Terebess
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hamsza vagy Fátima keze (amulett)
Az arab világban szemverés ellen sokfelé viselnek nyitott tenyeret ábrázoló ékszereket. Észak-Afrikában ezt a fajta amulettet „Fátima (Mohamed próféta lánya) kezé”-nek hívják.
Az Izraelben oly divatos hamsza (hamsa, khamsa, chamsa = arabul „öt”, a kéz öt ujjára utal) valójában az iszlám folklór terméke, s Izraelben maghrebi zsidók honosították meg a viselését. Héberül hames(h)-nek vagy „Mirjám (Mózes nővére) kezé”-nek is mondják.
Indiában: humsa hand. Rendszerint aránytalanul nagy szemmel a közepén.
Legtöbbször stilizált, szimmetrikus alakú ez a kéz amulett, mintha a három középső ujj jobb- és balodalán is egy-egy kihajló hüvelykujj lenne.
The Legend of the Hamsa Hand
The daughter of Prophet Muhammad, Lady Fatima, was busy preparing supper, when her husband, Prophet Ali, returned home unexpectedly. To her amazement, Fatima saw that Ali was accompanied by a beautiful young concubine. Fatima was deeply hurt by this scene but managed to keep her calm and continued to prepare the meal. She was preparing Halva (a sweet Mediterranean dish made from sesame seeds) on a hot frying pan and absentmindedly, under the influence of the disturbing seen she previously saw, she put her hand inside the boiling dish, and stirred. She was so disturbed that she didn't even feel the pain. Her husband saw what was happening and cried over to her, to warn her. Only then Fatima realized that her hand was getting burned and she quickly took her hand out of the pan.
As a result of this accident, Fatima's hand became an important symbol in the Middle East. During many hundreds of years this symbol was worn in different ways. As a necklace made up of many little hands, as a single amulet on a chain or as an artistic decoration on a wall. It is believed that the Hamsa can bring good luck to it's owners and recompense them for their loyalty and forbearance.
