THE HAMSA
I last visited Morocco in 1971 at the tender age of
eighteen. One of the items that I brought back with me was a silver Hamsa, an
item I cherished for a while until it disappeared into the ethers with all the
odd socks, misplaced objects, and forgotten secrets of the world.
The Hamsa, or Hand of Fatima, is a symbol used in some form
or another in all the major religions. Hamsa, from the Arabic khamsah and also from the Hebrew hamesh, can be translated as the number
“five.” It is seen as a protective totem, a defense against the “evil eye” to
ward off wayward forces. It is usually depicted as an open right hand facing
palm outwards. An ancient symbol that baits the demonic elements to “talk to
the hand.” The amulet also can represent power, strength, or good luck.
The number five also has a special significance in both
numerology and in mystical religious thought. It is seen as the most dynamic of
numbers, representing change, fire and stigmata. In Islam there are links with
the pentagram of the five senses, the five daily prayers, and the Five Pillars
of Islam. In Christianity the Hamsa is also known as the Hand of Mary or the
Hand of the Virgin and often was related to fertility and healthy childbirth.
In Judaism the symbol appears as the Hand of Miriam and is also found in the
study of the kabbalah. The hand is similarly representative in the mudras of
Hinduism and Buddhism. The upward facing hand is linked with openness and the
five directions, wherein the mudra pertains to the casting out of fear.
