Saphy (or Grigris)
Saphy (or Grigris)
Perhaps deriving from the Arabic safi ("pure, select, excellent"), saphy were charms or amulets worn by Africans as protection against thunderbolts and diseases, to procure wives, and to avert disasters of all kinds. They are composed of strips of paper on which sentences from the Koran are inscribed, sometimes intermixed with Kabbalistic signs. These strips are enclosed in silver tubes or silk bags, which are worn near the skin, often fastened in the dress. This is by no means a practice limited to Muslims; Africans of both sexes and many faiths have been believers in the occult properties of such talismans. The Scottish explorer Mungo Park (1771-ca. 1806) is said to have depended on the making of saphy or grisgris, as they are sometimes called.