Evil Eye (urok)

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.

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.



Marriage


In the wedding procession one person carries a mirror to catch the rays of the sun and cast them on the bride and the guests, thereby protecting them from the evil eye.


Universal word "Mašallah" ( ما شاء الله )


Mothers use amulets to protect their babies from the evil eye. Bosniaks use triangular pieces of silver or gold called Mašale. When someone compliments a Bosniak baby, they touch it and say „Mashallah“ to keep away the evil eye. In the original Arabic it means something like „what God wants will be“.


Grab Ass

If you are afraid that you could become a victim of spellbound eyes you then need to grab your bottom every time you meat a negative person.


Five fingers

There is also another way to eliminate the gaze of a person with spellbound eyes - one turns his right palm towards that person and looks at him/her through the fingers.






Amulet



The mother would protect the child from spellbound eyes by plucking three hairs from underneath her armpit and placing them in a small bag made out of red cloth. She then sows that amulet onto the child's clothes.




Beads of turquoise


To protect the child against the evil eye, a beads of turquoise is placed around his neck. This attracts and neutralizes any envious or evil looks. Blue beads of turquoise, glass, faience, or plastic are also frequently pinned to children's clothing in Bosnia, Turkey, and Greece.

Another plant used specifically for protection against the evil eye was rue (Ruta graveolens) or Sedefil. Since newborn children were believed to be most susceptible to the evil eye, the Bosniaks used to put a branch of rue in the baby's clothes but and associated it with birth as well as death (it was placed above the head of the deceased)


The most famous plant among the Bosniak people which is by tradition connected to the sacred and the mystic elements is rue (Ruta graveoles). The word rue (sadef) has its origin in the Arabic language and it is commonly called in Bosnia "sedefil", "sedefat" etc. It is commonly believed that this plant has strong apotropaic powers, the old Egyptians, Chinese, Romans and Celts were aware of this fact. In Arabia, Peganum Harmala is a plant that is credit for annulling negative effects, especially spellbound eyes, in Bosnia this role is performed by nacre. Its worth is perhaps best understood by the old adage of grandparents who say "one should cater for nacre more than its own child."

In alternative medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, nacre was mostly used for heart diseases. Tea was usually made from this plant or a dry mixture of it would be combined with honey and eaten as such. Prophylactic characteristic of nacre should be sought in its original form, namely one leaf had five smaller leaves which associate us to five fingers or Khamsa (Hand of Fatima). Except the fact that the plant was placed under children's pillows to protect them against spellbound eyes, girls usually wore a bundle of the plant in their hair for the exact same purpose. Besides being able to protect one from spellbound eyes, the plant possessed a characteristic which enabled it to annul any and every magical or hostile effect and therefore it was usually found in front of a house, a bush planted near the entrance door or perhaps from both sides to prevent evil from entering the premises. These are the reasons why this plant gained popularity amongst the Bosnian people who see nacre as their national amulet.

Also the practice of using nacre is common in Bosnian spiritual healers, especially "stravarka" (ocakli kadin). One of them, "stravarka" by the name of Bilka, puts a bundle of the plant on the Qur'an and a piece of led over it to annul evil as soon as she begins the ritual. Bilka explains the usage of this plant: nacre is a heavenly plant which wards off any and every evil.Nacre is successfully used to annul black magic, this is one of many Bosnian recipes. It is necessary to take nine flowers, nine leaves and nine branches of nacre and place them inside a bottle which was beforehand filled with clear spring water. After that one must repeat the following nine prayers: El-Fatiha, Ikhlas, Falaq, Nass and Tebetyeda. After this is completed the bottle is closed and left closed overnight. The following day a person which has problems with negative energy has to first take a bath, and then when the body is clean it needs to wash himself with the water from the bottle taking care that every part of the body is washed with this water. One should not dry his body with a towel, but wait for it to be dried by itself and after that the parts of the plant need to be thrown out in a place where people don't trot.





Natural order: Rutaceae. Other names: Herb of Grace, Herb of Repentance. French name: Rue. German name: Raute. Italian names: Ruta, Ruga. Spanish name: Ruda trago-amargo. Turkish name: Sedef otu. Chinese name: Yiin-haiang- ts'ao. Bosnian name: sedefil, sedefčić, etc.

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!

Spellbound eyes

Belief in the negative power of the human gaze and words as well is very old and it was historically known that all of the Illyrian tribes in ancient Bosnia wore amulets against spellbound eyes. But, such practice wasn't only typical for the Illyrians, other Mediterranean people' practiced it as well. According to our ancestors belief urok or spellbound eyes is a demon creature which is born out of uncontrollable, negative emotions and has the power to hurt humans physically and mentally.

Especially susceptible to spellbound eyes are small children and live stock, since they can't speak or defend themselves with magical formulas or prayers. That's why a very good deed (sevap) is to cure children and animals from spellbound eyes for free.

Through history among the Bosnian people spellbound eyes were considered to be a real danger especially to small children. Especially susceptible are pretty and well fed children and those born on a Tuesday or Saturday. These days are called "witches days" in Bosnia and they are used to practice black magic and spread evil. According to folk belief a child struck by spellbound eyes can die shortly afterwards. First unexpected sobbing occurs and high temperature which drains the child and causes more health problems. A child which dies from spellbound eyes can be recognized by the dark hue which his body assumes and if the body is not stiff that means that it is announcing another death in the family.

Fear from the deadly effects of spellbound eyes causes many to practice rituals to protect themselves from this evil even today. Usually mothers utter prayers from the Qur'an; but also a pagan ritual survived which is manifested through chants of magical formulas called basme. One of these is the one used in Velika Kladuša: "Whoever placed a spell on you, may he run into a pit, may he stay there until barley ripens in the field. With my curse and God's help veledalin amin!"

In Brčko the elderly women believe that it is not recommended to repeat the formulas against spellbound eyes to a child each night, since it can happen that the mother forgets to do it one night which can cause her child to die.

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” 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 list of nacre (Ruta graveoles’) under the pillow or a piece of wood yew (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 “Ihlas” 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”.