Culture and Envy

Abstract

This chapter considers the anthropological perspective on envy. It establishes a framework for thinking about envy, and then delves into ethnographic details, using as an example the society in which the author worked — the Swat Pukhtun of Northern Pakistan — where the evil eye is much feared and where a “culture of envy” prevails. The chapter describes telling instances of this cultural pattern, and shows how it both reflects and maintains the norms and values of the society. It also asks the important question of whether envy is indeed universal.

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