Envy as Spiritual Danger
The destructive power of envy and the need to guard against it.
Envy (evil eye) can cause real harm to its target - sickness, crop failure, animal death. For this reason, success is downplayed and good fortune is attributed to community or gods. Protective measures guard against others' envy.
Envy cuts both ways; it harms the envied and the envier.
Envy beliefs regulate displays of wealth and success.
Living Tradition
Written about in
- What Maya wisdom says about good and evil
Envy is thought to do real harm, to the person envied and to the one envying. It explains a habit of playing good fortune down rather than announcing it.
- What the Maya tradition says about envy and comparison
Envy is not filed as a private emotion but as a transmissible harm, blamed for sickness, crop failure and dead livestock. The proverb runs in both directions: it harms the envied and the envier alike.