A small closed hand with the thumb pushed between two fingers, worn in Spain and Portugal against the evil eye, and carried on to Brazil. The V&A holds a 19th-century Spanish one. Made with a real hand, the gesture can be rude.
Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds a 19th-century Spanish figa, carved in coral and made against the evil eye. The hand sign it shows is much older than the charm: it goes back to the Roman manus fica.
To verify: A source for the sign’s Roman origin, the manus fica
The Science Museum holds a Portuguese amulet of horn from 1850–1920. Old figas were cut from wood, horn or jet. From Portugal and Spain the charm crossed to Latin America, and it is worn in Brazil too.
To verify: That the Science Museum’s horn amulet is a figa, and its full record; A source, with dates, for the figa in Brazil
Made with your own hand, the figa sign can be rude, so take care where you show it. Worn as a charm, it is a small closed hand. Ours is made in metal only, with no coral and no horn. For the Italian fig hand, see the mano fico.
