The Khamsa in Contemporary Israeli Culture
The khamsa in Jewish Ethnic Communities
Studies that search for the khamsa's origins
and try to trace its development in different
Jewish communities generally agree that it traveled
from Spain to North Africa. The latter region, and
particularly Morocco, is believed to have been the
birthplace of the khamsa's two best-known traditional
forms. One is the naturalistic shape of a human palm,
with four fingers of nearly identical size, and a
thumb protruding outwards. The other common form is
the symmetrical, three-fingered khamsa, its middle
finger slightly loner that the rest and the two lateral
fingers curving sideways. The link between the palm of
the hand and the number five - a ling of some significance
for both Judaism and Islam - may explain why the khamsa
is so common in these two cultures, even outside the Mediterranean -
in Eretz Israel, Iraq, Kurdistan, Persia and Afghanistan - at least
in the 20th century, when most existing khamsas are believed to
have been made. Khamsa appear on Jewish religious articles and
on the implements used in Jewish rites marking the passage of
the year or the milestones of human life.
The khamsa, in its various forms, was most commonly used as an
amulet, as Jewelry, or as amuletic jewelry. These were personal
items, attached to the clothes, hung at the entrance to the
home or displayed on its walls. They were made by skilled
craftsmen using a variety of materials, including metal, paper,
parchment, leather, and woven and embroidered fabrics.
Sometimes other objects of symbolic value were added to the khamsa,
whether as a creative personal variation on the basic form, or
as a means of increasing the amulet's magic power. These additions
included beads made of blue material, glass or shiny metal,
usually combined into five-piece pendants; coins with a value
of five; Stars of David or pentagrams; keys and locks; pieces
of plants, coral or amber. Letters, names and verses inscribed
on the palm and/or fingers of the khamsa were also of great
importance.
The public display and discussion of amulets began in
the 1970s, at the initiative of Israel ethnographic museum.
The "old" amulets that had survived in private and institutional
collections combines aesthetic features with magical properties,
and were therefore a useful sample to study, analyze and compare.
The khamsa - especially when it was made of metal and had
outspread fingers - was undoubtedly more difficult to craft
that other traditional shapes (the square, circle, leaf,
triangle, and so on) and required a greater degree of
artistic skill. Engraving letters on its surface was also
no simple task.
Khamsas were made of silver and other metals, whose luster
was believed to ward off malevolent forces. Their ornamental
designs also increased their power as a protective segula
(remedy) against the evil eye. Common ornaments included
Stars of David, the divine name Shaddai, and the names of
angels. Both the raw material and the "additions" point to
the importance of the amulet's magical capacity and suggest
a desire to increase its power. The color blue, the number
five and certain Biblical verses were each known for their
ability to annihilate the evil eye and protect newborn babies.
The gradual legitimization of traditional culture in the
last two decades of the 20th century played a central role
in the khamsa's metamorphosis, prompting its emergence into
the public sphere in a new variety of forms and materials.
But evidence suggests that khamsas are also still used in
the traditional way: they are hung over the cribs of Israeli
babies, above doorways to protect the household from envious
guests, and near the mezuzah or fuse-box of stores and businesses.
Khamsas appear on gold and silver pendants, which are both
ornaments and lucky charms, and on personal amulets made of
paper and kept in the pocket.
Since the 1980s, the shape and uses of the khamsa have been
elaborated and developed. Tracing this process reveals
a transition from khamsas of traditional form and composition
to artistic khamsas, whose ornaments and symbols suit every
occasion and purpose. Newer variations include blue khamsas
and khamsas featuring Stars of David and inscribed with God's
names (replaced, in some cases, by the portrait of a venerated
rabbi or tzadik (righteous man), alongside the name of
the amulet's bearer. Some offer prayer for safe travel,
and are therefore given to soldiers of hung in cars.
Khamsas also adorn tiny editions of the Book of Psalms or
the Book of Raziel, presented as gifts and denoting good
luck and blessing. Then, of course, there are khamsas
decorated with beads, drawings of images of fish or eyes.
Some are inscribed with words such as Zion and Jerusalem,
or with biblical verses offering protection for children,
women in labor and ailing people of all kinds. Many khamsas
of this period feature the word "peace", a seeming substitute
for God's name, often accompanied by a blue dove.
Hagit Matras
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