Cultural beliefs and pragmatic practices: exploring the evil eye in Jordan

This study explores beliefs and practices surrounding the evil eye in Jordan, focusing on its cultural, religious, and pragmatic aspects. The study adopts a mixed-methods design combining a scenario-based questionnaire administered to 40 Jordanian participants with focus-group discussions. The research examines how Jordanian society perceives the evil eye, its harmful effects, and protective measures. Results showed a strong belief in the evil eye, with many participants linking it to envy and misfortune. Protective practices, such as reciting Quranic verses and using expressions like Mashallah, are widely adopted, serving both preventive and interactional functions in everyday communication. These practices operate not only as spiritual safeguards but also as pragmatic strategies that regulate social relations and mitigate potential envy. Younger generations exhibit some skepticism, but belief in the evil eye remains strong in Jordanian culture. By integrating quantitative patterns with qualitative insights, the mixed-methods approach allows for a more comprehensive understanding of both the prevalence of beliefs and their different pragmatic use. This research enhances understanding of how cultural and religious beliefs shape social behavior and communication, affecting individual and group dynamics. The paper concludes with implications for social interactions and suggests areas for future research, including cross-cultural comparisons and the role of digital communication.