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

SUMMARIUM

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

M. RÖMER, Hauswirtschaft - Häuserwirtschaft - Gesamtwirtschaft: Daniel SCHWEMER "Ökonomie" im pharaonischen Ägypten 1-43 D. SCHWEMER, Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti- witchcraft Incantations 44-68 St. M. MAUL, Die Lesung der Rubra DÜ.DU.BI und KID.KID.BI .... 69-80 Gernot Wilhelm zum 28. Januar 2010 Animadversiones The corpus of Sumerian anti-witchcraft incantations, whether accom- M. LIVERANI, The King in the Palace 81-91 panied by an Akkadian translation or not, is still small1, and the vast E. LUCCHESI, Identification de Strasbourg Copte 248 92-95 majority of incantations of this genre, like all witchcraft-specific incanta•

tions of Maqlü, are composed in Akkadian2. Recensiones Two extensive Sumerian incantations of the Marduk-Ea type are

attested already in Old Babylonian copies3, as is a short spell against a A. TAGGAR-COHEN, Hittite Priesthood. THeth 26 (D. SCHWEMER) . . 96-105 witch followed by an usburruda ("to undo witchcraft") rubric4. A bilingual A. KUHRT, The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources (H. KOCH) . . 105-111 incantation addressing Gira is known from a Late Old Babylonian (?) tab- N. SCHINDEL, Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum, Paris - Berlin - Wien let found at Susa; the hyninic introduction of the text praises the Fire-god Band III (H. KOCH) [ 111-117 as the one who burns warlock and witch, but the fragmentary State of the text does not reveal whether counter-acting witchcraft is the main concern

Libri ad Directioner.i missi 118-120 of the composition as a whole5.

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of our collaboration on the Corpus of Mesopotamien Anti-witchcraft Rituals Tzvi Abusch has granted me access to his unpublished catalogue of anti-witchcraft rituals and his provisional editions of relevant texts.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 BM 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 hul-gäl igi nu-sa6 dumu ud sü-sü-ke4: Cavigneaux-Al-Rawi 1995: 19-46: Meturan A // Meturan B // CT 58, 79 // CT 44, 34 // UET 6/2, 149 (all OB mss.); Incipit

hul-gäl igi hui dumu ha-lam-ma-ke4: Falkenstein 1939: 8-41, Geller 1989: 193- 205: PBS 1/2, 122 (OB, bilingual) // AfO 24, pl. II Rylands Box 24 P 28 (OB) // CBS 11933 (OB) // KUB 30, 1 (MB).

"Incipit munus-us,rzu su bal-e-da: VS 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. III-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 original7, 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 witchcraft10. 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 kür-kür bil (nakra aqallü) is used within this context12. 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 munus-us,,-zu an-ta-lä-se alan bi-in-dim; 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 ther• apies); 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', BM 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-ri pa-[a]h nam-tar i-ri-pa-ah nam-gal bir-bi[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.

12 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 re• citation 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 me-cn se-ga-me-en, 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: kür-kür bil). 46 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 47

Obv. 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 BM 47451, an unpublished, almost completely preserved bilingual usburruda incantation, and of BM 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)

BM 47451, an almost completely preserved tablet inscribed in an ele• gant Late Babylonian hand, belongs to a group of scholarly tablets from

Babylon written by a certain Sema'ya (or Ipra'ya?)15 who worked during the reign of Artaxerxes in the 5,h Century BC16. 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 inim ma usn-bür-ru-da-kam can be attached to any anti-witchcraft incanta• tion, but it also became, probably not before the first millennium, the title of an extensive, though still not very well known series collccting incanta• tions, 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 of a non-canonical collection of incantations. The

" YOS 11, 94; cf. Sefati-Klein 2002: 576 with fn. 48.

14 K 3025+ // K 879+, ed. Borger 1985: 14-18.

15 For the problems associated with the reading of the name, see the commentary on rev. 34-35.

16 For this group of texts, see Finkel 1988: 153-55 with reference to the present text.

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

18 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. 48 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 49

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, of which, as yet, no duplicates have

become known, exhibits the classical form of the Marduk-Ea type19: 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 fragmentary, 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 formulas 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 of vertigo (sag/igi-nigin, sTdünu, obv. 3-4), which tallies well with the frequent mention of vertigo

in witchcraft symptomologies (pänüsu issanundü)21. As in most anti-witch• craft texts, the illness of the patient is conceptualized as an impure State of heilig bound. The therapy, again a ubiquitous feature of anti-witchcraft rit• uals, 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 usu-zu us„-ri-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-Hees1 na[m-lü]-rU|91-lu-ke4

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

tuk4-tuk4

4 [x x] x x x [x x (x)-m]a! amTlu(\ü) ul i~na-at-ta-al lü igi nu mu-un-lä-e

"' As described by Falkenstein 1939: 44-67. Fig. 2: BM 47451 (81-11-3. 156) Rev. •'" 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 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 51

5 [ g]u-bi (GAM.GAM)7 SIG7.ALAN—bi gul-gul 24 lü-kes-bi he-du8 lü-t[u?-ra'? he-z]i

p[a--ni us-sa-na-du te-ma u-sä-an(l)-ri\u'!-u ki-sä-da ka-su-us'-su lip-pa-tir-ma xina' man-[ru-us-tiip.) lit]-bi

ü-qad-da-du bu-un-na-ne-e ub-rba^-tu4 25 inim d+en-ki-ke4 usn-zu usu-ri-a nig-a[k-a nig-hul(?)]-ra1? he-

6 •sä1 ka-rkes lu1 n[u-zi]-rzP su lä-e gir lä-e kür{-ra-ke4}"

libbaßä)""'1 i-käs-sa-'ru1 am[ila(l[ü) w/(nu) ü-s]at-rbu-u a-mat de-a kis-pu ru-hu-ü re-pP-[su lem-nu-t]P li-is-ni qd)-ta us-sa-lu se-pa ü-käs-su-ü 26 drnammun nin a-güb-ba da[dag-g]a-ke4 7 müs-me kür-kür zi-i-mi ü-rnak-ka-ru bu}-un-na-ne-xe ub- 27 lü-u19-lu-bi kü-sig17-ga-gin7 h[e]-dadag ba}-tu4 rsiG7.ALANn-bi gul-gul amTlu(lü) su-ü ki-ma huräsi(k\X.sigl7) l[i-bi-i]b

8 Iii1 sahar-ta sub-ba a-mi-la ina e-pe-[r]i rP'!-[n]d?-racP'!-du-ü 28 dUEbur-sagan-gin7 bu-up-pa-rnP-sü i-sah-ha-pu igi-rugu1-bi ba-sü-sü 29 dugbur-i-nun-[gin7] 9 rlün tu-ra ki-gig-ga amila(rl\P) ^ü-mar-ra-su^-ma xa-sar^ ma- 30 dutu [sag-ka]l rru-us-tP [u]s-n[a-lu] rnä-äm1 31 dut[u sa]g-kal

10 usn-zu uSi,-ri-a kis-pu ru-hu-ü is-tu ap-si-i Ht-ta}-su-n[i]

32 rkaT-lmiJm-ma usn-bür-ru-da-kam rabzu-ta e1-[a(-me-es)]

11 sul sig5-ga et-la fdam^-qa är-^da^-tam da-mi-iq-tam ki-sikil 33 [en] rudugn"-gin7 dim-ma ki-in-gub-ba gub-ba sigs-ga 12 34 kima(gim) labiri{\\bir)-sü satir{sw)-ma bari(igi.käv) saniq(\g'\Xab) lü-bi ba-an-dab-be-es sio7.ALAN-bi gul-gul

qätißu)11 Hprd"(s,Qb&')-a'-iä a-mi-la su-a-tum is-ba-tu-ma bu-un-na-an-rnP-sü ub-

35 märi{&)-sü sä uza-ba4-ba4-pir-'a-usur(\xm) mär^a1) 've4-ti-ru bi-tu4

13 lü-bi am-ug5-ga-gin7 sahar-ta ba-an-he-he amilu(\xx) su-ü ki-ma ri-mi mi-i-HP ina e-pe-ri bu-ul-lul Translation

14 gud-gaz-za-gin7 in-gar-ra!(gin7) ba-da-nä ki-ma al-pi mi-i-ti ina par-si-sü ni-il Sumerian Akkadian 15 lü-u19-lu-bi ü-tu-ud-da-a-ni-ta müs-me-bi ba-an-da-rkürn 1 Incantation: "Witchcraft, magic, "Witchcraft, magic, ev[i]l sor• amüu(\\x) su-ü sä ana i-lit-ti-su zi-mu-sü it-te-ek-[ru] sorceries of ev[il], ceries, 16 dasal-lü-hi igi : nig gä-e : gin-na dum[u-gu10] 2 sorcery committed with evil sorcery of evil, binder of men: 17 im abzu-ta ti-rda~* ina ap-si-i li-qe-ma su rü-men-[ti] intent, binder of [m]en: 18 alan lü-usn-zu uSn-ri-a nita-munus-bi ^-[me-dim] 3 [ver]tigo, which makes every- vertigo, which mak[es every]- sa-lam kas-sä-pi u ra-hi-ti zikari(nita) u [sinnisti(mmms) thing shake, thing shake, e-pu-us] 4 \they inflict], the man cannot [they inflict, so th]at the man 19 a nam-sub d+en-ki-ke4 ina me(a)™ä si-pat [de-a ul-lil-sü na see. cannot see. ü-me-ni-de5(?)] 5 (The sorceries) which [ [They cause] v[ertigo, th]ey rev. 20 Hu'-u^-lu dumu-dingir-ra-na ugu alan-rbi1? [a ü-me-ni-tu5(?)] ], (bend) his [n]eck, [derang]e [the mind], they amilu(\ü) mär(dumu) ili(dmgir)-sü e//(ugu) sa-lam su-nu-ti destroy his features, bend the neck, they destroy the ^me-e1 [rummiksu(?)] features, 21 a-tu5-a lü-bi su-Quh1 [x x x (x)] 6 constrict the insides, prfevent] they constrict the insides, [they me-e rim-ki sä amili(\ü) su-a-tum x x [ Ihe man [from rijsing, bind the prevent] the ma[n from r]ising, 22 a-bi ugu nig-hul-dim-ma rDi1? x [ band, bind the foot, they paralyze the hand, they mu-ü su-nu-ti e//(ugu) e-pis le-[mut-ti immobilize the foot, 23 nig-kes lü-bi kes-kes KA [x x x (x)] x 7 changc the countenance, de• they changc the countenance, ka-si-tim a-mi-la ü-käs-su-ü [x x x (x)]-rnP stroy the features; they destroy the features, 52 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 53

the man covered with dust is they cover the man with dust, 22 [when you have...] this water [Lei] this water [...] over the thrown down on his face, they throw him down on his [...] over the evildoer. evilfdoer]. face, 23 — they bound this man with a They bound the man with a the ill man is lying in a 'sick' they make the man ill and 'binding', ...[...] - 'binding', [...]! place. [l]a[y] (him) down in a place 24 may (then) this bound man be May he be released from his of hardship. released, [may] the s[ick] man bound State and [ri]se from 10 Having come out of the Subter• Witchcraft (and) magic left the [ri]se! ha[rdship]\ ranean Ocean witchcraft (and) Subterranean Ocean, 25 May Enki's word change(!) the May Ea's word change with magic witchcraft, the magic (and) the regard to the witchcraft, the 11-12 seized the beautiful young they seized the beautiful young sorce[ries of evi]l, magic (and) the [evi]l sorti- man, the beautiful girl, (they man, the beautiful girl, (they [leges], seized) this man destroying his seized) this man and destroyed 26 may Nammu, the lady of the features. his features. pu[re] lustration water, 13 This man is smeared with dirt This man is smeared with dirt 27 make this man as pure as let this man [become] as pure like a dead bull, like a dead bull, gold! as gold! 14 he lies in gore like a slaugh- he lies in his gore like a dead 28 (When you have washed him clean) like the bowl of a perfume tered ox, ox, flask, 15 this man: his countenance has this man whose countenance 29 (when you have wiped him clean) [like] a bowl for ghee, become Strange to his (own) has become stränge to his 30 (when you have entrusted him to) Utu, [foremos]t (of the gods), offspring. (own) offspring. 31 (may then) Ut[u, for]emost (of the gods, reassign him to the be- 16 Asalluhi noticed (him, went into the house of his father Enki and nevolent hands of his god)!" cried out: 'Father, witchcraft, magic, sorceries of evil...!' He 32 It is the wording (of the incantation) to undo witchcraft. 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: 33 [Incantation]: "Created like an udug-demon(?), Standing in Posi• 'My son, what is it you do not know? What more could I give to tion". you? Marduk, what is it you do not know? What could I give 34-35 Written according to its original, then collated (and) checked.

you in addition?) Whatever I (know, you know too). Go [my] son Hand of Ipra'ya(?)22, son of Zababa-pir'a-usur, son of Etiru. (Asalluhi), 17 when you have taken clay from take clay from the Subterra• the Subterranean Ocean, nean Ocean, Philological notes when [you have made] a figu- and [make] a figurine of war• rine of warlock and sorceress, lock and sorceress, of a man I: Iis,, -zu us„-ri-a head the list of evils and they are named as of a man and of a woman. and [of a woman]. llie principal causes of the patient's suffering in obv. 10 (cf. also rev. 25). 19 [when you have purified him] [Purify him] with the water of Tlicir translation with Akkadian kispü and ruhü conforms with what can be with the water of Enki's in• [Ea's] incantation, f'ound in many other bilingual texts; cf. e.g. PBS 1/2, 122 obv. 3-4 // KUB cantation, 30, I obv. 3, see Falkenstein 1939: 12, Geller 1989: 194. The sequence rev. 20 [when you have washed] the [wash] the man, the son of his kitpil ruhü bccomes so standardized in Akkadian that it is used to translate man, the son of his god, with god, with the water over these also other, synonymous pairs in Sumerian: CT 4, 3 rev. 19 nig-ak-a the water over these figurines, figurines. 21 [when you have...] the wash The wash water of that man... water of that man [...] hand- [...]. '•' Or Senia'ya, scc note on rev. 34-35. washing rite. 54 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 55

•"uSu^-zu1 (// K 5111+ rev. III 29', correct the reading given by each other in lists of different methods of witchcraft and their effects (see Cooper 1971: 15 and Böck 2007: 230; cf. Schwemer 2007b: 20 fn. 70) is Maqlü I 91, IV 12). For the corresponding Sumerian passage we expect igi translated as kispü ruhü in KUB 37, 106(+) r. col. 18', while the first mil• nigin-nigin umus kür-kür, which fits easily in the space avail• lennium duplicate has the expected upisü (up-pi-su) kispü (K 5111+ rev. ablc in the break. Given that in the preserved text the Sumerian verbal III 30'). forms always follow their object, an emendation of the Sumerian verb cor• The tentative restoration nig-hul-a, rather than nig-hul- responding to Akkadian uqaddadü seems inevitable. dim-ma or simple nig-hul, is based on rev. 25, where a reading 6: The phrase sä ka-kes // libba kasäru is unusual; within the nig-a[k-a nig-hul]-ran corresponding to Akkadian re-pP - [su present context it can hardly mean "they cause anger" (cf. kisir libbi lem-nu-t]i seems very likely. "anger"), since one expects the description of a physical Symptom. The 2: upisü usually is used in the plural, and the apparent 'singular' form translation given above is based on the assumption that the phrase is a here may be due to the construct State. However, the phrase mukassü amT- simple variant of libba kasü (cf. kis libbi "knotting of the insides", lüti follows upes lemutti as an appositional attribute, and in view of "stomach constriction", "indigestion"). This assumption finds support in Sumerian lü-nig-kes the participle mukassü can hardly be inter- Ihe fact that kisir libbi occurs occasionally in the place of more preted as a plural form; this suggests that the construct State upes should common kis libbi in first millennium medical texts (see BAM 575 rev. be understood as a true singular form too. IV 43; cf. for this and similar texts Scurlock-Andersen 2005: 131-32). 3-4: Bilingual texts translate Sumerian igi-nigin and sag-nigin Akkadian eselu is used with both hands and feet; the translator seems to with sidänu (see CAD S 171b, AHw 1100a), whose meaning "vertigo" is luive introduced the Variation between the verbal forms for purely sty- nicely confirmed by the epithet in the second half of this line. It is clear lislic reasons. from the Sumerian Version that the subject phrase of the sentence ends 8: The phrase igi-ugu sü-sü "to throw down on the face", lit. "to with 1. 2 (-ke4). One would therefore expect the phrase [sag/igi]- oveiwhclm over the face" (translated by Akkadian buppäni- sahäpu) is nigin nig-nam tuk4-tuk4 // sidänu murib mimma sumsu to repre- here attested for the first time. Diri III 147-48 (MSL 15, 142-43) gives sent the direct object of the first sentence. The broken first half of 1. 4 Akkadian buppäni- and sihip päni as equivalent of Sumerian ugu. would then have contained a 3rd pl. pres. verbal form describing how 8-9: The syntax of the Akkadian translation in these two lines differs witchcraft and sorcery bring 'vertigo' on a person (cf. Surpu VII 15-16: liom the Sumerian. While the Sumerian version discontinues the series of an-ki-bi-ta muru9-gin7 seg-seg sag-nigin gar-ra- transitive non-finite verbal forms in the preceding lines with two intrans• [a-mes] // ina same u erseti kima imbari izannunü sidänu itive sentences whose subject is qualified by attributes (sahar-ta is[akkanü\). Unfortunately, the few traces preserved in the first half of 1. 4 sub ba, tu-ra), the Akkadian translation transforms both the attri• are not easily reconciled with the obvious restorations (e.g. im-gä- butes and the intransitive verbal predicates (ba-sü-sü, nä-äm) into gä-ne // isakkanüma or similar). Because of its positioning slightly transitive 3"' pl. verbal forms after the model of the preceding lines. above the line compared to the following trace one suspects the UD-shaped 9: For ki-gig, cf. TMH 6 rev. 19: ki-gig-ga-ba ü-ma-dü trace visible below si-da-nu to represent the last sign of the Sumerian "civcl (it) in that place of sickness" (birth incantation); M. Geller under- phrase. If one accepts this conclusion, one could possibly restore [gä-gä slaiuls ki gig-ga there to refer to the mother's body. In the present (??)-d]a??-[n]a? [^--[sak-kan-sum^Tj-m^7 "(vertigo...) comes line Ihe phrase clearly refers to the sickbed or the sick man's house. upon him..." (cf. Surpu VII 33-34), even though an intransitive sentence 10: In light of the pret. verbal forms in the following lines ittasüni with sag/igi-nigin // sidänu as subject is unexpected within the must be interpreted as a 3rd pl. Gt pret. form; cf. Surpu VII 1-4: bu[ru5] present context. With the second half of 1. 4 begins the description of the sn ab/u ta i m - ta-[e]-a-na // dimitu ultu qereb apsi ittasä, consequences the 'vertigo'-disease has on a person affected by it. We may niiin erim sä-an-na-ta im-ta-eM-d[e] // mämitu ultu qereb conclude that the actual purpose of the ritual was to eure witchcraft- samc urda "The dimitu-disease left from the midst of Subterranean Ocean, induced sidänu-disease. 'bau' descended from the midst of heaven". 5: The restorations in the first half of the line fit the traces and the 13-14: Cf. Maul 1988: 332: 16'-19' (gu4-gin7 kar-mud-d[a-b]a spacc availablc in the break. Note that süd päni and sane temi follow upon e da sub // kima alpi [ina] idiptTsu nadima, udu-gin7 murgu ba 56 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 57

re1-[d]a-lü-lü // kima immeri i[na tabas]tanisu bullulma) as well 24: While the restoration of the verbal forms in the second half of the as BWL 44, Ludlul II 106-7. line is fairly certain, the tentative restoration of the preceding signs

16: For this abbreviation of the Marduk-Ea-Formel common in lst remains doubtful, especially since marustu is not ofherwise attested as a mill. manuscripts, see already Falkenstein 1931: 57. translation of tu-ra.

17: The Subterranean Ocean as source of clay is well known from a 25: For the restoration nig-a[k-a nig-hul] - ran, cf. the note on wide ränge of sources (PSD A II 198-99); note that also the witch is said obv. 1. If intransitive lisni in the Akkadian version is not a simple mistake to use clay from the abzu when fashioning figurines of her victim; see for lisanni — note the transitive construction in the Sumerian version —, PBS 1/2, 122 obv. 7'-8' // (Geller 1989: 194: 3). kispü ruhü episü lemnüti must be interpreted as an accusative of relation.

18: (lü-)usn-zu is the normal designation of the warlock and For episü (= nig-ak-a) as a variant form of upisü, see AHw 1423a and corresponds here and elsewhere to Akkadian kassäpu. Sumerian usn- also, e.g., SpTU 2, 22+ obv. II 9' (cf. CAD E 191 s.v. epesu); note that the ri-a is used along with usu-zu as nomen actoris in PBS 1/2, 122 altestation KMI 76a: 20 (now K 8505 + 8606 [= AMT 44/4] obv. 23) has rev. 5'-6', 9'-10', ll'-12' (Geller 1989: 197: 43', 45'-46'), where both (o be dcleted (read ü-pi-si, coll.). terms are translated by Akkadian kassäptu. It is surprising that the gender The corresponding text of the Sumerian version seems to be corrupt. of the male noun is marked by lü here, while usH-ri-a is not preceded A nominalized form he-kür-ra-ke4 makes little sense within the by munus; but within the present context, with nita-munus-bi present context, and the addition of the ending /-(a-)ak-e/ may be immediately following, it went without saying that usn-ri-a, as else• inlluenced by the end of the following line (/dadag-ak-e/). For den- where, Stands for the female agent of witchcraft. Its Akkadian translation ki ke4 instead of fuller den-ki-ga-ke4, cf. here obv. 19 and, with rähitu is first attested here, but hardly surprising given that usu- e.g., dumu sag-kal den-ki-ke4 "foremost son of Enki" in ETCSL ri-a is rendered regularly as ruhü (cf. especially [munus] rusn1- 2.8.5.1: l'4 or nam düg den-ki-ke4 "good destiny of Enki" in ETCSL ri-a // sinnistu sa ruhe in Walker-Dick 2001: 212, 1. 10) and 1.1.4: 127. (a — )ri corresponds to Akkadian rehü. 26-27: L. 26 is not translated into Akkadian. If we do not dismiss the 19: For a nam-sub(-ba) // me sipti, see PSD A I 13a and 13b sub noniiiiative amilu sü in 1. 27 as corrupt, the text of 1. 26 was not integrated

3.2.4 and 3.2.9. For the restoration of na-de5 // ullulu in the break, cf. inlo the Akkadian syntax. Thus it seems that the scribe omitted the trans•

Uh 16: 9123: a-güb-ba a-kü-ga na de5-ga-am // agubbä me ellüti lation here by mistake, in contrast to the abbreviated formulas in 11. 16, ullilsüma "Purify him with the pure water of the holy water vessel"; CT 28-31, where a translation was not deemed necessary.

17, 26: 67-68: a-bi tu6-kü-za na u-me-ni-süm // ana me sunüti 28-31: For the füll text of the abbreviated formulas, see especially sipatka elletu idima, tu6-kü-za na u-me-ni-de5 // ina teka elli Surpu VII 82-87, Uh 4: 194'-97' (bilingual), YOS 11, 90 rev. 25-29 (Ca- ullilma "Cast your pure incantation on this water and purify it with your vigneaux Al-Rawi 1995: 180-81) and CT 58, 79: 47-51 // (Cavigneaux-Al- pure spell!". For the reading of RI = elelu as de5(g), see Sallaberger Knwi 1995: 28), but also Geller 1985: 40: 354-57, 48: 506-9 and the anti- 2005. witchcraft incantation PBS 1/2, 122 rev. 34-40 (Geller 1989: 198: 72'-75'). 21: It is difficult to see how the signs preserved in the second half of 33: The incipit seems to be attested only here. At the beginning of the Akkadian Version correspond to su-rluhn. A reading DI S[U seems Ihe line a reading gidim-gin7 is not excluded. For ki-in-gub (instead most likely (for the form of su, cf. e.g. obv. 15, second su), but does not ol" morc frequcnt ki-gub), cf, e.g., George 2003: 769: t2 (rr,). yield any obvious sense. Perhaps one should emend the text to (i-)di 34-35: The scribe, who was active during the reign of Artaxerxes, is su-\luh-ha\g "the wash water of that man use for the hand well known from a number of colophons on tablets in the Babylon col• washing rite" (for suluhhu as object of nadü, cf. BBR 2, 83 rev. III 16, lection of the British Museum (collected and discussed by Finkel 1988: cited by CAD S III 261). 153-55). The scribe's name was read Sema'ya by Finkel and, earlier on, by

" Uh = Geller 2007. /•:/( '.SV. Ulack et al. 1998-2006. 58 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations

Livingstone (1986: 250-60); the latter rightly drew attention to the fact that 1' Obv. 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 pre• served reveals, however, that (1) our scribe usually differentiates the signs MA and BA (in BA the middle horizontal typically is slightly indented), and that (2) the second sign within his name consistently shows the form typical 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 Babylo• nian 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 BM 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 of 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 of the text; for the convenience of the reader we include also a revised transliteration and a new hand-copy25. 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 beginning of the ritual instructions (obv. 6' - rev. 7) is extant. The incantation'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

251 would like to stress that Geller's copy of the text, apart from very few minute details, re• presents 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. Fig. 3: BM 40568 60 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 61

clay and dough are crushed by the patient and then, as we may conclude ev. 1 [ka-n]e?-[n]e' gir ä-güb-bu-rna ü71-[ from a parallel Akkadian ritual, buried in the ground26. This is followed by [p]u--u-sü-nu ina se-ep su-me-li-sü [ a ritual purification of the patient's mouth, again a well known rite. The 2 [du]gsila-gaz-ta ü-[me-ni-gar] whole procedure was performed on a new moon night after sunset; inter- ina hu-pe-e su-k[u-un-ma] estingly, the instructions nevertheless stipulate setting up a censer before 3 rigin-dutu-se nig-na äimli ü-me-[ni-gar] the Sun-god. The Symptoms of bewitchment described in obv. 2'-4' ina ma-har Asamas(\A\\) [(probably nothing missing)] include paralysis, impotency and, probably, an inability to speak, all of 4 lü-u18-lu dumu-dingir-ra-na gestin-sur-ra ü-me-n[i-bal-bal] them typical adverse effects of witchcraft on a person's health according to liq-[qi]

27 the symptomologies of first millennium witchcraft therapies . 5 alan im-ma nig-silan-gä gir-ni ü-me-[ni-su-ub] AS li-se-e[r] 6 alan i-udu DUH.LÄL esir izi-ta ü-me-n[i-bil] Transliteration (copy fig. 3) AS qü-l[u]

1 gissinig "in-nu-us gilgisimmar-tur gi-sul-hi e'äsita

giäeren-babbar-ra ka-bi-rtan ü-me-ni-[gaz] obv. 1' [ ina Tpi-P-[sü li]-'[i-is] rana as^^kupp^l) 8 x x [ 2' gir-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 rsal-z[i-ga-ni Translation li-ib-ba-su is-bat-ma ni-is lib-bi-*su} x [

4' ä-su-gir-bi ba-da-an-dab nu-mu28-un-da-a[b-be] >bv. 1' At the thr[eshold mes-re-ti-sü is-bat-ma a-wi-lu ga/3ä?(dug4) u[l z7e"/(?YJ 2' She seized his foot so that [he cannot] rise, 5' dasal-lü-hi igi : nig gä-e : gin-na dumu-[gu10] 3' she seized his 'heart' so that [he is deprived of] his potency, 6' ud-nä-äm ud es-bar an-na-[ka(-ka)(?)] 4' she seized his limbs so that the man [is] u[nable] to speak. ina u4-um pu-ru-us-se-e sä ani(an)ni [(x x)] 5' Asalluhi noticed (him, went into the house of his father Enki and 7' dutu an-sä-ga igi-ni gä-gä-[ta?] cried out: 'Father, ...!' He reported it to him a second time (and isamas(u\\x) is-tu ana qe-reb same(an)e pa-ni-su ina sä- said): 'I don't know what to do, what would quiet him?' Enki [ka-ni] answered his son Asalluhi: 'My son, what is it you do not know? 8' alan lü-usn-zu munus-usn-zu A[K (x x)] What more could I give to you? Marduk, what is it you do not sa-la-am [nothing missing] know? What could I give you in addition?) Whatever I (know, 9' im-ma nig-silan-gä i-udu esir DUH.LÄL {x} ü-me-n[i-dim] you know too). Go [my] son (Asalluhi), sa bi-ni-m[a] 6' on the day of the new moon, the day of An's decision, [(...),] 10' [z]i-da-ne-ne ka-ne!(bi)-rne1 güb-bu-n[e-ne gu-du-ne-ne 7' after Utu has set his face into 'Heaven's Interior', ü-me-ni-dab(?)] 8'-9' make figurines of warlock and witch [(...)] of clay, of dough, of im-na-ti-sü-nu pi-i-sü-n[u su-me-l]i-rsü1-n[u qinnassunu tallow, of bitumen (and) of wax. susbit{l)] 10' [Have] their right hands [seize] their mouth, their left hands [their anus]. ev. 1 [Have him ... ] their [mou]th with his left foot.

26 The ritual instructions in KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 obv. 8-11, rev. 15-19 are very similar to our 2 Pu[t] (them) in a disposable pot, text. 3 s[et up] a censer with juniper before Utu. 27 See Schwemer 2007b: 35-36, 95-96, 169-79.

28 Written over an erased sign. 4 Lct the man, the son of his god, pour out grape must. Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 63 62 Daniel Schwemer

5 Let him crush the figurines of clay (and) of dough with his // Th 1905-4-9, 72 + 73 obv. I 21' // KAL 2, 36 rev. V II'29, where the two foot. lypical periods of time for the Performance of usburruda and namerimbur- 6 Bu[rn] the figurines of tallow, wax (and) bitumen with fire. ruda rituals are named: sa ina bubbuli kispT u ina nubatti sebi ümi 7 [Let him ch]e[w] in his mouth tamarisk, soapwort, palm shoot, ii/>assaru mäm[äti(l)] "(ra'ftTw-sulphur) which undoes witchcraft on the sulhi-reed, 'wood-of-release' (and) 'white cedar'. day of the new moon, cur[ses] on the vigil of the seventh day". For the Performance of anti-witchcraft rituals on the day of the new moon, cf, 8 too fragmentary for translation. e.g., Maqlü VI 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 Philological notes 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 obv. 1': The tentative restoration follows Geller. of the new moon") and a section of the 'therapeutische Vädemecum'' 2'-4': The subject in these lines is the agent of evil who was expli- (KADP 1 rev. V 18-19, 24, 27-28, 30, 32 with duplicates, among others citly named in the preceding lines which are now lost. Obv. 8' shows that KMI 76b K 4569 passim; for the text, cf. Schwemer 2007b: 197). Note the incantation is directed against warlock and witch. The pairing "warlock (hat one usburruda incantation addresses the personified night of the new and witch" is a typical stereotype of this genre, and if the concrete de- moon with the following words: [m]ullil same apsi bubbu[lu], mupasser scriptions of the evildoer's action, like here, are phrased in the singular kispT ruhe, nasparät müsi u kala ü[mi], sa taltanapparäni ana muhhlya, (and not in the 3rd plural), they regularly refer to the witch rather than to bubbulu ümka ezzu liksussinäti "New Moon, who purifies the heavens and the male warlock (see Schwemer 2007b: 70-72; for an attempt at a histor- Ihe Subterranean Ocean, who undoes witchcraft (and) magic: the messages ical Interpretation of these inconsistencies, see Sefati-Klein 2002). of the night and of the whole day which you (2nd pl.) keep sending against 2': For the restoration, cf. the phrase summa amelu sepsu marusma me: New Moon, may your day of wrath overpower them30!" (K 8112 + tebä u uzuzza lä ile"i in Akkadian medical texts (AMT 69/2: 2', BAM 152 9666 obv. II 2'-6'). rev. IV 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. For the vigil of the seventh day of the month as the auspicious time for 3': The tentative restoration given in the translation is based on a Ihe Performance of rituals against 'ban' (mämitu), cf. especially the nam- comparison with the phrase summa amelu ms libbisu etir(ma ms libbi lä erimburruda incantation anäku nubattu ahät Marduk, edited and discussed 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 ;" KAL 2 = Schwemer 2007a. break. "' Akkadian ümka ezzu liksussinäti, quoted already by CAD B 299b (the reference to Nuska 4': Geller read a-we-lu-ka, but a plural awtlüka is difficult to accept 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- within the present context. The syntax seems to be parallel to 1. 2', and an su nu-ti] (= Lambert 1957-58: 294: 74). In Maqlü 1117 the same phrase is used addressing Gira Interpretation of KA as logographic writing for the infinitive qabä seems to (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 be our best Option, even though one may have expected a syllabic spelling Ihe same incantation (II 127). Abusch 2002: 126, 145-46 (first published in Studies Moran, 1990, on the present tablet, which, as rightly noted by Geller, contains a number iT. also 2002: 73-74) translates the phrase "fiery red light" arguing that "ümu ezzu ... should re• fer lo the heat rays of the sun and be identical with the fire-god himself" (145). There is, howev- of writings ultimately owed to an Old Babylonian original. cr, little evidence for ümu meaning "(fiery) light"; for Sumerian ud hus, a common divine epi- ihcl, and, as Abusch rightly points out, possibly the very phrase underlying our Akkadian ümu 5': See the note on BM 47451 obv. 16. cszii, a translation "furious storm" fits the contexts best. In view of the Sumerian phrase and 6' - rev. 8: We provide only one translation for the Sumerian 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 Akkadian texts since there are no significant variants between the two ver- overpower them". While such a translation fits the contexts addressing Samas and Gira perfectly, sions; the rendering of the verbal forms in the ritual instructions (Sumerian 11 makes little sense within the incantation quoted above; a fiery storm is hardly an appropriate prospective, Akkadian imperative), follows the Akkadian version. 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 6': The day of the new moon is auspicious for the Performance of "day" and "storm" are homonyms, one could easily adapt the stock phrase into the present con- anti-witchcraft rituals; cf. K 8933(+) obv. II 4'-5' // Sm 352(+) obv. II 17' lexl. Its meaning was slightly altered, while the wording remained unchanged. 64 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 65 by Stol (1992: 251-55; another duplicate is BM 42272 obv. 10-14, there used 3: The Sumerian version of 11. 3 and 4 are written right under each against witchcraft and ban; cf. also Schwemer 2007b: 66 fn. 151). other towards the end of the line; therefore it is likely that the scribe did For the new moon of the 30* day of the month as the day of Anu, cf. not writc out expected sukunma at the end of 1. 3. the lipsur-htmy JCS 1, 333 rev. 13' (duplicate CTN 4, 110 rev. 32: 4: Note that the libation of grape must (gestin-sur-ra = karänu

Marduk) and the designation of the 30th day as the day of Anu in hemerol- sahtII) to a god is unusual before the first millennium (see CAD S 64). ogies (see the references cited by Nougayrol 1947: 333-34 fn. 26). Selting up the censer before Samas usually goes hand in hand with Note that the Akkadian version is shortened and leaves out bubbuli. pouring a libation of beer before the god. But the libation here, performed 7': For this expression for the setting of the sun, see Horowitz 1998: by Ihe patient, may rather have been an unfriendly act aimed at the figu• 248-49. Note the pleonastic double preposition in the Akkadian infinitive rines of warlock an witch (cf. the libation of grape must and other liquids construction (istu ... ina sakäni). over Ihe sweepings from a witchcraft-infested house in K 72+ obv. 56; see 8': If anything one expects nita munus-bi atthe end of the line, Schwemer 2007b: 225 fn. 134). especially since the Akkadian version apparently had only salam and took 5-6: Following Geller, one could read AS at the beginning of both the second half of the line of the Sumerian version as logographic spelling lines as ina, understanding 1. 5 as ina (sepisu) and 1. 6 as ina (isäti). But of the corresponding Akkadian text. The sign before the break is a clear wilhin the rules of Akkadian word order these phrases would not stand at A[K, but its significance escapes me — is it possibly a morphematic ihe beginning of the line. It seems therefore preferable to assume that the spelling for the genitive in - (a) k ? iwo horizontal wedges mark the beginning of the Akkadian lines, which 9': The Akkadian version introduces the sequence of materials by sa coulain only the verbal forms in translation placed underneath the corre• and then does not bother with a translation of the individual terms which sponding Sumerian forms at the end of each line. AS here takes on the could easily be read as logograms. lunction of a ditto-syrabol (like su, MIN and KIMIN) indicating that the cor• 10': For the tentative restoration, cf. the anti-witchcraft ritual VAT 35 responding Sumerian passage should be read as a logographic writing of obv. 7-8" and the ghost ritual BAM 323 obv. 42 // (for the latter, see Scur- ihe Akkadian version, a usage of AS that is also attested in OB bilingual lock 2006: 507). The motif is already attested in the curse formula of an texts (cf, e.g., SEM 90 obv. II 9', ed. CAD S I 118b). Why the scribe, pro• Old Assyrian royal inscription (see RIMA I, A.033.1: 40-41). bably following the original he was copying, put AS at the beginning of

rev. 2: For the use of a hupü (dugsila.gaz; cf. Sallaberger 1996: 53, II. 5-6, but not at the beginning of 1. 4 is hard to say. 106b, 112a, 116b) as the receptacle of the sorcerers' figurines, cf. KBo 9, 5: For the use of seru "to plaster", "to rub" and here "to flatten"

47: 15' (// KUB 4, 99: 9' // BAM 317 rev. 6 // KAL 2, 43 m. col. 4' // (like plaster is flattened when it is smeared on the wall)33 in the context KAR 275 = KAL 2, 45 r. col. 1 // VAT 12153: 5'), KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 rev. of destroying figurines with the feet cf. KAR 80 = KAL 2, 8 rev. 18 //: 15 // and Maul 1994: 448: 41 (cf. also his note p. 451, fn. 47). Probably a ina me ina sepisu isa"ersunüti (var. isersunüti) "He crushes the figurines large sherd of a disposable sila vessel or the vessel itself, which was to be of clay (and) the figurines of dough with his feet in (the wash) water (of smashed after its use, were employed here. The present text suggests that Iiis /et'/)", VAT 35 rev. 5-6: ina asid im[it]tTsu isersüma "he crushes it the Akkadian reading of the logogram dugsila.gaz was hupü rather than wilh his right heel", and especially K 3581 + 7946 rev. 9-11: ina sep(g\r) silagazü within ritual contexts comparable to the present passage32; the fact snniclT(güb)-ka saläsi(3>)~sü ta-ra-hi-su-nu-[ti], kiam(urs.gim) taqabbi that the basic meaning of hupü is "fragment" may indicate that a sherd (duM.ga) as-sa-pan-ku-nu-[si], es-se-er-ku-nu-si us-ta-bil-ku-nu-[si] rather than an intact vessel is meant. "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 "!'".

31 salam(mi) bel(en) da-ba-ba sä tidi(im) teppus(dü)'"p imitta(rzng^)-sü {ina} pä(kafsü " Willi regard to KAR 80 rev. 18 //, CAD S 229a proposes a Special meaning to "dis- sumel(g\xb)-sü qi-na-as-su tu-sä-as-bat-su "You make a figurine of the adversary of clay. You inii'gnitu" for seru; in view of the other relevant contexts, especially K 3581+ rev. 9-11 this seems have it seize its mouth with its right hand (and) its anus with its left hand". In imspcci 11c. 12 Cf. also VAT 35 obv. 10 - lo.e. 1: ina lib-bi hu-up-pi'(si) tasakkan(gax)'m ina mahar(\%\) " l.ilerally "I have mixed you up"; (w)abälu St is regularly used for destroying figurines by ''samas(utu) ta-dan-sü "You place (the figurine) in a h., you convict him before Samas". liie, which mixes them up in form of their ashes (therefore: "einäschern"; see AHw 1453b). 66 Daniel Schwemer Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-witchcraft Incantations 67

7: The use of tamarisk, soapwort and palm shoot, the purifying sub- References 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- Abusch, T. 2002. Mesopotamian Witchcraft. Toward a History and Understanding kanma u ina qätisu inassima sipta annita [saläsTsu] tamannüma sa pisu of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature, AMD 5, Leiden / Boston / Köln. ina^isma u sa qätisu ramänsu usbä'ma "You place tamarisk, so[apwor]t 2003. "Blessing and Praise in Ancient Mesopotamian Incantations", in: Lite• and palm shoot in his mouth, and he also lifts (it) up in his hand. Then ratur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien. Festschrift für Claus Wilcke, ed. you recite this incantation [three times]; he chews what is in his mouth W. Sallaberger - K. Volk - A. Zgoll, Wiesbaden, 1-14. and Swings over himself what is in his hand" (usburruda ritual, see and D. Schwemer, forthcoming. "The Chicago Maqlü Fragment (A 7876)", 80-7-19, 146 + K 10559 + 11993 + Sm 1330 obv. I 9'-ll' // Th 1905-4-9, Iraq. Black, J. A., G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Flückiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor 72 + 73 obv. II 12'-14' // K 10358 1. col. 6'-9' // BM 38635 rev. 5-8, with and G. Zölyomi 1998-2006. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Litera• minor variants between the manuscripts). ture (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/), Oxford.

The occurrence of gi5sita "mace" within the present context is sur• Köck, B. 2007. Das Handbuch Mussu'u "Einreibung". Eine Serie sumerischer und prising at first glance. There can be no doubt that giäsita must refer here akkadischer Beschwörungen aus dem 1. Jt. vor Chr., Madrid. to a plant and not to a tool. One of the plants that one would expect to 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 be mentioned within the present sequence is is pisri 'wood-of-release' (Textes de Teil Haddad II). Deuxieme partie", ZA 85: 19-46, "Textes whose effectiveness against witchcraft is praised in incantations (TCL 6, magiques de Teil Haddad (Textes de Teil Haddad II). Troisieme partie", ibid. 49 obv. 21; LKA 159 = KAL 2, 26(+) rev. 8, 10 // RIAA 312 rev. III 9', 169-220. 11'; 80-7-19, 146 + K 10559 + 11993 + Sm 1330 obv. I 56'-61' // K (i)oper, J. S. 1971. "Bilinguals from Boghazköi I", ZA 61: 1-22. lal kenstein, A. 1931. Die Haupttypen der sumerischen Beschwörung literarisch un• 10341 obv. 1-1036). Elsewhere the 'wood-of-release' is put to use within tersucht, LSS NF 1, Leipzig. the very same rite of purifying the mouth: ümastakal(m.nu.us) suhussa 1939. "Sumerische Beschwörungen aus Bogazköy", ZA 45: 8-41. (gisimmar.tur) qan sa/ä/z(gi.sul.hi) is(gis) pisri(bür) i-na-'i-is (Maul 1994: Finkel, I. L. 1988. "Adad-apla-iddina, Esagil-kTn-apli, and the Series SA.GIG", in: 259: 8'). In view of this evidence it is significant that Hh III 518 (MSL A Scienüfic Humanist. Studies in Memory of Abraham Sachs, ed. E. Leichty -

5, 140) equates gi5sita with is pisri. Given that gis-bür (is pisri, gis- M. deJong Ellis - P. Gerardi, OPBF 9, Philadelphia, 143-59. burru) served also as a designation of the conjurer's ceremonial curved Geller, M. J. 1985. Forerunners to Udug-hul. Sumerian Exorcistic Incantations, FAOS 12, Stuttgart. staff (gamlu), it cannot surprise that the plant 'wood-of-release' had a var- 1989. "A New Piece of Witchcraft", in: dumu-e2-dub-ba-a. Studies in Honor of iant name 'weapon' in Sumerian. Note that giäsiTA is sometimes used as a Äke W. Sjöberg, ed. H. Behrens - D. Loding - M. T. Roth, OPBF 11, Phila• logogram, probably also for is pisri, in medical texts (see, e.g., BAM 318 delphia, 193-205. rev. III 12). In this context it deserves to be mentioned that is pisri can in- 1995-96. Review E. von Weiher, SpTU 4, AfO 42-3: 245-48. 2007. Evil Demons. Canonical Utukkü Lemnütu Incantations, SAACT 5, Hel• terchange with both üGAN.NA (bukänu, see KAL 2, p. 114 ad BAM 190 sinki. rev. 4) and with ^GAN.U, (TCL 6, 49 obv. 21 = KAL 2, 36 + VAT 13628 2008. Review of D. Schwemer, Abwehrzauber und Behexung, BSOAS 71: [join W. Meinhold] rev. V 40'); this suggests that all writings and desig- 558-61. nations — GIS BÜR, E''SITA, "GAN.NA and GIÄ/"GAN.u5 — refer to bukänu, the (ieorge, A. R. 2003. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic. Introduction, Critical Edition 'pestle'-plant. 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- 35 From the preceding text, especially BM 38635 rev. 2, it is clear that mastakal must be re- Gcbete, Wiesbaden. 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!riN6!!?.üS71 seems most likely. 1994. Zukunftsbewältigung. Eine Untersuchung altorientalischen Denkens

36 For this incantation, see Abusch-Schwemer, forthcoming (commentary on A 7876 rev. anhand der babylonisch-assyrischen Löserituale (Namburbi), BaF 18, Mainz. VII 10'). Mcck, Th. J. 1918-19. "Some Bilingual Religious Texts", AJSL 35: 134-44. 68 Daniel Schwemer Orientalia Stylesheet

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 1. Contributions should be sent to The Editor, Orientalia, Pontifical Zeugnissen, MHEM 3, Ghent. Biblical Institute, Via della Pilotta 25, 1-00187 Rome, Italy. 2. Contributions should be typewritten, with double-spacing, on one — 2005. "The Sumerian Verb na de5(-g) 'To Clear'", in: "An Experienced Scribe Who Neglects Nothing". Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honor of side of the paper only, with ample margins all around. For arücles, foot- Jacob Klein, ed. Y. Sefati et al., Bethesda, 229-53. notes should be placed on separate pages with consecutive numeration. In Schwemer, D. 2007a. Rituale und Beschwörungen gegen Schadenzauber (Keil• reviews, footnotes are not used; all material should be in the main text. schrifttexte aus Assur literarischen Inhalts 2 = WVDOG 117), Wiesbaden 3. (a) In referring to books and articlea, authors should use the abbrevia-. (KAL 2). tlons of Orientalia 36 (1967) xxiii-xxviii or those contained in a Standard list — 2007b. Abwehrzauber und Behexung: Studien zum Schadenzauberglauben im for a particular field of studies: for Egyptian and Coptic, the Lexikon der alten Mesopotamien. Unter Benutzung von Tzvi Abuschs Kritischem Katalog Ägyptologie, and as far as this lacks Coptic titles, also Koptisches Handwörter• und Sammlungen im Rahmen des Kooperationsprojektes Corpus of Meso• buch; for Mesopotamian studies, Chicago Assyrian DicHonary and von Soden, potamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals, Wiesbaden. Akhadisches Handwörterbuch; for Hittite, Friedrich-Kammenhuber, Hethi- Scurlock, J. A. 2006. Magico-Medical Means of Treating Ghost-induced Iiinesses tisches Wörterbuch' and Chicago Hittite Dictionary. in Ancient Mesopotamia, AMD 3, Leiden / Boston. (b) Titles not in the Standard lists should be given fully on their first — and B. R. Andersen 2005. Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian Medicine. occurrence, and in an abbreviated form thereafter. Ancient Sources, Translations, and Modern Medical Analyses, Urbana / Chi• (c) Examples of bibliographic references on first occurrence: [book] cago. A. Palkenstein, Grammatik d,er Sprache Gudeas von Lag all: I. Schrift- und For• Sefati, Y. and J. Klein. 2002. "The Role of Women in Mesopotamian Witchcraft", menlehre (AnOr 28; Rom »1978) 128-133. [part of a book] W. G. Lambert, in: Sex and Gender in the Ancient Near East (CRRAI 47), ed. S. Parpola - "The Problem of the Love Lyrics", in: H. Goedicke - J. J. M. Roberts (ed.), Unity R. M. Whiting, Helsinki, vol. 2, 569-87. and Diversity (Baltimore/London 1975) 98-135. [article] P. Steinkeller, "Notes Stol, M. 1992. "The Moon as Seen by the Babylonians", in: Natural Phenomena. on Sumerian Plural Verbs", Or 48 (1979) 54-67. Their Meaning, Depiction and Description in the Ancient Near East, ed. (d) Examples of later abbreviated reference: Falkenstein, Grammatik D. J. W. Meijer, Amsterdam / Oxford / New York / Tokyo, 245-77. I 53; Lambert, in: Unity and Diversity 104; Steinkeller, Or 48, 65-66. Tallqvist, K. L. 1895. Die assyrische Beschwörungsserie Maqlü nach den Origi• 4. Special typ es are indicated for the printer by underlining as follows: nalen im British Museum, vols. I-II, ASSF 20/6, Helsingfors. italics - SMAIX CAPS - s p a_c e d - darkface. Authors are requested not to — 1905. Neubabylonisches Namenbuch zu den Geschäftsurkunden aus der Zeit des Indicate these in any other way (for instance with IBM italic element). Samassumukin bis Xerxes, ASSF 32/2, Helsingfors. 5. Please note (3 above) that authors' names are given in roman (not Walker, C. B. F. and M. Dick 2001. The Induction of the Cult Image in Ancient •mall caps). Note also that Latin abbreviations are given in roman, not Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian MTs Pi Ritual, SAALT 1, Helsinki. Italics: cf., e.g., et al., etc., ibid., i.e., loc. cit., N.B., s.v. Please use "Ioc. cit." (op. cit., a.a.O.) only in reference to an immediately preceding mention. School of Oriental and African Studies 6. When Egyptian hieroglyphs are included in an article, the author Dept. of the Near and Middle East should add in pencil an interlinear identification of each hieroglyph according Thornhaugh Street - Russell Square to the Gardiner classification System. When a Special hieroglyph (one not London WC1H OXG included in Gardiner's list) is needed, a drawing suitable for engraving should accompany the manuscript. Such cliches however should be used only when absolutely indispensable. 7. Contributors are expected not to make additions or deletions on proofs. 8. In reading proofs, contributors are asked to correct false word-division at ends of lines.

This periodical is indexed in the ATLA Religion Oatabase, published by the American Theological Library Association, 250 S. Wacker Dr., lö* Flr., Chicago, IL 60606. E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.ada.com/ 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.