[[Image:WPVA-khamsa.svg|220px|thumb|alt=Shaped like the palm of a hand with three long middle fingers and two very short fingers on either side, an eye prominently is displayed in the center of the palm|The Hamsa, a charm designed to ward off the evil eye]]
[[Image:WPVA-khamsa.svg|220px|thumb|alt=Shaped like the palm of a hand with three long middle fingers and two very short fingers on either side, an eye prominently is displayed in the center of the palm|The Hamsa, a charm designed to ward off the evil eye]]
The [[hamsa|khamsa]] figures among the amulets in Canaan’s collection with three named examples from Morocco acquired by purchase.<ref name=leiden/> This tradition of using representations of a human hand to ward off the evil eye is also represented in the natural objects he collected. One of the objects was a box containing sprays of rue, known as ”keff sabadie” or (“hand of rue”) because of the sprays similarity to a human hand (khamsa). The mother to whom the box belonged would hang the sprays of rue on her ill child’s nightcap to ward away the evil eye and promote healing.<ref name=brill/> Seeds of various fruit trees, such as lemon, were also used this way.<ref name=leiden>{{cite web|url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A3245913/view|author=Garcia Probert, M. A.|date=2021, December 1|title=Exploring the life of amulets in Palestine: from
The [[hamsa|khamsa]] figures among the amulets in Canaan’s collection with three named examples from Morocco acquired by purchase.<ref name=leiden/> This tradition of using representations of a human hand to ward off the evil eye is also represented in the natural objects he collected. One of the objects was a box containing sprays of rue, known as ”keff sabadie” or (“hand of rue”) because of the sprays similarity to a human hand (khamsa). The mother to whom the box belonged would hang the sprays of rue on her ill child’s nightcap to ward away the evil eye and promote healing.<ref name=brill/> Seeds of various fruit trees, such as lemon, were also used this way.<ref name=leiden>{{cite web|url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A3245913/view|author=Garcia Probert, M. A.|date=2021|title=Exploring the life of amulets in Palestine: from
healing and protective remedies to the Tawfik Canaan Collection of Palestinian Amulets|publisher=University of Leiden}}</ref> ”Keff Maryam” (“Hand of Mary”), the desert Rose if Jericho, was also in his collection with a note that the water it was placed in to bloom was drunk for its healing properties.<ref name=leiden/>
healing and protective remedies to the Tawfik Canaan Collection of Palestinian Amulets|publisher=University of Leiden}}</ref> ”Keff Maryam” (“Hand of Mary”), the desert Rose if Jericho, was also in his collection with a note that the water it was placed in to bloom was drunk for its healing properties.<ref name=leiden/>
Collection of Palestinian amulets
Beginning in 1910 and through until 1947, part of the ethnographic fieldwork Canaan undertook consisted of amassing a collection of more than 1,400 amulets and other objects related to popular medicine and folk practices.[1] He kept detailed records of his acquisitions and their applications, collecting many of these objects while working treating patients in Palestinian villages between 1913 and 1920, often purchasing them, but sometimes in lieu of payment or as gifts.[2] Others were acquired similarly from patients who came to him from Palestinian cities and villages, as well as those who came from other Arab locales in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen.[1]
Some of the items were purchased from antiquity dealers, like Ohan, a well-known Armenian who had a shop in ad-Dabbaghah Quarter in Jerusalem until 1948. Sheikhs, fortunetellers, and Sufis who prepared amulets were among Canaan’s many acquaintances and sources, including Ibrahim Hassan al-Ansari (Ad-Danaf), a custodian of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount), Sheikh ‘Atif ad-Disy, a Qadiriyyah follower, and Sheikh Mahmoud al-‘Askari al-Falakki from al-Dhahiriyyah, a famous fortuneteller in Jerusalem.[3]
Canaan believed there was a close relationship between popular beliefs and superstitions marshalled to ward away and cure diseases, and scientific medicine. The interviews he conducted with the individuals who wore and used talismans constituted an important part of his analysis, and he complemented their first-hand testimonies by the consulting specialized sources on sorcery and witchcraft. He wrote about the meanings of the shapes, writings, letters and numbers used, in his attempts at deciphering some of the symbols, and published an article on his findings in a journal produced by Antiquities Museum of the American University in Beirut in 1937.[1]
Drawing upon his medical background, Canaan classified the amulets by etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, prophylaxis, and treatment under these chapter headings in his book Superstition and Popular Medicine (1914). Evil spirits, such as the Qarinah, “Mother of Boys”, and the evil eye are discussed in the chapter on etiology. In the chapter on prophylaxis, he covers charms, amulets, and beads, such as the blue bead, eyes, and the use of alum. Uses for the branch of the mes-tree (celtis australis) that grows within the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) compound in Jerusalem, for example, are also described in detail. Placed in a necklace or on the head, the branch is said to have a special effect if harvested on Laylat al-Qadr (27 Ramadan), which in Islamic belief is the night the Quran was revealed. The chapter on treatment includes a comprehensive listing of all kinds of amulets and talismans, such as “the soul’s bead”, “the cat’s eye”, “the milk’s bead” (to encourage the production of breastmilk). In it Canaan also discusses jewelry and the special uses of animal parts, such as al-hitit-horn which he identifies as a useful treatment for poisoning.[4]
The khamsa figures among the amulets in Canaan’s collection with three named examples from Morocco acquired by purchase.[2] This tradition of using representations of a human hand to ward off the evil eye is also represented in the natural objects he collected. One of the objects was a box containing sprays of rue, known as keff sabadie or (“hand of rue”) because of the sprays similarity to a human hand (khamsa). The mother to whom the box belonged would hang the sprays of rue on her ill child’s nightcap to ward away the evil eye and promote healing.[5] Seeds of various fruit trees, such as lemon, were also used this way.[2] Keff Maryam (“Hand of Mary”), the desert Rose if Jericho, was also in his collection with a note that the water it was placed in to bloom was drunk for its healing properties.[2]
Canaan’s collection was donated by his family to Birzeit University following his death.[6] It consists of:
- Amulets (Arabic: hujub) or talismans written on paper and placed in triangular cloth, leather wraps, cylinders or silver cases.
- Jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, rings and semiprecious stones. These items are still worn today although their status as amulets has since waned.
- Glass beads and stones of all types and colors used for healing and repelling the evil eye. Hebron glass beads in the shape of eyes of various sizes were given names including rooster eye, baby camel eye and camel eye.
- Paper amulets that include talismans, supplications and prayers, which were hung in homes for protection.
- Pilgrims‘ certificates bearing religious symbols of the three Semitic religions, in stamp or written form which were given to pilgrims who visited holy sites in Jerusalem and Hebron.
- Silver votive offerings, most of which are from Aleppo, Syria, and shaped in the form of the human body or its parts. These were hung in churches and on religious icons to heal illnesses and protect the health of children.
- Animal bones and tortoise shells, sometimes inscribed with talismanic writings and used primarily for treating epilepsy.[1]
- Twigs and sprigs from various trees and herbal bushes, among them rue, jujube and shajaret el mes.[5]
- Vessels such “fear cups” inscribed with Quranic verses and supplications. Water was placed in the cup and left under the light of the moon and stars for several nights before being given to an afflicted person to drink.
- Ceramic dishes inscribed with talismans for curing diseases and facilitating childbirth.[1]
The collection is considered a valuable resource for those interested in manifestations of magic in the popular beliefs underpinning folk medicine practices in Palestinian and Arab societies.[1]
