🇹🇷 Turkey
The nazar boncugu, a blue glass bead with an eye, hangs in houses, on cars and on babies' clothes to turn aside envy. It is also given as a gift to new neighbours.
Read: NazarHealing, luck and protection
People everywhere have made charms, rites and habits to keep harm away and bring good fortune.
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People everywhere have made charms, rites and habits to keep harm away and bring good fortune. A red thread round the wrist, an evil-eye bead, a horseshoe over the door, a lucky coin, a herb bundle burned for blessing, a prayer said when a child sneezes: these are small, everyday customs, handed down in families. Many are tied to the care of the sick in traditional healing, and are described here as traditions that people keep, not as medical advice. They show how communities have always sought comfort, protection and hope, and how a symbol can steady the mind in uncertain times.
What it is for
Luck and protection customs speak to the fears and hopes that everyone has: health, safe journeys, good harvests, a baby born well and a house free of trouble. A charm gives a sense of control over what cannot be controlled. Traditional healing, which includes herbs, prayers, massage and ritual, is part of the wider heritage of a community and is often practised alongside modern medicine. This page describes such customs as tradition and does not offer medical advice. For any health concern, please see a qualified doctor.
Common elements across cultures
Common protective objects include beads and amulets, knots and threads, horseshoes, mirrors, bells and iron. Colours matter: red and blue ward off harm in many places, and white is for purity. Plants such as garlic, rue, neem, sage and mistletoe are hung, burned or worn. Words also protect, in prayers, verses, spells, blessings and the habit of saying "touch wood" or "bless you". Many rites are done at the turn of the year, at births, at weddings and at times of illness, and special people, such as healers, shamans or priests, may be called on.
Food, dress and music
Foods linked to luck are widespread: noodles for long life, lentils and grapes at the new year, round fruits, fish, sweet rice and red eggs. Some are medicinal in tradition, such as ginger tea, turmeric milk, chicken soup and herbal broths. Protective dress includes amulet bracelets, tattoos, talismans sewn into clothes and white or red cloth. Music and rhythm are used in healing ceremonies from Africa to the Americas, where drums, songs and dance are believed to help a person recover and make a community whole.
How it is changing
Some protective customs have become fashion, with evil-eye jewellery and crystals popular worldwide. Traditional medicine is studied by researchers, and ministries in many countries support the training of practitioners. Health authorities warn that some remedies are not safe and that serious illness should be treated by trained doctors. Many families hold both views at once, keeping a charm on the baby's wrist and taking the baby to the clinic. Respect for the tradition and for modern medicine is the sensible meeting point.
Healing, luck and protection around the world
🇬🇷 Greece
The mati, or evil eye, is guarded against by a blue bead, a clove of garlic and the habit of spitting lightly three times, ftou ftou ftou, after a compliment. Many Greeks also make the sign of the cross three times and say a prayer when someone is thought to have been touched by the eye.
Read: Evil eye🇮🇳 India
A black dot, kajal, is put on a baby's cheek to turn away the evil eye, and lemons and chillies are hung on a string above shop doors. Ayurveda, an old system of care, is widely used as a tradition.
Read: Nazar battu🇨🇳 China
Red is the colour of luck and protection, and red envelopes, red knots and red underwear in a zodiac year are common customs. Feng shui arranges the home, and traditional Chinese medicine remains a living practice.
Read: Feng shui🇯🇵 Japan
Omamori are small amulets from shrines, sold for safe travel, success in exams and health. Maneki-neko, the beckoning cat, brings luck to shops, and a daruma doll is painted with one eye when a goal is set.
Read: Omamori🇹🇭 Thailand
Monks give sacred white threads, sai sin, tied round the wrist for blessing, and people wear Buddhist amulets, phra khruang, believed to protect them. Spirit houses stand in gardens.
Read: Spirit houseTraditions to start with
Evil eyeA widespread protective belief.
OmamoriJapanese amulets from shrines.
Feng shuiThe art of placing things for harmony.Also part of it, and being written: Hamsa (The hand of Fatima.), Smudging (Native American cleansing with herbs.), Curandero (Latin American traditional healers.), Rongoā (Maori traditional healing.), Superstition (Everyday customs of luck.).
Questions people ask
Is this medical advice?
No. These are customs and traditions, described as the people who keep them describe them. For any health problem, please consult a qualified doctor.
Why is the evil eye so widespread?
Envy and its fear seem to appear in all societies, and a simple charm gives a way to answer them. The belief is documented from ancient Greece and Mesopotamia and now appears across Europe, Asia and Africa.
Why are some colours protective?
Red is the colour of blood and life in many cultures, and blue is linked to the sky and water. The meanings differ, and a colour that is lucky in one place may be mournful in another.
Do people use charms alongside modern medicine?
Very often. Many families keep a traditional protection and also use doctors, and see the two as serving different needs.
What is smudging?
A sacred practice among many First Nations and Native American peoples of burning herbs such as sage, cedar and sweetgrass for cleansing and prayer. It is a living ceremony, and visitors are asked to respect it.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Healing, luck and protection on EveryParampara
The traditions written up so far, best known first.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreSouthern African traditional healing
Ancestral divination, herbal muthi, and spiritual care across Southern AfricaSpiritual
🇵🇭 Cebu, PhilippinesBatok
Indigenous Filipino tattooing, once worn as dress, rank and a rite of passageCraft
🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremonyNumbuk Yabbun
An Aboriginal Australian ritual of burning native plants to cleanse, heal and welcomeSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 morePostpartum confinement
A period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.Rite of passage
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing
The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress
🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿
Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaSlametan
A short communal meal on Java where neighbours share food, prayer and a wish for peaceSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe)
A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreHenna ceremonyليلة الحناء
A night of henna patterns on a bride's hands and feet, kept before the weddingRite of passage
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi)
A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 6 moreRed envelope紅包 / 红包 (hóngbāo)
Money in a red packet, given at Lunar New Year, weddings and other big daysEtiquette
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 morePolterabend
Guests smash porcelain the night before a wedding to wish the couple luckRite of passage
🇦🇲 Yerevan, Armenia and 5 moreKhachkarխաչքար
A carved stone cross raised as a memorial, a grave marker and a prayer in stoneCraft
🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptAncient Egyptian funerary practices
Rites for the dead in ancient Egypt: preserving the body, spells and grave goodsRite of passage
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea and 5 moreCouvade
Childbirth rituals where fathers take to bed and mimic the labor of childbirthRite of passage
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreShoe throwing
The act of hurling footwear for sport, wedding luck, protest or overhead display.Folklore
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreLustratio
An ancient Greek and Roman cleansing rite using processions and animal sacrifice.Spiritual
🇳🇵 NepalPatukaपटुका
A traditional Nepalese cloth sash worn for core support, carrying items and festivitiesDress
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack wedding
A traditional Jewish crisis wedding held in a cemetery to ward off diseaseSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarSavika
Traditional Betsileo zebu wrestling and courtship rite in MadagascarGame
🇮🇳 IndiaPrathamastami
An Odia ritual blessing the firstborn child for long life and good fortuneRite of passage
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa and 5 moreTooth ablation
A global custom of deliberately removing healthy teeth for social, ritual, or aesthetic reasons.Rite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jirtig: Alzain Mohammed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Postpartum confinement: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Traditional tattooing: Haa900, CC0, source
- Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feng shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Slametan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Southern African traditional healing: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Henna ceremony: No author provided, CC0, source
- Doljanchi: en:User:Jamsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Red envelope: Oldie~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khachkar: Arantz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancient Egyptian funerary practices: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shoe throwing: Zarateman, CC0, source
- Lustratio: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Savika: Obiniaina RANDRIANADRASANA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Prathamastami: Swetabiswal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tooth ablation: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Batok: Lee, CC BY 2.0, source
- Black wedding: American Colony Photo Department, Public domain, source