Tag Archives: hamsa

the shuk

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9

{walls covered in evil eyes and hamsas are kind of my version of heaven}

This trip to Israel has been and will be fairly low-key.

Yesterday I slept for about 15 hours or so at our apartment (and I don’t ever sleep! World’s number one insomniac, here) and we will not even be visiting our hometown of Haifa (is it still a hometown if you left when you were really little?).

I hope somebody finds a cure for Crohn’s disease soon.

…

Today we went to Jerusalem (I think today was the coldest day the Middle East has ever seen). I both love and hate Jerusalem. I love it for its historical and spiritual meaning (and okay let’s be serious – what I really love is the “shuk” – or market – in the Old City). But I hate it for its religious and political tension. I do not particularly care for politics. I just want everybody to love each other and get along (I may have been a hippie in another life).

We had a good time eating our body weight in hummus and pita bread, haggling with an old Arab man at the shuk (the confused look he gave me when I bought both Christian and Jewish items was priceless), breaking umbrellas (seriously. The weather was horrible) and chatting with a very nice Irish couple we met that honeymooned in Iran (…all I can say is I’d never heard that one before).

inked

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14

I did it. I grew a pair of balls cahoonas.

I never thought I would actually do it. But it’s so meaningful to me. In so many ways. I don’t think I’ll ever get another (actually, I hope I don’t. Because this one means so much. And I believe it deserves to be the center of attention).

This is so important to me because:

(1) ever since I was really young, I’ve been obsessed (I mean, like totally obsessed) with hamsa and evil eye symbolism. Not only do I think they look lovely and exotic, but they are a part of my culture and beliefs. I’m all for multiculturalism (heck, I’m dating someone who comes from a completely different culture), but I also believe in holding on to traditions that are important to me.

(2) I’ve also always been obsessed with eyes. I drew eyes in my school notebooks for years. My dad says I was obsessed because, perhaps, I thought someone was constantly watching me. And not in a good way. I can make sense of this now. Someone was watching me. My mother.

(3) Like I said, I love the symbolism behind the hamsa. Protection from the evil eye. Protection from evil.

(4) Even though for a long time I felt like I wasn’t “allowed” to say this, I have been through a lot in my life. And I haven’t always been protected. I deserve this protection that will always stay with me.

(5) Now that my mother (and as a result – at least metaphorically – the man that sexually abused me) is no longer in my life, I feel like this is a fresh new beginning. Hence the new tattoo, that is meant to protect me from all harm.

(6) While the design is based off of this design, my sister (the amazing artist!) helped me simplify it to the exact design that I was looking for. I adore my sister, so this, of course, is super meaningful to me.

(7) The fact that I got it done in Syracuse (here) is especially important to me. Syracuse is where I first learned to be free. To be myself.

I got it done on the inside of my wrist. Small and modest, but still there. Obviously, it’s nowhere near healed yet. I only got it done yesterday (thanks to my beautiful friend Alex for being there with me. She was right; it really didn’t hurt. Just stung a bit when he drew over my veins).

Anyway, I’m really happy with the result and I’m glad it will be with me always. I can’t wait for it to heal.

I hope Papi doesn’t get too mad.

ETA: I want to get the middle finger fixed a little bit, cause the design is a tad crooked. And it’s bugging me. Although it’s really not that big a deal and barely noticeable. Do I have to wait for it to heal to get it fixed?

oh, the evil eye

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9

an evil eye, the evil inclination,

and the hatred of one’s fellows,

drive a person from the world.

(Avot 2:11)

photo via Flickr

I am utterly obsessed with evil eye and hamsa charms. As a young child, I lived in Israel and evil eyes are everywhere in the Mediterranean and some areas of the Middle East. I consider them a part of my culture, and yes, I feel that wearing the charms protect me from evil (go ahead, call me superstitious. But to me, wearing them is almost like wearing a Star of David or a cross. I am not very religious, but I do believe in God and I pray on my own) . One time, my best friend Alex (who is half-Greek) and I were talking about how popular evil eyes have become lately and how half the people that wear them don’t even understand what they mean. It’s annoying! (So maybe we’re snobs). But I’ve been wearing them since I was a young kid, and so has she. It’s a part of who we are.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I were to ever get a tattoo, it would be on my wrist, of a hamsa with an evil eye in the middle. But of course, I won’t, because my dad might die if I ever get a tattoo. And you all know how much I love Papi.

my hand, summer 2010

(clearly I was trying to ward off a LOT of evil. Namely in the form of an ED)

What’s your favorite thing about your culture? We all know how much Sana loves being Indian!

Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m multicultural myself. I spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years going to an American/international high school in Costa Rica and my grandparents are Polish. I think cultures are such a cool thing!