Nazar and evil-eye beads
The blue glass eye used across the Mediterranean and beyond against the evil eye.
Also: nazar boncugu, blue eye bead, mati, buri nazar, evil-eye jewellery
The evil eye is the belief that an envious or admiring look can bring harm. Against it people hang or wear a charm shaped like an eye, most famously the blue and white glass bead called nazar boncuğu in Turkey, mati in Greece and buri nazar in South Asian languages. Beads are fixed over doors, on cradles and cars, pinned to babies' clothes and worn as bracelets and pendants. The idea is that the charm looks back and takes the harm. The belief is recorded in the Mediterranean world since antiquity and is found from Morocco to India. It is held by Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Hindu families alike, and the beads have become a popular jewellery style.