The Evil Eye Belief Among the Amhara of Ethiopia1

The Evil Eye Belief Among the Amhara of Ethiopia1 Ronald A Reminick ClevelandState University Variationsof the beliefin the evil eye areknown throughout much of the world,yet surprisinglylittle attentionhas been given to explainingthe dynamicsof this aspectof culture(cf. SpoonerI970; FosterI972; Douglas I970). The Amharaof Ethio-piahold to this belief.Data for this study weregathered among the ManzeAmhara of the centralhighlands of Shoa Province,Ethiopia. Their habitatis a rollingplateau ranging in altitude fromg,soo to I3>000 feet.The seasonsvary from temperate and dry to wet and cold. The Amharaare settledagriculturists raising primarily barley, wheat,and a varietyof beansand importingteff grain cotton,and spices from the lower and warmerregions in the gorgesand valleysrlearby. Amharatechnology is simple,involving the bull-drawnplow, crop rotation, soil furrowingfor drainage,and some irrigationwhere streamsare ac- cessible.The soil is richenough to maintainthree harvests annually. Other importanttechnological items includethe sicklenloom, and the walking and fightingstick for the men; the spindle largeclay waterjug grind- stone,and cookingutensils for the women.The most highlyprized item of technologyis the ride which symbolizesthe proudwarrior traditions of the Amharaand a man'sduty to defendhis inheritedland. The homesteadis the primarydomain of authoritywithin the larger politicalstructure. The homesteadvaries in size from that of a nuclear familyto a largehamlet consisting of severalrelated families and their servants,tenants, and formerslaves. The systemof authoritycan be char- acterizedin termsof Weberspatriarchalism, where a groupis organized on the basisof kinshipand economicswith authorityexercised by a par- ticularperson controlling the resourcesupon which the group depends (WeberI948: 346H). Obedienceand loyaltyare owed to the personrather than to the role or the rule,and this personrules only by the consentof the grolupmembers who standto gain a portionof theirpatriarch's wealth as a legacyupon his death.This institutionof patriarchalauthority is re- inforcedby a culturalemphasis on malequalities of aggressivenessoriented aroundthe acquisitionand defenseof land.Land is the fundamentalre- quirementof the patriarchalsystem, for withoutit a man cannotfulfill his hasicrole of supportinghis dependentsand providinga legacyfor his childrenas a rewardfor theirloyalty and service.But land is a scarcere- 27g 280 ETHNOLOGY source,and thereare often more claimsto land than can be supported. Thus,closest siblings may unite against a moredistant relative to maintain land amongthemselves or siblingsmay competefor scarceland among themselves,beco-ming bitter enemies and dividingthe kinshipor domestic group. The Amharapeasant's supernatural world includes both Christianand paganelements. Although Monophysite Christianity is the legitimatere-- ligionof the Amharapeople, who in factdefine their tribal identity largely in termsof theirChristian God, the paganor "nonlegitimate"systems of beliefalso play an importantrole in the everydayroutine o-f the peasant's socialand culturallife. Thereare essentially four separate realms of super- naturalbeliefs. First, there is the dominantMonophysite Christian religion involvingthe Almighty God, the Devil, and the saints and angels in Heaven. Second,there are the zar and the adbar spirits,"protectors" who exact tributein returnfor physicaland emotionalsecurity and who deal out punishmentsfor failureto recognizethem through the practiceof the ap- propriaterituals. Third is the beliefin the buda, a classof peoplewho possessthe evil eye,and who exerta deadlypower over the descendentsof God's"choserI children." The fourthcategory of beliefsincludes the ciraq and satan, ghoulsand devilsthat prowlthe countryside,creating danger to unsuspectingpersons who crosstheir path. THE STATUSOF THE EVIL EYE PEOPLE In contrastto muchof sub-SaharanAfrica, evil poweris not attributed to a personoccupying a statusat a pointof socialdisjunction within the structureof socialrelations. Rather, those people who arebelieved to have a dangerouspower are not a part of Amharasociety. The buda or evil eye peopleare a completelyseparate category of populationof different ethnic origin,with a ratherminimum amount of interactionwith the Amharapeople. The bu!daown no landand therefore work in handicrafts, makingpots from clay, fashioning tools from iron, and weaving cloth from hand-spuncotton and sheep'shair. They are known generallyas tayb. The termis derivedfrom the nounteAib which means C'craftsman." It is alsoassociated with an ideawhich means "to be wise"or "tohe veryclever." The termstayb and buda are synonymous.To be buda is to have the evil eye. The term"evil eye" is alsoknown as ayn og and sometimestifU ayn. It designatesthe powerto curseand destroy and reincarnate, harnessing the laborof the deadfor one'sown ends. The beautifulcraftsmanship of the buda'swork is one sign of his status. The finelymade, well-proportioned water pots with theirblack finish are unmatchedby any Amharapeasant who woulddeign to makeone in the firstp-lace. Fashioning tools from iron takesconsiderably more skill and is not practicedby anyonebut the tayb people.Although weaving is asso- ciatedwith the taybpeople, many Manze peasants have also taken up the skill,not as a tradebut to accumulateneeded cash. Yet the peasantssay the tayh knowa specialform of weavingthat the Amharacannot learn. There is, though,a criticaldistinction made by the Amharapeasant that frees EVILEYE BELIEF AMONG THE AMHAM 28I himfrom the stigmaof the craft,uiz., that he did not inheritthe tradefrom his father. Thereare) then two majorsocial categories. The rega are thosepeople whoseancestry are nisu atint}of '<cleanbone,'} unblemished by socialstigma or bodilycatastrophe, such as leprosy.They are the "no!blepeople." Most Amharatrace their lineages to a nearrelative or ancestorwho had wealth and statusand who was patronof many who workedthe land of their estates.A rega personis knownby his community;his relativesand an- cestorsare known and hencehe cannotbe suspectedof being "impure." The budaperson, on the otherhand, is one who has inheritedthrough his line the lowerstatus. One may inheritstatus through either the mother's or the father'sliney or both.C)ne cannot avoid the statusof budRa.It is his destinyto be borninto the tradition. Anyonewhose ancestry or kin are unknownmay be suspect.If one is suspectedof [}eingbuda, he may be liableto accusationhy a familythat fearsthat he "attacked"or "ate"or "stabbed"one of theirmembers. Accusa- tion mustbe carriedout on ones own withoutthe sanctionof the courts. If one marriesa personwhose family is unknown,and it is laterlearned that the relativeswere of buda statlls,the rega spousewill be forcedto effecta divorceand anotherspouse of "cleanbone" will then be foundas a substitute.Sometimes the spousewho is buda will be drivenfrom the community,or morerarely killed, for attemptingto tainta family'sline. Thereis no sureway to recognizea buda, for their physicalqualities may not differdiscernibly from otherpeople. They may be thinnerthan usual,because their blood is believedto be thinnerthan a normalAmhara person'sblood. They may have an eyedeformity or sufferdischarge of tears cxrpus fromtheir eyes. They maytend to locaksidewise at people,or they mayhave very light skin, or theymay be helievedto havean ashensubstance in theirmouths and be unableto spitsaliva. But thesequalities are not, in themselves,sufiicient to arousesuspicion. There are other more convincing characteristics,such as occupation.If a strangercomes to townand is overly friendly,suspicion may be arousedthat he is too eagerto befriendothers, and hence,possibly over-anxious about concealing his true identity.The relationsof buda peoplewith rega peopleare in status quo, beingneither overlypeaceful nor overlycombative. They mix with eachother easily, as in court,in the shops,and in marketplaces without repercussions, as long as theirsocial relations are on a superficialbasis. THEATTACK OF THE EVIL EYE The realthreat of the buda peopleto the rega peopleis the ever-present possibilityof attack.Most people are fearful of evenmentioning the buda, especiallyat night,because if theyare overheard by a buda he will become angryand one of the familymay be "eaten,"thereby causing sickness or death.A personis most vulnerabletcs being 'Ceaten" when the b?>dasees fear,worry, or anxietyin his pc}tentialvictim. Therefore, it helpsto maintain one'scomposure when in the presenceof a budaJacting naturally as if the bmdadid not matterat all.The peasantwho is especiallygood looking :282 ETHNOLOGY or whosechild is consideredbeautiful, or someonewho does something extraordinary,may fearthe attackof the evil eye becauseof the envy b-e- lievedto be kindledin the bud. The attackis not limitedto human ;beings.The evil eye canattack any living object. When a personis "eaten" he mayknow immediately that he has beenattacked for the consequences may occurat the sametime as the strike.But the symptomscan just as easilybe delayedfor a few hours,a day,or a week,rarely longer. If a buda has plannedan attackon some victim,but this victimsuddenly falls ill beforethe strikeis to be made,then the buda may merelywait patiently to see the outcomeof the patient'sillness. If the personrecovers, the buda may thenattack. If he dies,the buda will then attendto the activitythat involvesbuda peoplewith the dead.It is believedthat when one is feeling ill the bodyis morevulnerable than ever to an attackby the evil

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