I heard those words in conversation between my mother and grandmother again while they were washing the dishes. I asked my mother, "what is this ‘kezee achk goodan’ business all about?" At first she asked, " Why do you want to know dughas (my son)?" I explained that Hagop and Ani’s parents said the same thing and I was worried that something was going to happen to us. She laughed and took my hand as we sat down on our soft couch. My mother began to explain to me in Armenian that when she was growing up, she learned that the "Evil Eye" was an ancient and widespread superstition.

She related this story to me. She said that in ancient and the current times we lived in, many persons by the glance of their eye, because they were envious of others, could possibly cause injurious effects even without their consent and even against their will. My mother told me that in some cases, mothers would not expose their infants to the look of their own fathers because they were superstitious that something bad would happen. She said that the people who had encountered rare ailments or unexplained misfortune were convinced that it was directly related to the possessor of the evil eye. But this was all superstition, and that I should not worry.

As my mother finished her story, she showed me her necklace that was given to her by her mother. The necklace had a cross and a small bead next to it. The small bead was the design of an "Eye", and my mother said she wore the "Good Eye" around her neck to shield our family from the "Evil Eye".

My mother told me to always be good and not to be envious of my friends and other children. She calmed my concern about the evil eye, and told me something that I will always remember - that the scripture in the Bible calls envy an "Evil Eye."

Thanks to Greg Krikorian for sharing some memories of his childhood.

Have a comment, contribution or suggestion? Click here and send it to us