"As Dry Trees That Have No Fruits": A Mandaean Spell against Childlessness from the Schøyen Collection (MLSC 18, 19).

This article publishes the surviving parts of a hitherto unknown Mandaean spell for the protection of a woman from childlessness . The spell has been reconstructed from two fragmentary amulets that were written on lead lamellae in the Sasanid period (MLSC 18 and 19) . The overlapping sections of the...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 144; no. 2; pp. 339 - 361
Autores principales: ABUDRAHAM, OHAD, MORGENSTERN, MATTHEW
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA) Apr-Jun2024
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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Sumario:This article publishes the surviving parts of a hitherto unknown Mandaean spell for the protection of a woman from childlessness . The spell has been reconstructed from two fragmentary amulets that were written on lead lamellae in the Sasanid period (MLSC 18 and 19) . The overlapping sections of the two amulets show some linguistic differences but are otherwise clearly parallel copies of the same formula . The spell is narrated in the name of Iauar son of Iauar and mentions other figures known from the Mandaean canonical literature . Iauar witnesses the unnatural behavior of the demons, who cause barrenness and infertility by the purloining of male and female seed, and cause infant mortality through acts of demonic violence . The text breaks off at the point where the narrator binds the demons . The formula adds several words to the Mandaic lexicon and a previously unattested form of the 1 c .s . personal pronoun .