The Hand or Khmesa (BY YUSRA BOUTAQBOUT)

In north Africa, ornaments styled to resemble the hand are very common. Usually madde of metal to which magical signifiance is attached, they are worn mainly by woman, either singly or together with other charms, as necklace decorations in dimensions varying from half the size of a human hand to minaiture examples. The hand is fashioned in different ways: smooth, hammered, engraved or in open-work variously patterned but always made with great care. It is engraved on the main part of jewllery sets and is an important elements of all Libyan jewllery. The hand is designed with an open plam, the forefinger and "wedding ring " finger are the same length and symmetrical to the middle finger which is slightly longer. In other versions, the fingers form five equally-sized petal shapes attached to an open palm. The manner in which the fingers are presented is very important. They may be closely united or separated and spread out, the two positions having different meanings: the purpose of the united version is to drive away evil, while the spread fingers warn off evil spirits in a deprecating gesture. In the Westren world, this symbol is referred to as the ''hand of Fatima'', daugther of the Prophet. but Arabs, know it as khamsa or khmesa in its diminutive form,meaning five corresponding to the number of fingers. The Khmesa is a powerful ornament against the evil eye because the symbol of the hand links its own virtues to those contained in five, a speacil number for islam. The faithful pray five times a day with hands raised to the face in gesture as if averting evil with palms turned in the direction of the quibla or Mecca . The open, extended hand of the person at prayer symbolises protection, strength and power . Arabs accompany the hand movment with the expression ''Khamsa fi ainek !!! '' which means ''Five (fingers ) on you (your eye) '' . Scholars point our that the name Allah in Arabic contains five elements. The first letter ''Alif'' is the littel finger , the second is the first ''Lam '' , repersneting the ring finger , the third a double ''Lam'' repersents the middle and forefinger, while the ''A'', meaning ''He'' , is the thumb. the use of this symbolic hand is however much older than islam and its importance is connected with its great power, which is mysterious in origin. Life is born from hand wich creates and sews seeds. In a necropolis dating back to the Iron Age, skeletons have been found buried together with little hands made of bronze, bone or horn . In Ghirza , a pre-desert oasis locality in Libya, hands are engraved in the stone and are also found on the Punic setale in North Africa. According to the religious interpretation, Mohammed's disciples are said to have complained to him about the aboaitaion of sacred images whereupon the prophet plunged the five fingertips of his right hand into the ink and then pressed his hand on a piece of paper and showed it to his disciples. This action shook them to the depths of their being and, in that sign, they perceived the image of one of the most perfect and precious instruments givin by God to mankind (Narducci G. see Bibliography). The hand print and the five fingers are also concidered as symbols of five great and holy persons of Islam: Mohammed, Ali, Fatma, Hasan and Hussein.

The hand symbolises the five koranic laws: shahada (God is one and Mohammed is his prophet), the salat ritual prayer, the zakat ritual aims, fasting during Ramadan and Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

At the end of Ramadan, in the Eid Seghir celebration, a large-scale distribution of sweets and bread in the shape of hands takes place, while fabric and paper hands are handed out on the anniversary of the Prophets birth. Khmesa is worn even by children who, in the early years of adolescence, decorate their Taghia cap with various dangling amulets to keep at bay all negative influences.

BY YUSRA BOUTAQBOUT - 10B