Khamsa

The khamsa (from the Arabic for "five," referring to the five fingers) is a hand-shaped amulet believed to protect against the evil eye and misfortune. It appears across North Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean in jewellery, ceramics, wall decoration, and textiles.

In Morocco, the khamsa is sometimes called the Hand of Fatima (Kaf Fatima), associating it with Fatima al-Zahra, daughter of the Prophet, though the symbol predates Islam and has roots in ancient Amazigh and Phoenician protective traditions.

As a woven motif, the khamsa appears occasionally in Amazigh textiles, typically as a stylised open-hand form in border compositions or as an isolated protective element. More common are the lozenge and eye forms, which carry similar protective associations in a more geometrically integrated form.