Corresponding to the tendency to differentiate gods from spirits, the view seems to have arisen that in general the gods were favourably inclined, or could be made so, by propitiation, appeals, and gifts ; whereas the demons, as a rule, were hostile, and could be overcome only with the help of the gods. The shedu and lamassu were the exceptions, and could therefore be appealed to in the struggle against the hostile forces equally with the gods. Accordingly, we frequently find the hope expressed in the incantations that the bad demons may be driven out of the body, and-that the shedw and lamassu may enter into the head or into the limbs of the unfortunate victim in place of the utwkku, gallu, alu, ete., as the case may be.
Continuing our analysis of the ‘Maklu’ series, the third tablet is concerned largely with descrip- tions of the witches who, possessing the same power as the demons, have the additional quality of being able to select their victims, whereas the demons stumble upon them, as it were, and strike whomsoever they happen to encounter. The witches—and the same applies also to the male sorcerers—appear to have acted not only on their own initiative but when engaged by others to cast their spells on individuals against whom they harboured a grudge for some reason or other. In this connexion it is interesting to note that the laws of Hammurabi, in order to safeguard this means of punishing an enemy, provide that, if a spell be unjustly cast upon a man, the one who
* ‘Code de Hammourabi’ (ed. Scheil), oby. col. iv. 66.
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554 RELIGION OF BABYLONIA
RELIGION OF BABYLONIA
induced the bewitchment shall be put to death.* | specimen — and this is perhaps the finest of this
The descriptions of the witches in the third tablet | series of addresses—we ma:
choose the one with
of the ‘ Maklu’ series form an integral part of the | which the second tablet of the series opens—
incantations. this tablet—
‘The witch who goes about through the streets, Enters into houses, Glides into courts, Treads the open places, Turning forwards and backwards, Plants herself in the streets and retraces her steps, t Interposes herself on the highway, Robs the good man of his strength, { Robs the good maid of her fruit.§ At her sight, desire seizes him : She sees the man, and robs him of his strength ; She sees the maid, and robs her of her fruit. With her witchcraft she barricaded the way ; With her spittle she blocked the road, The witch saw me, and pursued me.’
Thus we read at the beginning of
But the sorceress is not always visible to her victim. She can work in silence and be unknown ; and it would appear, indeed, that the invisible and unknown witch represents the more potent form of bewitchment. Hence the incantation is at times couched in the form of a question—
‘Who art thou, witch, Who carries the word of my misfortune in her heart, Whose tongue brings about my destruction, Through whose lips I am poisoned, In whose footsteps death follows? O witch, I seize thy mouth, I seize thy tongue, I seize thy piercing eyes, I seize thy restless feet, I seize thy active knees, I seize thy outstretched hands, I tie thy hands behind thee. May Sin || give thee a fatal blow! May he cast thee into an abyss of'water and fire ! O witch, like the setting of this seal ring, May thy face glow and become pale !’
The witch has endless means at her disposal for
securing control of the selected victim. Her spittle is poisonous, and can torture one on whom it falls or whoever treads on it; the words that she utters have a mystic power; and her eye is deadly, and can spellbind one on whom its glance is thrown. Ever active, moving about on the lookout for her victim, her hands can seize him at any time. Hence the victim, whether already caught, or in danger of falling into the witch’s hands, is told to prepare an image of the sorceress, whoever she may be; and, suiting the action to the word, binds fast the mouth, tongue, lips, limbs, and hands of the image, and then casts the helpless figure into the fire; and, not satisfied with this, drowns it in water. ' In other incantations in this tablet the witch is pictured as being imprisoned in a pit, and then drowned by having water poured over her ; and, again, she is placed on a small ship and given over to the mercy of the elements. In all such cases we are justified in assuming that there was some symbolical act suited to the words, carried out in the hope that the symbol, fortified by the proper formulas, will be converted into a reality.
More common, however, appears to have been the burning of the images ; and, in connexion there- with, we encounter a considerable number of ad- dresses appropriately directed to the fire - god, Girru-Nusku, some of which merit the designation of hymns, embodying an imagery and conceptions that appear to transcend the intellectual horizon of belief in the efficacy of sacred formulas. As a
* Paragraph 1 of the ‘Code de Hammourabi’ (ed. Scheil), obv. col. v. 26-32, Johns’ translation, Z'he Oldest Code of Laws in the World, p. 1.