Witchcraft, Black Magic and Sorcery

[us4-he2-gal2]

Thread Orientation: In this thread we can explore the very intriguing (though often very limited) accounts of malevolent magic use in Mesopotamia - whether on the part of the witch or the sorcerer, real or imagined, black magic as it were..

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Witchcraft, Black Magic and Sorcery

I have to date taken a strong if somewhat inactive interest in the subject of Black Magic in Mesopotamia - there is a thread which deals with the subject in part here. In addition, some of Walter Farber's insights into the subject have been noted here. The largest hurdle I've felt in dealing with the subject is the extreme lack of materials which attest to black magic itself - I have understood the reason for this lack to correspond to the illiteracy of non-professional magic users such as witches - only professional magic was ever written down and so the glimpses we have of black magic at all are indirect and come via the anti-witchcraft measures of the professional exorcists.


While nothing about this is precisely incorrect to my knowledge, I have been reading Walter Stanley's article "A Sorceress and her Apprentice" (JCS 1970) tonight, and have gained some new perspective. Stanley's explanation for the paucity, or near absence of black magic in cuneiform sources is perhaps more straight to the point still: these practices were also against the law and punishable by death, hence no sorcerer or witch would risk having their practice recorded. In establishing this, the author refers to the Assyrian laws, to the Old Testament (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 20:27, Deuteronomy 18:9-12) - although in the Babylonian laws from the code of Hammurabi, curiously, we find a law which makes it a capital offense to make a false accusation of witchcraft - so the accused witch undergoes the river ordeal, sink and the charge is correct, swim and the accuser is executed instead. Stanley believes this law was put in effect, apparently, because "accusations of sorcery had become at least as troublesome to society as sorcery itself - perhaps more so."


The author informs us that even despite these laws, records of judicial proceedings against witches are also lacking for the most part - perhaps persecutions against witches were handled on a lower level, never making it to court where records are generally kept and survive to inform us of other matters.. or perhaps it is an accident of archeology that we have yet to recover substantial court cases involving witchcraft accusations. In any case, Stanley does make mention of an interesting tablet which preserves the case of a father, Ili-iddinam, who accuses his son's wife of sorcery - it seems the father had given barley to his son with which to seed a field, but the son instead gave the field out to a tenant farmer - the farmer then refused to pay the father who still owned the field. The father brought his son to court and, apparently unable to accuse his son of incompetence, seems to accuse his son's wife of sorcery instead - she must be the cause of the problem. Here is a record of the Judges report to the city council:

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(1-2) To the mayor of Laliya and the elders of the city, speak. (3) This is what the judges say: (4-5) Ili-iddinam appeared before us, and this is what he said: (6-8) "I gave 30 "barrels" of barley to my son to seed a field, and (9) they -------ed the barley. (10-11) They then gave the field to a tenant farmer, and (12) the tenant treated me contemptuously. (13-15) Then I went to the mayor and the elders of the city. (16-17) I laid these matters before them. (18-19) My son then responded to me before the mayor and the elders of the city, and then (20-21) I said to him as follows: (22-23) 'I will put a stop to your wife and your mother-in-law, your sorceresses.' (24-26) He responded to me as follows: 'I will put a stop to your sorceress.'" (27) That was his testimony before us. (28) Our tablet has now come to you. (29-32) Send Ur-Shubula, his wife and mother-in-law here to us, so that we may settle their case according to royal statute.

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Stanley is able to draw no firm conclusions due to the relative isolation of his sample text, however the author briefly alludes to studies of contemporary witchcraft occurring in indigenous cultures such as Africa - in African cases, accusations are often made on family members when there is a stress or tension in the household, and particular they are made against women who have risen to the position of traders or some such and therefore disrupt the status quo. Comparative studies are for the most part unsatisfactory in the authors opinion however.

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Still to come... Geller makes some brief remarks on Babylonian influence the Talmud, black magic.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Maria-Louse Thomsen on Witch Law

As reported on the Magic in Biblical and Pagan Societies thread, I have come across a nice volume entitled "Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Biblical and Pagan Societies". For a description of the volume see the thread given above. Today, and on this thread, I am moving on the Thomsen's discussion on witchcraft, focusing for the moment on law.


Thomsen's opening remarks on the subject are nicely in line with Walter Stanley JCS article which I have summed already on this thread - she notes about the conspicuous lack of direct sources for witchcraft: "References to actually executed witchcraft are very few, instructions for performing evil magic do not exist and only one case of a recorded court trial concerning witchcraft has been found." Her explanation agrees with that of Walters above, that black magic was against the law in Mesopotamia and a witch would not suffer themselves to be identified by written records - likewise, in anti-witchcraft literature, which is well attested, the witch is not often identified, possibly for fear or reprisal, nor does this seem to be necessary to act against him/her.




Details on the Mesopotamian Laws/



To further flush out the information and detail the particular angle so far pursued, Thomsen has given the relevant passage from the Hammurapi law codes - as Walters explained, the code there was as much against the false accuser of witchcraft as the witch/sorcerer themselves, false accusations had become so large a problem by that time. The passage reads:



"If a man has brought a charge of sorcery against another man, but has not proved it (by means of witnesses), the one against whom the charge of sorcery was brought will go to the river of the ordeal (and) undergo the river ordeal and, if the river overcomes him, his accuser shall take over his house. If the river ordeal clears that man and he comes out safely, the one who brought the charge of sorcery shall be put to death; he who lept into the holy river shall take over the house of his accuser."



While the law thus deals the double threat of sorcery/witchcraft and excessive false accusations of the same, we may suspect that the law leaves room for ulterior motives i.e. the acquisition of a victims household. Thomsen next provides the relevant passage from the Middle Assyrian law codes, by which time the law seems to have become more measured:




"If either a man or a women have made magical preparations and they have been seized in their hands (and) charge (and) proof have been brought against them, the maker of the magical preparations shall be put to death.
The man who saw the making of the magical preparations (and) heard from the mouth of the eye-witness of the magical preparations who told him, (saying) 'I myself say (it), shall come forward (as) an earwitness (and) tell the king; if what he has told the king is denied by the eyewitness, he shall make a statement in the presence of the Bull, the son of the sun-god, saying: 'On my oath, he said (it)'; (and then) he is quit. (As for) the eyewitness who told (it) and denied (it) - the king shall interrogate him as he thinks fit (and) shall read his inmost thoughts. The exorcist, when he is fetched, shall make the man speak, and the former shall speak, saying: 'From the adjuration, wherewith thou hast been adjured before (?) the king and his son, they will not release thee; thou has surely been adjured according to the words of the tablet wherewith thou hast been adjured before(?) the king and his son."




This second set of laws presents some interesting points for consideration - we see above that in order for someone to be found guilty of witchcraft in Middle Assyrian times, the witness must be referred by an ear witness - and that eye witness must then undergo an "interrogation" by the king - thinking of interrogation and witchcraft trials I was reminded of the European context, where of course, interrogation was conducted on the accused not the accusers. Were the witnesses tortured in Mesopotamia then, and why?

Taking a look at Raymond Westbrook (JCS 2003), his examination of this same law, he considers the line "the king shall interrogate him as he thinks fit" and interprets this to mean that the eyewitness is put to some form of torture - the reason is to counteract the fear of the sorcerer and the supreme fear of speaking out against the sorcerer, whose power was felt perhaps more acutely than that even of the judicial body - and perhaps to ensure that honest answers were given. After, the exorcist is brought, who possess power like the sorcerer, and under his influence the eyewitness speaks an oath (adjuration) to the king read from a tablet by the exorcist - the eyewitness is sworn to his testimony. Westbrook adds that the assurance of the exorcist may have served to prove to the witness that the sorcerer could not break his oath to the king.. In some of this we are reminded of the inquisition trials of modern Europe - except here, it is the witness/victim who is pressed by the system for evidence instead of the witch put to torture for a confession. In any case, the end result may be more similar however, as it results in the death of the witch (should he/she be identified).




Justice in Mesopotamia and in Europe/



According to Jo Ann Scurlock (review article, JAOS 2004) the differences between the two systems of trial, Mesopotamian and later European, are essentially that of Restorative justice and retributive justice - the Mesopotamian is the former: "Restorative justice is essentially democratic; it assumes that a crime represents an imbalance in society. The aim of the societies representatives, the government, is to restore social harmony by forcing the miscreant to compensate his victim." The European inquisition justice however was of the Retributive justice model, which as Scurlock explains, was based on Roman imperial law extended not towards it's the citizens, but to conquered peoples - it was enforced on those not granted citizenship, or possessing the right of appeal or exemption from torture. The accused had little chance.



In contrast, says Scurlock "in ancient Mesopotamia, it was up to the victim not merely to bring the alleged witch to the attention of the authorities but also to prove his or her guilt without benefit of torture and with the prospect of facing the death penalty for false accusation." A reason that we have so little court material therefore, is that not many choose to bring the issue to a Mesopotamian court which was risky enough - instead victims had "recourse to magic", and so the abundance of anti-witchcraft literature in Mesopotamia.





The River Ordeal/



There is probably no way to consider the River Ordeal of the Mesopotamians without reference to the early Middle Ages and the practice of "swimming witches" - indeed the two practices seem in direct connection and much the same, yet there are some differences. Skimming Klanicsky's look at Witch persecution (Witchcraft mythologies and persecutions, Gabor Klanicsky et al.), this author explains in the Middle Ages they had it that if the witch, on being cast in the water, were to float, then she was guilty. If she were to sink - innocent (but possibly or likely drowned). He relays that "the proof of the suspects guilt was the weightlessness of her body, weightlessness was seen as a sign that her body was possessed by demonic force or the devil itself. The belief in the weightlessness of witches is undoubtedly related to the beliefs connected to the mara/mora beings, the presumable predecessors of witches (Pocs 1999)." He further explains that an analogy between the ordeal and the Christian right of baptism can be drawn, in that the blessed are taken under the water, while the damned float atop (or are rejected by the Church). In sum, and pending a more detailed examination, my impression is that sinking in European contexts is an indication of innocence, but most probably resulted in death by drowning - floating on the other hand, was an evil portend and would result in guilt and execution. The accused is in grave peril either way.



Returning to Thomsen and to the Old Babylonian law, we see that according to the authority of king Hammurapi, if in a witchcraft trial no suitable witnesses could be found, the accused was to be put to the river ordeal - as we recall:




" if the river overcomes him, his accuser shall take over his house. If the river ordeal clears that man and he comes out safely, the one who brought the charge of sorcery shall be put to death; he who lept into the holy river shall take over the house of his accuser."




Witchcraft was not the only reason the ordeal may be employed - other legal situations such as adultery or even ownership of property (a slave, a field, a sheep) could come to the river ordeal to decide who was in the right - in these cases, however, a party may forfeit their claim to ownership and avoid the river.



There seems to be some confusion on how to interpret the implications of sinking in the Near East: Thomsen has the impression that "the accused person was regarded as innocent if he sank into the water, since it meant that the river [god] accepted him; on the contrary, if he floated on the water he was thought to be rejected by the river god and thus guilty." While this is probably a arguable on some grounds, the author may be projecting something of the European model backward here - we have to observe that this blatantly contradicts what the Babylonian law itself says, that if the accused is "overtaken" (presumably sinks) by the river, than his house goes to the accuser. This would indicate sinking is bad in the ANE - an indication of guilt - yet, as we will see below, drowning would not occur in Mesopotamia.



A point of high interest is raised by Thomsen when she explains that the river ordeal in the ANE was not a punishment, "but a method for deciding the question of guilt." Very likely, the accused subjected to the ordeal were not in any event left to drown, as may be commonly assumed, but instead were retrieved from the waters, of course, later to be executed if found guilty. This is indicated more explicitly in a Sumerian hymn to the prison goddess, Nungal, which gives a better accounting of judicial proceedings than the court documents often do. In one passage, referring to the point when prisoners (not necessarily accused witches) are brought forward to undergo the ordeal, Nungal praises her assistant Nin-Dimgul - in the following, Nin-Dimgul should be interpreted as a divinised mooring pole used to snatch prisoners from the water - and the "mouth of catastrophe" is the river ordeal itself. Nungal states:




"

My great sheriff Nin-Dimgul stretches forth her arm
In the "Mouth of Penalty" she does not...the man, she does not destroy him,
She snatches that man from the "mouth of catastrophe".
He is brought in (or, they bring him in) to my "house of life"; I place him under guard

."

(I owe the above to Tikva Simone Frymer, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 1977).

Concluding/



In conclusion, the laws of Mesopotamia are very strict in regards witchcraft, much like the Bible's "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." In early Babylonian law, we see that failing sufficient eyewitness testimonial and proof, the accused would go to the River Ordeal. While those that sunk were deemed innocent in Europe, they likely drowned. In Mesopotamia, guilt was determined by the sinking, but the accused was pulled out by a mooring pole - possibly to undergo execution or property loss later. In the later Assyrian laws we see further refinement and due process, the burden was strongly placed on the witness to provide substantial proof and on pain of death - these conditions, harsh to the accuser as well, may have led to a preference of anti-witchcraft magic in response to perceived witchcraft as opposed to a dangerous court action.

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Still to come.... review of Thomsen's characterizations of a witch

[us4-he2-gal2]

Maria-Louse Thomsen on Witches Identity and Methodology

Continuing my review of the volume Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Biblical and Pagan Societies, specifically Marie-Louise Thomsen's examination of the Mesopotamian context, the author now discusses questions of identity..






The Witches Identity/




The author tells us that in some cases, the identity of a witch was known and specified in proceedngs against him/her: some instructions exist that state that the identity, the name, of the target witch was to be inscribed on the back of figurines used in rituals against him/her - of course, knowing about these instructions, it is all the more unfortunate that no actual figurine with such an inscription has survived, being destroyed in antiquity. Destruction of the figurine by fire or what have you was part of the anti-witch proceedings.. So the existence of these instructions, to inscribe the name, tells us however that in some anti-witchcraft rituals the identity of the witch was known and utilized. On the other hand, in the large, rituals such as the Maqlu ceremony attest to the fact that witches were also acted on in anonymity - these were large rituals directed against an unnamed witch or witches. The Maqlu ceremonies were to be performed at a certain time of the month of Abu, the month of the dead, and so were not directed against a specific case of witchcraft, but all witchcraft or witchcraft in general, witches who may offend in the coming season or year (as according to Abusch 1974).
In Mesopotamia, both specific and anonymous witches were acted against therefore.

Thomsen also explains that certain demographics tended to characterize the accused: "In an incantation the sorceress may be identified as a foreigner from Elam, Gutian, Sutium, Lullubu or Hanigalbat...these lands were lands traditionally in conflict with the rulers of Mesopotamia.." And a few classes may have been suspect: "Incantations sometimes identify the witch as belonging to professions which are rarely attested or little known, like snake charmer and ecstatic; on one occasion, the sorceress is called exorcist (Maqlu III 40-5 and IV 124-8...)". Thomsen hits upon a fascinating subject when considering gender - although terms for both male and female witches are attested, more women are accused: "allusions to women using evil magic are in the majority. This is probably due to the social situation of women in Mesopotamia. After her marriage, a women lived with the family of her husband and being a stranger there she was easily suspected. Women also had few privileges and little means to assert their rights, so witchcraft could be a tempting possibility. Evil magic seems to have been the weapon for the weak, of women and persons in lower social positions who were not able to get at their adversaries by legal means. (For women and witchcraft see Rollin, 1983.)"





Manifestations/



It was often up to the exorcist or the medical practitioner to recognize witchcraft at work on a victim and to perform a cure - what are some of the things which the texts indicate was a sign a patient was suffering from the witch?

• confusion
  
• forgetfulness
  
• fever
  
• pains
  
• hunger (but cannot eat)
  
• gnawing teeth while asleep
  
• uncontrollable flowing of bodily fluids

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Thomsen relays that the physician "used medications made of herbs, oils, pulverized stones and many other ingredients for potions, salves or amulets to wear around the neck.. [the exorcist], who possibly took charge only when the situation was rather serious, performed rituals with offerings and prayers, burning of figurines representing the assumed witches and purification of the patient." For more on the responsibilities of exorcists vs physicians, see our Magic and Medicine in Mesopotamia.


In addition to the physical and psychological symptoms of the patient, omen lore would sometimes specify a person or persons were going to be bewitched - a particular indicator of foul play or black magic was of course any sign of materia magica "like a dead animal or other objects placed at the house of the victim."







Methods/



As the author informs us, no direct cuneiform record of Black magic techniques exists (for reasons examined above), however, through medical, ritual and incantation text we do have indications of techniques that the professionals believed witches used against people - which, as noted elsewhere on enenuru, were also techniques which seem to be quite similar to those actually employed by the exorcists themselves, in anti-witchcraft rituals and in other uses.

Contagious Magic

Witches may attack by using contagious magic - an example given is reported in the medical texts, the victim is given bewitched food or drink by the witch, exactly how is not known.. the food itself is not necessarily poison as we may think of poison - it is bewitched, and by virtue of contagion, its contact with the victim causes him to be bewitched. One line in Maqlu reads "The witches gave me bewitched food to eat, gave me bewitched water to drink."
The above condition was remedied by inducing the patient to vomit after imbibing a particular potion. For more on contagious magic one can refer to our, Analysis from Schriebman.

Magic Knots

The belief that a witch tied her victim, or more particularly, the figurine/image of her victim, with knots, is attested in the anti-witchcraft literature where exorcists exclaim "I break your ties!" or "Untie these knots which surround me!". Indications of the magical use of knots are attested in exorcistic rites where the tying of knots is accompanied by incantations. In interesting passage from Maqlu refers to foreign witches making ties, and the exorcist overcoming them:

They practise witchcraft, constantly they practise witchcraft,
the Gutian (women), the Elamite (women),
the daughters of the women of Hanigalbat.
Six in the land make ties,
Six in number are their ties, seven in number are my loosening.
What they perform during the night, at day I dissolve it;
What they perform all day, during the night I dissolve it.
I place them in the mouth of the fire god who consumes,
burns, binds (and) overcomes the sorceresses.

Evil with images

Next, Thomsen discusses evil magic to do with images, by which she basically means figurines. She says "perhaps the most common way to perform witchcraft was thought to be the use of images [figurines] made of clay or other materials like tallow, wax, cedar wood or dough, and mixed or decorated with objects taken from the victim - hair, saliva, semen, a piece of clothing and even dust from his footsteps..." These figurines once established, would be defiled in some way, such as exposing them to a grave or a drainage opening - or they would be destroyed by fire. The intent was to damage the target victim and make them unclean to the gods. The author adds that in addition to the fashioning of the figurine, "no doubt the witch was also assumed to invoke a god, bring offerings and recite incantations" - this on the grounds that the victim refers to the witch's word as well "may their word be dispelled but not my word!..." (Maqlu I 70-1). For more on figurines, the reader might refer to our thread On the Use of Figurines.

It is also explained that the witch may use the personal effects, the hair etc., as effective items with or without the figurines and here Thomsen gives a wonderful refrain from Maqlu IV (105-16) in which the victim complains of being bewitched by use of personnel effect as well as by use of figurine - I quote below:

You (the witches) have picked me out for a dead body,
You have handed me over to a skull,
You have handed me over to a ghost of my kin,
You have handed me over to a ghost of a foreigner,
To a roving ghost for whom nobody cares,
You have handed me over to the plain, the open country, the desert,
You have handed me over to the wall and parapet,
You have handed me over to the Lady of the plain and the open country,
You have handed me over to the over for roasted barley,
the baking over, the kiln, the bellows,
You have given figurines of me to a dead man,
You have picked out my figurines for a dead man,
You have placed figurines of me with a dead man,
You have placed figurines of me in the lap of a dead man,
You have buried figurines of me in a grave of a dead man,
You have given figurines of me to a skull,
You have enclosed figurines of me in a wall,
You have placed figurines of me at the threshold,
You have immursed figurines of me in the drainage opening of the [city] wall,
You have buried figurines of me on a causeway so that people have stepped upon them,
Figurines of me, made of tamarisk or cedar wood, of tallow, wax, residue of linseed, bitumen, clay or dough,
Figurines of me resembling my face and my body you have made
And given them to a dog or pig to eat,
Or to the birds of heaven to eat, or you have thrown them into the river,
You have given figurines of me to Lamashtu, the daughter of Heaven,
You have given figurines of me to the Fire god."

Zikurudû

Zikurudû is a witchcraft technique used in Mesopotamia which remains unfortunately opaque - Thomsen is able to tell us that the word comes from the Sumerian zi kud-ru-da = 'cutting the throat' .. it was a ritual carried out under the stars, and differs from other techniques in that something of the act is witnessed by the victim - they see a sign or visual indicator that they have been acted against, unlike in other cases where their own symptoms are the only indicator. Exactly what the sign is that is "seen" is not certain says Thomsen although "sometimes a small animal is mentioned and it has been proposed that an animal's skin was filled with some magical materials and placed in or before the victims house...." Zikurudû must remain obscure for the present.

The Evil Eye

The author speaks briefly but with authority on the subject of the evil eye, explaining that this was witchcraft in an abstract sense, the witch making his/her machinations felt indirectly - the power of an evil eye, pointing finger, angry word. While belief in the evil eye was widespread throughout the ancient world, and more modern societies as well, it's earliest attestations are the Mesopotamian; and yet, it was only a minor concern here, less pressing then the dangers or witchcraft in general. Thomsen explains that "the Sumerian incantations show, the evil eye brought rather harmless, everyday accidents; a tool or a pot was broken, clothes were torn, food was spoiled and the like." For more on the Evil Eye, I have summed this author's JNES article on the subject here.

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Still to come.... Discussing Anti-Witchcraft literature

[us4-he2-gal2]

Finished editing my above post made SEPT. 2ND - apologies for the delay with proofing. I have added 3 more Witchcraft techniques in the below section as well : Images (Figurines), Zikurudû, Evil Eye.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Thomsen on Anti-Witchcraft Rituals

Above, we read how both the medical practitioner and the exorcist have concerns about the treatment of victims thought to be afflicted by the witch; Thomsen now discusses what ritual steps these two practioners may take, beginning with the medical practioner...






Medical Rituals treating Witchcraft/






The choice of medication and therapy, the author states, "was dependent on the character of the symptoms and the type of witchcraft diagnosed." These medicines apparently could be simple or could, on other occasions, contain up to 50 ingredients. "Typically," Thomsen says, "they were to be drunk with beer or wine, but they could be prepared with oil for a salve. The herbs are, as a rule, those to which a purifying quality in general was ascribed, like tamarisk or seeds of tamarisk, juniper, and a plant called 'it heals a thousand (diseases)'. In one case the potion is to be drunk from a spoon of tamarisk wood. Since most of the Babylonian plant names are not identified however, little can be said about the real content of these medications. Thomsen says that "the most frequently mentioned herbs and spices are probably mint, turmeric and thyme." Other items and ingredients which appear in medical texts as effective against witchcraft include animal parts, garlic in beer mash, a bone of a dead man, necklaces with certain stones (among others). A sample ritual from the medicinal text reads as follows:


"If a man is bewitched: In kettle you boil a potsherd of the river together with bitumen, put it in first-rate beer and take it on the last day of the month (i.e. the day of the disappearance of the moon), facing the sunrise you speak as follows: 'Sorceress, your charms will turn back against you and seize you!' He shall say thus and he will get well. (AMT no.85, 1 V 10-14)


The author informs us that a frequent instruction among the physician's antic-witchcraft literature, was that the Sumerian incantation known as "I am pleasing" be recited. This incantation was surly meant to counter the perceived damage of a malicious witch, whose actions could defile a man's position between himself and his god, or himself and society (particularly superiors.) "I am pleasing" was a reversal of this effect and reads:

"Incantation: I am pleasing, I am pleasing,
Heaven take pleasure in me,
Shamash, my god, take pleasure in me,
The gods take pleasure in me,
The king take pleasure in me,
The prince takes pleasure in me
The lord takes pleasure in me..
Man takes pleasure in me,
Mankind takes pleasure in me. May destiny be ... (?),
May [the evil magic] be dispelled! Incantation formula."

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Exorcistic Rituals treating Witchcraft/






Rather then specific concern with physical prescriptions as his counterpart, the exorcist worked to restore "the harmony between the bewitched person and the divine sphere [freeing] him from any impurity." The ritual was similar to other rituals against other sources of contamination - such as influence and damage caused by a malevolent ghost or demon or the curse of evil portends - in that the goal here was purification, and the ritual was carried out in a pure place; sweeping the ground and sprinkling with holy water usually began the ritual actions. Offerings were presented to one or more gods and a prayer was voiced by the bewitched person (or by the exorcist speaking on behalf of the bewitched person.)



*For an introduction to the magical use of figurines in Mesopotamian, one can refer to our Figurines thread.*





A significant difference between witchcraft proceedings and general exorcisms however, was the inclusion of an additional step in the ritual - prayers to the gods were voiced, requesting the destruction of the witches by turning his/her magic against them, and appropriate symbolic actions backed up these requests.. these actions appear to demonstrate the Mesopotamian notion that acts of Witchcraft must be countered with acts of (anti) Witchcraft, figurines of the witch would be destroyed or polluted just in the way that the witch had afflicted the man with her own ritual actions. Thomsen elaborates, explaining that in one segment of the Maqlu incantations, a victim laments that a witch has acted against him by submitted his figurine to various contaminating procedures, attempting to 'roll him [his figurine] up like a mat' for example.. As a result, the speaker in Maqlu receives instructions from Asalluhi: he is to roll (the figurine of the) witch up "like a mat." Black magic become white in such a response, as the author reflects: "According to its methods 'Black Magic' is therefore not to be separated from 'White Magic'; only its target and intentions distinguish illegal magic from legal, healing magic.

"I will scatter your witchcraft, I will turn your words in your mouth,
May the evil magic you practiced be against yourself,
May the figurines you made represent yourself"
(Maqlu V 5-7).

Maqlu and Divine Justice

As we read above, cases of witchcraft were generally not taken before the court (as noted, failure to prove the case may result in execution of the accuser, according to Mesopotamian law). Instead, exorcistic rituals were largely employed and only the gods were thought to know who was guilty - the gods therefore, and particularly Shamash, were addressed as divine judges with the incantations sounding like speeches for the defense. Thomsen explains that the idea of the ritual as a kind of trial is already found in the first prayer of Maqlu:

"Stand by me, great gods, listen to my plea!
Decide my case, learn about my behavior!
I have made figurines of my sorcerer and sorceress,
Placed them at your feet and (now) I plead the case."
(Maqlu I 13-17)"

*Insights about the Maqlu rituals, direct and indirect, pepper this board as a search may reveal - although a complete study of the massive ritual has remained impractical so far (at least for me). I might suggest the Goff Material thread (reply # 3) and the enenuru.net link here.*



Although the Maqlu ritual has been mentioned fairly frequently at enenuru, for the sake of thoroughness, I will briefly sum Thomsen's comments on the matter: The ritual, performed in the night and lasting until sunrise, is too extensive and complex for the general public and it is suspected that it's performance was reserved for kings or the like. It is preserved on 8 tablets which contain over 100 incantations, the purpose of which is to combat the witch; Maqlu translates to "burning" which is a reference to the burning of the figurines of the witch, a major point of the ritual. Particular importance is assigned to Nusku/Girru the fire god. The following is a point form summation of Thomsen description of the ritual:




- Preparations at Night: Prayers to the gods of night/ evil actions of witches described/ appeal to the gods and to Nusku for justice

- Presentation of Figurines: Figurines of witches presented to the gods "in no other ritual are so many figurines included as here."/ incantation follow presentation of each figurine, enumerating like a catalogue each evil deed the with may have done.

- Dispelling of the evil, Burning of Figurines: In addition to the figurines, two cords of white wool, one with 3 knots the other with 7, and 14 potsherds are burnt/ Plants are also thrown in/ the fire is extinguished with water and a rock placed over top.

- Carrying away the materia magica: Object used in ritual are brought out of the house to accompaniment of Sumerian incantation "Evil demon to your plain." Exorcist scatters flour at the gate and returns to house.

- Fumigation and apotropaic action: The house is purified in attempt to prevent evil from returning, apotropaic images places, fumigations, corners anointed, the bed is surrounded by a magic circle.

- Purification in the morning: The final part of maqlu involves the patient washing his hands of the witch in the morning - he washes his hands over the images of witches placed in a washbowl - he whips the water three times with an ash wood twig. The evil is transferred to the wish, dissolved and undone - the morning and the sun god are then praised.

[luisesophie]

Uh, I don't know if that fits in here but for those who speak German I recommend V. Haas, Außenseiter und Randgruppen. Besides many other interesting aspects, this little conference volume also highlights women (i.e. classes of women) shamed as "witches". Such could be midwives, prostitutes, some classes of lower priestesses, singers and so on. There's an interesting parallel to late medieval and early modern age in European culture, IMHO.

[nininimzue]

I'm echoing luisesophie's recommendation (plus, the book has stuff on murderers etc. as well, which is.... uhm.... relevant to my interests.... *blushes*; I have a copy of the article about murderers in there, I could daringly scan (!!!) the article on female 'witches' and upload it. I know that at least one person here is learning German, so there

[us4-he2-gal2]

wow - would be nice! if your able to do that let me know and I'd gladly look it over. Maybe you'd be able to clarify a few German terms if I were stuck..

I just heard a lecture from Abusch, who came to Toronto to give a talk .. so the paper would make a good addition to some things I've been thinking about lately. I will try and communicate his talk to enenuru here in some format.. still figuring out how. Mostly it was a review of the progress on Maqlu - of course I was pleased to see on of the few scholars who have focused so much on Mesopotamian magic.