A cultural or personal artifact is an item that reveals valuable information about the society that used it or adds a special meaning to it. My cultural artifact that I am presenting to you is my mal de ojo bracelet. Before going in depth about what it looks like and why I use it, I’ll tell you more about where it comes from.
Mal de ojo is a Spanish term for “evil eye”. Its origin dates back to the Eastern Mediterranean and Greco-Roman traditions. It is deeply embedded in the Spanish culture and in Latin America. Mal de ojo is caused by someone who is envious of you and wishes bad luck on you. It is believed to inflict pain or injury. Mal de ojo is a superstition that runs deep through generations of Hispanic and Latin families. In order to expel or push away the bad luck, mothers or fathers would give their child a bracelet with an evil eye. It is said that wearing the evil eye as protection is known to reflect the power of evil glares back to the caster. It is also said that buying the evil eye for yourself is not as effective as someone gifting it to you. When it breaks this means all of its energy has been given to you and it is time for a new one. Mal de ojo can be made into any types of jewelry. It comes in bracelets, necklaces, anklets, earrings, basically anything. If you believe in superstitions like me and my culture, then maybe you should give it to someone for their protection or maybe it can be gifted to you.
Evil eye or mal de ojo is a midnight blue circle with a smaller white circle on the inside and inside of that is a smaller light blue circle ; lastly, inside of that there is a black circle. If you look at pictures it actually looks like an eye. It comes in many different colors like pink, green, red, etc, but it typically is the colors I previously stated. All colors have different meanings. For instance, orange is for happiness and protection; light blue is used for general protection and peace; red brings you courage and more energy; dark blue is used for karma and fate protection as well as relaxation; yellow is for protection of health and creates a sharper mind and concentration; light green is used to help succeed with your dreams; pink is to protect your friendships; and the list goes on and on.
Ever since I was a baby, the mal de ojo had a great significance in my life. As a baby my mother gifted me with a mal de ojo gold anklet. Obviously I grew up and it did not fit me so throughout the years I would have all types of bracelets but the color was always dark blue. I wear it for karma and protection. Some people would think that it gives you good luck and you will never ever have bad luck. It isn’t necessarily like that. The evil eye gives you protection against the evil and the envious. This is really big thing in my family. At times we will not talk about a plan that has yet to be executed in fear of someone giving you the evil eye. For example, if I wanted to start a business and I tell the people around me about it, some of them would feel envious and wish bad luck on me; my evil eye bracelet prevents that. I am actually wearing one right now, it is an embroidered floss bracelet with a tiny dark blue evil eye in the middle with beads at the end of the thread. In my culture, or among those who are superstitious, people who see my bracelet or see anything related to it would automatically know what it is and why I wear it. It is important to me because the person gifting it to you has nothing but good intentions for you and wants what is best for you. This is why it is typically given by a parental figure or someone in your family.
I remember one time I did not have my bracelet on because it broke, and for the entire time I had bad luck. I was really clumsy and everything went left for me. Then after awhile everything started to go back to normal. Then I got a new bracelet and everything was better than normal. Growing up in a Dominican household, mal de ojo is considered to be a serious superstition and cannot be taken lightly. Others may see it as nothing more than jewelry or something vintage to wear but in reality it is way more than that. It is culture.
