Daniel Schwemer

Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals, Volume One

Among the most important sources for understanding the cultures and systems of thought of ancient Mesopotamia is a large body of magical and medical texts written in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. An especially significant branch of this literature centres upon witchcraft. Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and incantations attribute ill-health and misfortune to the magic machinations of witches and prescribe ceremonies, devices, and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction of this body of texts; it provides critical editions of the relevant rituals and prescriptions based on the study of the cuneiform tablets and fragments recovered from the libraries of ancient Mesopotamia.

Entrusting the Witches to Ḫumuṭ-tabal: the ušburruda Ritual BM 47806+

The hitherto unpublished Late Babylonian fragment BM 47806 + adds another example to the group of rituals which counteract witchcraft by banning sorcerers to the netherworld. Samas is asked to hand them over, on his journey to the netherworld, to Humuṭ-tabal, the ferryman of the dead. The edition of BM 47806 + is preceded by a brief overview of rituals of this type, including a discussion of the relationship between ritual burial of figurines — symbolising the dismissal of sorcerers to the netherworld — and their ritual burning, the other single most important technique of figurine magic deployed to kill warlock and witch.

Additions and Corrections to Volume 1

Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and prescriptions prescribe ceremonies and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction and critical editions of this body of texts.

Additional Texts to Volume 1

Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and prescriptions prescribe ceremonies and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction and critical editions of this body of texts.

Bibliography (Volumes 1–2)

Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and prescriptions prescribe ceremonies and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction and critical editions of this body of texts.

Registers (Volumes 1–2)

Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and prescriptions prescribe ceremonies and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction and critical editions of this body of texts.

Texts of Group Three: Prescriptions for Symptoms Indicating Witchcraft

Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and prescriptions prescribe ceremonies and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction and critical editions of this body of texts.

Concordances (Volumes 1–2)

Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and prescriptions prescribe ceremonies and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction and critical editions of this body of texts.

PRESCRIPTIONS AND RITUALS FOR HAPPINESS, SUCCESS, AND DIVINE FAVOR: THE COMPILATION A 522 ( BAM 318)

a 522 (ass. 13955 fh) is a two-column library tablet inscribed in the neo-assyrian script. The tablet, which has no colophon, was found in the Haus des Beschwörungspriesters at ashur and formed part of the extensive tablet collection of the exorcist Kisir-aššur and his family (archive n 4: 149, see Pedersén 1986: 63).1 The tablet was first published in hand copy by franz Köcher in the third volume of his Die babylonisch-assyrische Medizin (BAM = Köcher 1963–80: no. 318), where Köcher also gave a brief overview of the tablet’s content and a comprehensive list of duplicates (BAM iii, xxvii). Köcher’s hand copy is based on the excavation photograph (Ph. ass. 4122) and does not include the upper portion of the obverse (obv. i 1–30, ii 1–27; my line count), which Köcher deemed too fragmentary for publication.2 during research stays in 2011 and 2012 at the arkeoloji müzeleri, istanbul,3 i had the opportunity to collate and recopy the original tablet including the fragmentary passages omitted by Köcher. The results of this work are presented here; even though in view of the fragmentary state of the tablet some parts of the new hand copy and of the edition still remain provisional and will have to be revised once duplicates are identified (this is especially true for obv. i 1–20, 24–30, ii 10–18). a 522 is a compilation of various therapeutic texts, most of which are concerned with ensuring a person’s happiness, success, and favorable treatment by the gods. The tablet is subdivided into three major sections by double rulings (obv. i 1–20; i 21–ii 37; ii 37–rev. iv 36), which may indicate the extent of the original tablets from which the scribe was copying. The second and third sections are heterogeneous and comprise different types of texts; therefore it seems unlikely that the scribe set the double rulings with the intention of marking thematic sections. The first four therapeutic prescriptions are quite fragmentary, and nothing can be said about their purpose at present (obv. i 1–20). The prescriptions that follow in obv. i 21–ii 8 are labeled as “twelve prescriptions which are (suitable) for (curing conditions characterized by) having fear” (obv. ii 9) and comprise recipes for medications against diʾu (three prescriptions?), diliptu (two prescriptions), kūru (two prescriptions), nissatu (two prescriptions), mursu (two prescriptions), and tānīḫ u (one prescription). With the exception of the therapy against tānīḫ u, all these prescriptions are also known from the third tablet of the series Šumma amēlu šerʾān kišādīšu, where they

The Chicago Maqlû fragment (A 7876)

The fragment A 7876 (Oriental Institute, Chicago) occupies a special position among the cuneiform sources of the ritual Maqlu . The six-column tablet, inscribed in the Neo-Assyrian script of the 8th and 7th centuries BC, originally contained the complete text of the series with its nine canonical tablets. Taking into account the relevant duplicate manuscripts the article offers an annotated edition of this fragment and compares its style and format to other “large tablets” ( dubgallu ) of Babylonian literary texts.