My very first encounter with the Evil Eye phenomenon was through my paternal grandmother Rose Gombatto, pictured above at her engagement party, unknown year.
If you had a headache, it was believed to be caused by someone who gave you the Evil Eye. You would then seek out your local strega, who had the knowledge and ability to rid you of it through an age old ritual. In the late sixties, I once watched my grandmother perform it on my brother-in-law, a medical student at the time. She performed it in our kitchen, and my mom and sister were also present. I stood in the doorway, creeped out by the whole thing: lit candles, a bowl of water, olive oil, and a knife (no, she did not stab him).
I know my grandmother wasn't a strega, but one must of shown her how to perform it.
The way I feel at present - Feb 15, 2013, 12:06PM, I could use one right about now. I'd like to kill the person who gave it to me, since it's been going on for some 14 years now.
Many web sites and youtube videos are available, showing the practice of il malocchio -pronounced mahl-OAK-yoh.
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