Incantation bowl

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Mandaic-language incantation bowl Bowl with incantation for Buktuya and household, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, Southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 AD - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09714.JPG
Mandaic-language incantation bowl

Incantation bowls are a form of protective magic found in what is now Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during late antiquity from the sixth to eighth centuries, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, [1] the bowls were usually inscribed in a spiral, beginning from the rim and moving toward the center. Most are inscribed in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.

Contents

The bowls were buried face down and were meant to capture demons. They were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of the homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries. [2]

The majority of Mesopotamia's population were either Christian, Manichaean, Mandaean, Jewish, or adherents of the ancient Babylonian religion, all of whom spoke Aramaic dialects. Zoroastrians who spoke Persian also lived here. Mandaeans and Jews each used their own Aramaic variety, although very closely related. A subcategory of incantation bowls are those used in Jewish and Christian magical practice (see Jewish magical papyri for context). The majority of recovered incantation bowls were written in Jewish Aramaic. These are followed in frequency by the Mandaic language and then Syriac. A handful of bowls have been discovered that were written in Arabic or Persian. An estimated 10% of incantation bowls were not written in any real language but pseudo-script. They are thought to be forgeries by illiterate “scribes” and sold to illiterate clients. The bowls are thought to have been regularly commissioned across religious lines. [3]

Archaeological finds

To date only around 2000 incantation bowls have been registered as archaeological finds, but since they are widely dug up in the Middle East, there may be tens of thousands in the hands of private collectors and traders. Aramaic incantation bowls from Sasanian Mesopotamia are an important source for studying the everyday beliefs of Jews, Christians, Mandaeans, Manichaeans, Zoroastrians, and pagans on the eve of the early Muslim conquests. [4]

In Judaism

Incantation bowl inscribed in Babylonian Aramaic, using Hebrew square-script, dated between 400 and 800, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland. Zauberschale aus Mesopotamien.jpg
Incantation bowl inscribed in Babylonian Aramaic, using Hebrew square-script, dated between 400 and 800, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland.

A subcategory of incantation bowls are those used in Jewish and Christian magical practice. [5] [6] Aramaic incantation bowls are an important source of knowledge about Jewish magical practices, particularly the nearly eighty surviving Jewish incantation bowls from Babylon during the rule by the Sasanian Empire (226-636), primarily from the Jewish diaspora settlement in Nippur. These bowls were used in magic to protect against evil influences such as the evil eye, Lilith, and Bagdana. [7] [8] These bowls could be used by any member of the community, and almost every house excavated in the Jewish settlement in Nippur had such bowls buried in them. [9]

The inscriptions often include scriptural quotes and quotes from rabbinic texts. The text on incantation bowls is the only written material documenting Jewish language and religion recovered from the period around the writing of the Babylonian Talmud. Scholars say that the use of rabbinic texts demonstrates that they were considered to have supernatural power comparable to that of biblical quotes. The bowls often refer to themselves as "amulets" and the Talmud discusses the use of amulets and magic to drive away demons. [10]

In Christianity

In Christianity, during the same period and in the same region where traditional incantation bowls were prevalent, Christian incantation bowls emerged. These artifacts, often inscribed in Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic language, demonstrate a syncretism of Christian and local magical beliefs. The inscriptions on these bowls typically include prayers, psalms, or invocations for protection against evil forces. Scholars interpret them as a unique manifestation of the blending of Christian and folk religious practices in the ancient Middle East. Further research may delve into specific examples, deciphering the content of the inscriptions and exploring the cultural significance of these Christian incantation bowls within their historical context.

In Mandaeism

There are also many incantation bowls written in Mandaic. Many are kept in museums and private collections around the world, including the British Museum and the Moussaieff Collection. [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Lilith, also spelled Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden for not complying with and obeying Adam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandaic language</span> Language of the Mandaean religion and community

Mandaic, or more specifically Classical Mandaic, is the liturgical language of Mandaeism and a South Eastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran, for their religious books. Mandaic, or Classical Mandaic is still used by Mandaean priests in liturgical rites. The modern descendant of Mandaic or Classical Mandaic, known as Neo-Mandaic or Modern Mandaic, is spoken by a small group of Mandaeans around Ahvaz and Khorramshahr in the southern Iranian Khuzestan province.

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The Mandaic alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Mandaic language. It is thought to have evolved between the second and seventh century CE from either a cursive form of Aramaic or from Inscriptional Parthian. The exact roots of the script are difficult to determine. It was developed by members of the Mandaean faith of Lower Mesopotamia to write the Mandaic language for liturgical purposes. Classical Mandaic and its descendant Neo-Mandaic are still in limited use. The script has changed very little over centuries of use.

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Eastern Aramaic refers to a group of dialects that evolved historically from the varieties of Aramaic spoken in the core territories of Mesopotamia and further expanded into northern Syria, eastern Arabia and northwestern Iran. This is in contrast to the Western Aramaic varieties found predominantly in the southern Levant, encompassing most parts of modern western Syria and Palestine region. Most speakers are Assyrians, although there is a minority of Mizrahi Jews and Mandaeans who also speak modern varieties of Eastern Aramaic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amulet</span> Object worn in the belief that it will magically protect the wearer

An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's Natural History describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words.

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Bagdana is a demon in Jewish magical texts from early medieval Mesopotamia. The name is found on incantation bowls, and Aramaic incantation texts from Nippur.

4Q510–511, also given the title Songs of the Sage or Songs of the Maskil, is a fragmentary Hebrew-language manuscript of a Jewish magical text of incantation and exorcism in the Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically for protection against a list of demons. It is notable for containing the first clear usage of the Hebrew term lilith in relation to a supernatural creature. It is comparable to Aramaic incantation 4Q560 and also 11Q11.

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The historiola is a modern term for a kind of incantation incorporating a short mythic story that provides the paradigm for the desired magical action. It can be found in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek mythology, in the Aramaic Uruk incantation, incorporated in Mandaean incantations, as well as in Jewish kabbalah. There are also Christian examples evoking Christian legends.

Mandaic lead rolls, sometimes also known as Mandaic amulets or sheets, which are related to Palestinian and Syrian metal amulets, are a specific term for a writing medium containing incantations in the Mandaic script incised onto lead sheets with a pin. Some Mandaic incantations are found on gold and silver sheets. They are rolled up and then inserted into a metal capsule with loops on it to be worn around the neck on a string or necklace.

The Aramaic Uruk incantation acquired 1913 by the Louvre, Paris and stored there under AO 6489 is a unique Aramaic text written in Late Babylonian cuneiform syllable signs and dates to the Seleucid Empire ca. 150 BCE. The finding site is the reš-sanctuary in the ancient city of Uruk (Warka), therefore the label “Uruk”. Particular about this incantation text is that it contains a magical historiola which is divided up into two nearly repetitive successive parts, a text genre that finds its continuation in the Aramaic magical text corpus of late antiquity from Iraq and Iran, most prominently in incantation bowls and Mandaic lead rolls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Morgenstern</span> British-Israeli professor

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MS Drower 43 is a Mandaic manuscript that contains over a dozen qmaha texts used for exorcism and protection against evil. It is part of the Drower Collection in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.

References

  1. Severn Internet Services - www.severninternet.co.uk. "Incantation bowls". Bmagic.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  2. "Babylonian Demon Bowls". Michigan Library. Lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  3. "What should be done with the magic bowls of Jewish Babylonia? – Samuel Thrope | Aeon Essays". Aeon. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  4. "Syria Incantation Bowls". Archived from the original on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  5. C. H. Gordon: “Aramaic Incantation Bowls” in Orientalia, Rome, 1941, Vol. X, p. 120ff (Text 3).
  6. Orientalia 65 3-4 Pontificio Istituto biblico, Pontificio Istituto biblico. Facoltà di studi dell'antico oriente - 1996 "may have been Jewish, but Aramaic incantation bowls also commonly circulated in pagan communities". ... Lilith was, of course, the frequent subject of concern in incantation bowls and amulets, since her presence was ."
  7. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia p217 Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1986 2007 "D. Aramaic Incantation Bowls. One important source of knowledge about Jewish magical practices is the nearly eighty extant incantation bowls made by Jews in Babylonia during the Sassanian period (ad 226-636). ... Though the exact use of the bowls is disputed, their function is clearly apotrapaic in that they are meant to ward off the evil effects of a number of malevolent supernatural beings and influences, e.g., the evil eye, Lilith, and Bagdana."
  8. A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature p454 David L. Jeffrey - 1992 "Aramaic incantation bowls of the 6th cent, show her with disheveled hair and tell how"
  9. Descenders to the chariot: the people behind the Hekhalot literature Page 277 James R. Davila - 2001 "... that they be used by anyone and everyone. The whole community could become the equals of the sages. Perhaps this is why nearly every house excavated in the Jewish settlement in Nippur had one or more incantation bowl buried in it."
  10. "Naming Demons: The Aramaic Incantation Bowls and Gittin - TheGemara.com". TheGemara.com. 2016-02-14. Archived from the original on 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  11. Morgenstern, Matthew (2012). Magic Bowls in the Moussaieff Collection: A Preliminary Survey. In M. and E. Lubetski (eds.), New Inscriptions and Seals Relating to the Biblical World, 157–170. Society of Biblical Literature Publications.
  12. Morgenstern, Matthew (2005). "Linguistic notes on magic bowls in the Moussaieff Collection". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 68 (3): 349–367. doi:10.1017/S0041977X05000200. ISSN   0041-977X. JSTOR   20181947.

Further reading