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Religious medallions and charms. Patxo Fernández de Jauregui. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

The evil eye is an ancient superstitious belief well extended across the globe. This folk illness receives similar names in all languages worldwide: begizkoa in Basque, mal de ojo in Spanish, mauvais œil in French…, always referring to the human eye as responsible for it. The main mechanism for transmission is the malevolent power in the glance of some people to cast a curse on young children or vulnerable beings. Certain individuals are believed to project a mysterious energy with their eyes known as adurra in Basque. Envy and evil speaking or malediction, from Latin maledictio, along with several witchcraft rituals, can cause the same effect. (more…)