44
S U M M A R I U M
Two
Commentationes
M . RÖMER, Hauswirtschaft - Häuserwirtschaft "Ökonomie" im pharaonischen Ägypten
Washing, Defiling, and Burning:
Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
Gesamtwirtschaft:
Daniel SCHWEMER
1-43
D. SCHWEMER, Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Antiwitchcraft Incantations
44-68
St. M . M A U L , Die Lesung der Rubra DÜ.DU.BI und KID.KID.BI
69-80
. . . .
Gernot Wilhelm
zum 28. Januar 2010
Animadversiones
M . LIVERANI, The King in the Palace
81-91
E. LUCCHESI, Identification de Strasbourg Copte 2 4 8
92-95
The corpus of Sumerian anti-witchcraft incantations, whether accompanied by an Akkadian translation or not, is still small , and the vast
majority o f incantations o f this genre, like all witchcraft-specific incantations of Maqlü, are composed in Akkadian .
Two extensive Sumerian incantations o f the Marduk-Ea type are
attested already in Old Babylonian copies , as is a short spell against a
witch followed by an usburruda ("to undo witchcraft") rubric . A bilingual
incantation addressing Gira is known from a Late Old Babylonian (?) tablet found at Susa; the hyninic introduction o f the text praises the Fire-god
as the one who burns warlock and witch, but the fragmentary State o f the
text does not reveal whether counter-acting witchcraft is the main concern
of the composition as a whole .
1
2
Recensiones
3
A. TAGGAR-COHEN, Hittite Priesthood. THeth 2 6 (D. SCHWEMER)
. .
96-105
A. KUHRT, The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources (H. KOCH) . .
105-111
4
N. SCHINDEL, Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum, Paris - Berlin - Wien
Band I I I (H. KOCH)
Libri ad Directioner.i missi
[
111-117
118-120
5
Within the framework of our collaboration on the Corpus of Mesopotamien Anti-witchcraft
Rituals Tzvi Abusch has granted me access to his unpublished catalogue of anti-witchcraft rituals
and his provisional editions of relevant texts. The work on this article has greatly benefitted from
using these materials, and I would like to thank Tzvi for his generosity; any mistakes are mine
alone. Thanks are also due to Mark Weeden for proofreading this article and to the Trustees of
the British Museum for the permission to publish B M 40568 and 47451.
Some of these Akkadian incantations are very likely translated from or at least modeled on
Sumerian texts; this is most easily recognized in texts that follow the pattern of the Marduk-Ea
type; cf, e.g., BRM4, 18 // (see Abusch 2002: 12-13) or K 8079 r. col. l'-19' (Tallqvist 1895: II,
97).
Incipit h u l - g ä l i g i n u - s a d u m u u d s ü - s ü - k e : Cavigneaux-Al-Rawi 1995:
19-46: Meturan A // Meturan B // C T 58, 79 // C T 44, 34 // U E T 6/2, 149 (all O B mss.); Incipit
h u l - g ä l i g i h u i d u m u h a - l a m - m a - k e : Falkenstein 1939: 8-41, Geller 1989: 193205: PBS 1/2, 122 (OB, bilingual) // AfO 24, pl. II Rylands Box 24 P 28 (OB) // C B S 11933
(OB) / / K U B 30, 1 (MB).
"Incipit m u n u s - u s , z u s u b a l - e - d a : V S 17, 31, see Schwemer 2007b: 25-26,
Geller 2008: 560-61.
MDP 57, 2 obv. I 33-34. In the lower half of obv. II and rev. I I I - I V Samas is addressed. It is
yet unknown whether these passages represent a separate composition or continue the text of obv.
I; the formatting of the tablet, as far as preserved, suggests the latter, though the contents is in
favour of the former.
1
2
3
6
4
4
r
5
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
45
A limited number o f Sumerian incantations against witchcraft are
known from first millennium sources. K 1289 obv. 1 - rev. 7 // describes
the witch's evil actions: she has tied her victim's tongue, she has blocked
his mouth and has bound his limbs by means o f a substitute figurine . The
fragment Th 1905-4-9, 93, a faithful Neo-Babylonian copy o f an Old
Babylonian original , preserves a description o f Marduk's ritual actions
against warlock and witch: after their figurines have been maltreated, defiled and presented before the Sun-god, the patient must wash over them
for three days . A few short Sumerian and bilingual incantations form part
of large first millennium collections o f usburruda texts, but all of them are
so far only known from small fragments . A Sumerian incantation against
zikurudü, 'cutting-of-the-throat' magic, is quoted, possibly in füll, within a
collection o f therapies concerned with this form o f witchcraft . A few
Sumerian incantations can also be found within texts addressing witchcraft
performed by the victim's male adversary, the bei dabäbi, bei amäti or bei
lemutti ; above all the bilingual incantation k ü r - k ü r b i l (nakra aqallü)
is used within this context . A bilingual incantation o f the Marduk-Ea
type, preserved in a Late Babylonian manuscript, also targets exclusively
the male sorcerer who has attacked the entrances and even the sanctuary o f
6
7
8
9
10
n
12
Incipit m u n u s - u s , , - z u a n - t a - l ä - s e a l a n b i - i n - d i m ; the text was edited
by Falkenstein 1939: 25-27. Abusch 2002: 13 fn. 29 (first published in Religion, Science, and
Magic in Concert and Conflict, 1989) identifies further duplicates (K 2351+ rev. l'-15', K 15177+
obv. l'-12', K 10221 obv. 1 - rev. 5, Rm 2, 314 obv. l'-12', Sm 302 = AMT92/1 obv. II l'-8'; all
but K 15177+ with Akkadian translation) and gives an overview of the ritual contexts within
which the incantation is attested (recitation over drugs effective against witchcraft, zikurudü therapies); note that K 3293 (BAM 460) joins K 2351+ directly (cf. Schwemer 2007b: 16 fn. 41).
Note a-wi-lum in rev. 1, a-wi-lam in rev. 15 and the frequent use of -su (rather than -sü)
for the suffixed possessive pronoun; also note that the Sumerian text is only partially translated,
"a common feature of O B bilinguals" (Geller 1995-96: 247).
For the text, see Meek 1918-19: 141-42.
* Sumerian or bilingual incantations with usburruda rubric are attested in 82-3-2, 103 (+)
Sm 1960(+) 1. col. 4'-7', K 8162 + 10357(+) r. col. l'-7', 10'-U', K 6840: l'-7', B M 128037 obv.
4'-7', Si 17 obv. 1-7; cf. also K 8183: l'-3'.
"' K 2351 + 3293 (BAM 460) + 5859 + 8184 + 10639 {AMT 13/4) obv. 19-20: EN i - r i
p a - [ a ] h n a m - t a r i - r i - p a - a h n a m - g a l b i r - b i [ r (room for approximately seven
signs)], 2-sü tanaddißuby
...
" For the bei dabäbi as the stereotypical male agent of witchcraft, see Schwemer 2007b:
81-84, 127-31, 178 with further references.
This incantation is also used as a 'regulär' usburruda incantation and, in one casc.
against zikurudü. For its attestations, see provisionally Schwemer 2007a: 43, cataloguc of
duplicates to KAL 2, 13; a füll edition of all relevant texts will be given in the first volumc of
(he Corpus of Mesopolamian Anli-wiichcraft Rituals. Further relevant texts include a shorl recitation to be recited over drugs effective against the bei dabäbi {BAM 434 rev. V 25-26) and,
ibid. rev. VI 17-27 // BAM 435 rev. V I 16'-9' (cf. also BAM V, p. xiii), the incantation s c
ga m e - c n s e - g a - m e - e n , to be recited over a salve against zTru, zikurudü,
dibalü
and kadabbedü caused by the bei dabäbi. A short incantation in garbled Sumerian forms pari of
the bei lemutti ritual STT 256 (rev. 1-4; ibid. 13-16: k ü r - k ü r b i l ) .
b
7
8
12
46
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
Daniel Schwemer
the house . Finally a bilingual incantation designed to protect a woman in
labour from witchcraft deserves to be mentioned here .
Any substantial addition to this small group o f texts is most welcome,
and I would like to offer here editions o f B M 47451, an unpublished,
almost completely preserved bilingual usburruda incantation, and o f B M
40568, a fragment o f similar content that, as yet, had been published only
in hand-copy and transliteration. Both texts are preserved in manuscripts
from the Persian period, but are likely to originate in Old Babylonian
times. The phraseology and motifs found i n the texts once more illustrate
the longevity o f the ritual techniques employed by Babylonian experts to
counter sorcery; they bear witness to the stability o f the ideas, images and
stereotypes associated with witchcraft and its agents in ancient Mesopotamia.
13
Obv.
14
1. BM 47451 (81-11-3, 156)
B M 47451, an almost completely preserved tablet inscribed in an elegant Late Babylonian hand, belongs to a group o f scholarly tablets from
Babylon written by a certain Sema'ya (or Ipra'ya?) who worked during
the reign o f Artaxerxes in the 5 Century B C . The tablet contains the text
of only one incantation, which is classified as an usburruda incantation, a
spell to undo witchcraft, by a rubric in rev. 32. The 'tag' ka i n i m ma
u s - b ü r - r u - d a - k a m can be attached to any anti-witchcraft incantation, but it also became, probably not before the first millennium, the title
of an extensive, though still not very well known series collccting incantations, rituals and prescriptions o f this genre . The usburruda rubric on the
present tablet is followed by a catchline to another Sumerian incantation
whose incipit is apparently here attested for the first time *. The iact that
no series name or tablet count aecompanies the catchline, may indicate that
the tablet formed part o f a non-canonical collection o f incantations. The
15
,h
16
n
17
1
" YOS 11, 94; cf. Sefati-Klein 2002: 576 with fn. 48.
K 3025+ / / K 879+, ed. Borger 1985: 14-18.
For the problems associated with the reading of the name, see the commentary on rev.
34-35.
For this group of texts, see Finkel 1988: 153-55 with reference to the present text.
For an overview of the texts aecompanied by this label and a discussion of the serialization
of usburruda texts, see Schwemer 2007b: 56-61; for a different view on the development of the
usburruda 'genre', see Abusch 2003.
I would like to thank Mark J. Geller who kindly checked his collection of incantation incipits for any duplicates that I might have not been aware of.
14
15
16
17
18
Fig. 1: UM 47451 (81-11-3, 156) Obv.
47
48
Daniel Schwemer
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
49
wording o f the incipit quoted in the catchline does not reveal the genre o f
the follow-up incantation so that we cannot even be sure whether the
sequence o f tablets to which the present manuscript belonged was thematically coherent or rather combined different materials as some extensive
rituals like Bit rimki and Bit meseri do.
The usburruda incantation itself, o f which, as yet, no duplicates have
become known, exhibits the classical form o f the Marduk-Ea type : The
"präsentische Thema" describes the effects o f witchcraft i n general terms
(obv. 1-9), while the "präteritale Thema" reports the concrete attack o f
witchcraft on the patient (obv. 10-15). This is followed by the Marduk-Ea
Ibrmula (obv. 16) and the ritual instruetions (obv. 17-22). Rev. 23 is fragmentary, but probably marks the beginning o f the " S c h l u ß t h e m a " which
begins with passages specific to this incantation and is closed with formulaic material. With the exception o f rev. 26 and the abbreviated formulas in obv. 16 and rev. 28-31 the Sumerian text is aecompanied by a
continuous Akkadian translation. The effects o f witchcraft on its victim, as
describcd in obv. 1-15, show many similarities to the witchcraft-induced
illncsscs described in the symptomologies o f first millennium therapeutic
texts'". The main symptom here is a State o f vertigo ( s a g / i g i - n i g i n ,
sTdünu, obv. 3-4), which tallies well with the frequent mention o f vertigo
in witchcraft symptomologies (pänüsu issanundü) .
As i n most anti-witchcraft texts, the illness o f the patient is conceptualized as an impure State o f
heilig bound. The therapy, again a ubiquitous feature o f anti-witchcraft rituals, consists in the patient washing himself over substitute figurines o f
warlock and witch thereby transferring his miasma back onto his evildoers.
Rev.
19
21
Transliteration (copy figs. 1-2)
obv.
I
en u s - z u u s „ - r i - a nig-ak-a n i g - h [ u l - a ' ]
kis-pu ru-hu-ü
up-sa-su-ü
lem-n[u]- tP
nig-ak-a n i g - h u l - d i m - m a Hürnig-Hees n a [ m - l ü ] - U | - l u - k e
ü- pe^-es
le-mut-tP
[m]u-käs-su-ü
a-mi-lu-ti
[sag/igi]-nigin si-da-nu mu^-r\ib mim]- ma sum-sü* nig nam
tuk -tuk
[x x] x x x [x x (x)-m]a
amTlu(\ü) ul i~na-at-ta-al
lü igi nu
mu-un-lä-e
u
T
2
1
(
3
x
4
4
Fig. 2: B M 47451 (81-11-3. 156) Rev.
r
91
4
r
r
4
!
"' As described by Falkenstein 1939: 44-67.
•'" For an overview and discussion of the symptomologies found in anti-witchcrall rihmls and
picsciiptions, see Schwemer 2007b: 169-79.
•'' See symptomologies n" 1, 2, 7, 10-11, 14, 19, 20, 23 in Schwemer 2007b: 170-76.
50
Daniel Schwemer
5
[
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
g ] u - b i ( G A M . G A M ) SIG .ALAN—bi gul-gul
7
7
p[a--ni
us-sa-na-du
te-ma u-sä-an(l)-ri\u' -u
ki-sä-da
ü-qad-da-du
bu-un-na-ne-e
ub- ba^-tu
•sä ka- kes l u n [ u - z i ] - z P su l ä - e gir l ä - e
libbaßä)""'
i-käs-sa-'ru
am[ila(l[ü)
w/(nu)
ü-s]at- bu-u
qd)-ta us-sa-lu se-pa
ü-käs-su-ü
m ü s - m e k ü r - k ü r zi-i-mi
ü- nak-ka-ru
bu}-un-na-ne- e
ubba}-tu
s i G . A L A N - b i gul-gul
I i i sahar-ta sub-ba a-mi-la ina e-pe-[r]i
P' -[n]d - acP' -du-ü
bu-up-pa- nP-sü
i-sah-ha-pu
igi- ugu -bi ba-sü-sü
l ü tu-ra k i - g i g - g a amila( l\P)
^ü-mar-ra-su^-ma
a-sar^
maru-us-tP
[u]s-n[a-lu]
nä-äm
u s - z u uSi,-ri-a kis-pu ru-hu-ü
is-tu ap-si-i
Ht-ta}-su-n[i]
abzu-ta e -[a(-me-es)]
24
!
r
6
1
r
1
r
7
x
r
r
9
r
r
n
12
!
1
x
r
1
?
d
4
n
n
u
r
1?
dr
r
n
4
19
17
7
l7
28
29
30
31
dUE
7
dug
7
d
d
n
r
11
? r
r
r
10
!
?
d
26
27
n
1
8
4
r
r
4
8
1
l ü - k e s - b i he-du lü-t[u -ra' he-z]i
ka-su-us'-su
lip-pa-tir-ma
ina' ma -[ru-us-tiip.)
lit]-bi
inim + e n - k i - k e u s - z u u s - r i - a nig-a[k-a n i g - h u l ( ? ) ] - a hekür{-ra-ke }"
a-mat e-a kis-pu ru-hu-ü
e-pP-[su
lem-nu-t]P
li-is-ni
n a m m u nin a - g ü b - b a da[dag-g]a-ke
l ü - u - l u - b i k ü - s i g - g a - g i n h[e]-dadag
amTlu(lü) su-ü ki-ma huräsi(k\X.sig )
l[i-bi-i]b
bur-sagan-gin
bur-i-nun-[gin ]
utu [sag-ka]l
ut[u sa]g-kal
x
25
r
1
7
4
51
1
sul sig -ga et-la
5
dam^-qa
är-^da^-tam
f
da-mi-iq-tam
ki-sikil
sigs-ga
lü-bi ba-an-dab-be-es s i o . A L A N - b i gul-gul
a-mi-la
su-a-tum
is-ba-tu-ma
bu-un-na-an- nP-sü
ubbi-tu
lü-bi am-ug -ga-gin sahar-ta ba-an-he-he
amilu(\xx) su-ü ki-ma ri-mi mi-i-HP
ina e-pe-ri
bu-ul-lul
gud-gaz-za-gin in-gar-ra (gin ) b a - d a - n ä
ki-ma al-pi mi-i-ti ina par-si-sü
ni-il
lü-u -lu-bi ü-tu-ud-da-a-ni-ta müs-me-bi ba-an-da- kür
amüu(\\x) su-ü sä ana i-lit-ti-su
zi-mu-sü
it-te-ek-[ru]
a s a l - l ü - h i igi : nig g ä - e : gin-na dum[u-gu ]
im abzu-ta ti- da~* ina ap-si-i
li-qe-ma su ü - m e - [ t i ]
alan l ü - u s - z u uSn-ri-a nita-munus-bi ^ - [ m e - d i m ]
sa-lam kas-sä-pi
u ra-hi-ti
zikari(nita)
u
[sinnisti(mmms)
e-pu-us]
a nam-sub + e n - k i - k e ina me(a)™ si-pat [ e-a ul-lil-sü
na
ü-me-ni-de (?)]
H u ' - u ^ - l u dumu-dingir-ra-na ugu a l a n - b i [a ü - m e - n i - t u ( ? ) ]
amilu(\ü)
mär(dumu)
ili(dmgir)-sü
e//(ugu) sa-lam
su-nu-ti
^me-e
[rummiksu(?)]
a-tu -a lü-bi su-Quh [x x x (x)]
me-e rim-ki sä amili(\ü) su-a-tum x x [
a-bi ugu n i g - h u l - d i m - m a D i x [
mu-ü su-nu-ti e//(ugu) e-pis
le-[mut-ti
nig-kes lü-bi kes-kes K A [x x x (x)] x
ka-si-tim a-mi-la ü-käs-su-ü
[x x x
(x)]- nP
32
rkaT-lmiJm-ma
33
[en] udug "-gin
34
kima(gim) labiri{\\bir)-sü
satir{sw)-ma
bari(igi.käv)
saniq(\g'\Xab)
qätißu)
Hprd"(s,Qb&')-a'-iä
märi{&)-sü sä za-ba -ba -pir-'a-usur(\xm)
mär^a )
' e -ti-ru
7
r
n
us -bür-ru-da-kam
n
7
dim-ma k i - i n - g u b - b a gub-ba
11
r
35
u
4
4
1
v
4
4
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
5
7
7
!
19
r
d
n
10
r
r
4
ä
20
Incantation: "Witchcraft, magic,
sorceries o f ev[il],
sorcery committed with evil
intent, binder o f [m]en:
[ver]tigo, which makes everything shake,
\they inflict], the man cannot
see.
(The sorceries) which [
] , (bend) his [n]eck,
destroy his features,
"Witchcraft, magic, ev[i]l sorceries,
sorcery o f evil, binder o f men:
6
constrict the insides, prfevent]
Ihe man [from rijsing, bind the
band, bind the foot,
7
changc the countenance,
stroy the features;
they constrict the insides, [they
prevent] the ma[n from r]ising,
they paralyze the hand, they
immobilize the foot,
they changc the countenance,
they destroy the features,
1
2
3
4
d
5
rev.
r
1?
Akkadian
Sumerian
n
n
d
Translation
7
5
5
1
21
22
23
5
1
r
1 ?
r
de-
vertigo, which mak[es every]thing shake,
[they inflict, so th]at the man
cannot see.
[They cause]
v[ertigo,
th]ey
[derang]e
[the mind],
they
bend the neck, they destroy the
features,
52
Daniel Schwemer
the man covered with dust is
thrown down on his face,
the i l l man is lying in a 'sick'
place.
10
11-12
13
14
15
16
17
19
rev.
20
21
they cover the man with dust,
they throw him down on his
face,
they make the man i l l and
[l]a[y] (him) down in a place
of hardship.
Witchcraft (and) magic left the
Subterranean Ocean,
Having come out o f the Subterranean Ocean witchcraft (and)
magic
seized the beautiful young they seized the beautiful young
man, the beautiful girl, (they man, the beautiful girl, (they
seized) this man destroying his seized) this man and destroyed
his features.
features.
This man is smeared with dirt This man is smeared with dirt
like a dead bull,
like a dead bull,
he lies in gore like a slaugh- he lies in his gore like a dead
tered ox,
ox,
this man: his countenance has this man whose countenance
become Strange to his (own) has become stränge to his
offspring.
(own)
offspring.
Asalluhi noticed (him, went into the house o f his father Enki and
cried out: 'Father, witchcraft, magic, sorceries o f e v i l . . . ! ' He
reported it to him a second time (and said): ' I don't know what
to do, what would quiet him?' Enki answered his son Asalluhi:
' M y son, what is it you do not know? What more could I give to
you? Marduk, what is it you do not know? What could I give
you in addition?) Whatever I (know, you know too). Go [my] son
(Asalluhi),
when you have taken clay from take clay from the Subterrathe Subterranean Ocean,
nean Ocean,
when [you have made] a figu- and [make] a figurine o f warrine o f warlock and sorceress, lock and sorceress, o f a man
of a man and o f a woman. and [ o f a woman].
[when you have purified him]
[Purify him] with the water o f
with the water o f Enki's in- [Ea's] incantation,
cantation,
[when you have washed] the
[wash] the man, the son o f his
man, the son o f his god, with god, with the water over these
the water over these figurines, figurines.
[when you have...] the wash The wash water o f that man...
water o f that man [...] hand[...].
washing rite.
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
[when you have...] this water
[...] over the evildoer.
— they bound this man with a
'binding', . . . [ . . . ]
may (then) this bound man be
released, [may] the s[ick] man
[ri]se!
May Enki's word change(!) the
witchcraft, the magic (and) the
sorce[ries o f evi]l,
53
[Lei] this water [...] over the
evilfdoer].
They bound the man with a
'binding', [ . . . ] !
May he be released from his
bound State and [ri]se from
ha[rdship]\
May Ea's word change with
regard to the witchcraft, the
magic (and) the [evi]l sorti[leges],
may Nammu, the lady o f the
pu[re] lustration water,
make this man as pure as let this man [become] as pure
gold!
as gold!
(When you have washed him clean) like the bowl o f a perfume
flask,
(when you have wiped him clean) [like] a bowl for ghee,
(when you have entrusted him to) Utu, [foremos]t ( o f the gods),
(may then) U t [ u , for]emost ( o f the gods, reassign him to the benevolent hands o f his god)!"
32
It is the wording ( o f the incantation) to undo witchcraft.
33
[Incantation]: "Created like an udug-demon(?), Standing in Position".
Written according to its original, then collated (and) checked.
Hand o f Ipra'ya(?) , son o f Zababa-pir'a-usur, son o f Etiru.
34-35
22
Philological notes
I : Iis,, -zu u s „ - r i - a head the list o f evils and they are named as
llie principal causes o f the patient's suffering in obv. 10 (cf. also rev. 25).
Tlicir translation with Akkadian kispü and ruhü conforms with what can be
f'ound in many other bilingual texts; cf. e.g. PBS 1/2, 122 obv. 3-4 / / K U B
30, I obv. 3, see Falkenstein 1939: 12, Geller 1989: 194. The sequence
kitpil ruhü bccomes so standardized in Akkadian that it is used to translate
also other, synonymous pairs in Sumerian: CT 4, 3 rev. 19 n i g - a k - a
'•' Or Senia'ya, scc note on rev. 34-35.
Daniel Schwemer
54
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
•"uSu^-zu
(// K 5111+ rev. I I I 29', correct the reading given by
Cooper 1971: 15 and Böck 2007: 230; cf. Schwemer 2007b: 20 fn. 70) is
translated as kispü ruhü in K U B 37, 106(+) r. col. 18', while the first m i l lennium duplicate has the expected upisü (up-pi-su) kispü ( K 5111+ rev.
III 30').
The tentative restoration n i g - h u l - a , rather than n i g - h u l d i m - m a or simple n i g - h u l , is based on rev. 25, where a reading
nig-a[k-a
nig-hul]- a
corresponding to Akkadian e-pP - [su
lem-nu-t]i seems very likely.
2: upisü usually is used in the plural, and the apparent 'singular' form
here may be due to the construct State. However, the phrase mukassü amTlüti follows upes lemutti as an appositional attribute, and i n view o f
Sumerian l ü - n i g - k e s the participle mukassü
can hardly be interpreted as a plural form; this suggests that the construct State upes should
be understood as a true singular form too.
3-4: Bilingual texts translate Sumerian i g i - n i g i n and s a g - n i g i n
with sidänu (see CAD S 171b, AHw 1100a), whose meaning "vertigo" is
nicely confirmed by the epithet in the second half o f this line. It is clear
from the Sumerian Version that the subject phrase o f the sentence ends
w i t h 1. 2 ( - k e ) . One would therefore expect the phrase [ s a g / i g i ] n i g i n n i g - n a m t u k - t u k // sidänu murib mimma sumsu to represent the direct object o f the first sentence. The broken first half o f 1. 4
would then have contained a 3 p l . pres. verbal form describing how
witchcraft and sorcery bring 'vertigo' on a person (cf. Surpu V I I 15-16:
an-ki-bi-ta muru -gin
seg-seg sag-nigin
gar-ra[a-mes]
/ / ina same u erseti kima imbari
izannunü
sidänu
is[akkanü\). Unfortunately, the few traces preserved in the first half o f 1. 4
are not easily reconciled w i t h the obvious restorations (e.g. i m - g ä g ä - n e // isakkanüma
or similar). Because o f its positioning slightly
above the line compared to the following trace one suspects the UD-shaped
trace visible below si-da-nu to represent the last sign o f the Sumerian
phrase. I f one accepts this conclusion, one could possibly restore [ g ä - g ä
(??)-d]a -[n]a
[^--[sak-kan-sum^Tj-m^
"(vertigo...) comes
upon h i m . . . " (cf. Surpu V I I 33-34), even though an intransitive sentence
with s a g / i g i - n i g i n // sidänu as subject is unexpected within the
present context. With the second half o f 1. 4 begins the description o f the
consequences the 'vertigo'-disease has on a person affected by it. We may
conclude that the actual purpose o f the ritual was to eure witchcraftinduced
sidänu-disease.
1
r
n
r
4
4
4
rd
9
? ?
?
7
7
5: The restorations in the first half o f the line fit the traces and the
spacc availablc in the break. Note that süd päni and sane temi follow upon
55
each other in lists o f different methods o f witchcraft and their effects (see
Maqlü I 91, I V 12). For the corresponding Sumerian passage we expect i g i
n i g i n - n i g i n u m u s k ü r - k ü r , which fits easily in the space availablc in the break. Given that in the preserved text the Sumerian verbal
forms always follow their object, an emendation o f the Sumerian verb corresponding to Akkadian uqaddadü seems inevitable.
6: The phrase s ä k a - k e s / / libba kasäru is unusual; within the
present context it can hardly mean "they cause anger" (cf. kisir libbi
"anger"), since one expects the description o f a physical Symptom. The
translation given above is based on the assumption that the phrase is a
simple variant o f libba kasü (cf. kis libbi "knotting o f the insides",
"stomach constriction", "indigestion"). This assumption finds support in
Ihe fact that kisir libbi occurs occasionally in the place o f more
common kis libbi in first millennium medical texts (see BAM 575 rev.
IV 43; cf. for this and similar texts Scurlock-Andersen 2005: 131-32).
Akkadian eselu is used with both hands and feet; the translator seems to
luive introduced the Variation between the verbal forms for purely stylislic reasons.
8: The phrase i g i - u g u s ü - s ü "to throw down on the face", lit. "to
oveiwhclm over the face" (translated by Akkadian buppäni- sahäpu) is
here attested for the first time. D i r i I I I 147-48 ( M S L 15, 142-43) gives
Akkadian buppäni- and sihip päni as equivalent o f Sumerian ugu.
8-9: The syntax o f the Akkadian translation in these two lines differs
liom the Sumerian. While the Sumerian version discontinues the series o f
transitive non-finite verbal forms in the preceding lines with two intransitive sentences whose subject is q u a l i f i e d by attributes ( s a h a r - t a
sub b a , t u - r a ) , the Akkadian translation transforms both the attributes and the intransitive verbal predicates ( b a - s ü - s ü , n ä - ä m ) into
transitive 3"' pl. verbal forms after the model o f the preceding lines.
9: For k i - g i g , cf. T M H 6 rev. 19: k i - g i g - g a - b a ü - m a - d ü
"civcl (it) in that place o f sickness" (birth incantation); M . Geller underslaiuls k i g i g - g a there to refer to the mother's body. In the present
line Ihe phrase clearly refers to the sickbed or the sick man's house.
10: In light o f the pret. verbal forms in the following lines ittasüni
must be interpreted as a 3 pl. Gt pret. form; cf. Surpu V I I 1-4: b u [ r u ]
sn a b / u ta i m - t a - [ e ] - a - n a / / dimitu ultu qereb apsi
ittasä,
n i i i n e r i m s ä - a n - n a - t a i m - t a - e - d [ e ] // mämitu ultu qereb
samc urda "The dimitu-disease left from the midst o f Subterranean Ocean,
'bau' descended from the midst o f heaven".
13-14: Cf. Maul 1988: 332: 16'-19' ( g u - g i n k a r - m u d - d [ a - b ] a
e da sub // kima alpi [ina] idiptTsu nadima, u d u - g i n m u r g u ba
rd
5
M
4
7
7
56
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
Daniel Schwemer
e - [ d ] a - l ü - l ü / / kima immeri i[na tabas]tanisu bullulma) as well
as BWL 44, Ludlul I I 106-7.
16: For this abbreviation o f the Marduk-Ea-Formel
common in l
mill. manuscripts, see already Falkenstein 1931: 57.
17: The Subterranean Ocean as source o f clay is well known from a
wide ränge o f sources (PSD A I I 198-99); note that also the witch is said
to use clay from the abzu when fashioning figurines o f her victim; see
PBS 1/2, 122 obv. 7'-8' // (Geller 1989: 194: 3).
18: ( l ü - ) u s - z u is the normal designation o f the warlock and
corresponds here and elsewhere to Akkadian kassäpu. Sumerian u s r i - a is used along with u s - z u as nomen actoris in PBS 1/2, 122
rev. 5'-6', 9'-10', l l ' - 1 2 ' (Geller 1989: 197: 43', 45'-46'), where both
terms are translated by Akkadian kassäptu. It is surprising that the gender
of the male noun is marked by l ü here, while u s - r i - a is not preceded
by m u n u s ; but within the present context, with n i t a - m u n u s - b i
immediately following, it went without saying that u s - r i - a , as elsewhere, Stands for the female agent o f witchcraft. Its Akkadian translation
with rähitu is first attested here, but hardly surprising given that u s r i - a is rendered regularly as ruhü (cf. especially [ m u n u s ]
us ri-a
/ / sinnistu sa ruhe in W a l k e r - D i c k 2001: 212, 1. 10) and
(a — ) r i corresponds to Akkadian rehü.
r
1
s t
n
n
u
H
n
u
r
n 1
19: For a n a m - s u b ( - b a ) // me sipti, see PSD A I 13a and 13b sub
3.2.4 and 3.2.9. For the restoration o f n a - d e / / ullulu in the break, cf.
Uh 16: 9 1 : a - g ü b - b a a - k ü - g a na d e - g a - a m // agubbä me ellüti
ullilsüma "Purify him with the pure water o f the holy water vessel"; CT
17, 26: 67-68: a - b i t u - k ü - z a na u - m e - n i - s ü m / / ana me sunüti
sipatka elletu idima, t u - k ü - z a na u - m e - n i - d e
/ / ina teka elli
ullilma "Cast your pure incantation on this water and purify it with your
pure spell!". For the reading o f RI = elelu as d e ( g ) , see Sallaberger
2005.
21: It is difficult to see how the signs preserved in the second half o f
the Akkadian Version correspond to s u - l u h . A reading D I S [ U seems
most likely (for the form o f su, cf. e.g. obv. 15, second su), but does not
yield any obvious sense. Perhaps one should emend the text to (i-)di
su-\luh-ha\g "the wash water o f that man use for the hand
washing rite" (for suluhhu as object o f nadü, cf. BBR 2, 83 rev. I I I 16,
cited by CAD S I I I 261).
5
23
5
6
6
5
5
r
" Uh = Geller 2007.
n
57
24: While the restoration o f the verbal forms in the second half o f the
line is fairly certain, the tentative restoration o f the preceding signs
remains doubtful, especially since marustu is not ofherwise attested as a
translation o f t u - r a .
25: For the restoration n i g - a [ k - a n i g - h u l ] - a , cf. the note on
obv. 1. I f intransitive lisni in the Akkadian version is not a simple mistake
for lisanni — note the transitive construction in the Sumerian version —,
kispü ruhü episü lemnüti must be interpreted as an accusative o f relation.
For episü (= n i g - a k - a ) as a variant form o f upisü, see AHw 1423a and
also, e.g., SpTU 2, 22+ obv. I I 9' (cf. CAD E 191 s.v. epesu); note that the
altestation KMI 76a: 20 (now K 8505 + 8606 [ = AMT 44/4] obv. 23) has
(o be dcleted (read ü-pi-si,
coll.).
The corresponding text o f the Sumerian version seems to be corrupt.
A nominalized form h e - k ü r - r a - k e
makes little sense within the
present context, and the addition o f the ending / - ( a - ) a k - e / may be
inlluenced by the end o f the following line ( / d a d a g - a k - e / ) . For e n k i k e instead o f fuller e n - k i - g a - k e , cf. here obv. 19 and,
e.g., d u m u s a g - k a l e n - k i - k e "foremost son o f E n k i " in ETCSL
2.8.5.1: l ' or n a m d ü g e n - k i - k e "good destiny o f E n k i " in ETCSL
1.1.4: 127.
26-27: L. 26 is not translated into Akkadian. I f we do not dismiss the
noniiiiative amilu sü in 1. 27 as corrupt, the text o f 1. 26 was not integrated
inlo the Akkadian syntax. Thus it seems that the scribe omitted the translation here by mistake, in contrast to the abbreviated formulas in 11. 16,
28-31, where a translation was not deemed necessary.
28-31: For the füll text o f the abbreviated formulas, see especially
Surpu VII 82-87, Uh 4: 194'-97' (bilingual), YOS 11, 90 rev. 25-29 (Cavigneaux Al-Rawi 1995: 180-81) and CT 58, 79: 47-51 / / (Cavigneaux-AlKnwi 1995: 28), but also Geller 1985: 40: 354-57, 48: 506-9 and the antiwitchcraft incantation PBS 1/2, 122 rev. 34-40 (Geller 1989: 198: 72'-75').
33: The incipit seems to be attested only here. A t the beginning o f
Ihe line a reading g i d i m - g i n is not excluded. For k i - i n - g u b (instead
ol" morc frequcnt k i - g u b ) , c f , e.g., George 2003: 769: t 2 (rr,).
34-35: The scribe, who was active during the reign o f Artaxerxes, is
well known from a number o f colophons on tablets in the Babylon collection o f the British Museum (collected and discussed by Finkel 1988:
153-55). The scribe's name was read Sema'ya by Finkel and, earlier on, by
r
n
4
d
4
d
4
d
4
4
d
4
7
/•:/( '.SV.
Ulack et al. 1998-2006.
58
Daniel Schwemer
Livingstone (1986: 250-60); the latter rightly drew attention to the fact that
se-ma-a'-iä/ia
must be interpreted as a Hebrew (or at least a West
Semitic) name. Collation o f all the tablets where our scribe's name is preserved reveals, however, that (1) our scribe usually differentiates the signs
M A and B A (in B A the middle horizontal typically is slightly indented), and
that (2) the second sign within his name consistently shows the form typical for BA. A name *Seba'ya makes little sense; it seems therefore possible that the name is written logographically. The Akkadian name Ipriya
(short for Nabü-nädin-ipri etc.) is occasionally attested in the Late Babylonian period (see Tallqvist 1905: 79a). In one seal inscription this name is
written SE.BA-z'a (VS 6, 128, seal legend 2). It is very tempting to assume
that our scribe used exactly this logographic spelling in his colophons,
even though the consistent spelling with the '-sign would suggest a form
Ipra'ya rather than the expected Ipriya.
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
1' Obv.
l
2. BM 40568
The fragment B M 40568 represents approximately the lower third o f a
single-column tablet probably found at Babylon or Borsippa. It is inscribed
in a small and neat Babylonian script, roughly dating to the 5* Century.
M . J. Geller identified the text in the Babylon collection o f the British
Museum and published his hand-copy accompanied by an uncommented
transliteration as an Addendum to his review o f SpTU, vol. 4 (1995-96:
247-48). Renewed study o f the text resulted in a number o f improved readings and clarifications which call for a comrnented translation o f the text;
for the convenience o f the reader we include also a revised transliteration
and a new hand-copy .
The tablet probably contained just one incantation o f the Marduk-Ea
type. Only a passage from the middle o f the text with parts o f the "präteritale Thema" (obv. l ' - 4 ' ) , the Marduk-Ea formula (obv. 5') and the beginning o f the ritual instructions (obv. 6' - rev. 7) is extant. The incantation's main concern emerges clearly from the ritual section: The conjurer
fashions figurines representing warlock and witch o f different materials. As
can be observed elsewhere in anti-witchcraft rituals, the figurines' (mal-)
treatment corresponds to the material they are made of: the figurines o f
tallow, bitumen and wax are molten ("burned"), whereas the figurines o f
25
1 would like to stress that Geller's copy of the text, apart from very few minute details, represents the cuneiform text accurately. I had prepared my own copy before realizing that the
fragment had already been published, and it makes little sense to hold back this copy.
25
Fig. 3: B M 40568
60
Daniel Schwemer
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
clay and dough are crushed by the patient and then, as we may conclude
from a parallel Akkadian ritual, buried in the ground . This is followed by
a ritual purification o f the patient's mouth, again a well known rite. The
whole procedure was performed on a new moon night after sunset; interestingly, the instructions nevertheless stipulate setting up a censer before
the Sun-god. The Symptoms o f bewitchment described i n obv. 2'-4'
include paralysis, impotency and, probably, an inability to speak, all o f
them typical adverse effects o f witchcraft on a person's health according to
the symptomologies o f first millennium witchcraft therapies .
ev.
1
26
2
3
[ka-n]e -[n]e' gir ä - g ü b - b u - n a ü - [
[p]u--u-sü-nu
ina se-ep su-me-li-sü
[
[ ] sila-gaz-ta ü - [ m e - n i - g a r ]
ina hu-pe-e
su-k[u-un-ma]
igi - utu-se nig-na l i ü - m e - [ n i - g a r ]
ina ma-har samas(\A\\)
[(probably nothing missing)]
l ü - u - l u dumu-dingir-ra-na gestin-sur-ra ü - m e - n [ i - b a l - b a l ]
liq-[qi]
alan im-ma n i g - s i l a - g ä g i r - n i ü - m e - [ n i - s u - u b ]
AS
li-se-e[r]
alan i-udu D U H . L Ä L esir izi-ta ü - m e - n [ i - b i l ]
AS
qü-l[u]
sinig "in-nu-us gisimmar-tur g i - s u l - h i ' sita
eren-babbar-ra k a - b i - t a ü - m e - n i - [ g a z ]
ina pi-P-[sü
li]-'[i-is]
x x [
?
du
r
r
7 1
g
n
d
ä i m
A
4
5
27
6
Transliteration (copy fig. 3)
1
18
n
gis
gil
giä
obv.
61
1' [
e ä
r
n
T
ana
as^^kupp^l)
gir-ni ba-d[a-an-dab nu-mu-un-da-an-zi-zi(?)]
se-ep-su is^bat-ma
te^ba-a
[ul /7e"z(?)]
s ä - b i ba-da-an-dab s a - z [ i - g a - n i
li-ib-ba-su
is-bat-ma ni-is lib-bi-*su} x [
ä - s u - g i r - b i ba-da-an-dab nu-mu -un-da-a[b-be]
mes-re-ti-sü
is-bat-ma a-wi-lu ga/3ä (dug ) u[l z7e"/(?YJ
asal-lü-hi igi : nig g ä - e : gin-na dumu-[gu ]
u d - n ä - ä m ud es-bar an-na-[ka(-ka)(?)]
ina u -um pu-ru-us-se-e
sä ani(an) [(x x)]
utu a n - s ä - g a i g i - n i g ä - g ä - [ t a ]
samas(u\\x) is-tu ana qe-reb same(an) pa-ni-su
ina sä[ka-ni]
alan l ü - u s - z u munus-us -zu A [ K (x x)]
sa-la-am
[nothing missing]
im-ma n i g - s i l a - g ä i-udu esir D U H . L Ä L { x } ü - m e - n [ i - d i m ]
sa
bi-ni-m[a]
[z]i-da-ne-ne ka-ne (bi)- ne
g ü b - b u - n [ e - n e gu-du-ne-ne
ü-me-ni-dab(?)]
im-na-ti-sü-nu
pi-i-sü-n[u
su-me-l]i- sü -n[u
qinnassunu
susbit{l)]
r
2'
1
3'
4'
1
r
l
28
?
5'
6'
9'
10'
>bv.
10
ni
d
e
n
n
n
!
r
6'
7'
8'-9'
1
r
1
10'
ev.
26
The ritual instructions in KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 obv. 8-11, rev. 15-19 are very similar to our
text.
27
28
1'
2'
3'
4'
5'
?
i
8'
Translation
4
d
4
7'
8
See Schwemer 2007b: 35-36, 95-96, 169-79.
Written over an erased sign.
1
2
3
4
At the thr[eshold
She seized his foot so that [he cannot] rise,
she seized his 'heart' so that [he is deprived of] his potency,
she seized his limbs so that the man [is] u[nable] to speak.
Asalluhi noticed (him, went into the house o f his father Enki and
cried out: 'Father, ...!' He reported it to him a second time (and
said): ' I don't know what to do, what would quiet him?' Enki
answered his son Asalluhi: ' M y son, what is it you do not know?
What more could I give to you? Marduk, what is it you do not
know? What could I give you in addition?) Whatever I (know,
you know too). Go [my] son (Asalluhi),
on the day o f the new moon, the day o f An's decision, [(...),]
after Utu has set his face into 'Heaven's Interior',
make figurines o f warlock and witch [(...)] o f clay, o f dough, o f
tallow, o f bitumen (and) o f wax.
[Have] their right hands [seize] their mouth, their left hands
[their anus].
[Have him ... ] their [mou]th with his left foot.
Pu[t] (them) in a disposable pot,
s[et up] a censer with juniper before Utu.
Lct the man, the son o f his god, pour out grape must.
Daniel Schwemer
62
5
6
7
8
Let him crush the figurines o f clay (and) o f dough with his
foot.
Bu[rn] the figurines o f tallow, wax (and) bitumen with fire.
[Let him ch]e[w] in his mouth tamarisk, soapwort, palm shoot,
sulhi-reed, 'wood-of-release' (and) 'white cedar'.
too fragmentary for translation.
Philological notes
obv. 1': The tentative restoration follows Geller.
2'-4': The subject in these lines is the agent o f evil who was explicitly named in the preceding lines which are now lost. Obv. 8' shows that
the incantation is directed against warlock and witch. The pairing "warlock
and w i t c h " is a typical stereotype o f this genre, and i f the concrete descriptions o f the evildoer's action, like here, are phrased in the singular
(and not in the 3 plural), they regularly refer to the witch rather than to
the male warlock (see Schwemer 2007b: 70-72; for an attempt at a historical Interpretation o f these inconsistencies, see Sefati-Klein 2002).
2': For the restoration, cf. the phrase summa amelu sepsu marusma
tebä u uzuzza lä ile"i in Akkadian medical texts (AMT 69/2: 2', BAM 152
rev. I V 1; cf. also TDP 220: 21). Geller's reading se-ep-su
Ht-te-ba-a^
can only be reconciled with the preserved traces with difficulty.
3': The tentative restoration given in the translation is based on a
comparison with the phrase summa amelu ms libbisu etir(ma ms libbi lä
irassi) in Akkadian medical texts (see AMT 71/1 obv. 1, KAR 70 obv. I
22); but note that the spacing o f the signs in the Akkadian line suggests
that more than just two signs (e.g. ^^-[ti-ir])
have to be restored in the
break.
4': Geller read a-we-lu-ka, but a plural awtlüka is difficult to accept
within the present context. The syntax seems to be parallel to 1. 2', and an
Interpretation o f K A as logographic writing for the infinitive qabä seems to
be our best Option, even though one may have expected a syllabic spelling
on the present tablet, which, as rightly noted by Geller, contains a number
o f writings ultimately owed to an Old Babylonian original.
5': See the note on B M 47451 obv. 16.
6' - rev. 8: We provide only one translation for the Sumerian and
Akkadian texts since there are no significant variants between the two versions; the rendering o f the verbal forms in the ritual instructions (Sumerian
prospective, Akkadian imperative), follows the Akkadian version.
6': The day o f the new moon is auspicious for the Performance o f
anti-witchcraft rituals; cf. K 8933(+) obv. I I 4'-5' // Sm 352(+) obv. I I 17'
rd
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
63
// Th 1905-4-9, 72 + 73 obv. I 21' / / KAL 2, 36 rev. V I I ' , where the two
lypical periods o f time for the Performance o f usburruda and namerimburruda rituals are named: sa ina bubbuli kispT u ina nubatti sebi ümi
ii/>assaru mäm[äti(l)]
"(ra'ftTw-sulphur) which undoes witchcraft on the
day o f the new moon, cur[ses] on the vigil o f the seventh day". For the
Performance o f anti-witchcraft rituals on the day o f the new moon, c f ,
e.g., Maqlü V I 117", AMT 85/1 rev. V 12 / / KAR 189 = BAM 208 = KAL
2, 47 r. col. 8 // K 6586(+) r. col. 3', AMT 85/3(+) 1. col. 6, BAM 445
obv. 25, KAL 2, 10 r. col. 17' (following the recitation o f the incantation
annü biblu annü bibbulu "This is the day o f the new moon, this is the day
of the new moon") and a section o f the 'therapeutische
Vädemecum''
(KADP 1 rev. V 18-19, 24, 27-28, 30, 32 with duplicates, among others
KMI 76b K 4569 passim; for the text, cf. Schwemer 2007b: 197). Note
(hat one usburruda incantation addresses the personified night o f the new
moon with the following words: [m]ullil same apsi bubbu[lu],
mupasser
kispT ruhe, nasparät müsi u kala ü[mi], sa taltanapparäni
ana muhhlya,
bubbulu ümka ezzu liksussinäti "New Moon, who purifies the heavens and
Ihe Subterranean Ocean, who undoes witchcraft (and) magic: the messages
of the night and o f the whole day which you ( 2 pl.) keep sending against
me: New Moon, may your day o f wrath overpower t h e m ! " ( K 8112 +
9666 obv. I I 2'-6').
2 9
nd
30
For the vigil o f the seventh day o f the month as the auspicious time for
Ihe Performance o f rituals against 'ban' (mämitu), cf. especially the namerimburruda incantation anäku nubattu ahät Marduk, edited and discussed
" KAL 2 = Schwemer 2007a.
"' Akkadian ümka ezzu liksussinäti, quoted already by CAD B 299b (the reference to Nuska
liiere is misleading). This is a stock phrase that is used in a number of anti-witchcraft incantalions. PBS 1/2, 133 rev. 12' / / addresses the Sun-god: samas(utu) üm(ud)-ka ez-zu
lik-su-u[dsu nu-ti] (= Lambert 1957-58: 294: 74). In Maqlü 1117 the same phrase is used addressing Gira
(kima Samas dayyäni "like/instead of Samas, the judge"). In Maqlü II 134 the phrase again refers
10 (iira, after the Fire-god has been addressed as ümu nanduru "raging storm" at the beginning of
Ihe same incantation (II 127). Abusch 2002: 126, 145-46 (first published in Studies Moran, 1990,
iT. also 2002: 73-74) translates the phrase "fiery red light" arguing that "ümu ezzu ... should refer lo the heat rays of the sun and be identical with the fire-god himself" (145). There is, howevcr, little evidence for ümu meaning "(fiery) light"; for Sumerian u d h u s , a common divine epiihcl, and, as Abusch rightly points out, possibly the very phrase underlying our Akkadian ümu
cszii, a translation "furious storm" fits the contexts best. In view of the Sumerian phrase and
Maqlü II 127 it seems likely that ümu should be translated "storm" also within the formula ümu
c:zu Hksussunuti and that the expression refers to the raging fire: "May your furious (fire)storm
overpower them". While such a translation fits the contexts addressing Samas and Gira perfectly,
11 makes little sense within the incantation quoted above; a fiery storm is hardly an appropriate
iillributc of the invisible, black new moon. On the other hand the new moon represents the ideal
dale, the appropriate day for the Performance of an anti-witchcraft ritual, and since in Akkadian
"day" and "storm" are homonyms, one could easily adapt the stock phrase into the present conlexl. Its meaning was slightly altered, while the wording remained unchanged.
;
d
64
Daniel Schwemer
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
65
by Stol (1992: 251-55; another duplicate is B M 42272 obv. 10-14, there used
against witchcraft and ban; cf. also Schwemer 2007b: 66 fn. 151).
For the new moon o f the 30* day o f the month as the day o f Anu, cf.
the lipsur-htmy
JCS 1, 333 rev. 13' (duplicate CTN 4, 110 rev. 32:
Marduk) and the designation o f the 30 day as the day o f A n u in hemerologies (see the references cited by Nougayrol 1947: 333-34 fn. 26).
Note that the Akkadian version is shortened and leaves out bubbuli.
7': For this expression for the setting o f the sun, see Horowitz 1998:
248-49. Note the pleonastic double preposition in the Akkadian infinitive
construction (istu ... ina sakäni).
8': I f anything one expects n i t a m u n u s - b i a t t h e end o f the line,
especially since the Akkadian version apparently had only salam and took
the second half o f the line o f the Sumerian version as logographic spelling
of the corresponding Akkadian text. The sign before the break is a clear
A [ K , but its significance escapes me — is it possibly a morphematic
spelling for the genitive in - ( a ) k ?
9': The Akkadian version introduces the sequence o f materials by sa
and then does not bother with a translation o f the individual terms which
could easily be read as logograms.
10': For the tentative restoration, cf. the anti-witchcraft ritual V A T 35
obv. 7-8" and the ghost ritual BAM 323 obv. 42 // (for the latter, see Scurlock 2006: 507). The motif is already attested in the curse formula o f an
Old Assyrian royal inscription (see R I M A I , A.033.1: 40-41).
rev. 2: For the use o f a hupü ( s i l a . g a z ; cf. Sallaberger 1996: 53,
106b, 112a, 116b) as the receptacle o f the sorcerers' figurines, cf. K B o 9,
47: 15' (// K U B 4, 99: 9' // BAM 317 rev. 6 // KAL 2, 43 m. col. 4' //
KAR 275 = KAL 2, 45 r. col. 1 // V A T 12153: 5'), KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 rev.
15 / / and Maul 1994: 448: 41 (cf. also his note p. 451, fn. 47). Probably a
large sherd o f a disposable sila vessel or the vessel itself, which was to be
smashed after its use, were employed here. The present text suggests that
the Akkadian reading o f the logogram s i l a . g a z was hupü rather than
silagazü within ritual contexts comparable to the present passage ; the fact
that the basic meaning o f hupü is "fragment" may indicate that a sherd
rather than an intact vessel is meant.
3: The Sumerian version o f 11. 3 and 4 are written right under each
other towards the end o f the line; therefore it is likely that the scribe did
not writc out expected sukunma at the end o f 1. 3.
4: Note that the libation o f grape must ( g e s t i n - s u r - r a = karänu
sahtII) to a god is unusual before the first millennium (see CAD S 64).
Selting up the censer before Samas usually goes hand in hand with
pouring a libation o f beer before the god. But the libation here, performed
by Ihe patient, may rather have been an unfriendly act aimed at the figurines o f warlock an witch (cf. the libation o f grape must and other liquids
over Ihe sweepings from a witchcraft-infested house in K 72+ obv. 56; see
Schwemer 2007b: 225 fn. 134).
5-6: Following Geller, one could read AS at the beginning o f both
lines as ina, understanding 1. 5 as ina (sepisu) and 1. 6 as ina (isäti). But
wilhin the rules o f Akkadian word order these phrases would not stand at
ihe beginning o f the line. It seems therefore preferable to assume that the
iwo horizontal wedges mark the beginning o f the Akkadian lines, which
coulain only the verbal forms in translation placed underneath the corresponding Sumerian forms at the end o f each line. AS here takes on the
lunction o f a ditto-syrabol (like su, M I N and K I M I N ) indicating that the corresponding Sumerian passage should be read as a logographic writing o f
ihe Akkadian version, a usage o f AS that is also attested in OB bilingual
texts ( c f , e.g., SEM 90 obv. I I 9', ed. CAD S I 118b). W h y the scribe, probably following the original he was copying, put AS at the beginning o f
II. 5-6, but not at the beginning o f 1. 4 is hard to say.
5: For the use o f seru "to plaster", "to rub" and here "to flatten"
(like plaster is flattened when it is smeared on the w a l l ) in the context
of destroying figurines with the feet cf. KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 rev. 18 / / :
ina me ina sepisu isa"ersunüti
(var. isersunüti) "He crushes the figurines
of clay (and) the figurines o f dough with his feet in (the wash) water (of
Iiis /et'/)", V A T 35 rev. 5-6: ina asid im[it]tTsu isersüma "he crushes it
wilh his right heel", and especially K 3581 + 7946 rev. 9-11: ina sep(g\r)
snniclT(güb)-ka
saläsi(3>)~sü ta-ra-hi-su-nu-[ti],
kiam(ur .gim)
taqabbi
(du .ga) as-sa-pan-ku-nu-[si],
es-se-er-ku-nu-si
us-ta-bil-ku-nu-[si]
"You trample them (the figurines) three times with your left foot; you
speak Ilms: T have leveled you, I have crushed you, I have destroyed
you " ! ' " .
salam(mi) bel(en) da-ba-ba sä tidi(im) teppus(dü)'"
imitta( zng^)-sü
{ina}
pä(kafsü
sumel(g\xb)-sü qi-na-as-su tu-sä-as-bat-su
"You make a figurine of the adversary of clay. You
have it seize its mouth with its right hand (and) its anus with its left hand".
Cf. also V A T 35 obv. 10 - lo.e. 1: ina lib-bi hu-up-pi'(si) tasakkan(gax)' ina mahar(\%\)
''samas(utu) ta-dan-sü "You place (the figurine) in a h., you convict him before Samas".
" Willi regard to KAR 80 rev. 18 //, CAD S 229a proposes a Special meaning to "disinii'gnitu" for seru; in view of the other relevant contexts, especially K 3581+ rev. 9-11 this seems
In imspcci 11c.
" l.ilerally "I have mixed you up"; (w)abälu St is regularly used for destroying figurines by
liie, which mixes them up in form of their ashes (therefore: "einäschern"; see AHw 1453b).
th
d u g
d u g
32
31
12
p
r
m
33
s
M
Daniel Schwemer
66
Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations
7: The use o f tamarisk, soapwort and palm shoot, the purifying substances par excellence, for washing the patient's mouth is attested in other
anti-witchcraft rituals as well: bina mastakaP u suhussa ina pisu tasakkanma u ina qätisu inassima sipta annita [saläsTsu] tamannüma sa pisu
ina^isma u sa qätisu ramänsu usbä'ma "You place tamarisk, so[apwor]t
and palm shoot in his mouth, and he also lifts (it) up in his hand. Then
you recite this incantation [three times]; he chews what is in his mouth
and Swings over himself what is in his hand" (usburruda ritual, see
80-7-19, 146 + K 10559 + 11993 + Sm 1330 obv. I 9 ' - l l ' // Th 1905-4-9,
72 + 73 obv. I I 12'-14' // K 10358 1. col. 6'-9' // B M 38635 rev. 5-8, with
minor variants between the manuscripts).
The occurrence o f s i t a "mace" within the present context is surprising at first glance. There can be no doubt that s i t a must refer here
to a plant and not to a tool. One o f the plants that one would expect to
be mentioned within the present sequence is is pisri
'wood-of-release'
whose effectiveness against witchcraft is praised in incantations ( T C L 6,
49 obv. 21; LKA 159 = KAL 2, 26(+) rev. 8, 10 / / RIAA 312 rev. I I I 9',
11'; 80-7-19, 146 + K 10559 + 11993 + Sm 1330 obv. I 56'-61' // K
10341 obv. 1-10 ). Elsewhere the 'wood-of-release' is put to use within
the very same rite o f purifying the mouth: mastakal(m.nu.us)
suhussa
(gisimmar.tur) qan sa/ä/z(gi.sul.hi) is(gis) pisri(bür) i-na-'i-is
(Maul 1994:
259: 8'). I n view o f this evidence it is significant that Hh I I I 518 ( M S L
5, 140) equates s i t a with is pisri. Given that g i s - b ü r (is pisri, gisburru) served also as a designation o f the conjurer's ceremonial curved
staff (gamlu), it cannot surprise that the plant 'wood-of-release' had a variant name 'weapon' in Sumerian. Note that siTA is sometimes used as a
logogram, probably also for is pisri, in medical texts (see, e.g., BAM 318
rev. I I I 12). In this context it deserves to be mentioned that is pisri can i n terchange with both G A N . N A (bukänu, see KAL 2, p. 114 ad BAM 190
rev. 4) and with ^ G A N . U , (TCL 6, 49 obv. 21 = KAL 2, 36 + V A T 13628
[join W. Meinhold] rev. V 40'); this suggests that all writings and desig5
gi5
giä
36
ü
gi5
giä
ü
nations — GIS BÜR, ''SITA, " G A N . N A and
E
GIÄ/
"GAN.u
5
— refer to bukänu,
the
'pestle'-plant.
From the preceding text, especially B M 38635 rev. 2, it is clear that mastakal must be restored here. The traces in Th 1905-4-9, 72+ obv. II 12' are not easily reconciled with such a
reading, but an emendation iN .üS seems most likely.
For this incantation, see Abusch-Schwemer, forthcoming (commentary on A 7876 rev.
V I I 10').
35
i!r
36
6!!?
71
67
References
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of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature, AMD 5, Leiden / Boston /
Köln.
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Iraq.
Black, J. A., G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Flückiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor
and G. Zölyomi 1998-2006. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/), Oxford.
Köck, B. 2007. Das Handbuch Mussu'u "Einreibung". Eine Serie sumerischer und
akkadischer Beschwörungen aus dem 1. Jt. vor Chr., Madrid.
Borger, R. 1985. "Einige Texte religiösen Inhalts", Or 54: 14-26.
(avigneaux, A. and F. N . H. Al-Rawi 1995: "Textes magiques de Teil Haddad
(Textes de Teil Haddad II). Deuxieme partie", ZA 85: 19-46, "Textes
magiques de Teil Haddad (Textes de Teil Haddad II). Troisieme partie", ibid.
169-220.
(i)oper, J. S. 1971. "Bilinguals from Boghazköi I " , ZA 61: 1-22.
lal kenstein, A. 1931. Die Haupttypen der sumerischen Beschwörung literarisch untersucht, LSS NF 1, Leipzig.
1939. "Sumerische Beschwörungen aus Bogazköy", ZA 45: 8-41.
Finkel, I . L. 1988. "Adad-apla-iddina, Esagil-kTn-apli, and the Series SA.GIG", in:
A Scienüfic Humanist. Studies in Memory of Abraham Sachs, ed. E. Leichty M. deJong Ellis - P. Gerardi, OPBF 9, Philadelphia, 143-59.
Geller, M . J. 1985. Forerunners to Udug-hul. Sumerian Exorcistic Incantations,
FAOS 12, Stuttgart.
1989. " A New Piece of Witchcraft", in: dumu-e -dub-ba-a. Studies in Honor of
Äke W. Sjöberg, ed. H. Behrens - D. Loding - M . T. Roth, OPBF 11, Philadelphia, 193-205.
1995-96. Review E. von Weiher, SpTU 4, AfO 42-3: 245-48.
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(ieorge, A. R. 2003. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic. Introduction, Critical Edition
and Cuneiform Text, Oxford.
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Lambert, W. G. 1957-58. "An Incantation of the Maqlü Type", AfO 18: 288-99,
XI-XVI.
I ivingstone, A. 1986. Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works of Assyrian
and Babylonian Scholars, Oxford.
Maul, S. M. 1988. 'Herzberuhigungsklagen'. Die sumerisch-akkadischen ErsahungaGcbete, Wiesbaden.
1994. Zukunftsbewältigung.
Eine Untersuchung altorientalischen Denkens
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Mcck, Th. J. 1918-19. "Some Bilingual Religious Texts", AJSL 35: 134-44.
2
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Nougayrol, J. 1947. "Un texte inedit de genre surpu", JCS 1: 329-36.
Sallaberger, W. 1996. Der babylonische Töpfer und seine Gefässe nach Urkunden
altsumerischer bis altbabylonischer Zeit sowie lexikalischen und literarischen
Zeugnissen, MHEM 3, Ghent.
— 2005. "The Sumerian Verb na d e ( - g ) 'To Clear'", in: "An Experienced
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Schwemer, D. 2007a. Rituale und Beschwörungen gegen Schadenzauber (Keilschrifttexte aus Assur literarischen Inhalts 2 = WVDOG 117), Wiesbaden
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— 2007b. Abwehrzauber und Behexung: Studien zum Schadenzauberglauben im
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5
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Corrigenda
BM 47451 obv. 18: add šá after ra-ḫi-ti
BM 46451 rev. 34: read sumun instead of libir.
p. 65 with fn. 34: uštābilkunuū[ši] in K 3581+ rev. 11 should rather be interpreted as G pf. („I have
sent you away“), cf. W.R. Mayer, OrNS 60 (1991) 113.