According to Marcia Carteret, with Mexican folk website, history tells us that Mal de Ojo is strongly believed in the Hispanic cultures. Mal de Ojo is a folk illness that typically affects children. It is believe to be cause by a spell from receiving a gaze from a more powerful or stronger person expressing an abundance of envy or admiration to a child. Most of the people do not even realize what they have done. The infected child may show signs of head ache, fever, and not being able to fall asleep. To cure the Mal de Ojo, Carl Hoogesterger of Hispanic folk illnesses website says the most effective cure is to have the person responsible for causing the illness come and touch the child as soon as possible. If the person cannot be located, some people find an acurandera (witch doctor) to perform a ritual with an egg. First, the would rub the egg all over the body with prayer. Next, the egg is cracked into a glass of water covered by a rosary or straw layed in a cross symbol. The egg is then placed beneath the bed, directly under the head of the child overnight. In the morning the egg is checked to see if the child in fact had Mal de Ojo and had been cured. If the egg appeared cooked or the yolk appeared to have an image of an eye after the ritual, it is believed that the child was given Mal de Ojo. After the ritual has been completed the egg is examined, if it is curdled, then the child had Mal de Ojo. After the child is cured the egg is disposal of.
Carteret, Marcia. "Folk Illnesses and Remedies in Latino Communities |
Folk Illnesses and Remedies in Latino Communities | Dimensions of Culture. N.p., 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dimensionsofculture.com/2010/10/folk-illnesses-and-remedies-in-latino-communities/>.
Hoogesteger, Carl. "Mal De Ojo." Mal De Ojo. N.p., 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://altmed.creighton.edu/MexicanFolk/mal_de_ojo.htm>.
N.p., n.d. Web- Picture.
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