It’s found on pretty much every inhabited continent. I also found this essayon the symbol that has many other pics. However, I’m wondering if there is a particular name for the symbol, something like “vagina dentata” is an overlying term for that phenomenon in art and folklore regardless of culture or origin, or the way “pieta” has come to mean more than Mary and the body of Jesus (essentially any religious or emotionally powerful rendering featuring a mourner and a dead body).
Well, after looking around a bit it does have a Latin or Romantic Name (Catholic), Mano Ponderosa (lit. ponderous hand). I’m not sure if that is overarching or more religously descriptive, as in “the hand of God”.
Maybe? I’m just going by online articles that I have found with reference to the Khamsa. Could be a disambiguation.
Then again it could be ‘the pondering hand’ and not “the ponderous hand”- Mano Ponderando. The Eye in Palm does certainly seem as if it’s the hand that ponders or considers. In synesthetic terms, a combination of sight and touch senses.
Maybe in some cases, it was a symbol for a person actually holding an eye. Stealing the enemies sight would be a great talisman, if you took peoples eyes as battle totem, it would have great psychological effect as a cultural symbol. Buckeyes!
