A lecture at the International Conference on Jews of Yemen
Oct/100
As part of The International Conference on Jews of Yemen: Identity and Heritage, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, State of Israel, 18-19 October 2010, I gave a lecture on: “Do we have the Shalom Shabazi Pentateuch? Its Art program (JTS L104)“.
New Article: The Scorpion
Oct/100
Baessler-Archiv, volume 57, 2009, was published and pp. 75-101 includes my article: The Scorpion.
The phenomenon of pilgrimage to Taizz, south west Yemen, to the grave of the Jewish and Yemeni Poet Shalom (Salim) al-Shabazi (1619-1680+) is well known. However, the scorpion in that context has been less scrutinized. I wish to focus on the phenomenon of pilgrimage to his grave, by Jews and Muslims, from the point of view of art history. The target is to shed light on the scorpion as a symbol of fertility. The basis is the belief that visiting his grave will cure infertility. While being there, the appearance of an alive scorpion was considered a sign of cure.
The scorpion will be shown in four new types of Jewish Jewellery from the Jewish community at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב outside San’a from the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, as well as, its origin in Jewish and Islamic Art and belief.
From 1882 till 1950 Jews of Yemen made “Alia” (come back) to Israel. This had turn Israel to the only place in the world to research phenomena of Jews of Yemen in real time of its still happening in Yemen, including Jewellery. The Scorpion is the main iconography of four types of Jewellery brought into Israel, as well as, existed at the Jewish community at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב outside San’a in parallel time: Labbah (s.), Lazem (s.), Khoratah (s.) and Aqrabe (s.).
All the four are new types dated to nineteenth and twentieth centuries, not known in the eightieth century in San’a. There is no scorpion at all in Jewish iconography in the Jewish community at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב in the eighteenth century, except only from one type of Jewellery dated from the end of the eighteenth century / the beginning of the nineteenth century, of which I named “Humat al-aqrab”(s.) – “Scorpion’s Venom” (http://www.oraberger.co.il/phd/).
This paper is concerned with the scorpion in the above mentioned new types of Jewish Jewellery. At the essence of its existence lie three questions. First, whose scorpion is it? Second, is the scorpion a new iconography in Yemen? Third, what is the art formula of the scorpion and what we can conclude out of that?