{
 "schema": 1,
 "id": "tama-votive",
 "type": "amulet",
 "names": {
  "name": "Tama",
  "native": "τάμα",
  "script": "Greek",
  "lang": "el",
  "said": "TAH-ma, plural tamata",
  "aliases": [
   "tamata",
   "τάματα",
   "Greek votive plaque",
   "Orthodox votive"
  ]
 },
 "etymology": {
  "root": "Greek τάμα, plural τάματα — the vow itself, used for the metal thing that carries it",
  "note": "Same move as Spanish milagro, where the word for the miracle becomes the word for the tin leg pinned under the saint. The vow and the object share a name in both languages.",
  "tier": "cited",
  "source": "s:wp-tama-votive"
 },
 "region": [
  "greece-aegean",
  "rome-italy",
  "balkans",
  "diaspora"
 ],
 "countries": [
  "GR",
  "IT"
 ],
 "facets": {
  "era": "medieval",
  "status": "living",
  "portable": "placed",
  "restricted": "open",
  "hemisphere": [
   "N",
   "E"
  ]
 },
 "text": {
  "what": "A small metal plaque, base metal or precious, with an image embossed on it: a heart, an eye, a hand, a leg, a whole kneeling figure, a house, a baby, a ship. A ribbon runs through it. It gets hung on a pole or a hook beside the icon of a saint, and it is left there.",
  "story": "Go and stand in front of a much-visited Greek icon and you will not see the icon. You will see silver.\n\nA tama is offered either as a reminder of what the petitioner needs or in thanks for a prayer already answered — the cited account puts both uses on the same object and does not separate them, and the offering is usually made with a prayer and sometimes with a votive candle lit beside it. The shape aims it. A heart may mean a heart condition or it may mean love. Eyes mean an eye affliction. Hands or legs mean maladies of the limbs.\n\nThe Spanish-speaking world's milagro is the same object and the atlas says so on that record. Here is what a reader standing on this page gets that the milagro page cannot give: the tama has a named origin story with a hand in it. John of Damascus, serving as vizier to the caliph al-Walid I, was falsely accused of treachery and had his hand cut off. Praying before an icon of the Theotokos, he found the hand restored. In thanks he had a silver replica of it made and fixed it to the icon. That icon, called Trojeručica — the Three-handed — is preserved at Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, and it is the reason the story is not just a story: the object it describes is still on the wall.\n\n*Inference —* the difference between the two traditions is where the metal goes, not what it means. A milagro hangs on a robe or a retablo in a Catholic church and also, sometimes, gets carried in a pocket for luck. A tama goes onto the icon, and the icon is not a picture of a saint in Orthodox practice but the place the saint is met. The plaque is therefore pinned to a person, in the tradition's own terms, rather than to a painting of one.\n\nTamata are not the only thing left. Orthodox Christians also offer candles, prosphora — the bread baked for the liturgy — wine, oil and incense, and many leave something of their own worth instead: jewellery, a pectoral cross, a military decoration. *Inference —* a medal a man was given for war, hung on an icon because a prayer was answered, is the most compressed object in this whole atlas.\n\nThey are bought in shops selling Greek Orthodox religious goods, and the practice runs beyond Greece: the cited account records tamata in Italy too, particularly in the south, where they stand next to the Catholic ex-voto trade rather than instead of it.",
  "how": "Stamped or cast, pierced, threaded with a ribbon, and hung on a pole or a hook by the icon — the hanging done by the petitioner, with a prayer, sometimes with a candle. Nothing consecrates the plaque before it is offered; the offering is the act. They accumulate. What a church does with a wall of them after some years is not described by the sources read here, and this record does not guess.",
  "today": "Still sold in Greek Orthodox religious-goods shops and still hung on icons in Greece and in southern Italy, and wherever the Greek diaspora has built a church. No dated price was read for this record."
 },
 "dating": {
  "period": "not dated by the sources read here",
  "from_year": null,
  "to_year": null,
  "living": true,
  "label": "undated here; the John of Damascus hand is the earliest named instance; offered now",
  "method": "undated",
  "tier": "cited",
  "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
  "note": "The cited sources give no year for the practice. The silver hand attributed to John of Damascus and preserved at Hilandar is the earliest named instance they carry, and they give it no date either, so none is asserted. Greek votive offering as a general practice is described in the votive offering article from Olympia and Delphi onward, also without years attached to the tamata specifically."
 },
 "object": {
  "form": "plaque",
  "materials": [
   "silver",
   "gold",
   "copper"
  ],
  "worn": [
   "wall"
  ],
  "made_by": "metal stampers selling through Greek Orthodox religious-goods shops; no restriction on who may offer one",
  "inscription": "usually none — the embossed image is the message",
  "colour": [
   "silver",
   "gold"
  ],
  "single_use": true,
  "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
  "note": "The cited source says the plaques 'may be of base or precious metal' without naming which base metals, so tin and brass are not asserted here. single_use is true in the sense that a tama is offered once and left; it is not worn or renewed. No published measurement was read, so no length_mm is entered."
 },
 "against": [
  {
   "harm": "illness",
   "who": "petitioners, who choose the shape to match the affliction",
   "quote": "A heart may symbolize a prayer for love or a heart problem. Eyes may indicate an eye affliction, hands or legs may indicate maladies of the limbs.",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "loneliness",
   "who": "petitioners again, for the heart that means love rather than a heart condition — the cited source gives the two readings of the same shape side by side",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
   "tier": "cited"
  }
 ],
 "kin": [
  {
   "to": "milagro",
   "as": "the same object in Spanish — the cited accounts on both sides call them equivalents, and this is the one that goes on an icon rather than on a robe",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "to": "ex-voto-wall",
   "as": "what a much-visited icon looks like after some hundreds of these have been hung on it",
   "rel": "art"
  },
  {
   "to": "ladanka",
   "as": "the other Orthodox object in this atlas — that one is worn on the body, this one is given away",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "to": "votive-wall",
   "as": "the wall this ends up on, and the form the offering takes when there are enough of them",
   "rel": "art"
  },
  {
   "to": "silver",
   "as": "the metal of the costly version, and the reason a wall of these is worth something",
   "rel": "material"
  },
  {
   "to": "eye",
   "as": "one of the shapes stamped on them, here meaning an eye that hurts rather than an eye that looks",
   "rel": "motif"
  },
  {
   "to": "hand",
   "as": "the shape with the oldest story attached to it — John of Damascus had a silver one made for the hand he said was restored",
   "rel": "motif"
  },
  {
   "to": "blessing-at-a-shrine",
   "as": "the act the object exists for, done by the petitioner and not by a priest",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "monastiraki",
   "as": "one Athens market where the religious-goods shops selling these are within a few streets",
   "rel": "place"
  }
 ],
 "confusable_with": [
  {
   "id": "milagro",
   "tell": "there is no reliable tell in the metal — the shapes and the thickness match. The tell is the wall: a tama hangs on a ribbon beside an Orthodox icon, a milagro is pinned to a Catholic saint's robe or a retablo"
  }
 ],
 "links": [
  {
   "label": "Tama (votive) — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tama_(votive)"
  },
  {
   "label": "Votive offering — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_offering"
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  "s:wp-tama-votive",
  "s:wp-votive-offering",
  "s:wp-ex-voto",
  "s:wp-milagro-votive"
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "default": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive"
  },
  "fields": {
   "text.story": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-votive-offering",
    "note": "the John of Damascus account and the list of other Orthodox offerings come from the votive offering article, which reports the hand story as tradition; the two stretches marked *Inference —* are this project's"
   },
   "text.today": {
    "tier": "inference",
    "note": "current sale reasoned from the cited accounts; no market figure and no dated price read"
   },
   "text.how": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
    "note": "what happens to an accumulated wall of tamata is not described by the sources read here, and this record says so rather than borrowing the answer from the milagro record"
   }
  }
 },
 "images": [],
 "x_commons_files": [
  "File:Tamata.jpg",
  "File:Greek votive offerings tamata.jpg"
 ],
 "confidence": "high",
 "updated": "2026-09-17",
 "blurb": "A small metal plaque, base metal or precious, with an image embossed on it: a heart, an eye, a hand, a leg, a whole kneeling figure, a house, a baby, a ship. A ribbon runs through it.",
 "region_terms": [
  {
   "key": "greece-aegean",
   "name": "Greece and the Aegean",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "rome-italy",
   "name": "Rome and Italy",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "balkans",
   "name": "The Balkans",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "diaspora",
   "name": "Diaspora",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "S",
    "E",
    "W"
   ],
   "note": "a practice carried out of its home region and kept"
  }
 ],
 "hemispheres": [
  "E",
  "N",
  "S",
  "W"
 ],
 "kin_out": [
  {
   "to": "milagro",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Milagro",
   "as": "the same object in Spanish — the cited accounts on both sides call them equivalents, and this is the one that goes on an icon rather than on a robe",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "to": "ex-voto-wall",
   "type": "art",
   "name": "The ex-voto wall",
   "as": "what a much-visited icon looks like after some hundreds of these have been hung on it",
   "rel": "art"
  },
  {
   "to": "ladanka",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ladanka",
   "as": "the other Orthodox object in this atlas — that one is worn on the body, this one is given away",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "to": "votive-wall",
   "type": "art",
   "name": "The votive wall",
   "as": "the wall this ends up on, and the form the offering takes when there are enough of them",
   "rel": "art"
  },
  {
   "to": "silver",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Silver",
   "as": "the metal of the costly version, and the reason a wall of these is worth something",
   "rel": "material"
  },
  {
   "to": "eye",
   "type": "motif",
   "name": "The eye",
   "as": "one of the shapes stamped on them, here meaning an eye that hurts rather than an eye that looks",
   "rel": "motif"
  },
  {
   "to": "hand",
   "type": "motif",
   "name": "The hand",
   "as": "the shape with the oldest story attached to it — John of Damascus had a silver one made for the hand he said was restored",
   "rel": "motif"
  },
  {
   "to": "blessing-at-a-shrine",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Blessing at a shrine",
   "as": "the act the object exists for, done by the petitioner and not by a priest",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "monastiraki",
   "type": "place",
   "name": "Monastiraki",
   "as": "one Athens market where the religious-goods shops selling these are within a few streets",
   "rel": "place"
  }
 ],
 "source_list": [
  {
   "id": "s:wp-tama-votive",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Tama (votive)",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tama_(votive)",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-votive-offering",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Votive offering",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_offering",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-ex-voto",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Ex-voto",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-voto",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-milagro-votive",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Milagro (votive)",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milagro_(votive)",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  }
 ],
 "tiers": {
  "text.what": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive"
  },
  "text.story": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-votive-offering",
   "note": "the John of Damascus account and the list of other Orthodox offerings come from the votive offering article, which reports the hand story as tradition; the two stretches marked *Inference —* are this project's"
  },
  "text.how": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
   "note": "what happens to an accumulated wall of tamata is not described by the sources read here, and this record says so rather than borrowing the answer from the milagro record"
  },
  "text.today": {
   "tier": "inference",
   "note": "current sale reasoned from the cited accounts; no market figure and no dated price read"
  },
  "etymology": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive"
  },
  "dating": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive"
  },
  "object": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive"
  }
 },
 "primary_image": null,
 "tag_facts": [],
 "recognition_facts": [],
 "acclaim": 0,
 "against_facts": [
  {
   "key": "illness",
   "label": "Illness",
   "gloss": "sickness in general, where no cause is named",
   "who": "petitioners, who choose the shape to match the affliction",
   "quote": "A heart may symbolize a prayer for love or a heart problem. Eyes may indicate an eye affliction, hands or legs may indicate maladies of the limbs.",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "loneliness",
   "label": "Going unloved",
   "who": "petitioners again, for the heart that means love rather than a heart condition — the cited source gives the two readings of the same shape side by side",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-tama-votive",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  }
 ],
 "material_facts": [
  {
   "key": "silver",
   "label": "Silver",
   "kind": "metal"
  },
  {
   "key": "gold",
   "label": "Gold",
   "kind": "metal"
  },
  {
   "key": "copper",
   "label": "Copper and bronze",
   "kind": "metal"
  }
 ],
 "worn_facts": [
  {
   "key": "wall",
   "label": "On a wall",
   "group": "placed"
  }
 ],
 "form_fact": {
  "key": "plaque",
  "label": "Plaque or tablet"
 },
 "holding_facts": [],
 "span": "undated",
 "country_names": [
  {
   "iso": "GR",
   "name": "Greece"
  },
  {
   "iso": "IT",
   "name": "Italy"
  }
 ],
 "kin_in": [
  {
   "from": "ladanka",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ladanka",
   "as": "the other Orthodox object in this atlas, and the one that goes on the icon rather than on the body",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "from": "milagro",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Milagro",
   "as": "the Greek Orthodox object this one corresponds to almost exactly — same body parts, same thin metal, same icon",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "from": "catholic-sacramentals",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Catholic sacramentals",
   "as": "the Orthodox counterpart, which does the giving-back in stamped metal",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "from": "ex-voto-wall",
   "type": "art",
   "name": "The ex-voto wall",
   "as": "the Orthodox equivalent, which the Mexican milagro corresponds to almost exactly",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "from": "votive-wall",
   "type": "art",
   "name": "The votive wall",
   "as": "the metal plaque this wall is mostly made of in Greece and the Orthodox world",
   "rel": "carries"
  }
 ]
}