View source for Tama (votive)

{{redirect|Tamata|the local-level government area in Papua New Guinea|Tamata Rural LLG}}
[[image:015230 paraskevotive.JPG|thumb|300px|An [[icon]] of [[Paraskevi of Rome|Saint Paraskeva]] with tamata hung beside it. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040408073128/http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk:80/hols/saints.htm Crete], 2001. The saint holds a plate with two eyeballs on it. She is considered to be a healer of the blind. One of her visitors has left a votive offering (''tama'') depicting eyes to indicate what her affliction is.]]
'''Tama''' ({{langx|el|τάμα}}, pl. {{langx|el|τάματα|translit=''tamata''|label=none}}) are a form of [[votive offering]] or [[ex-voto]] used in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], particularly the [[Greek Orthodox Church]]. Tamata are usually small metal plaques, which may be of [[Base metal|base]] or [[precious metal]], usually with an [[Repoussé and chasing|embossed]] image symbolizing the subject of prayer for which the plaque is offered.

== Ceremony and symbolism ==
Tamata may be offered to an [[icon]] or [[shrine]] of a saint as a reminder of a petitioner's particular need, or in gratitude for a prayer answered.

[[Image:VergineTricherusa.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[wonderworking]] icon of the [[Theotokos]], "The Three-handed" (''[[Trojeručica]]''), the third hand in silver is a votive offering in thanksgiving for a miracle.]]

A wide variety of images may be found on tamata, with the images capable of multiple interpretations. 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, a pair of wedding crowns may mean a prayer for a happy marriage, a torso for afflictions of the body, and so forth.

Tamata may be bought in shops selling Greek Orthodox religious items, and then hung with a ribbon on a pole or hooks near an icon or shrine of a saint, the act of which is usually accompanied with a prayer, and sometimes with the lighting of a [[votive candle]]. The destinations of [[pilgrimages]] often include shrines decorated with many tamata. 

One of the most famous [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] votive offerings is that by [[John of Damascus]]. According to [[hagiography|tradition]], while he was serving as [[Vizier]] to the [[Caliph]], he was falsely accused of treachery and his hand was cut off. Upon praying in front of an [[icon]] of the [[Theotokos]] his hand was [[miracle|miraculously]] restored. In thanksgiving, he had a silver replica of his hand fashioned and attached it to the icon. This icon, now called "[[Trojeručica]]" (''The Three-handed'') is preserved at [[Hilandar]] Monastery on [[Mount Athos]].

Tamata is also found in Italy, particularly in the South.  It may be compared to many forms of Roman Catholic votive offerings, such as the [[Milagro (votive)|Milagros]] traditionally used for healing purposes and as votive offerings in the [[Catholic Culture|Roman Catholic culture]]s of [[Mexico]], the southern [[United States]],  [[Latin America]], and parts of the [[Iberian Peninsula]].

==See also==
*[[Paraklesis]]
*[[Patron saint]]

==Further reading==
* Robert T. Teske, "Votive Offerings and the Belief System of Greek-Philadelphians", ''Western Folklore'' '''44''':3, Healing, Magic, and Religion (July 1985), pp. 208-224.

==External links==
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15509a.htm Votive Offerings on the Catholic Encyclopedia (1917)]
*[http://www.greekfleamarket.com/votives.htm Greek Tamatas]

[[Category:Eastern Orthodox liturgy]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox spirituality]]
[[Category:Religious oaths]]
[[Category:Votive offering]]

[[nn:Votivgåve]]