The use of talismans is associated to different symbols and magical forces. They help to hunt the bad spirits and give force to the person who wears it. The use has been transmitted generation after generation, by oral tradition. There was a talisman and a specific occasion for its use, as for example the use for babies, children, women or elderly people in different moments of life. Jewish babies and small children used to wear hoods, full of amuletic pieces such as mother pearl, bells, chains and also coral beads. When girls were going to get married, they used to wear the hoodie (gargush) with an amulet of triangle shape and showing red decoration, meant to protect her fertility. Most of the jewellery was expected to protect the wearer from evil forces manifested as disease and different misfortunes, and to bring blessings such as good health and fertility.
The talismans have been manufactured in different shapes,like boxes, kutub (amulet cases) or squared shapes like the hirz amulet. The kutub or amulet cases were often filled with handwritten parchments.The Muslim population used to fill them with Suras from the Koran, written in Arabic, with wishes and followed by prayers.
The Jewish Population used to fill these Kutub with biblic paragraphs, prayers and Cabalistic formulas in Hebrew. Kutubs were originally worn to protect the wearer from a specific fear. It was a way to wear something real that will give the strength to fight the fear. We can see the Kutubs used as a part of the necklaces, associated with spheric dugag beads, ambar and coral antique beads.
Muslims and Jewish use to share some universal amulets and also they use to share some specific ones, the example is the snake head in the ending of some bracelets of the Northeast Yemen. The popularity of the snake was because they believed it protects against snakebites and also in general, as the snake was a medicinal symbol.
Since ancient times, the writing has been another a powerful amulet, as the words were seen as possessors of power. For the Muslim population, the usual writing was the ninety-nine names of God, Koranic verses or pious words, like Mashallah or Bismillah. The amulets that contain this writing are usually called hirz, meaning protection in Arabic; and the writing called Do´a, meaning prayer. The use of numbers as protectors is also found in both Bedouin and Jewish jewellery. For example the bells and dangling beads, they always appear in three, five or seven pieces, having the power of warding the wearer from the evil eye.
All the Middle Eastern Jewellery can be consider amuletic and the variety of motifs is very big. From geometric designs with amuletic powers, religious symbols, vegetal representations and parts of the human body as the hamzas or Fatima Hand. The Fatima hand is recognized as a symbol of protection in the whole Arab world, and also in the Jewish community where is known as the Hand of Mariam.
This world of amulets and talisman is so fascinating and it comes to the roots of our history as human beings.
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