SUMMARIUM Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Commentationes ... · The phraseology and motifs found in the texts once more illustrate the longevity of the ritual techniques employed

S U M M A R I U M

Commentationes

M . RÖMER, Hauswirtschaft - Häuserwirtschaft - Gesamtwirtschaft: "Ökonomie" im pharaonischen Ägypten 1-43

D. SCHWEMER, Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 44-68

St. M . M A U L , Die Lesung der Rubra DÜ.DU.BI und KID.KID.BI . . . . 69-80

Animadversiones

M . LIVERANI, The King in the Palace 81-91 E. LUCCHESI, Identification de Strasbourg Copte 248 92-95

Recensiones

A. TAGGAR-COHEN, Hittite Priesthood. THeth 26 (D. SCHWEMER) . . 96-105

A. KUHRT, The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources (H. KOCH) . . 105-111 N. SCHINDEL, Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum, Paris - Berlin - Wien

Band I I I (H. KOCH) [ 111-117

Libri ad Directioner.i missi 118-120

44

Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations

Daniel SCHWEMER

Gernot Wilhelm zum 28. Januar 2010

The corpus of Sumerian anti-witchcraft incantations, whether accom-panied by an Akkadian translation or not, is still small 1, and the vast majority of incantations of this genre, like all witchcraft-specific incantations of Maqlü, are composed in Akkadian 2.

Two extensive Sumerian incantations of the Marduk-Ea type are attested already in Old Babylonian copies3, as is a short spell against a witch followed by an usburruda ("to undo witchcraft") rubric 4. A bilingual incantation addressing Gira is known from a Late Old Babylonian (?) tab-let found at Susa; the hyninic introduction of 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 5.

1 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of our collaboration on the Corpus of Mesopotamien Anti-witchcraft Rituals Tzvi Abusch has granted me access to his unpublished catalogue of anti-witchcraft rituals and his provisional editions of relevant texts.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.

2 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).

3 Incipit h u l - g ä l i g i n u - s a 6 dumu ud s ü - s ü - k e 4 : 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 OB mss.); Incipit h u l - g ä l i g i h u i dumu h a - l a m - m a - k e 4 : Falkenstein 1939: 8-41, Geller 1989: 193-205: 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 , r z u su b a l - e - d a : V S 17, 31, see Schwemer 2007b: 25-26, Geller 2008: 560-61.

5 MDP 57, 2 obv. I 33-34. In the lower half of obv. II and rev. I I I - IV 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.

Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 45

A limited number of 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 of a substitute figurine6. The fragment Th 1905-4-9, 93, a faithful Neo-Babylonian copy of an Old Babylonian original 7, preserves a description of Marduk's ritual actions against warlock and witch: after their figurines have been maltreated, de-filed and presented before the Sun-god, the patient must wash over them for three days8. A few short Sumerian and bilingual incantations form part of large first millennium collections of usburruda texts, but all of them are so far only known from small fragments9. A Sumerian incantation against zikurudü, 'cutting-of-the-throat' magic, is quoted, possibly in füll, within a collection of therapies concerned with this form of witchcraft 1 0. 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 lemuttin; above all the bilingual incantation k ü r - k ü r b i l (nakra aqallü) is used within this context1 2. A bilingual incantation of 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 of

b Incipit m u n u s - u s , ,-zu 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).

7 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 OB bilinguals" (Geller 1995-96: 247).

8 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.

1 2 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. VI 16'-9' (cf. also BAM V, p. xiii), the incantation sc 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 ) .

46 Daniel Schwemer

the house13. Finally a bilingual incantation designed to protect a woman in labour from witchcraft deserves to be mentioned here14.

Any substantial addition to this small group of texts is most welcome, and I would like to offer here editions of B M 47451, an unpublished, almost completely preserved bilingual usburruda incantation, and of B M 40568, a fragment of 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 in the texts once more illustrate the longevity of the ritual techniques employed by Babylonian experts to counter sorcery; they bear witness to the stability of the ideas, images and stereotypes associated with witchcraft and its agents in ancient Meso-potamia.

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 of scholarly tablets from Babylon written by a certain Sema'ya (or Ipra'ya?) 1 5 who worked during the reign of Artaxerxes in the 5 , h Century B C 1 6 . 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 n - 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 of this genre17. 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 time1*. 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

" YOS 11, 94; cf. Sefati-Klein 2002: 576 with fn. 48. 1 4 K 3025+ / / K 879+, ed. Borger 1985: 14-18. 1 5 For the problems associated with the reading of the name, see the commentary on rev.

34-35. 1 6 For this group of texts, see Finkel 1988: 153-55 with reference to the present text. 1 7 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.

1 8 I would like to thank Mark J. Geller who kindly checked his collection of incantation inci-pits for any duplicates that I might have not been aware of.


Obv.

Fig. 1: UM 47451 (81-11-3, 156) Obv.

48 Daniel Schwemer

Rev.

Fig. 2: B M 47451 (81-11-3. 156) Rev.


wording of the incipit quoted in the catchline does not reveal the genre of the follow-up incantation so that we cannot even be sure whether the sequence of tablets to which the present manuscript belonged was themat-ically 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 of the Marduk-Ea type 1 9: The "präsentische Thema" describes the effects of witchcraft in general terms (obv. 1-9), while the "präteritale Thema" reports the concrete attack of 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 frag-mentary, but probably marks the beginning of the "Schlußthema" which begins with passages specific to this incantation and is closed with for-mulaic material. With the exception of rev. 26 and the abbreviated for-mulas in obv. 16 and rev. 28-31 the Sumerian text is aecompanied by a continuous Akkadian translation. The effects of witchcraft on its victim, as describcd in obv. 1-15, show many similarities to the witchcraft-induced illncsscs described in the symptomologies of 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 of vertigo in witchcraft symptomologies (pänüsu issanundü)21. As in most anti-witchcraft texts, the illness of 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 of warlock and witch thereby transferring his miasma back onto his evildoers.

Transliteration (copy figs. 1-2)

obv. I en us u -zu us„ - r i -a nig-ak-a nig-h[ul-a ' ] kis-pu ru-hu-ü up-sa-su-ü lem-n[u]-TtP

2 nig-ak-a nig-hul-dim-ma Hürnig-Hees 1 n a [ m - l ü ] - r U | 9 1 - l u - k e 4

ü-(pe^-es rle-mut-tP [m]u-käs-su-ü a-mi-lu-ti 3 [sag/igi]-nigin si-da-nu xmu^-r\ib mim]-rma sum-sü* nig nam

tuk 4 -tuk 4

4 [x x] x x x [x x (x)-m]a! amTlu(\ü) ul i~na-at-ta-al lü igi nu m u - u n - l ä - e

"' 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

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16 17 18

19

rev. 20

21

22

23

Daniel Schwemer

[ g]u-bi ( G A M . G A M ) 7 SIG 7 .ALAN—bi gul-gul 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-rba^-tu4

•sä 1 ka- rkes l u 1 n [u -z i ] - r zP su lä-e gir lä -e libbaßä)""'1 i-käs-sa-'ru1 am[ila(l[ü) w/(nu) ü-s]at-rbu-u qd)-ta us-sa-lu se-pa ü-käs-su-ü

m ü s - m e kür -kür zi-i-mi ü-rnak-ka-ru bu}-un-na-ne-xe ub-ba}-tu4 r s i G 7 . A L A N n - b i gul-gul I i i 1 sahar-ta sub-ba a-mi-la ina e-pe-[r]i rP'!-[n]d?-racP'!-du-ü bu-up-pa-rnP-sü i-sah-ha-pu i g i - r ugu 1 -b i b a - s ü - s ü r lü n tu-ra ki-gig-ga amila(rl\P) ^ü-mar-ra-su^-ma xa-sar^ ma-rru-us-tP [u]s-n[a-lu] r n ä - ä m 1

us n - zu uSi , -r i-a kis-pu ru-hu-ü is-tu ap-si-i Ht-ta}-su-n[i] rabzu-ta e 1-[a(-me-es)] sul sig 5-ga et-la fdam^-qa är-^da^-tam da-mi-iq-tam k i - s ik i l sigs-ga lü-bi ba-an-dab-be-es s i o 7 . A L A N - b i gul-gul

a-mi-la su-a-tum is-ba-tu-ma bu-un-na-an-rnP-sü ub-bi-tu4

lü-bi am-ug 5-ga-gin 7 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 7 in-gar-ra !(gin 7) b a - d a - n ä ki-ma al-pi mi-i-ti ina par-si-sü ni-il

l ü - u 1 9 - l u - b i ü - t u - u d - d a - a - n i - t a m ü s - m e - b i b a - a n - d a - r k ü r n

amüu(\\x) su-ü sä ana i-lit-ti-su zi-mu-sü it-te-ek-[ru] d asa l - lü-h i igi : nig gä -e : gin-na dum[u-gu 1 0] im abzu-ta ti-rda~* ina ap-si-i li-qe-ma su r ü - m e n - [ t i ] alan l ü - u s n - 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 d +en-ki-ke 4 ina me(a)™ä si-pat [de-a ul-lil-sü na ü -me-n i -de 5 ( ? ) ] Hu ' -u^- lu dumu-dingir-ra-na ugu a lan- r bi 1 ? [a ü -me-n i - tu 5 ( ? ) ]

amilu(\ü) mär(dumu) ili(dmgir)-sü e//(ugu) sa-lam su-nu-ti ^me-e1 [rummiksu(?)]

a-tu 5-a lü-bi su-Quh1 [x x x (x)] me-e rim-ki sä amili(\ü) su-a-tum x x [

a-bi ugu nig-hul-dim-ma r D i 1 ? 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)]-rnP


24 lü-kes-bi he-du 8 lü- t[u ? -ra ' ? he-z]i ka-su-us'-su lip-pa-tir-ma xina' man-[ru-us-tiip.) lit]-bi

25 inim d +en-ki-ke 4 us n -zu us u - r i -a nig-a[k-a nig-hul(?)]- r a 1 ? he-kür{ - ra -ke 4 }"

a-mat de-a kis-pu ru-hu-ü re-pP-[su lem-nu-t]P li-is-ni d r nammu n nin a -güb-ba da[dag-g]a-ke 4

l ü -u 1 9 - l u -b i kü - s ig 1 7 -ga -g in 7 h[e]-dadag amTlu(lü) su-ü ki-ma huräsi(k\X.sigl7) l[i-bi-i]b

28 d U Ebur-sagan-gin 7

29 d u g bur- i -nun-[gin 7 ] dutu [sag-ka]l d ut[u sa]g-kal

26 27

30 31

32

33

rkaT-lmiJm-ma u s n - b ü r - r u - d a - k a m

[en] rudug n"-gin 7 dim-ma ki- in-gub-ba gub-ba

34 kima(gim) labiri{\\bir)-sü satir{sw)-ma bari(igi.käv) saniq(\g'\Xab) qätißu)11 Hprd"(s,Qb&')-a'-iä

35 märi{&)-sü sä uza-ba4-ba4-pir-'a-usur(\xm) mär^a1) 've4-ti-ru

Translation

Sumerian

1 Incantation: "Witchcraft, magic, sorceries o f ev[i l ] ,

2 sorcery committed with evil intent, binder of [m]en:

3 [ver]tigo, which makes every-thing shake,

4 \they inflict], the man cannot see.

5 (The sorceries) which [ ] , (bend) his [n]eck,

destroy his features,

6 constrict the insides, prfevent] Ihe man [from rijsing, bind the band, bind the foot,

7 changc the countenance, destroy the features;

Akkadian

"Witchcraft, magic, ev[i] l sorceries, sorcery of evil, binder o f men:

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, 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,

52 Daniel Schwemer

the man covered thrown down on

with dust is his face,

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,

they seized the beautiful young man, the beautiful girl , (they seized) this man and destroyed his features. This man is smeared with dirt like a dead bull, he lies in his gore like a dead ox, this man whose countenance has become stränge to his (own) offspring.

Asalluhi noticed (him, went into the house of his father Enki and cried out: 'Father, witchcraft, magic, sorceries of ev 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),

the i l l man is lying in a 'sick' place.

Having come out of the Subterranean Ocean witchcraft (and) magic seized the beautiful young man, the beautiful girl , (they seized) this man destroying his features. This man is smeared with dirt like a dead bull, he lies in gore like a slaugh-tered ox, this man: his countenance has become Strange to his (own) offspring.

when you have taken clay from the Subterranean Ocean, when [you have made] a figu-rine of warlock and sorceress, of a man and of a woman. [when you have purified him] with the water of Enki's incantation, [when you have washed] the man, the son of his god, with the water over these figurines, [when you have...] the wash water of that man [...] hand-washing rite.

take clay from the Subterranean Ocean, and [make] a figurine of warlock and sorceress, o f a man and [of a woman]. [Purify him] with the water of [Ea's] incantation,

[wash] the man, the son of his god, with the water over these figurines. The wash water o f that man... [ . . . ] .


22 [when you have...] this water [...] over the evildoer.

23 — they bound this man with a 'binding', . . . [ . . . ] -

24 may (then) this bound man be released, [may] the s[ick] man [ri]se!

25 May Enki's word change(!) the witchcraft, the magic (and) the sorce[ries of evi]l,

[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],

26 may Nammu, the lady o f the pu[re] lustration water,

27 make this man as pure as gold!

let this man [become] as pure as gold!

28 (When you have washed him clean) like the bowl of a perfume flask,

29 (when you have wiped him clean) [like] a bowl for ghee, 30 (when you have entrusted him to) Utu, [foremos]t (of the gods), 31 (may then) Ut[u, for]emost (of the gods, reassign him to the be-

nevolent hands of his god)!"

32 It is the wording (of the incantation) to undo witchcraft.

33 [Incantation]: "Created like an udug-demon(?), Standing in Position".

34-35 Written according to its original, then collated (and) checked. Hand of Ipra'ya(?) 2 2, son o f Zababa-pir'a-usur, son o f Etiru.

Philological notes

I : Iis,, -zu u s „ - r i - a head the list o f evils and they are named as llie principal causes of 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.

54 Daniel Schwemer

• "uSu^-zu 1 (// 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 mi l lennium duplicate has the expected upisü (up-pi-su) kispü (K 5111+ rev. I I I 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 n i g - a [ k - a n i g - h u l ] - r a n corresponding to Akkadian re-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 amT-lüti follows upes lemutti as an appositional attribute, and in view o f Sumerian l ü - n i g - k e s the participle mukassü can hardly be inter-preted 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 of the sentence ends wi th 1. 2 ( - k e 4 ) . 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 4 - t u k 4 // sidänu murib mimma sumsu to repre-sent the direct object of the first sentence. The broken first half of 1. 4 would then have contained a 3 r d p l . pres. verbal form describing how witchcraft and sorcery bring 'vertigo' on a person (cf. Surpu V I I 15-16: a n - k i - b i - t a m u r u 9 - g i n 7 s e g - s e g s a g - n i g i n g a r - r a -[ a - m e s ] / / 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 wi th the obvious restorations (e.g. i m - g ä -g ä - n e // isakkanüma or similar). Because of 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 of 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^7 "(vertigo.. .) comes upon h im. . . " (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 of 1. 4 begins the description of the consequences the 'vertigo'-disease has on a person affected by it. We may conclude that the actual purpose of the ritual was to eure witchcraft-induced sidänu-disease.

5: The restorations in the first half of the line fit the traces and the spacc availablc in the break. Note that süd päni and sane temi follow upon


each other in lists o f different methods of 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 of a physical Symptom. The translation given above is based on the assumption that the phrase is a simple variant of libba kasü (cf. kis libbi "knotting of the insides", "stomach constriction", "indigestion"). This assumption finds support in Ihe fact that kisir libbi occurs occasionally in the place of 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 sty-lislic reasons.

8: The phrase i g i - u g u s ü - s ü "to throw down on the face", l i t . "to oveiwhclm over the face" (translated by Akkadian buppäni- sahäpu) is here attested for the first time. Di r i I I I 147-48 (MSL 15, 142-43) gives Akkadian buppäni- and sihip päni as equivalent of 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 qual i f ied by attributes ( s a h a r - t a sub ba, 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 of 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 of sickness" (birth incantation); M . Geller under-slaiuls 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 of the pret. verbal forms in the following lines ittasüni must be interpreted as a 3 r d pl . Gt pret. form; cf. Surpu V I I 1-4: b u [ r u 5 ] sn a b / u ta i m - t a - [ e ] - a - n a / / dimitu ultu qereb apsi ittasä, ni i in e r i m s ä - a n - n a - t a i m - t a - e M - d [ e ] // mämitu ultu qereb samc urda "The dimitu-disease left from the midst of Subterranean Ocean, 'bau' descended from the midst of heaven".

13-14: Cf. Maul 1988: 332: 16'-19' ( g u 4 - g i n 7 k a r - m u d - d [ a - b ] a e da sub // kima alpi [ina] idiptTsu nadima, u d u - g i n 7 m u r g u ba

56 Daniel Schwemer

r e 1 - [ 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 of the Marduk-Ea-Formel common in l s t

mil l . manuscripts, see already Falkenstein 1931: 57. 17: The Subterranean Ocean as source of clay is well known from a

wide ränge of sources (PSD A I I 198-99); note that also the witch is said to use clay from the abzu when fashioning figurines of her victim; see PBS 1/2, 122 obv. 7'-8' // (Geller 1989: 194: 3).

18: ( l ü - ) u s n - z u is the normal designation of the warlock and corresponds here and elsewhere to Akkadian kassäpu. Sumerian u s n -r i - a is used along with u s u - z u as nomen actoris in PBS 1/2, 122 rev. 5'-6', 9'-10', l l ' - 12 ' (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 H - 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 n - r i - a , as elsewhere, Stands for the female agent of witchcraft. Its Akkadian translation with rähitu is first attested here, but hardly surprising given that u s u -r i - a is rendered regularly as ruhü (cf. especially [ m u n u s ] r u s n 1 -r i - a / / sinnistu sa ruhe in Walker-Dick 2001: 212, 1. 10) and (a — ) r i corresponds to Akkadian rehü.

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 of n a - d e 5 / / ullulu in the break, cf. Uh 16: 91 2 3 : a - g ü b - b a a - k ü - g a na d e 5 - g a - a m // agubbä me ellüti ullilsüma "Purify him with the pure water of the holy water vessel"; CT 17, 26: 67-68: a - b i t u 6 - k ü - z a na u - m e - n i - s ü m / / ana me sunüti sipatka elletu idima, t u 6 - k ü - z a na u - m e - n i - d e 5 / / ina teka elli ullilma "Cast your pure incantation on this water and purify it with your pure spell!". For the reading of RI = elelu as d e 5 ( g ) , see Sallaberger 2005.

21: It is difficult to see how the signs preserved in the second half of the Akkadian Version correspond to s u - r l u h n . A reading D I S [U seems most likely (for the form of 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 of nadü, cf. BBR 2, 83 rev. I I I 16, cited by CAD S I I I 261).

" Uh = Geller 2007.


24: While the restoration of the verbal forms in the second half of 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 of t u - r a .

25: For the restoration n i g - a [ k - a n i g - h u l ] - r a n , 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 of relation. For episü (= n i g - a k - a ) as a variant form of 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 of the Sumerian version seems to be corrupt. A nominalized form h e - k ü r - r a - k e 4 makes little sense within the present context, and the addition of the ending / - ( a - ) a k - e / may be inlluenced by the end of the following line ( / d a d a g - a k - e / ) . For d e n -k i k e 4 instead o f fuller d e n - k i - g a - k e 4 , cf. here obv. 19 and, e.g., d u m u s a g - k a l d e n - k i - k e 4 "foremost son of Enki" in ETCSL 2.8.5.1: l ' 4 or n a m d ü g d e n - k i - k e 4 "good destiny of Enki" 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 of 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 of the abbreviated formulas, see especially Surpu VII 82-87, Uh 4: 194'-97' (bilingual), YOS 11, 90 rev. 25-29 (Ca-vigneaux Al-Rawi 1995: 180-81) and CT 58, 79: 47-51 / / (Cavigneaux-Al-Knwi 1995: 28), but also Geller 1985: 40: 354-57, 48: 506-9 and the anti-witchcraft incantation PBS 1/2, 122 rev. 34-40 (Geller 1989: 198: 72'-75').

33: The incipit seems to be attested only here. At the beginning of Ihe line a reading g i d i m - g i n 7 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 of Artaxerxes, is well known from a number o f colophons on tablets in the Babylon collection of 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

/•:/( '.SV. Ulack et al. 1998-2006.

58 Daniel Schwemer

Livingstone (1986: 250-60); the latter rightly drew attention to the fact that lse-ma-a'-iä/ia must be interpreted as a Hebrew (or at least a West Semitic) name. Collation of 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 typ-ical for BA. A name *Seba'ya makes little sense; it seems therefore pos-sible 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.

2. BM 40568

The fragment B M 40568 represents approximately the lower third of 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 of SpTU, vol. 4 (1995-96: 247-48). Renewed study of the text resulted in a number of improved read-ings and clarifications which call for a comrnented translation o f the text; for the convenience of the reader we include also a revised transliteration and a new hand-copy2 5.

The tablet probably contained just one incantation of the Marduk-Ea type. Only a passage from the middle of the text with parts of the "präter-itale Thema" (obv. l ' - 4 ' ) , the Marduk-Ea formula (obv. 5') and the be-ginning of the ritual instructions (obv. 6' - rev. 7) is extant. The incanta-tion's main concern emerges clearly from the ritual section: The conjurer fashions figurines representing warlock and witch of 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 of tallow, bitumen and wax are molten ("burned"), whereas the figurines of

2 5 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.

Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations

1' Obv.

Fig. 3: BM 40568

60 Daniel Schwemer

clay and dough are crushed by the patient and then, as we may conclude from a parallel Akkadian ritual, buried in the ground 2 6. This is followed by a ritual purification of the patient's mouth, again a well known rite. The whole procedure was performed on a new moon night after sunset; inter-estingly, the instructions nevertheless stipulate setting up a censer before the Sun-god. The Symptoms o f bewitchment described in obv. 2 '-4 ' include paralysis, impotency and, probably, an inability to speak, all of them typical adverse effects of witchcraft on a person's health according to the symptomologies o f first millennium witchcraft therapies27.

Transliteration (copy fig. 3)

obv. 1' [ rana as^^kupp^l)

2' g i r -ni ba-d[a-an-dab nu-mu-un-da-an-zi-zi(?)] se-ep-su is^bat-ma1 te^ba-a1 [ul /7e"z(?)]

3' sä-bi ba-da-an-dab r sa l -z[ i -ga-ni li-ib-ba-su is-bat-ma ni-is lib-bi-*su} x [

4 ' ä - su-g i r -b i ba-da-an-dab nu-mu 2 8-un-da-a[b-be] mes-re-ti-sü is-bat-ma a-wi-lu ga/3ä ?(dug 4) u[l z7e"/(?YJ

5' dasal-lü-hi igi : nig gä -e : gin-na dumu-[gu 1 0] 6' u d - n ä - ä m ud es-bar an-na-[ka(-ka)(?)]

ina u4-um pu-ru-us-se-e sä ani(an)ni [(x x)] 7' dutu an - sä -ga ig i -n i gä -gä- [ ta ? ]

isamas(u\\x) is-tu ana qe-reb same(an)e pa-ni-su ina sä-[ka-ni]

8' alan l ü - u s n - z u munus-us n -zu A [ K (x x)] sa-la-am [nothing missing]

9' im-ma n ig - s i l a n -gä i-udu esir D U H . L Ä L { x } ü - m e - n [ i - d i m ] sa bi-ni-m[a]

10' [z] i -da-ne-ne ka -ne ! (b i ) - r ne 1 g ü b - b u - n [ e - n e gu-du-ne-ne ü -me-n i -dab(? ) ]

im-na-ti-sü-nu pi-i-sü-n[u su-me-l]i-rsü1-n[u qinnassunu susbit{l)]

2 6 The ritual instructions in KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 obv. 8-11, rev. 15-19 are very similar to our text.

2 7 See Schwemer 2007b: 35-36, 95-96, 169-79. 2 8 Written over an erased sign.


ev. 1 [ka-n]e ? -[n]e ' gir ä - g ü b - b u - r n a ü 7 1 - [ [p]u--u-sü-nu ina se-ep su-me-li-sü [

2 [ d u] gsila-gaz-ta ü - [me-n i -ga r ] ina hu-pe-e su-k[u-un-ma]

3 r igi n - d utu-se nig-na ä i m l i ü -me- [n i -ga r ] ina ma-har Asamas(\A\\) [(probably nothing missing)]

4 lü -u 1 8 - lu dumu-dingir-ra-na gestin-sur-ra ü -me-n [ i -ba l -ba l ] liq-[qi]

5 alan im-ma n i g - s i l a n - g ä g i r -n i ü - m e - [ n i - s u - u b ] AS li-se-e[r]

6 alan i-udu D U H . L Ä L esir izi-ta ü -me-n[ i -b i l ] AS qü-l[u]

1 g i ssinig "in-nu-us g i lgisimmar-tur gi-sul-hi e' äsita g i äeren-babbar-ra ka-bi- r ta n ü -me-n i - [gaz ]

ina Tpi-P-[sü li]-'[i-is] 8 x x [

Translation

>bv. 1' At the thr[eshold 2' She seized his foot so that [he cannot] rise, 3' she seized his 'heart' so that [he is deprived of] his potency, 4 ' she seized his limbs so that the man [is] u[nable] to speak. 5' Asalluhi noticed (him, went into the house of 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),

6' on the day of the new moon, the day o f An's decision, [( . . . ) , ] 7' after Utu has set his face into 'Heaven's Interior',

8'-9' make figurines o f warlock and witch [( . . . )] o f clay, of dough, of tallow, of bitumen (and) of wax.

10' [Have] their right hands [seize] their mouth, their left hands [their anus].

ev. 1 [Have him ... ] their [mou]th with his left foot. 2 Pu[t] (them) in a disposable pot, 3 s[et up] a censer with juniper before Utu. 4 Lct the man, the son of his god, pour out grape must.

62 Daniel Schwemer

5 Let him crush the figurines of clay (and) of dough with his foot.

6 Bu[rn] the figurines of tallow, wax (and) bitumen with fire. 7 [Let him ch]e[w] in his mouth tamarisk, soapwort, palm shoot,

sulhi-reed, 'wood-of-release' (and) 'white cedar'. 8 too fragmentary for translation.

Philological notes

obv. 1': The tentative restoration follows Geller. 2'-4': The subject in these lines is the agent of evil who was expli-

citly 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 witch" is a typical stereotype of this genre, and i f the concrete de-scriptions of the evildoer's action, like here, are phrased in the singular (and not in the 3 r d plural), they regularly refer to the witch rather than to the male warlock (see Schwemer 2007b: 70-72; for an attempt at a histor-ical Interpretation of 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 of 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 of 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 ver-sions; the rendering of the verbal forms in the ritual instructions (Sumerian prospective, Akkadian imperative), follows the Akkadian version.

6': The day of the new moon is auspicious for the Performance of anti-witchcraft rituals; cf. K 8933(+) obv. I I 4'-5' // Sm 352(+) obv. I I 17'


// Th 1905-4-9, 72 + 73 obv. I 21' / / KAL 2, 36 rev. V I I ' 2 9 , where the two lypical periods of time for the Performance of usburruda and namerimbur-ruda 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 of the new moon, cur[ses] on the vigi l o f the seventh day". For the Performance of anti-witchcraft rituals on the day of 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 of the incantation annü biblu annü bibbulu "This is the day of the new moon, this is the day of the new moon") and a section of 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 of 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 of the whole day which you (2 n d pl.) keep sending against me: New Moon, may your day o f wrath overpower them 3 0 !" (K 8112 + 9666 obv. I I 2'-6').

For the vigi l o f the seventh day of the month as the auspicious time for Ihe Performance of rituals against 'ban' (mämitu), cf. especially the nam-erimburruda 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 incanta-lions. PBS 1/2, 133 rev. 12' / / addresses the Sun-god: dsamas(utu) üm(ud)-ka ez-zu lik-su-u[d-su 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, howev-cr, little evidence for ümu meaning "(fiery) light"; for Sumerian ud h u s , a common divine epi-ihcl, 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 con-lexl. Its meaning was slightly altered, while the wording remained unchanged.

64 Daniel Schwemer

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 of the 30* day of 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 t h day as the day of Anu in hemerol-ogies (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 of 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 at the end of the line, especially since the Akkadian version apparently had only salam and took the second half of the line of 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 of materials by sa and then does not bother with a translation of the individual terms which could easily be read as logograms.

10': For the tentative restoration, cf. the anti-witchcraft ritual VAT 35 obv. 7-8" and the ghost ritual BAM 323 obv. 42 // (for the latter, see Scur-lock 2006: 507). The motif is already attested in the curse formula of an Old Assyrian royal inscription (see R I M A I , A.033.1: 40-41).

rev. 2: For the use of a hupü ( d u g s i l a . g a z ; cf. Sallaberger 1996: 53, 106b, 112a, 116b) as the receptacle of the sorcerers' figurines, cf. KBo 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 // VAT 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 of the logogram d u g s i l a . g a z was hupü rather than silagazü within ritual contexts comparable to the present passage32; the fact that the basic meaning of hupü is "fragment" may indicate that a sherd rather than an intact vessel is meant.

31 salam(mi) bel(en) da-ba-ba sä tidi(im) teppus(dü)'"p imitta(rzng^)-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".

1 2 Cf. also V A T 35 obv. 10 - lo.e. 1: ina lib-bi hu-up-pi'(si) tasakkan(gax)'m ina mahar(\%\) ''samas(utu) ta-dan-sü "You place (the figurine) in a h., you convict him before Samas".


3: The Sumerian version of 11. 3 and 4 are written right under each other towards the end of the line; therefore it is likely that the scribe did not writc out expected sukunma at the end of 1. 3.

4: Note that the libation of 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 of 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 of both lines as ina, understanding 1. 5 as ina (sepisu) and 1. 6 as ina (isäti). But wilhin the rules of Akkadian word order these phrases would not stand at ihe beginning of 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 of 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 of AS that is also attested in OB bilingual texts (cf , e.g., SEM 90 obv. I I 9', ed. CAD S I 118b). Why the scribe, probably following the original he was copying, put AS at the beginning of II. 5-6, but not at the beginning of 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 wal l ) 3 3 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 of dough with his feet in (the wash) water (of Iiis /et'/)", VAT 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(urs.gim) taqabbi (duM.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 " ! ' " .

" Willi regard to KAR 80 rev. 18 //, CAD S 229a proposes a Special meaning to "dis-inii'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).

66 Daniel Schwemer

7: The use of tamarisk, soapwort and palm shoot, the purifying sub-stances par excellence, for washing the patient's mouth is attested in other anti-witchcraft rituals as well: bina mastakaP5 u suhussa ina pisu tasak-kanma 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 of g i 5 s i t a "mace" within the present context is surprising at first glance. There can be no doubt that g i ä s i t a must refer here to a plant and not to a tool. One of 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 (TCL 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. 1-1036). Elsewhere the 'wood-of-release' is put to use within the very same rite of purifying the mouth: ümastakal(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'). In view of this evidence it is significant that Hh I I I 518 (MSL 5, 140) equates g i 5 s i t a with is pisri. Given that g i s - b ü r (is pisri, gis-burru) served also as a designation of the conjurer's ceremonial curved staff (gamlu), it cannot surprise that the plant 'wood-of-release' had a var-iant name 'weapon' in Sumerian. Note that g i äsiTA 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 in-terchange with both ü 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 + VAT 13628 [ join W. Meinhold] rev. V 40'); this suggests that all writings and desig-nations — GIS BÜR, E ' 'SITA, " G A N . N A and G I Ä / "GAN.u 5 — refer to bukänu, the 'pestle'-plant.

3 5 From the preceding text, especially B M 38635 rev. 2, it is clear that mastakal must be re-stored here. The traces in Th 1905-4-9, 72+ obv. II 12' are not easily reconciled with such a reading, but an emendation i ! r iN 6 ! ! ? .üS 7 1 seems most likely.

3 6 For this incantation, see Abusch-Schwemer, forthcoming (commentary on A 7876 rev. V I I 10').


References

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2003. "Blessing and Praise in Ancient Mesopotamian Incantations", in: Literatur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien. Festschrift für Claus Wilcke, ed. W. Sallaberger - K. Volk - A. Zgoll, Wiesbaden, 1-14.

and D. Schwemer, forthcoming. "The Chicago Maqlü Fragment (A 7876)", Iraq.

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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 un

tersucht, 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-e2-dub-ba-a. Studies in Honor of Äke W. Sjöberg, ed. H. Behrens - D. Loding - M. T. Roth, OPBF 11, Philadelphia, 193-205.

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sinki. 2008. Review of D. Schwemer, Abwehrzauber und Behexung, BSOAS 71:

558-61. (ieorge, A. R. 2003. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic. Introduction, Critical Edition

and Cuneiform Text, Oxford. I lorowitz, W. 1998. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography, MC 8, Winona Lake. 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 Ersahunga-

Gcbete, Wiesbaden. 1994. Zukunftsbewältigung. Eine Untersuchung altorientalischen Denkens

anhand der babylonisch-assyrischen Löserituale (Namburbi), BaF 18, Mainz. Mcck, Th. J. 1918-19. "Some Bilingual Religious Texts", AJSL 35: 134-44.

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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 5 ( - g ) 'To Clear'", in: "An Experienced Scribe Who Neglects Nothing". Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Jacob Klein, ed. Y. Sefati et al., Bethesda, 229-53.

Schwemer, D. 2007a. Rituale und Beschwörungen gegen Schadenzauber (Keilschrifttexte aus Assur literarischen Inhalts 2 = WVDOG 117), Wiesbaden (KAL 2).

— 2007b. Abwehrzauber und Behexung: Studien zum Schadenzauberglauben im alten Mesopotamien. Unter Benutzung von Tzvi Abuschs Kritischem Katalog und Sammlungen im Rahmen des Kooperationsprojektes Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals, Wiesbaden.

Scurlock, J. A. 2006. Magico-Medical Means of Treating Ghost-induced Iiinesses in Ancient Mesopotamia, AMD 3, Leiden / Boston.

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Sefati, Y. and J. Klein. 2002. "The Role of Women in Mesopotamian Witchcraft", in: Sex and Gender in the Ancient Near East (CRRAI 47), ed. S. Parpola -R. M. Whiting, Helsinki, vol. 2, 569-87.

Stol, M. 1992. "The Moon as Seen by the Babylonians", in: Natural Phenomena. Their Meaning, Depiction and Description in the Ancient Near East, ed. D. J. W. Meijer, Amsterdam / Oxford / New York / Tokyo, 245-77.

Tallqvist, K. L. 1895. Die assyrische Beschwörungsserie Maqlü nach den Originalen im British Museum, vols. I - I I , ASSF 20/6, Helsingfors.

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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.

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SUMMARIUM Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Commentationes ... · The phraseology and motifs found in the texts once more illustrate the longevity of the ritual techniques employed