic, the mother still looks out for bad spirits and energies outside the Christian faith that can traditionally harm a Venezuelan family. NA’s mother adhered to the following protocol. 

Item

To protect a child from the ‘evil eye’ caused by callousness and envy, young children (such as NA) are instructed to wear thin red wristbands until they are old enough to ward off the negative energies caused by the supernatural evil eye. It is unclear why the red band is said to protect against the eye itself, but NA speculates that it’s color is designed to avert attention. 

Informant’s Comments

NA did not wear one as a child, but he knows kids who did.

Collector’s Comments:

I had seen these in my elementary school in the US, and now know what it means.

Tags/Keywords

Superstition

Latin

Children

Venezuela

Evil