CURIOSITY INDEX NO.7 A CONSTANT QUEST FOR PROTECTION
Dear Friends,
More than a year since my September 2021 Index. In the meantime a lot happened: a new house on which we have to do some work, my dad settled in a home closer to my mom with the upkeep of their daily needs, the acquisition of a kiln which will allow us to make our own tiles, and the loss of our dear cat from Marseille, Loucine. Also lots of visits from our friends this summer with travelling becoming easier,
Speaking of travelling, I have always known my mother coming out at the moment of my departure from home with a cup of water that she would spill after me, wishing my travels would be as smooth as the spilling water. Over the years I realized this was not something special about my mother or grandmother but a customary thing to do in many countries in the Balkans or the Middle East.
It seems that human kind, regardless of its faith, race or culture needs to seek forces for good and channel them for personal protection.
Growing up in Istanbul, the most common protection object was the well known Blue evil eye that you see everywhere from the undershirt of the newborn, to the entrance of stores or homes used to protect a person and to ward off evil spirits.
But guess what is happening to that emblematic amulet which dates back to 3300 BC in present day Turkey...
Thinking about amulets, talismans and protection I fell upon two interesting characters:
Dr Giuseppe Bellucci (1844-1921 Puglia)- a naturalist and chemist interested very early in ethnography and folklore who started collecting artefacts from central Italy (Umbria and Abruzze) related to prehistoric times. Passionate about amulets he travelled all over Italy, Tunisia and Libya looking for protective fetiches and gathered about 2000 pieces that were presented in various Universal Exhibitions at the turn of the 19th century with a special section of the hail and lightening stones to which people attributed extraordinary powers. Today the collection can be seen at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria.
Adrien de Mortillet (1854-1931)- professor at the Paris Anthropological School who gathered in about 50 years a collection of 6000 amulets related to magic and religion and 20.000 religious medals for protection. The collection is now at the Pitt Rivers Museum connected to Oxford University.
Of course we have to have a look at the Met's Islamic amulet and Talisman collection or the booklet of a 2016 exhibition called Power and Protection at the Royal Academy of Arts in London . The Egyptian amulet collection of the British Museum is also so inspiring specially since tomorrow 11/5/22 is the 100th anniversary of discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter. I wonder what will be discovered 12 centuries after us...
I will leave you with a little basket of curiosity, related to this Index and all worth bending into:
Yeelen (1986) the beautiful movie by the Malian director Souleymane Cissé which won the Jury Prize of 1987 Canne Festival. It's about the journey of a boy with magical powers traveling to find his father also a magician (turn on english subtitles in settings).
This incredible document, that has pictures of a collection of amulets and talismans of the Musee de l'Homme in Paris, all gathered in the trash in Senegal (1983-2016) by Alain Epelboin.
A few ex-voto from the Normand style Duomo di Cefalu (Sicily),my travel journal animated by Nina-
Thank you once again for taking the time to read, please don’t hesitate to comment, share and open up your world to us.
Lots of Love,
Talin
PS: here is a little MAGIC song for you, please listen -