Anaẓar (fromArabic نَظَر[ˈnaðˤar], meaning 'sight', 'surveillance', 'attention', and other related concepts), or aneye bead, is an eye-shapedamulet believed to protect against theevil eye. The term is also used inAzerbaijani,Bengali,Hebrew,Hindi–Urdu,Kurdish,Pashto,Persian,Punjabi,Turkish, and other languages.[1] In Turkey, it is known by the namenazar boncuğu[2] (the latter word being a derivative ofboncuk, "bead" in Turkic, and the former borrowed from Arabic), in Greece it is known asmáti (μάτι, 'eye'). InPersian and Afghan folklore, it is called acheshm nazar (Persian:چشم نظر) ornazar qurbāni (نظرقربانی).[3] In India and Pakistan, the Hindi-Urdu sloganchashm-e-baddoor (چشم بدور, '[may the evil] eye keep away') is used to ward off the evil eye.[4] In theIndian subcontinent, the phrasenazar lag gai is used to indicate that one has been affected by the evil eye.[5][6][7]
The nazar was added toUnicode asU+1F9FF 🧿NAZAR AMULET in 2018.[8]
A typical nazar is made of handmade glass featuring concentric circles or teardrop shapes in dark blue, white, light blue and black, occasionally with a yellow/gold edge.[9] "The bead is made of a mixture of moltenglass,iron,copper,water, andsalt, ingredients that are thought to shield people from evil."[2]
"According to Turkish belief, blue acts as a shield against evil and even absorbs negativity."[2] In the Middle East and the Mediterranean,[10][11][12][13] "blue eyes are relatively rare, so the ancients believed that people with light eyes, particularly blue eyes, could curse you with just one look. This belief is so ancient, even theAssyrians had turquoise and blue-eye amulets."[14]
The Turkishboncuk (sometimes called agöz boncuğu oreye bead) is a glass bead characterized by a blue glass filled with a blue white and black dot superimposed on a white or yellow center. A design of great antiquity, the blue bead has gained importance as an item of popularculture in modern Turkey. The bead likely originated in theMediterranean and is associated with thedevelopment of glassmaking.[15] Written documentation and extant beads date from as early as the 16th century BCE. Glass beads were made and widely used throughout the ancient world: fromMesopotamia toEgypt, fromCarthage to ancientGreece, fromPhoenicia toPersia, and throughout theRoman imperial period.[15]
The mythology behind it says that if one of the beads breaks down, it means a very strongnazar has hit the wearer, and the bead stored it all up and broke down in order to protect them.[16]
Arabic verbs have generated an enormous number of words for Urdu/Hindi as well as Persian. ... The wordnazar, meaning eye, or sight, is part of the cultural idiom -- <nazar lag jana>, meaning 'evil eye's effect,' and is used in the whole subcontinent.
The phrases "Nazar lag gai" (affected by the Evil Eye) and "Nazar utarna" (removing the effects of Evil Eye) are common in Hindu culture.
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