Anthropology Women of Deh Koh:

Anthropology

Women of Deh Koh: Envy and the Evil Eye among Iranian Women

Erika Friedl's Women of Deh Koh: Lives in an Iranian Village represents an intriguing, prose-style anthropological study of the lives of women in an Iranian village. Friedl examines the lives of these women and the nuances of their cultural experiences through twelve chapters, each of which tells a particular story about life in the village. The purpose of my own examination of Friedl's text is more pointed and is directed at answering two points. One, how do the women of Deh Koh conceptualize the favored trait of not being envious and how do they strive to cultivate this trait? Two, what is one specific way in which the evil eye affects belief and behavior among the women in this village?

Envy is a trait that is obviously eschewed in this culture. Not being envious of others is valued, although it would seem that this is a difficult ideal to live up to. Setara, the first-person narrator from Chapter 10, indicates how envy and jealous infected her life when she married Tehrani. She says that the other people in the village were jealous of her for a number of reasons. She explains, "People were jealous of me because I had a nice, clean house and an understanding, educated husband" (Friedl 192). This should not come as a surprise. No matter the culture, when another individual possesses something desirous, it can be difficult for others to ignore this disparity and not react with envy.

Setara explains that the other people were envious also because of her lack of want for new things, because of her ability to cook a variety of meals, and because she was blessed with three healthy baby boys (Friedl 192). In this, it seems that Setara's experiences with the other members of the village were rife with envy. In fact, if culturally not being envious is valued, then this trait must represent one of the more difficult traits to achieve. We can see why if we consider the extent of the envy that permeated Setara's community. Setara's experiences indicate that envy is a powerful force and yet one which is devalued in the community, perhaps because of its ability to fragment the community. Setara points out wisely, "There is nothing more deadly than the wagging of tongues" (Friedl 192).

Whereas not being envious is an individual trait that is prized in the Deh Koh community but which is difficult to achieve, superstitious beliefs are much easier to manifest. For example, consider the phenomenon of the evil eye. Among this rural Iranian community, the evil eye represented a kind of gaze that could be cast-sometimes intentionally and sometimes not -- that can cause harm to others. The evil eye is a common concept throughout the Middle East and in many other communities. In the modern world, most consider the evil eye to be little more the ridiculous superstition. However, for the women of Deh Koh, the evil is very real and affects their behavior and reactions to life events.