Indigenous Coexistence in the Tawfiq Canaan Palestinian Amulet Collection

Coding the Ecumenical Frame: Popular Cryptography and Indigenous Coexistance in the Tawfiq Cannon Palestinian Amulet Collection

Since the origins of the alphabet, the peoples of the Mediterranean Basin have incorporated cryptographic
sciences (ἰσοψηφία | فورحلا ملع | הירטמיג ( into sacred practces. This talk investgates an ancient traditon’s
modern legacy through analysis of alpha-numeric codes inscribed on amulets first collected in Mandatory
Palestine between 1930 and 1936 by the medical anthropologist Tawfiq Canaan. An ecumenical
assemblage of recently rediscovered “magic square” talismans will illuminate the broader lifeworld
of syncretic healing and intercommunal pilgrimage in which these objects once
circulated. And evidence for this indigenous tradition of coexistence can overturn assumptions about the political ontology of the
modern Middle East.'

Dr. Zachary Sheldon, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh