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A Mandæan Book of Black Magic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

It is unfortunate that I have no copy of this interesting book that is complete or in good condition. I possess a broken remnant (D.C. 45 of my collection of MSS.), blotted, dog-eared, and often illegible, and a book of excerpts copied by a priest in Baghdad. The latter (D.C. 46) is extremely incorrect. Besides these, I have borrowed and transliterated pages from another fragmentary loose-leaved copy, brittle with age. All these manuscripts were illiterate and corrupt, each talisman displayed variations due to miscopying or miscomprehension, so that originally identical texts showed considerable differences. A dictionary-maker, however, may neglect no text, however corrupt, and although the illiteracy of scribes has led me on many a wildgoose chase, the labour has been amply compensated.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1943

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References

page 152 note 1 The parent's name in magic is always that of the mother.

page 152 note 2 Šid, a household demon.

page 153 note 1 piṭiara, a kind of demon.

page 153 note 2 Probably a corruption. Only one healer is mentioned, namely the exorcist.

page 153 note 3 The reference is to foods eaten in the ritual meal, as all are customarily eaten in the zidqa brikha with the exception of the oak (acorn?) unless this is counted “a fruit in season“.

page 153 note 4 The passage is obviously corrupt. It probably ran unišqal … mn, risakh, “and he shall remove my staff from thy head.”

page 154 note 1 Libat is the Mandæan Ishtar or Venus (Dilbat).

page 154 note 2 Corrupt; should probably read 'lita “wailing ”.

page 154 note 3 guha is written, i.e. “trembling” or “terror”, but ghuka is written below, so I have read it here as ghuka.

page 155 note 1 The anana (cloud) of this charm was originally in all probability a Babylonian deity (Nana? Nanai?). Hence the secrecy, the whispering, and drowning the voice with a bell.

page 155 note 3 pigia upalgia are often cited in exorcisms of demons. They are personified pollutions, which separate the polluted persons from his fellow men.

page 156 note 1 Past after conditional.

page 157 note 1 Gvšbanqa, gushpanqa.

page 157 note 2 Read mamba (mourns).

page 157 note 3 Read alia (weeps).

page 157 note 4 This opening is common: and should run as in brackets.

page 157 note 5 The passage is corrupt. “Her likeness” is probably intended. The dmutha “likeness“ is a spiritual double which acts as a guardian angel, and its estrangement would mean that she was no longer protected.

page 158 note 1 Interpolation from a gloss.

page 159 note 1 The text is very corrupt, and the above only an approximate translation

page 159 note 2 Or “masterful persons”, “tyrants”

page 160 note 1 Delete “daughter“.

page 160 note 2 tibṭul. The feminine singular refers primarily to the Spirit of Wailing.

page 160 note 3 Probably msana should read msiha (messiah).

page 160 note 4 For yanqia read yanqa.

page 160 note 5 'liza. More probably to be read 'lita “the spirit of wailing”.

page 160 note 6 “The Christian priest Damad”? Qass = (Christian) priest.

page 160 note 7 Hibil Ziwa is the Light-Giver, a saviour-spirit.

page 160 note 8 With the breast.

page 160 note 9 Or “his sobs were soared away”.

page 160 note 10 amuza. So a priest translates the word, but it is disputed. “Of three knots” is, I believe, a mistake, and it should read “tie to the forearm with three knots”.

page 161 note 1 Tarwan, a river in the world of light. G.R.(r) 214, 300, 301.

page 161 note 2 širiana or “sheath”.

page 161 note 3 For akwath (“like”), read 'lakh (“to thee”).

page 162 note 1 dmaiarlun, “or that awakes them.” It will be noticed that the verb is throughout in the masculine form, probably because many texts use the word mlakha (“angel”) for mlikha (“queen”).

page 162 note 2 mn madna. The variant mn maruna (“from rebellion“) might be ma mamma (“from the height”). The reference is to the planet Venus, or to her attendant.

page 162 note 3 The whole passage is corrupt. I suggest that mrahqan should read mrahmanan “makes us love”.

page 162 note 4 Read mlakta or mlilcta for mlakha in all cases when Libat is invoked.

page 162 note 5 Probably should read “whom they love”, see note 3.

page 162 note 6 Read šakib.

page 162 note 7 The name only occurs in this text, and is probably a corruption.

page 162 note 8 Read unurh šbiq = “his fire was kindled”, i.e. “he became impassioned.”

page 163 note 1 Some texts omit angel-names.

page 163 note 2 gušbanqa. maria d guišanqa. See p. 157, n. 1.

page 163 note 3 Literally “daughters”.

page 163 note 4 A miscopying at some early date has resulted in a displacement of qaimia which should precede biriatha.

page 163 note 5 Read alma d yatib 'l arsh bšumhd Adunai. The Iwarṣa (which makes nonsense) is influenced by the Iwarṣa “on dry land” above.

page 163 note 6 In one variant only.

page 163 note 7 Read 'lawaihun.

page 163 note 8 Read rhamta.

page 164 note 1 Delete mn.

page 164 note 2 Read gumla.

page 164 note 3 Read d'šumia warga for 'šatha warqa.

page 164 note 4 Probably indicates that magic features are inscribed here. Similar notes have ṣilmia uṣuratha.

page 164 note 5 Delete bhdadia. The expression mitkarkia bhdadia is so common in love-charms that the word probably crept in by inadvertence.

page 164 note 6 Or, “her chosen one.”

page 165 note 1 An euphemism.

page 165 note 2 One variant has baqbia pikta.

page 165 note 3 This should probably read: asfara uharatha u'gara nihuilia lPlanitha alanpia Plan bilẖ,” splendour and nobility and honour shall be N.'s (the woman's) in the presence of N., her husband.”

page 166 note 1 The deity invoked was probably Ishtar of Arbela, and mlakha (“angel”) should read mlikta (“queen”).

page 166 note 2 Literally “bringeth forth”.

page 166 note 3 A demi-urge and spirit of creation.

page 166 note 4 For taumia read yaunia. Doves were sacred to Ishtar (Libat).

page 166 note 5 I suggest read gala d ramia l'šumia, “the cry raised to heaven” (i.e. by the suppliant woman).

page 166 note 6 The verb has also the meaning of emitting semen.

page 166 note 7 In the marshes of Lower Iraq fish have a string run through their gills when caught, and are towed after the boat: a method of keeping fish alive and fresh during fishing.

page 167 note 1 The first list is an identification of angel-names with the seven planets; the second list must have given an identification of angel-names with the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

page 167 note 2 Or, “I exude drops of moisture.”

page 167 note 3 A corruption of the phrase “on a gut (mia) skin”. The juxtaposition of a reference to springs explains the scribe's error.

page 167 note 4 As the whole simile is that of light, I imagine that gilia here has not the usual meanings of “waves” or “features”, but should be read gilii “the glowing horizon” or “dawn“. Variants have gilia dmia (“waves of water”), but this is probably a corruption, the whole text being degenerate.

page 168 note 1 All variants of this text are confused and corrupt from here on, and diifer considerably.

page 168 note 2 What follows is hopelessly corrupt.

page 168 note 3 The list of gods and cities is corrupt in this, the oldest text I possess; but should be compared with the next talisman which is still more corrupt.

page 168 note 4 See p. 149.

page 168 note 5 The gender of pronouns and verbs varies, as the charm is used for both sexes, according to the wish of the client. The same applies to the following talisman.

page 169 note 1 parṣufẖ for Burṣipi or Burṣipa.

page 171 note 1 Read zanfuthaikhun as below.

page 171 note 2 Should be rišakh.

page 171 note 3 The scribe writes first rumqai (?) and then in a parallel passage below pquthakh. Read qumtai and qumtakh.

page 172 note 1 D.C. 45 has pira 'sira “the vagina is bound”.

page 172 note 2 Variant: Tarbiš liliatha.

pape 172 note 3 Variant udgila umdagla “disappointed and outwitted”.

page 173 note 1 Variant, 'daihun “their hands”.

page 173 note 2 All that follows in one copy only.

page 174 note 1 Variants have hibṭa bdilia. I read d haṭibia bdilia as below. The text is corrupt in all copies.

page 174 note 2 Read bnura zma ugaṭla. One scribe writes niqm buṣr zma ugaṭla.

page 175 note 3 Variant has alidia (?).

page 175 note 4 Variant has zha. The copy above is blotted.

page 175 note 5 I suggest 'lita. Bkita u'lita “crying and wailing” is an expression found in the Ginza Rabba (R., p. 175).

page 174 note 6 One variant has marganita.

page 176 note 1 Variant, Barbi'il.

page 176 note 2 Variant, Zaraniaiil.

page 176 note 3 Last two angels missing in one variant.

page 176 note 4 Read as in brackets.

page 176 note 5 Delete d mud d. It is a scribe's blundering. (The whole talisman is exceedingly corrupt.)

page 176 note 6 Read mdalia.

page 177 note 1 Variant has correct nidbar.

page 177 note 2 Variants have for the preceding sentence: (a) warukia hla mun maruma 'tigbil (= mn maruma 'tigbil?). (b) umn madna 'tgibil.

page 177 note 3 Variant, mšarilh.

page 177 note 4 Variants, šakb, šakiab.

page 177 note 5 Variants, Qirsar, Qirsaq.

page 177 note 6 Variant, diitia.

page 177 note 7 Variant, Sinun'il.

page 177 note 8 Variant, al arṣia.

page 177 note 9 Passages in the variants following bšum Mark'iil vary widely in all the copies to the end of the section. I have chosen the least illiterate.

page 178 note 1 All the variants have lṣauta: one would expect ṣauta.

page 178 note 2 Delete mn.

page 178 note 3 Variant, mšararlẖ.

page 178 note 4 The verb zam means “to hold in, keep back, by the nose or head”: hence “curb”, “rein in”, “lead by the nose”.

page 178 note 5 Variants: kth suqi b'dẖ pukta; kth suq bdra pukta.

page 178 note 6 Variant: ba halin mlakhia d nizlun ukibrun unišibqun.

page 178 note 7 Read Bšumikh qraitikh mlikha. The address is to Libat.

page 179 note 1 Variant gibia (“her choice”).

page 179 note 2 Copies vary much here, some omit kth taura or other similes.

page 179 note 3 Variant, hadutha “joy”.

page 181 note 1 Variant, lyušiahẖ

page 181 note 2 All versions differ here and are ill-spelt—the text is very corrupt.