Crafting the Witch: Figurine Magic and Materiality in Babylonian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals

Description

The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals serves as a comprehensive repository Assyro-Babylonian magical and medical texts from the second and first millennia BCE, with a primary focus on witchcraft and its associated maladies. These texts offer a combination of ritual instructions for magic experts and incantations designed to alleviate the afflictions caused by malevolent witches. A recurring feature in these rituals is the use of figurines, which are crafted from various materials such as clay, tallow, wax, bitumen, dough, and wood. These figurines serve as symbolic stand-ins for the targeted witches, and their ritualistic destruction aims to nullify the witch’s curse and alleviate the patient’s suffering.
In my paper for the DIĜIR II conference, I will explore the purpose of figurine magic in these rituals, distinguishing between ad-hoc crafted figurines made from malleable materials like clay or tallow, and pre-prepared figurines, often made of wood, that are introduced into the ritual context already formed. By examining the types of materials used and the methods of their incorporation into the rituals, this study aims to contribute to the conference’s theme ‘Arts and craftsmanship associated with ritual practices in ancient Western Asia’ by investigating the role of artisan craftsmanship both within the ritual context and as a preparatory measure for ritual performance.
I will utilise a corpus-linguistic approach to identify mentions of figurines and their associated materials in the anti-witchcraft texts, thereby shedding light on the roles these objects play in the ritual process. The study argues that the materiality of the figurines—whether ad-hoc crafted or pre-prepared—plays a significant role in the efficacy and symbolic value of the rituals. This materiality, in turn, reflects varying degrees of artisanal involvement, offering new insights into the role of craftsmanship in ancient Western Asian ritual practices.

Period	15 Apr 2024
Event title	DIĜIR II: Arts et artisanats associés aux pratiques cultuelles dans l’Asie de l’Ouest ancienne
Event type	Conference
Location	Lille, FranceShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International