Hamsa

September 6, 2008 03:06 PM

There are some cute tank tops on the souk rack at Sahara Dance Central with a glittery hamsa. I had seen this symbol before, but had no idea what it was. So, when I saw the symbol on the tank tops, I looked it up. The symbol (a hand with five fingers and an eye in the palm) is called hamsa and is used to ward off the evil eye. The evil eye! How prevalent is the evil eye in our culture? One can never be sure… it’s difficult to know whether someone is squinting, gazing, or invoking the evil eye.

What are the consequences of the curse of the evil eye? Well, it varies. For some, it just means that you are envied (the evil eye is simply being looked at with envy). Others think that being envied means you’ll get your comeuppance through misfortune, bad luck, illness, disease, or death. The evil eye is often associated with water, and a curse can cause drying, withering and dehydration. Fish are thought to be immune to the evil eye, because they are always wet; thus, some hamsas are paired with images of fish.

It is rather tempting to just blame bad luck on someone’s else’s envy, so wear a hamsa and no one will envy you!

The hamsa symbol is also called the Hand or Eye of Fatima, after Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad, or the Hand of Miriam, after the sister of Moses and Aaron. The Islamic and Jewish interpretation of the symbol is of a general “protecting hand” or “hand of God,” not a specific defense of the evil eye. It is a controversial symbol, though, as many Arabs, Christians and Muslims view the hamsa as superstitious idolatry; only God protects them.

More recently, the symbol has been appropriated by activists for Middle East peace to signify the similarities of Islamic and Jewish traditions.

So, when you wear your cute sparkly tank top, you’re brandishing an ancient symbol relevant to Arabic, Islamic, and Jewish cultures. You might be protecting yourself from envy, or dehydration, or you might be signaling that you advocate peace in the Middle East. That’s a pretty powerful top!

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