Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation and accents have been standardised except in the Gaelic passages, but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

Italics are represented thus italic, bold thus =bold= and superscripts thus y^{en}.

EVIL EYE

IN THE

WESTERN HIGHLANDS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

THE GAMES AND DIVERSIONS OF ARGYLESHIRE. Demy 8vo, viii.-270 pp., cloth, uncut, 10s. 6d. net.

This volume forms No. 47 of the Publications of the Folk-Lore Society.

EVIL EYE

IN THE

WESTERN HIGHLANDS

R. C. MACLAGAN, M.D.

AUTHOR OF “THE GAMES AND DIVERSIONS OF ARGYLESHIRE”

LONDON DAVID NUTT, 57-59 LONG ACRE 1902

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. At the Ballantyne Press

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION 1

EVIL EYE 10

LOCALITY OF BELIEF 20

SOCIAL POSITION OF BELIEVERS 22

DESCRIPTION OF POSSESSORS OF EVIL EYE 24

OBJECTION TO MEETING AN EVIL EYE 28

AVOIDING SUSPICION OF EVIL EYE 32

ACTION OF EVIL EYE INDEPENDENT OF POSSESSOR 35

EVIL EYE TAKES EFFECT EVEN ON THINGS NOT SEEN 37

MORAL SOURCE OF THE EVIL EYE 40