The
sign of the horns, is a hand
gestureA gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions are used to communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body...
with a
vulgarVulgar is the fourth studio album released by Dir en grey on September 10, 2003 in Japan and on February 21, 2006 in Europe. A limited edition containing an additional DVD was also released. It featured the video of the song "Obscure", albeit a censored version...
meaning in Mediterranean countries and a variety of meanings and uses in other cultures. It is formed by extending the
indexThe index finger, , is the second finger of a human hand....
and
little fingerThe little finger, often called the pinky in American English and pinkie in Scottish English , is the most ulnar and usually smallest finger of the human hand, opposite the thumb, next to the ring finger.-Muscles:There are four muscles that control the little finger, three of which comprise a group...
s while holding the
middleThe middle finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger...
and
ring fingerThe ring finger is the fourth digit of the human hand, and the second most ulnar finger, located between the middle finger and the little finger. It is also called digitus medicinalis, the forth finger, digitus annularis, digitus quartus, or digitus IV in anatomy.- Etymology :According to László A...
s down with the thumb.
Related signs
Used by Anton LaVey and The Church of Satan. On Walpurgisnacht, the night of April 30th 1966. His hands held up in the Sign of the Horns: Two fingers upward to affirm the duality of Nature with the three middle fingers folded down in denial of the Holy Trinity
It is identical to the Karana mudra of Eastern religions.
Visually similar is the "
Hook 'em 'hornsHook 'em Horns is the slogan and hand signal of The University of Texas at Austin. Students and alumni of the university employ a greeting consisting of the phrase "Hook 'em" or "Hook 'em Horns" and also use the phrase as a parting good-bye or as the closing line in a letter or story.The gesture is...
" sign used by fans of the
University of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
athletes, the Texas Longhorns.
The sign of the horns was seen on the 1969 cartoon figure of
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
on the album cover of
the BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
'
Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine may refer to:*"Yellow Submarine" , an original song by The Beatles released in 1966*Yellow Submarine , a feature-length animated film featuring The Beatles' music released in 1968...
. Others say the figure was giving the American Sign Language sign for "love" (drawn incorrectly by the animators), as it would seem to make more sense with their material at the time, and the fact that the Beatles actually had little to do with this animated film. It was popularized by
Ronnie James DioRonnie James Dio is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter who has performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid...
when he was a member of
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
. It lives on in the legacy of many bands, particularly among
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
and hard rock bands.
This hand signed is commonly used by baseball players to remind each other that there are two outs in the inning. This practice was reportedly invented by catcher
Elston HowardElston Gene Howard was an American catcher, left fielder and coach in Negro League and Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the New York Yankees...
because the previously-used sign, an extended index finger and middle finger, was hard for outfielders to recognize from their distance from home plate.
Terminology
The spelling "mano cornuto" is erroneous, the
grammatical genderIn linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called noun classes, are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words; every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be very few which belong to several classes at once....
of the word
mano (meaning "hand") is actually feminine (
la mano), and the expression should therefore be "mano cornut
a", to be pronounced /'mano kor'nuta/. However, the form "mano cornuto" is commonly found in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
.
As a sign of infidelity
The "horns" are often used to identify a "cuckold" which is, as the
Oxford English Dictionary puts it "a derisive name for the husband of an unfaithful wife." The "horns" in this case refer to the behavior of the Tufted Cuckoo. (Some varieties of
CuckooThe cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...
are brood parasites; that is, the females lay their eggs in other birds' nests where they are unwittingly reared: so the adulterer begets the cuckold's children.)
In contemporary
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, the "horns" are placed behind someone's head, or explicitly pointed at a person (in Italian,
fare le corna, meaning "to make the
hornA horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
s"). The conveyed meaning is that this person, usually a man, is a
cornuto, a
cuckoldStrictly speaking, a cuckold is a married man with an adulterous wife, but current usage sometimes extends the term informally to include cuckqueans , wittols , and non-married couples in analogous situations.-History of the term:Cuckold is derived from the Old French for the...
, bearing the cuckold's horns. The gesture is used with the same meaning in many countries: in
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
-speaking countries (known as
los cuernos, "los cachos" in Ecuador and Colombia),
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
and
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
(
corno,
cornos or
chifre),
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
(
briret),
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
and
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
(known as
paroháč),
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
(
κέρατα), and
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
(
kurnut).
In Cuba, Mexico, Italy and in Portugal, to place the
corna on someone's head when taking a picture is a common childish joke (similar to using the
V signThe V sign is a hand gesture in which the first and second fingers are raised and parted, whilst the remaining fingers are clenched. In the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries, it is an obscene insulting gesture of defiance when performed with the palm facing inwards...
as "bunny ears" among Americans, or "donkey ears" in other countries), and young Italian tourists in foreign countries might be noticed looking nervously over their shoulders in group pictures. Italian prime-minister
Silvio Berlusconiis an Italian politician, entrepreneur, real estate and insurance tycoon, bank and media proprietor, sports team owner and songwriter. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister of the Italian Republic , a position he has held on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and...
was seen displaying the
corna on occasions, the most famous being a meeting where he put them over the Spanish ex-
foreign ministerA minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a governmental cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign nation. The ministry for foreign affairs is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government ; it is often granted to...
Josep Piqué; this behavior caused some controversy in Italy.
This use of the shape of horns has been said to derive from the legend of the
MinotaurIn Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Ovid, "part man and part bull." He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete...
, who was born from queen
PasiphaëIn Greek mythology, Pasiphaë , "wide-shining" was the daughter of Helios, the Sun, by the eldest of the Oceanids, Perse; Like her doublet Europa, her origins were in the East, in her case at Colchis, the palace of the Sun; she was given in marriage to King Minos of Crete. With Minos, she was the...
's infidelity with a white bull, betraying her husband King
MinosIn Greek mythology, Minos was a mythical king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of pre-Hellene Crete has been named after him...
of
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
; the most prominent proof of the betrayal, the horned offspring, was taken as its symbol.
An alternate explanation for the origin of this symbol is that it comes from the Roman days in which horns were given to returning soldiers. They came to imply that the soldier had been victorious in battle, but not so with his wife (while he was away).
A third explanation is that, just like a horned animal cannot see his own horns but everybody else can, so a cuckold does not know his condition, but everybody else knows (especially in a small town).
Superstition
When confronted with unfortunate events, or just when these are mentioned or suggested, a person wanting to avoid that fate could resort to the sign of the horns to ward off bad luck. It is a more vulgar equivalent of
knocking on woodKnocking on wood, and the spoken expression "knock on wood" or "touch wood" are used to express a desire to avoid "tempting fate" after making some boast or speaking of one's own death....
. Interestingly, superstitious ones can alternatively "touch iron" (
tocca ferro) or touch their noses, which are not considered as vulgar alternatives, or (for males) grab their
testicleThe testicle is the male generative gland in animals.The etymology of the word is based on Roman law...
s (the left one with the right hand in
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
, a country very influenced by the Italian culture), which is considered very vulgar, but is perhaps the most commonplace of the three. In Peru it is shown usually by saying "contra" (against). In
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
is usually used the expression
Zafa as a protection of curses commonly known as
Fukú, as well when a mention is made of someone or something it is believed to be involved with a curse. All of these gestures are meant to somehow conjure some supernatural power to protect the performer of the gesture. In
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
this sign is used to indicate a man whose wife is unfaithful, and as of superstitions, knocking on wood or saying "solavaya" are commonplace.
Such gestures are typically used when a
black catA black cat is a feline whose fur is uniformly all black, or almost all black. It is not a particular breed of cat and may be mixed or of a specific breed. The all-black pigmentation is equally prevalent in both male and female cats....
crosses one's path, when seeing a
hearseA hearse is a funeral vehicle, a conveyance for the casket from e.g. a church to a cemetery, a similar burial site, or a crematorium. In the funeral trade, they are often called funeral coaches.-History:...
(whether or not it is loaded), or when encountering any situation, object or person believed to bring about bad luck. It was once thought to prevent or distract the effects of the
Evil EyeEvil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck on the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
, that is of intentional or directed
curseA curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or unhappiness will befall another person or persons. In particular, a wish that harm or hurt will be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell, a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic, witchcraft, a god, a natural force,...
s. Historically the gesture was pointed at people suspected of being witches.
The
President of the Italian RepublicThe President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....
Giovanni LeoneGiovanni Leone was an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy from 21 June 1963 to 5 November 1963 and again from 24 June 1968 to 19 November 1968. He also served as President of the Republic from 1971 to 1978.-Biography:Leone was born in Naples.He graduated in law in 1929...
shocked the country when, visiting
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
during an
outbreakOutbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected in a particular time and place. It may be small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious disease may...
of
choleraCholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through eating food or drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae from other cholera patients...
, shook the hands of the
patientA patient is any person who receives medical attention, care, or treatment. The person is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician or other health care professional, although one who is visiting a physician for a routine check-up may also be viewed as a patient.The word...
s with one hand, and with the other, behind the back, made the
corna. This act was well documented, as all
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
s and
photographerA photographer is a person who takes photographs using a camera. A professional photographer uses photography to make a living whilst an amateur photographer does not earn a living and typically takes photographs for pleasure and to record an event, place or person for future enjoyment.A...
s were right behind him, a fact that had escaped President Leone's mind in that moment. The gesture was interpreted especially as offensive for the patients.
Pointing the index and little finger at someone is a common Italian curse as well as an accusation of cuckoldry.
Literature
In
Bram StokerAbraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.-Early life:He...
's
1897The year 1897 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* January 2 - Newspapers in London, England erroneously report the death of Mark Twain. It is believed that the rumors began when Twain's cousin had become ill...
novel
DraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel,...
,
Jonathan HarkerJonathan Harker is a fictional character and the protagonist in the 1897 horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker...
mentions the hand gesture in his journal (chapter 1):
Music history and acoustics
Daniel SpeerGeorg Daniel Speer was a German composer and writer of the Baroque. He published a treatise on music, but also works of fiction....
(1636-1707) calls this sign "zwey quehr Finger" and designates it as a measure of the distance between adjacent positions on a tenor trombone. Literally "athwart two fingers" this primitive measure may rank along with the
cubitA cubit is the first recorded unit of length and was one of many different standards of measurement used through history.It was originally based on measuring by comparing to one's forearm length. The Egyptian hieroglyph for the unit shows this symbol...
in its antiquity.
Michael PraetoriusMichael Praetorius was a German composer, organist, and writer about music. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns.- Life :He was born Michael Schultze, the youngest son of a Lutheran...
(1571-1621) uses this term in his
Syntagma Musicum III to describe the pitch difference between "Choir tone (Chorton)" and "Chamber tone (Kammerton)." "To find the difference between Chorton and Kammerton, one must lower the slide on a tenor trombone made in Nürnberg the distance of "zwey quehr Finger" which is one-half step;
zwei quer Finger is German for 'two across fingers'.
Music fan sometimes brandish this sign, often accompanied by headbanging, to signify that they enjoy the music they are listening to, mostly when the music is of the rock or metal genre (see below).
Heavy metal subculture
It also has a variety of meanings in heavy metal subcultures, where it is known by a variety of terms, including maloik,
devilThe Devil is believed in certain religions and folklore to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The Devil is commonly associated with heretics, infidels, and other unbelievers...
sign,
devilThe Devil is believed in certain religions and folklore to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The Devil is commonly associated with heretics, infidels, and other unbelievers...
horns,
goatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
horns,
metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
horns, death fist, horns up, slinging metal, metal sign, sticks up, throwing the goat, rocking the goat, sign of the goat, throwing the horns, evil fingers, the horns, forks, metal fist, satan salute and the Jackal.
On the cover of
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
'
Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine is the 11th album by The Beatles in the United Kingdom, released on Apple Records, catalogue PCS 7070 stereo and PMC 7070 mono. On Capitol Records in the United States, it is catalogue SW153...
album (1969), the cartoon of
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
's right hand is making the sign above
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
's head. For many fans, this was one of the many "
Paul is dead"Paul is dead" is an urban legend alleging that Paul McCartney of The Beatles died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike.The legend hinges on supposed hints among the Beatles' many recordings and presumed to be deliberately placed by The Beatles or others...
" clues. However, it is possible that the cartoonist misrepresented the sign for "I love you", which is very similar and more in keeping with the band's message and image.
A March 31, 1985 article in
CircusCircus was a monthly American magazine devoted to rock music. It was published from 1966 to 2006. In its heyday the magazine had a full-time editorial staff that included some of the biggest names in rock journalism, including Paul Nelson, David Fricke, and Kurt Loder, and rivaled Rolling Stone in...
by Ben Liemer states that
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli American rock bassist, vocalist, and actor. He is best known as "The Demon", the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging bassist and one of the lead vocalists in the hard rock band Kiss, an act he co-founded in the early 1970s...
of
KissKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972. Easily identified by its members' trademark face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
was influenced by Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. in 1977 after watching
SisterSister were an American heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Los Angeles. Its members included Blackie Lawless, formerly of the New York Dolls and later of W.A.S.P., and Nikki Sixx, who would later co-create Mötley Crüe. They are notable for being one of the first bands to make usage of the...
perform in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
. Blackie had come across a hand salute known as the
corna in an occult book and had started using it during live performances.
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli American rock bassist, vocalist, and actor. He is best known as "The Demon", the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging bassist and one of the lead vocalists in the hard rock band Kiss, an act he co-founded in the early 1970s...
appears to be making the sign with his left hand on the cover of
KissKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972. Easily identified by its members' trademark face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
' 1977 album
Love GunLove Gun is an album by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was certified Platinum on June 30, 1977 when it sold 1,000,000 copies. Love Gun was the second Kiss album to ship platinum, and would eventually achieve triple platinum status....
. Simmons has later claimed - noticeably in the special features segment "Satan's Top 40" in the movie 'Little Nicky' - that he plays his bass with his plectrum in his middle two fingers so when he raises his hand, he automatically draws the horns.
Steven TylerSteven Victor Tallarico , better known as Steven Tyler, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as the lead singer and primary songwriter of Boston-based rock band Aerosmith....
, during the pre-ride film for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith displays the
ShockerThe shocker, also known colloquially as "two in the pink, one in the stink", is a hand gesture with a sexual connotation. The ring finger and thumb are curled or bent down while the other fingers are extended. The index and middle fingers are kept together and the back of the hand faces outwards...
during the movie, along with the line "Wait a minute, I love that idea!" However, it is often confused with the sign of the horns. If a guest makes the Shocker during the ride photo opportunity, it will not be displayed or allowed for purchase as all vulgar displays in photos at Walt Disney World are banned, but the Sign of the horns is permitted for Rock'n'Roller Coaster because of the attraction's 'rocker attitude' persona.
Frank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album...
can be seen making the gesture in the 1977 film
Baby SnakesBaby Snakes is a movie which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford....
.
Ronnie James DioRonnie James Dio is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter who has performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid...
is known for popularizing the sign of the horns in
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
. His Italian grandmother used it to ward off the
evil eyeEvil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck on the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
(which is known as
malocchio, Dio's term for the gesture). Dio began using the sign soon after joining (1979) the metal band
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
. The previous singer in the band,
Ozzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English singer-songwriter, whose career has now spanned four decades. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of pioneering British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and eventually achieved a multi-platinum solo career which revolutionized the heavy metal genre...
, was rather well known at using the
"peace"The V sign is a hand gesture in which the first and second fingers are raised and parted, whilst the remaining fingers are clenched. In the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries, it is an obscene insulting gesture of defiance when performed with the palm facing inwards...
sign at concerts, raising the index and middle finger in the form of a V. Dio, in an attempt to connect with the fans, wanted to similarly use a hand gesture. However, not wanting to copy Osbourne, he chose to use the sign his grandmother always made. The sign would later be appropriated by heavy metal fans under the name "maloik", a corruption of the original
malocchio.
Terry "Geezer" ButlerTerence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler is the English founding bassist for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He is currently involved in Heaven and Hell.-Career:...
of
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
can be seen "raising the horns" in a photograph taken in 1971. This would indicate that the "horns" and their association with metal occurred much earlier than either
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli American rock bassist, vocalist, and actor. He is best known as "The Demon", the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging bassist and one of the lead vocalists in the hard rock band Kiss, an act he co-founded in the early 1970s...
or
Ronnie James DioRonnie James Dio is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter who has performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid...
suggests. The photograph is included in the CD booklet of the Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe 1970-1978 compilation album.
These accounts are all predated by the Chicago-based psychedelic-occult rock band
CovenCoven is a rock band, composed of vocalist Jinx Dawson, bassist Oz Osborne , Chris Neilsen on guitar,Rick Durrett and later John Hobbs on keyboards and drummer Steve Ross....
, led by singer Jinx Dawson, whose 1969 back album cover for
Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls on Mercury Records pictured Coven band members giving the "sign of the horns" correctly and included a Black Mass poster showing members at a ritual making the sign. Starting in early 1968, Coven concerts always began and ended with Jinx giving the "devil's sign" on stage. Incidentally, the band also recorded a song called "Black Sabbath," on their 1969 album and one of the band members is named Oz Osborne, not to be confused with Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath. The horns became famous in metal concerts very soon after Black Sabbath's first tour with Dio.
From an interview with Ronnie James Dio on Metal-Rules.com:
Metal-Rules.com – "I want to ask you about something people have asked you about before but will no doubt continue to talk about, and that is the sign created by raising your index and little finger. Some call it the "devils hand" or the "evil eye." I would like to know if you were the first one to introduce this to the metal world and what this symbol represents to you?"
R.J. Dio – "I doubt very much if I would be the first one who ever did that. That's like saying I invented the wheel, I'm sure someone did that at some other point. I think you'd have to say that I made it fashionable. I used it so much and all the time and it had become my trademark until the Britney Spears audience decided to do it as well. So it kind of lost its meaning with that. But it was…I was in Sabbath at the time. It was symbol that I thought was reflective of what that band was supposed to be all about. It's NOT the devil's sign like we're here with the devil. It's an Italian thing I got from my Grandmother called the "Malocchio". It's to ward off the Evil Eye or to give the Evil Eye, depending on which way you do it. It's just a symbol but it had magical incantations and attitudes to it and I felt it worked very well with Sabbath. So I became very noted for it and then everybody else started to pick up on it and away it went. But I would never say I take credit for being the first to do it. I say because I did it so much that it became the symbol of rock and roll of some kind."
http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=666
Other uses
- It is used as a school spirit gesture for the University of Texas, for "Hook 'Em Horns" since UT's mascot is the Longhorn.
- It is used as a school spirit gesture for the University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, symbolizing the letter U.
- In baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, the gesture, especially when the forearm is rotated, indicates "two outs." In the common signal for "two" (the index and middle finger raised), the fingers may be too close together for distant outfielders to distinguish the two fingers from one. Elston HowardElston Gene Howard was an American catcher, left fielder and coach in Negro League and Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the New York Yankees...
is commonly credited with originating this use.
- Similarly, in American football
American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
, a refereeA referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many sports. Officials in various sports are known by a variety of titles, including: referee, umpire, judge, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper or touch judge.- Origin :The term referee originated in association football...
will use the sign to indicate "second down".
- In volleyball
Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
the sign can be used (the fingers often points downwards) by the setter to communicate with the attacker, frequently to signal a double quick-attack play with the middle and right-side attackers.
- This is also the primary sign for the Mara Salvatrucha
Mara Salvatrucha is a criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to Central America, other parts of the United States, and Canada. MS-13 is one of the most dangerous gangs in the United States...
, or MS-13 street gang found throughout Central America and the U.S. Many of the first generation of MS-13 members had been heavy-metal enthusiasts and fans of Black Sabbath.
- In 1996 WCW (World Championship Wrestling) begin using the symbol for their nWo heel
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
stable with Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. They, however, took the middle and ring finger and connected them to the thumb, giving the symbol the look of a "wolf" for their nWo "Wolfpac".
- The Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is a creative organization founded by Phil Stanton, Chris Wink and Matt Goldman. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
, in their Megastar 2.0 Tour performances, posit a comedic false origin of this gesture as a tribute to rock legend Floppie the Banjo Clown, a character whose hair is arranged with two large vertical protuberances causing his head to resemble the gesture.
- This is also a part of an unofficial sign for bullshit
Bullshit is a common American English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemisms bull or B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is now commonly used in British English as well.As with many expletives, it can be used as an interjection or as many...
in American Sign LanguageAmerican Sign Language is the dominant sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
. See: Profanity in ASLAmerican Sign Language, the sign language used by the Deaf Community throughout most of North America, has a rich vocabulary of terms which include profanity. Within Deaf culture, there is a distinction drawn between signs used to curse versus signs that are used to describe sexual acts...
- In WWE, it is the signature taunt of Edge
Adam Joseph Copeland is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to an injury....
. When Edge walks to the ring he performs his signature taunt whilst his signature fireworks go off. Edge's ex-girlfriend LitaAmy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is an American former professional wrestler and WWE Diva from 1999 to 2006 and lead singer for the band The Luchagors....
, as well as former in-character proteges Curt Hawkins and Zack RyderCurt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were an American professional wrestling tag team that are currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
, also used this as their signature pose, though Lita's use was before joining with Edge while Hawkins and Ryder's was during their association with him.
- Many Houstonians in Texas use the symbol to represent "The H" as in H-Town, because of the hands being in the shape of an H.
Other uses outside the Metal Sub-Culture
- In Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
a modified version of the sign is popular as asymbol of the ultra nationalist organization Grey WolvesGrey Wolves or Idealist Youth is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party . It is accused of terrorism....
. The tips of the thumb and middle fingers are pressed together to symbolize the wolf's snout.
- In Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
and BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
, this gesture is known as the Karana MudraA mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
. Its use in dispelling evil or negative influences is a noticeable juxtaposition to the contemporary uses of this sign.
Variations
Existing most often within the metal subculture is a variation in which both hands are used. All digits, with the exception of the little fingers, are closed and the hands are then brought together; thumb on thumb. This form has been referred to as "too much metal for one hand" or "too much rock for one hand". This technique is often employed by
Kirk HammettKirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus...
of
MetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Kirk...
,
Butch WalkerButch Walker is an American recording artist, songwriter, and record producer, best known as lead vocalist and guitarist for alternative rock band Marvelous 3 from 1997 until 2001.-Career:...
and other musicians. A similar sign can be made by crossing the hands and extending both index fingers.
Another form used by the metal subculture (such as the Brazilian band
AngraAngra is a power metal band from São Paulo, Brazil known for its symphonic interludes, highly technical guitar playing, and regional elements.- Biography :...
) is similar to the version depicted above, except that all digits except the index finger are closed and the hands are brought together with thumbs pointing in opposite directions. One form features the forearms crossed, the pinkies interlocked, and both thumbs and index fingers extended (sometimes referred to as the "Super Ozzy"). These forms require somewhat more coordinated arm placement and do not allow a free hand for a cold beverage, so most metal concert attendees usually select the more common single-handed incarnation of the horns.
There is a two-person gesture known as the "rock lock", where a second person makes a hand with the second and third finger extended (rather than the first and fourth), and grabs the first person's metal gesture from the front in an interlocking fashion. The meaning is essentially an affirmation or reply to the original gesture made by the first person, something like a heavy metal
high fiveThe high five is a celebratory gesture, usually executed by two people at a time. To properly execute a high five, each person raises a hand to make contact, or slap, the opposing raised hand of the other. If the initiator offers the right hand, the reciprocator offers the right hand, as one would...
. Another variation can include the second party forming a traditional "devil horns" sign and rotating it 90 degrees, interlocking at the knuckles.
Comedian
Dane CookDane Jeffrey Cook is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released five comedy albums: Harmful If Swallowed; Retaliation; Vicious Circle; Rough Around The Edges: Live From Madison Square Garden; and Isolated Incident. Retaliation became the highest charting comedy album in 28...
has formulated two variations, One, "Rock n' Roll quotes," involves forming the sign of the horns and moving the index and little fingers in the manner of
air quotesAir quotes, also called fingerquotes or Ersatz quotes refers to using one's fingers to make virtual quotation marks in the air when speaking...
. The other, the "superfinger," is inverted devil horns, with the thumb, middle finger, and ring finger extended and other fingers retracted, displayed with the back of the hand to the audience as if giving them the finger.
Guitarist Olliver Kirby is known to play with his strumming hand as a horns sign, using his thumb to strum.
Angus YoungAngus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the hard rock band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003...
holds both his hands to the sides of his head with index fingers extended to create "Devil Horns".
The Kliq, a group from WWE (Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, and Paul Levesque) adopt a variation of the horns to identify between them.
External links
- President George W. Bush gestures the 'Hook 'em, horns," the salute of the University of Texas Longhorns.(...)
- Rock and Roll Confidential on their logo
- Odyssey of the Devil Horns: Who is responsible for bringing metal’s famous hand signal to the tribe? Los Angeles CityBeat
Los Angeles CityBeat was an alternative weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, California, debuting June 12, 2003. The publication ceased production with the March 26, 2009 issue. LA CityBeat was available every Thursday at more than 1,500 distribution locations throughout the Los Angeles area, with an...
, Sept. 9, 2004
- "Metal Council Convenes To Discuss 'Metal Hand Sign' Abuse" (satire) from The Onion, 9 November 2005: "If your head is neither banging nor thrashing, you should not be throwing the sign."