The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria Part 19

THE MAGICAL TEXTS.

Turning to the first subdivision of Babylonian religious literature, we find remains sufficient to justify us in concluding that there must have been produced a vast number of texts containing formulas and directions for securing a control over the spirits which were supposed at all times to be able to exercise a certain amount of power over men. By virtue of the aim served by these productions we may group them under the head of magical texts, or incantations. We have already indicated the manner in which these incantations grew into more or less rigid temple rituals.

This growth accounts for the fact that the incantations generally framed in by ceremonial directions, prayers, and reflections, were combined into a continuous series (or volume, as we would say) of varying length, covering nine, ten, a dozen, twenty tablets or more. It has been generally a.s.sumed that these incantation texts const.i.tute the oldest division of the religious literature of the Babylonians. The a.s.sertion in an unqualified form is hardly accurate, for the incantation texts, such as they lie before us, give evidence of having been submitted to the influences of an age much later than the one in which their substance was produced. Conceptions have been carried into them that were originally absent, and a form given to them that obliges us to distinguish between the underlying concepts, and the manner in which these concepts have been combined with views that reflect a later and, in many respects, a more advanced period. The incantation texts are certainly no older than texts furnishing omens. Some of the incantation texts indeed may not be any older than portions of the creation epic, and in the latter, as in other parts of the religious literature, there are elements as ancient and as primitive as anything to be found in the omens or incantations. So much, however, is true, that the incantations represent the earliest ritual proper to the Babylonian cult, and that the conceptions underlying this ritual are the emanation of popular thought, or, if you choose, of popular fancy of a most primitive character. It is also true that, on the whole, the incantation texts retain more traces of primitive popular thought than other divisions of the religious literature with the exception of the omens. The remodeling to which they were subjected did not destroy their original character to the extent that might have been expected--a circ.u.mstance due in the first instance to the persistency of the beliefs that called these texts forth.

Many of the texts containing incantations were found by the modern explorers in so mutilated a condition, that one can hardly hazard any generalizations as to the system followed in putting the incantations together. From the fact, however, that in so many instances the incantations form a series of longer or shorter extent, we may, for the present at least, conclude that the serial form was the method generally followed; and at all events, if not the general method, certainly a favorite one. Deviating from the ordinary custom of calling the series according to the opening line of the first tablet, the incantation texts were given a distinct t.i.tle, which was either descriptive or chosen with reference to their general contents. So one series which covered at least sixteen tablets was known by the very natural name of the 'evil demon'; the incantations that it contained being intended as a protection against various cla.s.ses of demons. Another is known as the series of 'head sickness,' and which deals, though not exclusively, with various forms of derangements having their seat in the brain. It covered no less than nine tablets. Two others bear names that are almost synonymous,--"Shurpu" and "Maklu," both signifying 'burning,' and so called from the chief topic dealt with in them, the burning of images of the sorcerers, and the incantations to be recited in connection with this symbolical act. The "Maklu" series embraced eight tablets and contained, according to Tallqvist's calculations,[341] originally about 1,550 lines, or upwards of 9,000 words. The "Shurpu" series, although embracing nine tablets, appears to have been somewhat shorter. In view of the extensive character of these series we are justified in speaking of incantation 'rituals.' The texts were evidently prepared with a practical purpose in view. The efficacy of certain formulas having been demonstrated, it was obviously of importance that their exact form should be preserved for future reference. But a given formula was effective only for a given case, or at most for certain correlated cases, and accordingly it became necessary to collect as many formulas as possible to cover all emergencies. The priests, acting as exorcisers, would be the ones interested in making such collections, and we may a.s.sume, as already suggested, that each temple would develop a collection of its own,--an incantation code that served as a guide for its priests. The natural tendency would be for these codes to increase from generation to generation, perhaps not rapidly, but steadily. New cases not as yet provided for would arise, and new formulas with new instructions would be produced; or the exorcisers at a certain temple would learn of remedies tried elsewhere, and would embody them in their own special code. In short, the growth of these incantation 'rituals'

was probably similar to the manner in which, on the basis of actual practice, religious codes grew up around the sanctuaries of ancient Israel,--a process that terminated in the production of the various codes and rituals const.i.tuting the legal doc.u.ments embodied in the Pentateuch.

The prominence given to Ea and to his favorite seat, the city of Eridu, in the incantations suggests the theory that many of our texts are to be ultimately traced to the temple of Ea, that once stood at Eridu. In that case an additional proof would be furnished of the great antiquity of the use of incantations in Babylonia. We must sharply distinguish however, as already emphasized, between the origin and the present form of the rituals. Again, those parts of a ritual in which Gibil, or Nusku, appears prominently would most naturally be produced by priests connected with a temple sacred to the one or the other of these G.o.ds.

The practice of incantation, however, being common to all parts of Babylonia, we can hardly suppose that any temple should have existed which did not have its exorcising formulas. In the combination of these formulas into a ritual, due consideration would naturally be had to the special G.o.ds invoked, the obvious result of which would be to produce the long lists of deities that are often embodied in a single incantation. The details of this process can of course no longer be discerned, but the inevitable tendency would be towards increasing complications. The effort would be made to collect everything, and from all known quarters. Hence the heterogeneous elements to be detected in the texts, and which, while adding to their interest, also increase the difficulty of their interpretation. In consequence of the presence of such heterogeneous elements, it is difficult to determine within an incantation series any guiding principles that prompted the collectors.

Still we can often distinguish large groups in a series that belong together. So we have whole series of addresses to the fire-G.o.d ending with incantations, and again a series of descriptions of the group of seven spirits serving a similar purpose as introductions to incantations, but we cannot see on what grounds the transition from one subject to the other takes place. Indeed the transitions are generally marked by their abruptness.

The only legitimate inference is that the main purpose of the collectors of incantation texts was to exhaust the subject so far as lay in their power. They included in their codes as much as possible. The exorciser would have no difficulty in threading his way through the complicated ma.s.s. He would select the division appropriate to the case before him without much concern of what preceded or followed in the text. Moreover, these divisions in the texts were clearly marked by dividing lines, still to be seen on the clay tablets. These divisions correspond so completely to divisions in the subject-matter that the purely practical purpose they served can hardly be called into question, while at the same time they furnish additional proof for the compiled character of the texts.

As for the date of the composition of the texts, the union of the Babylonian states under Hammurabi, with its necessary result, the supremacy of Marduk, that finds its reflection in the texts, furnishes us with a terminus _a quo_ beyond which we need not proceed for _final_ editing. On the other hand, there are indications in the language which warrant us in not pa.s.sing below 2000 B.C. as the period when many of the incantation texts received their present form, and the editions were completed from which many centuries afterwards the a.s.syrian scribes prepared their copies for their royal masters.

There is, of course, no reason for a.s.suming that all our texts should be of one age, or that the copying and, in part, the editing should not have gone on continually. Necessity for further copies would arise with the steady growth of the temples. Priests would be engaged in making copies for themselves, either for their edification as a pious work, or for real use; and accordingly, in fixing upon any date for the texts, one can hardly do more than a.s.sign certain broad limits within which the texts, so far as their present contents are concerned, may have been completed. The _copies_ themselves may of course belong to a much later period without, for that reason, being more recent productions.

Attention must also be directed to the so-called 'bilingual' form, in which many of the incantation texts are edited; each line being first written in the ideographic style, and then followed by a transliteration into the phonetic style.[342] The use of the ideographic style is a survival of the ancient period when all texts were written in this manner, and the conservatism attaching to all things religious accounts for the continuation of the ideographic style in the religious rituals down to the latest period, beyond the time when even according to those who see in the ideographic style a language distinct from Babylonian, this supposed non-Semitic tongue was no longer spoken by the people, and merely artificially maintained, like the Latin of the Middle Ages. The frequent lack of correspondence in minor points between the ideographic style and the phonetic transliteration shows that the latter was intended merely as a version, as a guide and aid to the understanding of the 'conservative' method of writing. It was not necessary for a transliteration to be accurate, whereas, in the case of a translation, the greatest care would naturally be taken to preserve the original sacred text with all nicety and accuracy, since upon accuracy and nicety the whole efficacy of the formulas rested. The redaction of the incantation texts in the double style must not be regarded as a necessary indication of high antiquity, but only as a proof that the oldest incantation texts were written in the ideographic style, and that for this reason the custom was continued down to the latest period. On the other hand, the addition of the transliteration points to a period when the old style could no longer be read by the priests with facility without some guide, and incidentally proves again that the texts have gone through an editing process. But in the course of time, additions to the ritual were made, written in the phonetic style; and then it would happen, as a concession to religious conservatism, that the text would be translated back into the ideographic form. We would then have a "bilingual" text, consisting of Babylonian and an artificial "Sumero-Akkadian." That incantations were also composed in pure Babylonian without reference to any "Sumero-Akkadian" original is conclusively shown by the metrical traits frequently introduced. Many of the sections--by no means all--can be divided into regular stanzas of four, six, or eight lines, and frequently to the stanza is added a line which forms what Professor D. H. Muller[343] calls the "response." The same metrical traits being found in other parts of the Babylonian literature,--so, _e.g._, in the creation epic,--their occurrence in the incantation texts is of course not accidental. When, therefore, we come across a ritual as the "Maklu" series, written exclusively in the phonetic style, and giving evidence of being in part a metrical composition, we are justified in a.s.suming this to have been the original form. Again, in the case of another series,--the "Shurpu," in part Babylonian, in part bilingual,[344]--since the Babylonian section shows the metrical form, it is likely that the ideographic style represents a transliteration of a phonetic, or pure Babylonian, original.

The chief value of the incantation texts lies, naturally, in the insight they afford into the popular beliefs. As among other nations, so among the Babylonians, the use of certain formulas to secure release from ills, pains, and evils of any kind, either actual or portending, rests upon the theory that the accidents and misfortunes to which man is heir are due largely to the influence of more or less powerful spirits or demons, acting independently or at the command of higher powers,--the G.o.ds.

Through the incantation rituals we are enabled to specify the traits popularly ascribed to these demons and the means employed to rid oneself of their baneful grasp.

Demons.

The demons were of various kinds and of various grades of power. The names of many of them, as _utukku_, _shedu_, _alu_, _gallu_, point to 'strength' and 'greatness' as their main attribute; other names, as _lilu_, 'night-spirit,' and the feminine form _lilitu_, are indicative of the moment chosen by them for their work; while again, names like _ekimmu_, the 'seizer,' _akhkhazu_, the 'capturer,' _rabisu_, 'the one that lies in wait,' _labartu_, 'the oppressor,' and _labasu_, 'the overthrower,' show the aim that the demons have in view. Putting these names together, we may form a general idea of the conceptions connected with the demons. They lurk in hidden or remote places, in graves, in the shadow of ruins, on the tops of mountains, in the wilderness. Their favorite time of activity is at dead of night. They glide noiselessly like serpents, entering houses through holes and crevices. They are powerful, but their power is directed solely towards evil. They take firm hold of their victims and torture them mercilessly.

To these demons all manner of evil is ascribed. Their presence was felt in the destructive winds that swept the land. The pestilent fevers that rise out of the marshes of the Euphrates valley and the diseases bred by the humid heat of summer were alike traced to demons lurking in the soil. Some of these diseases, moreover, were personified, as _Namtar_, the demon of 'plague,' and _Ashakku_, the demon of 'wasting disease.'

But the petty annoyances that disturb the peace of man--a sudden fall, an unlucky word, a headache, petty quarrels, and the like--were also due to the instigation of the demons; while insanity and the stirring up of the pa.s.sions--love, hatred, and jealousy--were in a special sense indicative of the presence and power of the demons. Men and women stood in constant danger of them. Even the animals were not safe from their attacks. They drive the birds out of their nests, strike down lambs and bulls. It was impossible to forestall their attacks. They enter a man's dwelling, they wander through the streets, they make their way into food and drink. There is no place, however small, which they cannot invade, and none, however large, that they cannot fill. In a text which furnishes the sacred formulas by means of which one can get rid of the demoniac influence, a description is given of the demons which may serve as an ill.u.s.tration of what has just been said. The incantation is directed against a variety of the demons:[345]

The _utukku_[346] of the field and the _utukku_ of the mountain, The _utukku_ of the sea and the one that lurks in graves, The evil _shedu_, the shining _alu_.

The evil wind, the terrible wind, That sets one's hair on end.

Against these the spirits of heaven and earth are invoked. The text proceeds:

The _utukku_ that seizes hold of a man, The _ekimmu_ that seizes hold of a man, The _ekimmu_ that works evil, The _utukku_ that works evil.

And after invoking against these demons, likewise, the spirits of heaven and earth, the text pa.s.ses on to an enumeration of a long list of physical ills: sickness of the entrails, of the heart, of the head, of the stomach, of the kidneys, of the limbs and muscles, of the skin, and of the senses, which are all ascribed to the influence of the demons.

Apart from the demons that are naught but the personification of certain diseases, it does not appear that the demons were limited in their power to one specific kind of action. In other words, sharp distinctions between the demons do not appear to have been drawn. As appears from the extracts above translated, the _utukku_, _shedu_, _alu_, and _ekimmu_ were grouped together, and hardly regarded as anything more than descriptive epithets of a general cla.s.s of demons. At the same time it appears likely that at one time they were differentiated with a greater degree of preciseness. So the _ekimmu_ appears to be the shadowy demon that hovers around graves, a species of ghost or vampire that attacks people in the dead of night and lays them prostrate. _Lilu_ and _lilitu_ are the spirits that flit by in the night. Of a specific character likewise are the conceptions connected with a demon known as _ardat lili_, 'maid of the night,' a strange female 'will-o'-the-wisp,' who approaches men, arouses their pa.s.sions, but does not permit a satisfaction of them. Great importance being attached by the Babylonians to dreams, the belief in a 'maid of the night' was probably due to the unchecked play of the imagination during the hours of sleep. Bad dreams came at the instigation of the demons, and such a demon as the _rabisu_ or the _labartu_ appears to have been especially a.s.sociated with the horrible sensations aroused by a 'nightmare.'[347] Again the _utukku_ is represented at times as attacking the neck of man; the _gallu_ attacks the hand, the _ekimmu_ the loins, the _alu_ the breast. But these distinctions count for little in the texts. _Utukku_ becomes a general name for demon, and _gallu_, _alu_, and _shedu_ are either used synonymously with _utukku_ or thrown together with the latter in a manner that clearly shows the general ident.i.ty of the conceptions ultimately connected with them. The same is the case with the _rabisu_ and _gallu_, with the _labartu_, _akhkhazu_, and _ekimmu_.

The demons were always given some shape, animal or human, for it was a necessary corollary of the stage of religious thought to which the belief in demons belongs, that the demon must not only be somewhere, though invisible to mankind, but also _in_ something that manifests life. Among animals, those calculated to inspire terror by their mysterious movements were chosen, as serpents appearing and disappearing with startling suddenness, or ugly scorpions, against whom it was difficult to protect oneself, or the fabulous monsters with which graves and pestiferous spots were peopled. Regions difficult of access--the desert, the deep waters, the high mountains--were the favorite haunts of the demons. Some of these demons were frequently pictured in the boundary stones between fields, in order to emphasize the curses hurled upon the head of him who should trespa.s.s on the lawful rights of the owner of the land.[348] It is to such demons embodied in living form that epithets such as the 'seizer,' the 'one that lurks,' and the like apply with peculiar aptness. In a tablet belonging to a long series of incantations,[349] we find references to various animals--the serpent, the scorpion, monsters--that are regarded as the embodiment of demons.

In the distinctively religious art, the evil spirits are often pictured as ugly monsters that were to inspire terror by their very aspect.

Depicted on the monuments, singly or in groups,[350] the shape of wild animals was given to the head, while the remainder of the body was suggestive of a human form. With gaping mouths and armed with some weapon, they stand ready to make an attack. The a.s.syrian kings, up to the latest period, acknowledged the power of the demons by making huge representations of them, which they placed at the approaches, entrances, and divisions of their temples and palaces, in the hope of thus securing their protection. The great bulls and lions with human heads--so familiar to every one--are but another form of the same idea. These colossal statues were actually known by the name _shedu_, which we have seen is one of the general terms for 'demon.' But as a general thing, this personal phase of the demon's existence is lost sight of. Even though embodied in animal form, the demons could make themselves invisible to man; and since most of their actions were performed in secret, so that people were totally at their mercy, the differentiation of the demons became a factor of minor importance. With so large a quant.i.ty of demons at command, it was difficult to hit upon the one who was manifesting himself by some evil at any given moment. Accordingly, instead of a single mention, a number or a group were enumerated, and the magic formulas p.r.o.nounced against them in concert. We have one such group of seven to whom quite a number of references are found in the incantation texts. A section in one of these texts gives a vivid description of them:[351]

Seven are they, they are seven, In the subterranean deep, they are seven, Perched (?) in the sky, they are seven, In a section of the subterranean deep they were reared, They are neither male nor are they female, They are destructive whirlwinds, They have no wife, nor do they beget offspring.

Compa.s.sion and mercy they do not know, Prayer and supplication they do not hear, Horses bred on the mountains, are they Hostile to Ea[352] are they, Powerful ones among the G.o.ds are they.

To work mischief in the street they settle themselves in the highway.

Evil are they, they are evil, Seven are they, they are seven, seven, and again seven[353] are they.

These seven spirits, who are elsewhere compared to various animals, have power even to bewitch the G.o.ds. The eclipse of the moon was attributed to their baneful influence. The number seven is probably not to be taken literally. As among so many nations,[354] seven had a sacred significance for the Babylonians; but largely, if not solely, for the reason, as I venture to think, because seven was a large number. In the Old Testament seven is similarly used to designate a large number. A group of seven spirits, accordingly, meant no more than a miscellaneous ma.s.s of spirits, and we may therefore regard this 'song of the seven' as a general characterization of the demons who, according to this view, appear to move together in groups rather than singly. Elsewhere[355] we are told of this same group of spirits 'that they were begotten in the mountain of sunset,' _i.e._, in the west, 'and were reared in the mountain of sunrise,' _i.e._, the east; 'that they dwell in the hollow of the earth, and that they are proclaimed on the mountain tops.'

Evidently a description of this kind is intended to emphasize the universal presence of the spirits. There is no place where they are not found; and when we are furthermore told (apparently in contradiction to what has just been said) 'that neither in heaven nor earth is their name p.r.o.nounced (_i.e._, are they known to be), that among the G.o.ds of the earth (_i.e._, the pantheon) they are not recognized, that neither in heaven nor earth do they exist,' this is but the reverse of the picture intended to ill.u.s.trate the capability of the spirits to disappear without leaving any trace of their presence. They are everywhere and yet invisible. They come and they go, and no one knows their place. Nothing is proof against their approach. Of all the demons it is true, as of this group, that they slip through bolts and doorposts and sockets, gliding, as we are told, 'like snakes.' Such are the demons against whom man must seek to protect himself.

The relationship of the demons or spirits to the G.o.ds of the pantheon has been touched upon in a previous chapter.[356] It is sufficient here to emphasize the fact that the dividing line between the two becomes at times exceedingly faint. A deity, we have seen, is a spirit writ large; but often the demon a.s.sumes dimensions and is clothed with power that makes him 'little short of divine.' Strength is the attribute of the demons as it is the chief feature of the G.o.ds. Both cla.s.ses of powers influence man's career. The names of the demons are preceded by the same determinative that is used for the G.o.ds. As a matter of fact, many of the spirits were originally worshipped as local deities in some restricted territory, which, losing its importance, bequeaths the name of its protective genius to posterity. In the realm of religious belief, as in the domain of nature, absolute loss of something that once had existence does not take place. Something remains. Hundreds of old local G.o.ds of Babylonia thus survived in the literature as spirits or demons.

The tendency towards making a selection out of the great ma.s.s of G.o.ds goes hand in hand with the multiplication of spirits that might, as occasion presented itself, be invoked. In general, the larger affairs of life were consigned into the hands of the G.o.ds; the petty annoyances--accidents, pains, ill luck, and the like--were put down to the account of the spirits. The G.o.ds were, on the whole, favorably disposed towards man. They were angry at times, they sent punishments, but they could be appeased. The spirits were, on the whole, hostile; and although the Babylonians also invoked favorable and kind spirits, when a spirit was hostile there was only one method of ridding oneself of the pernicious influence,--to drive it out by means of formulas, and with the help of a priest acting as exorciser.

Sorcerers and Sorceresses.

A widespread and apparently very ancient belief among the Babylonians and a.s.syrians was that certain human beings possessed demoniac power, and could exercise it for evil purposes over whomsoever they pleased.

This belief may have originated in the abnormal appearance presented by certain individuals in consequence of physical deformities or peculiarities. The uncanny impression made by dwarfs, persons with misshapen limbs, with a strange look in their eyes, and, above all, the insane would give rise to the view that some people, for the very reason of their variation from the normal type, possessed peculiar powers. But by the side of such as were distinguished by bodily defects, those who outranked their fellows by virtue of their prowess or of natural gifts, by keenness of intellect or cunning, would also be supposed to have received their power through some demoniac source. With the giant and the artificer there would thus be a.s.sociated ideas of sorcery and witchcraft, as with dwarfs, the deformed, and insane. The sorcerers might be either male or female, but, for reasons which are hard to fathom, the preference was given to females. Accordingly, it happens that among the Babylonians, as in the Middle Ages, the witch appears more frequently than the male sorcerer. The witches have all the powers of the demons, and in the incantation texts the two are often thrown together. Just as the demons, so the witches take away the breath of man, defile his food and drink, or close up his mouth. They are able to penetrate into the body of men, and thus produce similar physical and mental disturbances as the animalic demons. In view of this close relationship between witches and demons, we are justified in regarding the two as varying aspects of one and the same belief. The witch appears to be merely the person through whom the hitherto 'invisible' demon has chosen to manifest itself. From being identical in character with the demons, the witches reached a stage which made them superior to the former. They could not only do everything that the demons did, but they could also control the latter, whereas the demons had no power over witches. Witches could invoke the demons at their will and bring such persons as they chose within the demons' power. Various means were at their disposal for bringing this about. The glance of a witch's 'evil eye' was supposed to have great power.[357] Terrible were the sufferings of the one on whom a witch threw the glance that kept the person under her spell. The 'evil word,' as it was called, and by which the use of certain magic formulas was meant, was another effective means at her command for inflicting all manner of evil. Magical potions, too, compounded of poisonous weeds, appear to have been prepared by them, and which, entering the body of those whom they desired to punish, had a disastrous effect. Such means might be denominated as direct. There were others indirect which were even more effective, and which rested upon the principle commonly known as 'sympathetic magic.'[358] Under the notion that the symbolical acts of the sorcerers would have their effect upon the one to be bewitched, the male sorcerer or the witch, as the case might be, would tie knots in a rope. Repeating certain formulas with each fresh knot, the witch would in this way symbolically strangle the victim, seal his mouth, wrack his limbs, tear his entrails, and the like.

Still more popular was the making of an image of the desired victim of clay or pitch, honey, fat, or other soft material,[359] and either by burning it inflict physical tortures upon the person represented, or by undertaking various symbolical acts with it, such as burying it among the dead, placing it in a coffin, casting it into a pit or into a fountain, hiding it in an inaccessible place, placing it in spots that had a peculiar significance, as the doorposts, the threshold, under the arch of gates, would prognosticate in this way a fate corresponding to one of these acts for the unfortunate victim.

The Exorcisers.

As a protection against the demons and witches, small images of some of the protecting deities were placed at the entrances to houses, and amulets of various kinds were carried about the person. Tablets, too, were hung up in the house,--probably at the entrance,--on which extracts from the religious texts were inscribed. These texts by virtue of their sacred character a.s.sured protection against the entrance of demons.[360]

But when once a person had come under the baneful power of the demons, recourse was had to a professional cla.s.s of exorcisers, who acted as mediators between the victims and the G.o.ds to whom the ultimate appeal for help was made. These exorcisers were of course priests, and at an early period of Babylonian culture it must have been one of the main functions of priests to combat the influence of evil spirits. It was for this purpose chiefly that the people came to the temples, and in so far we are justified in regarding incantation formulas as belonging to the oldest portion of the Babylonian temple rituals. In the course of time, as the temples in the great religious centers developed into large establishments, the priests were divided into cla.s.ses, each with special functions a.s.signed to them. Some were concerned with the sacrifices, others presided over the oracles, others were set aside for the night and day watches which were observed in the temple, and it is likely that the scribes formed a cla.s.s by themselves. To this age of differentiation in priestly functions belongs the special cla.s.s who may be regarded as the forerunners of the eastern _magi_ or magicians, and who by powers and methods peculiar to them could ward off the dangerous attacks of the demons and witches. The means employed by them may in general be described as forming the complement to those used by the witches,--the reverse side of the picture,--only that they were supposed to be effective against sorcerers, witches, and demons alike. Against the incantation formulas of the witches, incantations of superior force were prescribed that might serve to overcome the baneful influence of the former. The symbolical tying of knots was offset by symbolical loosening, accompanied by formulas that might effect the gradual release of the victim from the meshes of both the witches and the demons; or the hoped-for release was symbolized by the peeling of the several skins of an onion. Corresponding to the images made by the witches, the exorcising priests advised the making of counter images of the witches, and by a symbolical burning, accompanied by certain ceremonies and conciliatory gifts to the G.o.ds, hoped to destroy the witches themselves.

Since, moreover, the favorite time chosen by the demons and witches for their manifestations was the night, the three divisions of the nights--evening, midnight, and dawn--that correspond to the temple watches were frequently selected as the time for the incantations and the symbolical acts. The address was often made to the G.o.ds of night. A series of incantation formulas begins:

I call upon you, G.o.ds of the night, With you I call upon the night, the veiled bride,[361]

I call at evening, midnight, and at dawn.

The formulas themselves, as we shall see, are characterized by their large number rather than by any elements that they have in common. At times they const.i.tute a direct appeal to some G.o.d or G.o.ds, to some particular spirit, or to the a.s.sociated spirits of heaven and earth, together with a direct indication of what is desired. An incantation addressed to Nusku, the G.o.d of fire, closes:

Fire-G.o.d, mighty and lofty one of the G.o.ds, Who dost overpower the wicked and the hostile, Overpower them (the witches) so that I be not destroyed.

Let me thy servant live, let me unharmed stand before thee, Thou art my G.o.d, thou art my lord, Thou art my judge, thou art my helper, Thou art my avenger.

Preceding the direct appeal, there is usually a recital more or less detailed of the woes with which one is afflicted. The victim tells of the pains which torture him. Says one bewitched:

I stand upright, and cannot lie down, neither night nor day. The witches have filled my mouth with their knots.

With the aid of _upuntu_ weed,[362]

they have stuffed up my mouth.

The water that I drink have they diminished, My joy is changed to pain, my pleasure to sorrow.

This recital, which is often wearisome by its length, may or may not end in a direct appeal to some G.o.d or G.o.ds. The narrative of woes, however, is merely introductory to the incantation itself. To prescribe the formula to be used to the one appealing for help, is the special function of the priest acting as exorciser. He recites the formula, which is then repeated by the communicant.

Instead of an appeal to the G.o.ds for help, the incantation often embodies threats hurled in the name of the G.o.ds at the demons or witches in case they do not release their victim. Such incantations appear to derive their power chiefly through the personage of the exorciser, who believes himself to be able to control the evil spirits. So in one case, after the sufferer has poured out his troubles, the exorciser replies, threatening the witches with the same evils that they have inflicted:[363]

They have used all kinds of charms to entwine me as with ropes, to catch me as in a cage, to tie me as with cords, to overpower me as in a net, to twist me as with a sling, to tear me as a fabric, to fill me with dirty water as that which runs down a wall (?) to throw me down as a wall.

At this point the exorciser takes up the thread and declares:

But I by command of Marduk, the lord of charms, by Marduk, the master of bewitchment, Both the male and female witch as with ropes I will entwine, as in a cage I will catch, as with cords I will tie, as in a net I will overpower, as in a sling I will twist, as a fabric I will tear, with dirty water as from a wall I will fill, as a wall throw them down.