corpse. Contact is still indirect when she sends evil omens that augur doom; that is,
the witch is also able to harm her victim by sending against him emissaries in the
form of experiences, living beings, and objects. Such confrontations are perceived as
bringing about harm and are interpreted as signs that result in misfortune.
There need not always be a lack of proximity between victim and witch. Somewhat
closer relations seem to be implied by the claim that she causes her victim to incorp-
orate witchcraft by means of food, drink, washing, and ointment. The witch is even
described as one who can directly seize and harm the various parts of the victim’s
body, can even push, press, and strike his chest and back. In addition to such
manipulations and activities, the witch may even form an evil word in her heart and
utter an incantation.
Personal distress ascribed to witchcraft includes the individual’s experience of
physical, psychological, and/or social difficulties. Texts may focus on specific symptoms,
such as gastrointestinal, respiratory, sexual, or psychological difficulties, on life-
threatening circumstances such as childbirth and infancy, on more generalized illnesses
involving systemic physical and/or psychological breakdown, or on situations involving
socio-economic loss of wealth and status as well as social isolation.
WITCHCRAFT LITERATUREThe Mesopotamian witchcraft corpus (or, rather, anti-witchcraft corpus, since we have
no texts composed by witches) comprises hundreds of magical and medical texts that
contain many different elements. These traditional texts come from the early second
millennium through the late first millennium BCE. A few texts are Old Babylonian;
a somewhat larger number come from late second-millennium collections, mainly
those of Boghazkoi and Assur. But by far the largest number come from first-
millennium collections. Pride of place goes to the royal collections of seventh-century
Nineveh; but, in addition, major groups derive both from the Assyrian sites of Assur,
Kalhu (Nimrud), Harran (Sultantepe) and from the Babylonian ones of Uruk, Ur,
Nippur, Babylon, and Sippar.
The constituent parts of traditional anti-witchcraft documents include: oral rites
(prayers, incantations, utterances), symbolic rituals (e.g., the burning of statues),
medical treatments (e.g., preparation of potions), descriptions of symptoms, diagnoses,
and prognoses.
Prayers and incantations may occasionally appear alone. Originally, incantations
were recorded only in part as an aide-memoire, but eventually the entire incantation
was committed to writing, and instructions regarding the time, place, and manner
of ritual performance as well as other types of information (particularly, an objective
description of the problem, a diagnosis, and a statement of purpose) were subsequently
added. Incantations are found in various written contexts: as part of short rituals; in
short collections of incantations (with some ritual instructions); and in standardized
scribal series – some of which were collections, while others represented complex
lengthy ceremonies, such asMaqlû.
The texts were composed as guides to practicing magicians and physicians; hence,
the texts usually present in varying combinations the crucial elements that constitute
the actual ritual activity or performance (oral and manual rites and preparation or
— Tzvi Abusch —