Evil Eye

In Bosnia the effect of spellbound eyes is called urok, this name stems from the Illyrians and represents "captivation" or "fascination". The negative effect of the human gaze, according to belief, is mostly demonstrated in small children, especially in the first months of their life. That's why, in order to protect the small child a red, black or green string is tied around its wrist, in order to divert the first and most harmful gaze and in such a way to neuter the power of spellbound eyes.

 

The use of red string and tying knots on it while repeating specific chants is a traditional form of white magic which can be seen all around Bosnia. Usually older women practice this form of magic since they are the ones that believe in the effect of spellbound eyes the most. One of them is Fatima Dautović from Velika Kladuša, for quite some time she used to tie 99 knots on a black thread 40cm long. Before every bind she utters the verse Ayetul Kursi, blows into the string and strengthens the knot. This technique first of all requires calmness, concentration and time. When she finished tying all of the knots, the string is then wrapped around a small piece of yew (Taxus) tree in order to enhance its apotropaic power. An amulet constructed using this technique will protect the wearer from black magic, spellbound eyes, bad luck during travel. According to Fatima, if this amulet is worn by married women, they will be more dominant in marriage.

Ziba Kovačević from Zenica also practices an identical method of amulet construction against spellbound eyes, the only difference is that she uses red thread and ties 41 knots. The thread with the knots is wrapped around a small piece of yew tree. An amulet constructed in such a way is often wrapped around a child's hand.

-Yew is a tree that protects against evil and it is advisable that everyone carries a piece of it with them, in their pocket or wallet, Ziba explains.

It is also believed that the thread used to stitch the cloth used to wrap a dead person, gains prophylactic powers. A thread of 10 cm is used and once it has been threaded through the cloth, it is then divided into two equal parts. The first part of the thread is thrown in a whirlpool of a river and the other half is used to tie a knot and is carried alongside the user. Allegedly such a knot protects against all forms of evil, spellbound eyes and black magic.

 

There are various forms of spellbound eyes that are known among the Bosnian folk:

zazor is a name for jealousy which is manifested through spellbound eyes,

začud is a name for admiration for one's beauty, assets or health and that was the reason for the effect of spellbound eyes,

presjek is a name for spellbound eyes that cause loss of appetite in children and it loses weight suddenly, etc.

In order to find out if her child was a victim of spellbound eyes a mother uses her tongue to lick specific places on the child's face, temple and the area between the eyebrows, in order to justify her suspicion. If she feels a salty or sour taste then the child has been affected.

Negation of the effect of spellbound eyes should commence as soon as it is discovered, since, according to folk belief, in the course of three days the power of spellbound eyes dominates the entire body of the child and can cause serious illness.

In Bosnian tradition there exists a popular belief that every mother can best protect her child from spellbound eyes which is illustrated by the first words of this magical formula:

Mother gave birth, mother cured!

Scatter spellbound eyes like the leaves in the forest,

like the foam on water,

like gold among gentleman.

While repeating this formula the mother uses her tongue again, this time she licks the child up its nose continuing to the forehead and ending where the hair starts. She repeats this procedure three times.   

 

Bosnian magical formula against Evil Eye

Stravarka repeat three times Surah Ikhlas and then the following  formula:

In my Aliye there are nine spells;
not nine of them,
there are only eight;
not eight of them,
there are only seven;
not seven of them,
there are only six;                                                                  
not six of them,
there are only five;
not five of them,
there are only four,
not four of them,
there are only three,
not three of them,
there are only two,
not two of them,
there's only one;
there's not even.
Veledalin amin!

Zazor or Evil Eye

The evil eye is a belief that Bosniaks share with  Turks and other people of the Balkans, and the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

Modern man, though having a higher level of consciousness and living in a society much more developed than his ancestors, is still afraid of “evil eyes” (or urok, zazor, urokljivo oko) more than all other diseases combined. The best evidenced for this is a belief in the nation that more people have died as a result of “evil eyes” than all diseases combined. 

Belief in the power of “evil eyes”  was found even in ancient Persia (Iran), the culture for which it is assumed, based on the discovered historical sites, that is older than 7.ooo years, where she was embodied in the form of the female demon named Agas. 

Now days, there is no nation in the world where there is more or less expressed belief in the power of the human negative view, whether we talk about Hindu, Muslim, Christian or other religion. With the arrival of Turks and Islam in Bosnia, belief in the “evil eye” suddenly escalated, therefore in line with this whole series of rituals and beliefs about the protection and eliminating the negative effects of the “evil eyes” were developed. 
“Evil eyes”, is a reflection of the negative energies of one's soul (psyche) triggered by uncontrolled emotions such as jealousy or a great admiration. It is believed that every man has this power even those blind, because the spell is created with the help of views and words. It is believed that the green eyes are evil eyes, especially if that person is born under the sign of Scorpio. This category includes persons who cut their nails with scissors, etc. 

While the evil eyes are considered primarily children's disease, since they are most affected, also adults are not immune to them especially the young, beautiful and successful ones. Spells are subject to pregnant women, patients, animals and etc. At least resistant to the spell are children especially in the first 40 days of their lives, therefore caring mother stick to the various prophylactic rituals of placing amulets, garlic, or leaf of rue (Rute graveoles) under the pillow or a piece of wood tisovina (Taxus baccata),or around his hands she ties the red thread on which is tied 40 knots and etc. 

For the purpose of prevention in Bosnia we usually can hear the word universal “Mashallah” which is believed to be the strongest protection from all forms of evil eyes. 

When a child cries for no apparent reason and is restless, mother immediately suspects on the effect of the evil eye, especially if this happens after departure of guests from the house. In order to neutralize the effect of the evil eye mother pours some water into hers mouth but does not swallow the water and stands behind the door and looks into the angle between the door and the wall. While standing in that position she recites the prayer “Ikhlas” and then water from her mouth spills into her right hand and throw it over her left shoulder and with her wet right hand wipes the child's face.
Once the power of evil eye has been neutralized, she ties around his hand red or silky thread for his "health”. 

Your courteous Bosniak or Iranian will not take a compliment without "Mashallah;" the Italians will not receive one without "Grazio a Dio!“ while the Irishman almost always says „Glory be to God“, and the English peasant „Lord be wi' us“, the idea in every instance being to avert the danger of fascination by these acknowledgments of a higher power.

Evil eye

In the past, it was believed that all the living beings, especially the young and beautiful ones, could be bewitched by the look of a bad eye. Even mothers should not caress their babies for fear of casting a spell on them. For that reason, they used to put amulets on the child as soon as it was born or they blackened their forehead


Another source of physical and mental disequilibrium and pain is the evil eye. This is a specific type of spell which in most cases is believed to be unpremeditated. Beliefs about the evil eye are well know and documented throughout the whole of southern and southeastern Europe and „the Mediterranean area“. Such beliefs were also present in Dolina, even if informants were initially reluctant to talk about them. Although most of my material was collected in rural Bosnia, I also consulted informants in Sarajevo about popular beliefs there and discovered that belief in the evil eye and knowledge about different protective measures are also found among Sarajevans. The more educated people in Sarajevo dismiss such ideas as superstition, however
This villagers use several different terms for „evil eye“, the most common being grdne oči (ugly eyes); others are urokljive oči (bewitching eyes) or pogane oči (filthy or evil eyes). I was told that you cannot know if someone has an evil eye or not, and even the possessor does not know. A person may not know s/he has been bewitched by evil eye until s/he gets ill with a splitting headache and fever.
It someone looks at another person and say that he or she is beautiful without saying mašalah, the first person may unintentionally cast a spell on the second person. Mašalah  expreses wonder at and pleasure in what a person sees. In the original Arabic it means something like „what Allah wants will be“ (that is, everything is dependent on God's will). Beautiful girls and babies thought to be particularly vulnerable.
In the Bosnian village of Dolina, I did not see evil eye accusations as a means of enforcing social control and conformity. Instead, the concern was with the person who was at risk from the evil eye, and with this person's power to attract another person's attention because of her beauty rather than with accusing someone of having „bewitching eyes“ (since that person had probably cast the evil eye unintentionally). I have no information about actual people accused of having cast the evil eye, but was repeatedly told that there was no way of knowing who had. This is reflected among other things in the fact that the verb for casting spells, ureći, was never used actively in the third person to describe the agency, but only passively to describe the person who had been the victim of the evil eye, as in „the child has been cast spells on“ (dijete je ureknuto). The people most concerned about such spells are those closest to the person or object believed vulnerable to the evil eye, such as the mother of a newborn baby. I suggest that beliefs about evil eye are primarily an expression of one' own fear of losing someone or something which one highly desires and which is therefore very precious. But because it is highly desired, the person who has it knows that others might desire it too.
In Bosnia allusion was never made to the envy (or jealousy) of the potential possessor of the evil eye (although accusations of jealousy are often made to explain hostile and uncooperative behavior in other contexts), and envy was not seen as problematic as it was common and assumed from the knowledge and experience of one's own feelings.

Formula against the evil eye:

The "urok" sits on the treshold,

his mate under the treshold.

The "urok" has three eyes:

one eye is of water,

the second eye is of fire,

the third eye us charmed.

 The water eye burst

and put out the fiery one

and took the charmed one

to the high mountains

to the broad plains.

The sea has no bridge,

nor a dog horns,

nor the palm (of the hand) hair

nor is here any spell on my -name-.