Middle Eastern / North African

Hamsa (Hand of Fatima)

Across Middle Eastern and North African communities, the hamsa ("five" in Arabic) is an ancient protective symbol against the evil eye, known as the Hand of Fatima in Islam, the Hand of Miriam in Judaism, and the Hand of Mary in Christianity; it is often displayed at home entrances or worn as jewelry.

TraditionMiddle Eastern / North African
SymbolFive-fingered hand amulet against the evil eye
DomainsProtection · Grounding
Provenance URLhttps://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;qt;Mus22;21;en

Citation

Hennessey, Kate. "A Note on the Hand of Fatima." Ashgate Variorum, 2006.

The stored image URL is treated as provenance only, not as a display license. Display art should be original or verified open access.

Explore sourcing notes in the Appendix