the hand of fatima in morocco

In Istanbul a few years ago, I was exploring the amazing collection of old artwork and calligraphy in a little shop nearby the grand bazaar, and a small well-worn silver talisman caught my eye.  It looks and feels like someone has stroked it so many times that the silver has started to slowly melt.  The edges of the form of the hand have softened to an organic shape, and the pattern detail is nearly dissolved. 

turkish talisman

I’ve worn the talisman on a silk cord around my neck since then, and kept my eye out for others like that – but I had not seen any.  Today I’m in Marrakech, and there are many of these symbols – everywhere.  Mostly they are mass produced tourist trinkets in thin stamped metal with a fake stone mounted in the center, the eye.  Nothing in the character of these objects is captivating – except for the idea that they have a powerful symbolic meaning. 

the souks of marrakech

There is the captivation of the place – the souks – an endless labyrinth of shops.  At first it’s overwhelming – the chaos of motorcycles, bicycles, hand carts, and people of amazing diversity.  Discoveries emerge as you immerse, and go deeper – patterns, layers under layers of what is sensed, seen, tasted, scented.  The hand talisman are found in every small jewelry collection in hundreds of shops.

marrakech souk - jewelry shop

essaouira - souk jewelry collection

In this part of the world the symbol is called The Hand of Fatima, and links back beyond ancient Egypt; its meaning represents both power and protection, on the temporal plane as well as the spiritual. The hand works, it creates, it guides, it protects.  The symbol is also known as khamsa and the Eye of Fatima in Islamic tradition. The Hand of Fatima is made in the form of talisman, amulets, jewelry and architectural details. Although predating Islam, the symbol has been widely assimilated into Islamic art and popular culture.  There is also a symbolic link to the number 5, five fingers, the five pillars of Islam.

And when you keep looking you find it in more places.

marrakech - spice shop

And more places – as a protection…

essaouira port

ourika valley - the shadow of the atlas mountains

And as a greeting, a way of entering…

marrakech - door

All individually crafted by hand, sculpted metals with all variations of finish, texture, form, pattern, color, and composition with the door and it’s hardware – carefully displayed works of art, design, identity – punctuating the pink earth and stone walls of the city.  A small detail discovered in the amazing complexity and richness of this place. 

A few of them made their way home with me, along with the collection of images.  There are many meanings I think about as I study these, the hand as an eye – a way of seeing, as a way of connecting to others and to the world, as an opening of the individual spirit to the universal, as a tool of making, of loving, of being, human.

paris boutique window