It is worthy of note that the symbol of an open hand with extended
fingers was a favorite talisman in former ages, and was to be seen, for
example, at the entrances of dwellings in ancient Carthage. It is also
found on Lybian and Phœnician tombs, as well as on Celtic monuments in
French Brittany.[38] Dr. H. C. Trumbull quotes evidence from various
writers showing that this symbol is in common use at the present time in
several Eastern lands. In the region of ancient Babylonia the figure of
a red outstretched hand is still displayed on houses and animals; and in
Jerusalem the same token is frequently placed above the door or on the
lintel on account of its reputed virtues in averting evil glances. The
Spanish Jews of Jerusalem draw the figure of a hand in red upon the doors
of their houses; and they also place upon their children’s heads silver
hand-shaped charms, which they believe to be specially obnoxious to
unfriendly individuals desirous of bringing evil either upon the children
themselves, or upon other members of the household.
In different parts of Palestine the open-hand symbol appears alike on
the houses of Christians, Jews, and Moslems, usually painted in blue
on or above the door.[39] Claude Reignier Conder, R. E., in “Heth and
Moab,” remarks on the antiquity of this pagan emblem, which appears on
Roman standards and on the sceptre of Siva in India. He is of the opinion
that the figure of the red hand, whether sculptured on Irish crosses,
displayed in Indian temples, or on Mexican buildings, is always an
example of the same original idea,—that of a protective symbol.
A white hand-print is commonly seen upon the doors and shutters of
Jewish and Moslem houses in Beyrout and other Syrian towns; and even the
Christian residents of these towns sometimes mark windows and flour-boxes
with this emblem, after dipping the hand in whitewash, in order to “avert
chilling February winds from old people and to bring luck to the bin.”[40]
In Germany a rude amulet having the form of an open hand is fashioned out
of the stems of coarse plants, and is deemed an ample safeguard against
divers misfortunes and sorceries. It is called “the hand of Saint John,”
or “the hand of Fortune.”
The Jewish matrons of Algeria fasten little golden hands to their
children’s caps, or to their glass-bead necklaces, and they themselves
carry about similar luck tokens.
In northwestern Scotland whoever enters a house where butter is being
made is expected to lay his hand upon the churn, thereby signifying that
he has no evil designs against the butter-maker, and dissipating any
possible effects of an evil eye.[41]
As a charm against malevolent influences, the Arabs of Algeria make use
of rude drawings representing an open hand, placed either above the
entrances of their habitations or within doors,—a symbolical translation
of the well-known Arabic imprecation, “Five fingers in thine eye!”
Oftentimes the same meaning is conveyed by five lines, one shorter than
the others to indicate the thumb, thus [Illustration].[42]