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| ISBN-13: | 9781609253806 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 01/15/1999 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 448 |
| Sales rank: | 616,749 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
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CHALDEAN MAGIC
Its Origin and Development
By François Lenormant
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
Copyright © 2013 François LenormantAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60925-380-6
CHAPTER 1
The Magic and Sorcery of the Chaldeans.
A GENERAL, but tolerably complete idea of the magic conjuration of the Chaldeans, its processes and its principal applications, may be obtained from a document which Sir Henry Rawlinson and Mr. Edwin Norris published "in facsimile" in 1866, in the second volume of their collection of the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia. This document is a large tablet from the library of the royal palace at Nineveh, containing a succession of 28 formulae of deprecatory incantations, unfortunately partly destroyed, against the action of evil spirits, the effects of sorcery, disease, and the principal misfortunes which may attack man in the course of his daily life. The whole forms a litany of some length, divided into paragraphs, which all finish with the same solemn invocation. It would seem, judging from the concluding paragraph, that the intention was not to use the detached formulae of this litany on special occasions, but to recite the whole as a protection from all the fatal influences against which it provides. This tablet, however, like all the other works on magic from Assyria and Chaldea, is written in Accadian, that is, in the Turanian language, which was related to the Finnish and Tartaric dialects spoken by the primitive population of the marshy plains round the lower Euphrates. An Assyrian translation accompanies the ancient Accadian text, and is placed opposite to it. Centuries ago, when Assurbanipal, king of Assyria, of the VIIth century before our era, had the copy made which has been handed down to us, this kind of document could be understood only by aid of the Assyrian version, which may be traced to a much earlier date. The Accadian was already a dead language; but the Assyrians attributed so much the more mysterious power to the incantations expressed in this language, because the script had become unintelligible.
In order to place the reader at once in the midst of the strange world into which I ask him to follow me, I shall now reproduce in its entirety the formulae of this tablet, those at least which it is possible to interpret, for there are still some phrases which defy explanation, and I shall accompany my translation with short notes. I have been preceded in this undertaking by M. Oppert, with whom in most cases I agree perfectly. Should anyone, however, wish to compare our two translations, he will find some differences, which almost all result from the fact, that the learned Professor of the College of France has translated from the Assyrian version, while I have preferred to adhere to the original Accadian text. The Assyrian version is by no means always a literal one; and of this the reader may judge for himself, as I have annotated all the passages in which it differs from the earlier original. The Accadian text appears to be divided into rhythmical verses, each of which forms a separate line upon the tablet; I have marked these divisions carefully.
INCANTATION.
1 The wicked god, the wicked demon,
the demon of the desert, the demon of the mountain,
the demon of the sea, the demon of the marsh,
the evil genius, the enormous uruku
the bad wind by itself,
the wicked demon which seizes the body(?), which disturbs the body.
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
* * *
2 The demon who seizes man, the demon who seizes man,
the Gigim who works evil, the production of a wicked demon,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
* * *
3 The consecrated prostitute with the rebellious heart, who abandons the place
of prostitution,
the prostitute of the god Anna, who does not do his service,
to the evening of the beginning of the incomplete month,
the sacred slave who fails to go to his place,
who does not lacerate his chest, who does not.... his hand,
making his chest resound, completing....
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth,
conjure it!
* * *
4 That which does not go away, that which is not propitious,
that which grows up, ulcers of a bad kind,
poignant ulcers, enlarged ulcers, excoriated ulcers,
ulcers...., ulcers which spread, malignant ulcers,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
* * *
5 Disease of the bowels, the disease of the heart, the palpitation of the
diseased heart,
disease of the vision, disease of the head, malignant dysentery,
the tumour which swells,
ulceration of the reins, the micturation which wastes,
cruel agony which never ceases,
nightmare,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
* * *
6 He who forges images, he who bewitches
the malevolent aspect, the evil eye,
the malevolent mouth, the malevolent tongue,
the malevolent lip, the finest sorcery,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
7 The nurse.
The nurse whose breast withers,
the nurse whose breast is bitter,
the nurse whose breast becomes ulcerated,
the nurse who dies of the ulceration of her breast,
the woman with child who does not preserve her offspring,
the woman with child whose embryo splits,
the woman with child whose embryo grows rotten,
the woman with child whose embryo does not prosper,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
8 Painful fever, violent fever,
the fever which never leaves man, unremitting fever,
the lingering fever, malignant fever,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
9 Painful plague, violent plague,
plague which never leaves man,
unremitting plague,
the lingering plague, malignant plague,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
10 Painful disease of the bowels,
the infirmity which makes gloomy and cuts,
the never-ceasing infirmity, the infirmity of the veins,
the infirmity which does not go away, the malignant infirmity,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
11 That which acts in the mouth, the poison noxious to the voice,
the expectoration of the consumption which noxiously prostrates,
scrofula, pustules, falling off of the nails,
purulent eruptions, inveterate tetters,
shingles causing pits and scars,
leprosy covering the skin,
food which reduces the body of man to a skeleton,
food which eaten is returned again,
liquids which make the drinker swell,
fatal poison which does not.... the earth,
the pestilential wind which comes from the desert and returns not,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
12 The frost which makes the earth to shiver,
the excess of heat which makes the skin of man to crack, evil destiny....
which unexpectedly cuts off a man's career,
parching thirst which aids the Spirit of the plague,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
The XIIIth formula is too much effaced for me to attempt to translate it; but, judging from what remains, it was destined to avert the action of a demon dwelling in the desert.
The XIVth is in the same condition; its object was to ward off a misfortune which might attack a man at any time, eating, drinking, sleeping, or standing at his own fireside; possibly sudden death. Only the Accadian text remains of the four following formulae; the Assyrian Version is destroyed.
15 He who in the gaol dies of hunger,
he who in the gaol dies of thirst,
he who being hungry in a pit (?)
beseeching (is therefore reduced to eat) dust,
he who in the earth or in the river,
perishes and dies,
the female slave who possesses no master,
the free woman who has no husband,
he who leaves an infamous memory of his name,
he who leaves no memory of his name,
he who in his hunger cannot recover,
he who falls ill and cries at the beginning of an incomplete month,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
16 The protecting god of man,
who (guarantees) the prolongation of man's life,
may he fortify him to the sight of the Sun!
The genius, the favourable giant,
may he penetrate into his head
for the prolongation of his life!
He will never depart from him!
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
The XVIIth formula presents difficulties which cannot be explained in the present state of our acquaintance with the Accadian language; we can only discern that it was the prescription of a protective and conjuring rite.
18 Two double bands of white cloth
upon the bed on the platform
as a talisman if he binds on the (right) hand,
two double bands of black cloth
if he binds on the left hand,
the bad demon, the wicked Alal, the wicked Gigim,
the bad Telal, the wicked god, the wicked Maskim,
the phantom, the spectre, the vampyre,
incubus, succubus, nightmare,
wicked sorcery, the philter, liquid poison,
that which gives pain, that which hurts, that which is evil,
their head upon his head,
their foot upon his foot,
they never seize him, they will never return.
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
A great gap occurs here, occasioned by a fracture of the tablet, in which at least two formulae, and the beginning of a third, have disappeared. I discovered in the British Museum a small fragment, which is not in the published text, and which, finding here its proper place, shews the end of the XIXth formula.
....May the wicked demon depart!
May they seize one another!
The propitious demon, the propitious giant,
may they penetrate into his body!
Spirit of the heavens, conjure it! Spirit of the earth, conjure it!
The first line of the XXth formula, which is found upon the same fragment, shows that its object was to cure some disease of the bowels.
The remainder of the XXI st contains an enumeration of all the parts of the house from which the magical words were to exclude demons. All this portion is extremely obscure, and its translation is rendered almost impossible by the multiplicity of the architectural terms employed, to which we have no key, particularly as the Assyrian version is here wanting.
22 The phantom, child of heaven,
which the gods remember,
the Innin, prince
of the lords.
the......
which produces painful fever,
the vampyre which attacks man,
the Uruku multifold upon humanity,
may they never seize him!
Spirit of the heavens, conjure!
Spirit of the earth, conjure!
The tablet, in its present state, gives only the beginnings of the lines of the XXIIIrd and XXIVth incantations in the Accadian version; it is therefore impossible to try and translate them. All that can be discovered is, that in the first the god Silik-mulu-khi is invoked, to whom texts of the same kind generally attribute the rôle of a mediator, and who is compared further on to the Marduk of the official religion of the Assyrian period; the second is addressed to the god of fire, Izdubar, which we shall describe later with more precision.
The XXVth formula only exists in the Accadian; and that only as far as the first fourteen lines. These show, however, that it begins with an invocation to the water god, Nin-a-zu; it then treats of diverse maladies, and ends thus:
The sea,
the sea,
the desert without water,
the waters of the Tigris, the waters of the Euphrates,
the mountain of the west, the mountain of the east,
the agitated mountain,
may they close their chasms,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure!
Spirit of the earth, conjure!
26 Ninki-gal, spouse of the god Nin-a-zu,
may she cause him to turn his face toward the place where she is!
May the wicked demons depart!
May they seize one another!
The favourable demon, the favourable giant,
may they penetrate into his body!
Spirit of the heavens, conjure!
Spirit of the earth, conjure!
27 The god Ztak, the great messenger, the supreme ensnarer
amongst the gods, like the god of the heights.
May he penetrate his head
for the prolongation of his life!
He will never depart from him!
Spirit of the heavens, conjure!
Spirit of the earth, conjure!
28 The man passing (on the earth), who makes sacrifices,
may pardon and peace flow for him like molten brass!
May the sun enlighten the days of this man!
Silik-mulu-khi, eldest son of the ocean,
strengthen in him peace and happiness!
Spirit of the heavens, conjure!
Spirit of the earth, conjure!
But the rich and varied information contained in this text, which has now been placed for many years at the disposal of scholars, is extended and confirmed in the most happy manner by some new documents, which are soon to be presented to the public. Amongst the many thousand fragments of clay tablets discovered by M. Layard in the hall of the library in the palace of Kouyunjik on the site of Nineveh itself, and which are preserved at present in the British Museum, are the fragments of a vast work on magic, which, in its perfect state, formed a series of not less than two hundred tablets, and which was for Chaldea what the Atharva-Veda was for ancient India. This was such a collection of the formulae, incantations, and hymns of the Chaldean magi as the classical writers speak of, and of whom Diodorus Siculus says: "They try to avert evil and procure good, either by purifications, sacrifices, or enchantments." The fragments of this work have been patiently collected from the chaos of rubbish of all kinds in which they were buried; and they have been prepared for publication as the IVth volume of The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, by Sir Henry Rawlinson. This eminent Orientalist from the other side of the Channel has laboured more than any one else to decipher the Cuneiform Anarian text, in which work he has been assisted by his young colleague Mr. George Smith, who has since taken for himself a prominent place in science. To give an idea of the material extent of the fragments under consideration, suffice it to say, that they are more than fifty in number, and contain many perfect tablets covered with from three to four hundred lines of writing, and that they fill almost the whole of thirty folio copper plates. With a scientific generosity seldom seen, of which I cannot better show my appreciation than by proclaiming it, Sir Henry Rawlinson kindly sent me the proofs of the facsimile plates of this publication, before they were brought out. It is one of the most precious works which has ever enriched Assyriology; and from it I have taken greater part of the data of the present treatise.
The great work on magic, many copies of which had been executed by the scribes of Assurbanipal, according to the pattern placed centuries since in the library of the famous school for priests at Erech in Chaldea, was composed of three different books. We know the title of one of the three, "The Wicked Spirits," for we find at the end of each of the tablets, which come from it and which have been preserved entire, "Tablet No.—of the Wicked Spirits." As the title shows, it was filled exclusively with formulae of conjurations and imprecations, which were designed to repulse demons and other wicked spirits, to avert their fatal action, and to shelter the invoker from their attacks. Portions of a second book exist, and, judging from what remains of it, it would seem to be formed of a collection of these incantations, to which was attributed the power of curing various maladies. Lastly, the third book contained Hymns to certain gods. A supernatural and mysterious power was attributed to the chanting of these hymns, which are, however, of a very different character from the regular liturgical prayers of the official religion, a few of which have been preserved to us. It is curious to notice that the three parts composing thus the great work on magic, of which Sir Henry Rawlinson has found the remains, correspond exactly to the three classes of Chaldean doctors, which Daniel enumerates, together with the astrologers and divines (Kasdim and Gazrim), that is, the Khartumim or conjurors, the Chakamim or physicians, and the Asaphim or theosophists. The further we advance in the knowledge of the Cuneiform texts, the greater does the necessity appear of reversing the condemnation much too prematurely pronounced by the German exegetical school against the date of the writings of the fourth of the greater prophets. The language of the Book of Daniel, interspersed as it is in various places with Greek words, proves without doubt that the definitive translation as we possess it, is posterior to the time of Alexander. But the foundation of the work dates much further back; it is tinged with a very decided Babylonian tint, and certain features of the life at the court of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors are there pictured with a truth and exactitude, to which a writer a few centuries later could hardly have attained.
(Continues...)
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Table of Contents
Contents
Author's Preface
Editor's Preface
Chap. I.—The Magic and Sorcery of the Chaldeans
Chap. II.—The Chaldean Demonology
Chap. III.—Chaldean Amulets and their Uses
Chap. IV.—Chaldean Sorcery and its Dual Nature
Chap. V.—Comparison of the Egyptian with the Chaldean Magic
Chap. VI.—Contrasts between Egyptian and Chaldean Magical Systems
Chap. VII.—The Magic of the Ritual of the Dead
Chap. VIII.—Contrasts between Accadian and Egyptian Magic
Chap. IX.—The Chaldaio-Babylonian religion and its doctrines
Chap. X.—Development of the Chaldean Mythology
Chap. XI.—The religious System of the Accadian Magic Books
Chap. XII.—The Origin of the Myth of the Zi
Chap. XIII.—The Mythology of the Underworld
Chap. XIV.—The Religions and the Magic of the Turanian Nations
Chap. XV.—The Early Median Mythology compared with that of the Chaldeans
Chap. XVI.—Finno-Tartarian Magical Mythology
Chap. XVII.—Further Analysis of Finnish Demonology
Chap. XVIII.—The Accadian People and their Language
Chap. XIX.—The Accadian Language
Chap. XX.—Differentiation of the Accadian and its allied Languages
Chap. XXI.—Altaic affinities of the Accadian Language
Chap. XXII.—Accadian and Altaic affinities
Chap. XXIII.—Phonology of the Accadian Language
Chap. XXIV.—The origin of the Kushito-Semitic religion
Chap. XXV.—The two Ethnic elements in the Babylonian nation
Chap. XXVI.—The Origin of the Chaldaio-Babylonian Cosmogonies
Chap. XXVII.—The Priority of the Accadian Population of Chaldea
Chap. XXVIII.—The Sumirían Influence in Chaldean and Babylonian
Civilization
Chap. XXIX.—The Influence of the Kushite Mythology in Chaldean Faith
Chap. XXX.—The Turanians in Chaldea and Ancient Asia
Chap. XXXI.—The Archaic Legislation of the Accadians
Appendix.—Sumir and Accad
Index.