Shon Week 1 - 🧿
My grandma, who lives in India, came to stay with us this past summer, bringing various traditions and, most importantly, great snacks from my ancestral homeland. Even though I am ethnically Indian, all these traditions seemed foreign to me, since I have not visited India in the last fifteen years.
The one thing that stood out to me was one day when I was getting prepared to take my daily shower. While I was picking up my towel and outfit for the day, my grandma suggested that I mix in some kitchen salt in a bucket of water and douse myself in the mixture before starting my shower to remove my “nazar”.
Nazar, a Hindi word, directly translates to evil eye (🧿), or in other words, all the bad juju from all the jealousy, envy, and malice wished upon you by other people. Don’t worry, submerging yourself in salt water is not the only way. Through hearing my friends’ stories, I learned a couple more defenses: circling red chillies and lemons around your head then burning them to expel the bad energy from South Asia; rolling an egg all over your body then cracking it in water from Latin America; feng shui, the practice of organizing furniture to lead a path of good energy from Chinese traditions. Maybe if I try all of these at once, I will create somewhat of an impenetrable force field against bad energy.
I realized these superstitions are not isolated practices, but rather a pattern of the need to defend people from things they can not see or control. I may not fully understand the necessity of the salt water shower, but I will still do it every month because it will always connect me to my grandmother and a culture that sometimes seems distant. Identity is not only made up of the traditions and practices we fully understand. It includes habits and rituals that we laugh at, question, or are even confused by, yet we still inherit them. Sometimes, the traditions that seem the most outlandish are the ones that remind us of our identity. I probably will not rub my body with an egg or reorganize all the furniture in my room; I may still keep those chillies and lemons within reach. You can never be too safe!
My family has their fair share of superstitions as well. Although it’s not exactly related to nazar, my mom has told me never to put my bed in front of the mirror. This is because whatever is seen in the mirror will multiply, therefore causing more sleep, eventually leading to laziness. I also thought the different repellents of nazar you mention tie deeply to identity. I know another traditional Hindu method is kajal placed under the eyes. Despite how different cultures may seem, there are so many similarities we all share. Its a very unifying feeling!
ReplyDeleteThe last section about evil eye removers being a method of control for the uncontrollable is a great way of looking at it. Emotions like jealousy and envy are not tangible, and while these methods of removal have spiritual and cultural significance, things like glass amulets and charm bracelets may also be simply a way to provide comfort and protection from the unexpected. I’m glad you were able to find a tradition that helps you connect with your culture and grandmother!
Hi Shon! I can somewhat relate to your experiences. I also quite recently spent time with my grandaunt (my grandma's sister), but instead of her coming to America, I went to her in China. I haven't visited China in a long while until last summer. During my stay, I learned a lot of new rules from my grandaunt. One of the rules that stuck out to me was how I could not stick my chopsticks straight up in rice. The superstition is that if I do, I would be wishing death upon myself-or another person in the room. She didn't really explain why, but I think it may be because of its similarities in the visual aspects of an incense stick. In Chinese culture, you stick incense sticks in front of a photo or gravestone of a deceased family member; to pay respect to them. I think that by sticking the chopsticks straight up, it was an allure for negative energy. This sort-of relates to the evil eye superstition because both superstitions prevent the negative energies. In relation to the blog, the different superstitions that you shared intrigued me because it made me realize how many people can connect and relate to the same ideas.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I hope you had a wonderful time with your Grandma when she was visiting. My family also shares similar beliefs of warding off an “evil eye,” and we too, use salt as part of our ritual of keeping the “dhrishti” away. Similar to what your grandmother said, we also use kitchen salt to ward off negative energy! Although, my family has a different tradition. We start by holding the salt in our dominant hand and circling it around the people who we want to free of the evil eye in a specific pattern before spitting off negativity into the salt, then we throw the salt out and wash our face and feet with water mixed with “pasupu,” which is just turmeric powder, to wash away any negativity left. If we need to repel off a stronger “dhrishti,” we perform the same ritual but with a burning cloth instead of salt. We normally do if someone has had a major accomplishment and falls sick afterward, signifying that someone or something out there is praying for our downfall. The last section of your blog where you explain that these rituals and traditions are a part of your identity that you are striving to learn about made me realize that I should also try to do the same. I love how you brought your blog back full circle by connecting your unfamiliarity with Indian traditions to your own desire to connect back to your roots, giving it blog a sense of unity. That feeling of a distant culture is something that I can relate with, and I am also constantly looking for ways to learn more about my family’s culture and connect back to my roots. I hope you find out everything you want to learn about your own culture and roots, and maybe, you may find the answers you are searching for in India!
ReplyDeleteI also feel a lot of disconnect from my culture, but sort of in the opposite situation. I have actually visited Taiwan during the summer for the past several years, but when I’m there—and sometimes even here, in the US—I feel oddly out of place and disconnected from the different traditions my family has.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, the diverse ways of getting away the negative energies are really intriguing. While probably considered by the mainstream public to be strange and irregular, it’s actually really interesting to hear the ways different cultures work to achieve the same ending. I’m actually really curious about how these different traditions developed.
Cultures have common superstitions and ideologies that mimic each other, and the ways that they are different truly create the identity of the culture and the people who identify with those cultures. Maybe it might be hard for each individual person to identify what all their culturally-interlinked habits are, but it still nonetheless defines and shapes who they are. Through the habits of one’s family, a person is shaped to become connected to their relatives and defines a significant part of who they are.