Hamsa

The hamsa (Arabic: خمسة, romanized: khamsa, lit. 'five', referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'), also known as the hand of Fatima, is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout North Africa and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings. Depicting the open hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the hamsa has been traditionally believed to provide defense against the evil eye.

This article is about the amulet. For other uses, see Hamsa (disambiguation) and Khamsa (disambiguation). For the Arabic letter, see Hamza.
"Eye of Fatima" redirects here. For the Camper Van Beethoven songs, see Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart.
"Hand of Fatima" redirects here. For the rock formation, see Hand of Fatima (rock formation).
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