The evil eye: a cautious look

Culture-bound syndromes in migratory contexts: the case of Bolivian immigrants

Objective:

to describe the culture-bound syndromes maintained by Bolivian immigrants in the new migratory context and analyze the care processes of these health problems.

Method:

qualitative research with an ethnographic methodological approach. Sample: 27 Bolivian immigrants. In-depth interviews and participatory observation were the strategies used for data collection. Data were classified and categorized into logical schemes manually and using the ATLAS-ti program v.5.

Results:

susto, “wayras”, amartelo, pasmo de sol, pasmo de luna and pasmo de sereno are some of the folk illnesses that affect the Bolivian immigrants and that they have to treat in the new migratory context.

Conclusions:

in the new environment, the group under study preserves culture-bound syndromes that are common in their country of origin. The care strategies used for these health problems are adapted to the resources of the new context and based on interactions with the domestic environment, biomedicine and traditional medicine. It was observed the need for the health professionals to realize that the efficacy of certain therapies occurs within the scope of cultural beliefs and not in that of the scientific evidence.

The Evil Eye--an ancient superstition

This paper describes and discusses the ancient superstition of the Evil Eye. The author describes his own personal childhood introduction to the subject of the Evil Eye which years later instigated his scholarly inquiry. The history of this very geographically widespread folk belief is elaborated upon, along with common manifestations as they appear in a number of different countries and cultures. Some of the methods used to thwart the negative effects of the Evil Eye are enumerated. Relevant psychodynamics and common expressions of the Evil Eye superstition are elucidated upon.