Incantation bowl

Mandaic magical "demon trap"

An incantation bowl, also known as a demon bowl, devil-trap bowl, or magic bowl, is a form of early protective magic found in modern-day Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during the Late Antiquity from 6th to 8th century AD, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria,[1] the bowls were usually inscribed in a spiral, beginning from the rim and moving toward the center. Most are inscribed in the Aramaic languages. The bowls were buried face down and were meant to capture demons. They were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of the homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries.[2]

Archaeological finds

To date only around 2000 incantation bowls have been registered as archaeological finds, but since they are widely dug up in the Middle East, there may be tens of thousands in the hands of private collectors and traders. Aramaic incantation bowls from Sasanian Mesopotamia are an important source for studying the everyday beliefs of Jews, Christians, Mandaeans, Manichaeans, Zoroastrians and pagans on the eve of the early Muslim conquests.[3]

In Judaism

A subcategory of incantation bowls are those used in Jewish and Christian magical practice. (See Jewish magical papyri for context).[4][5] Aramaic incantation bowls are an important source of knowledge about Jewish magical practices, particularly the nearly eighty surviving Jewish incantation bowls from Babylon during the rule by the Sasanian Empire (226-636), primarily from the Jewish diaspora settlement in Nippur. These bowls were used in magic to protect against evil influences such as the evil eye, Lilith, and Bagdana.[6][7] These bowls could be used by any member of the Jewish community, and almost every house excavated in the Jewish settlement in Nippur had such bowls buried in them.[8]

In Christianity

At the same period in Syria Christian incantation bowls are also found, often in Syriac rather than the Aramaic alphabet used for Aramaic and Hebrew.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Severn Internet Services - www.severninternet.co.uk. "Incantation bowls". Bmagic.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  2. ↑ "Babylonian Demon Bowls". Lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  3. ↑ Syria Incantation Bowls
  4. ↑ C. H. Gordon: “Aramaic Incantation Bowls” in Orientalia, Rome, 1941, Vol. X, p. 120ff (Text 3).
  5. ↑ Orientalia 65 3-4 Pontificio Istituto biblico, Pontificio Istituto biblico. Facoltà di studi dell'antico oriente - 1996 "may have been Jewish, but Aramaic incantation bowls also commonly circulated in pagan communities". ... Lilith was, of course, the frequent subject of concern in incantation bowls and amulets, since her presence was ."
  6. ↑ The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia p217 Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1986 2007 "D. Aramaic Incantation Bowls. One important source of knowledge about Jewish magical practices is the nearly eighty extant incantation bowls made by Jews in Babylonia during the Sassanian period (ad 226-636). ... Though the exact use of the bowls is disputed, their function is clearly apotrapaic in that they are meant to ward off the evil effects of a number of malevolent supernatural beings and influences, e.g., the evil eye, Lilith, and Bagdana."
  7. ↑ A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature p454 David L. Jeffrey - 1992 "Aramaic incantation bowls of the 6th cent, show her with disheveled hair and tell how"
  8. ↑ Descenders to the chariot: the people behind the Hekhalot literature Page 277 James R. Davila - 2001 "... that they be used by anyone and everyone. The whole community could become the equals of the sages. Perhaps this is why nearly every house excavated in the Jewish settlement in Nippur had one or more incantation bowl buried in it."
  9. ↑ J. A. Montgomery, "A Syriac Incantation Bowl with Christian Formula," AJSLL 34

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