UPDATED June 6th, 2018
Every culture has its own traditional curses such as mal de ojo, or the evil eye, in Latin America. And almost every culture around the world has its own version of the evil eye. Each also has its own formula for how to break a curse. In Islam, a nazar amulet is commonly used to protect the wearer from the evil eye. No doubt you’ve seen the pretty flat, round glass beads with concentric shades of blue and white surrounding a black pupil. In Latin American culture, babies are considered to be especially susceptible to mal de ojo, which is thought to cause sudden illness — including diarrhea and vomiting. Yuck! In Judaism the evil eye is called ayin-hara and in India it’s buri nazar.
