Magic prayer "The secret names of Solomon" (አስማተ፡ ሰሎሞን፡) in BLorient5425

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

I found a prayer in BLorient5425, that was entitled "The secret names of Solomon". The incipit and selected parts of the text are the following: በስመ፡ (...) አስማተ፡ ሰሎሞን፡ ዘንተ፡ አስማተ፡ በእንተ፡ ተግባረ፡ ሰብእ፡ እቤእቤእቤ፡ (...) በዝንቱ፡ አስማት፡ አድኅኖ፡ ገብርከ፡ ገብረ፡ መድኅን፡ አምኵሉ፡ ተግባረ፡ ሰብእ፡ ወእምኵሉ፡ አቃብያነ፡ ሥራይ፡ ወእምኵሉ፡ ወእምኵሉ፡ ግብረ፡ ጸላዒ፡ ሰይጣን፡

There is a LIT ID for "Protective prayers attributed to Solomon" (LIT3991Prayer), that probably was established to serve as a generic ID for all protectiv prayer, that are related to Solomon and therefore suitable for this case. However, the only witness so far is BLadd16214, which as absolutely no parallel to the above mentioned one except for the solitary mention of Solomon: ጸሎት፡ በእንተ፡ አቁያጻት፡ ወመሣርያን፡ እለ፡ ይቀትሉ፡ ነፍሰ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ጊዜ፡ እለ፡ ቦሙ፡ ዕፀ፡ መስውር፡ ወይትሜሰሉ፡ በህልመ፡ ሌሊት፡ ወበአርአያ፡ ዘመዓልት፡ እለ፡ የሐውሩ፡ ወእለ፡ ይትሜሰሉ፡ ድበ፡ ወቈናጽለ፡ ነምረ፡ ወኦነረ፡ ቋዓ፡ ወሆባየ፡ ሐሪሰ፡ ወሐርማዘ፡ ወቀታተ፡ ሰገኖ፡ ወጸገኖ፡ ወጽንጽንያ፡ ወመባርተ፡ ወጽንጵላላተ፡ ወእለ፡ ይትሜሰሉ፡ ጽልመተ፡ ወእለሂ፡ ፈረሰ፡ ወበቅለ፡ ዓድገ፡ ወከይሴ፡ ወመንጸቆ፡ እለ፡ ይቄስሙ፡ ሥራየ፡ ኀበ፡ ኵሉ፡ ሰብእ፡ በመብልዕ፡ ወበመስቴ፡ እለ፡ ያደነግፁ፡ ወይበረብሩ፡ ወየአንቁ፡ ክሳደ፡ ወየአጽዉ፡ እንግድዓ፡ ወይሰልቡ፡ ልበ፡ ወይዌልጡ፡ አርአያ፡ ሰብእ፡ ወበዝኵሉ፡ ይትሜሰሉ፡ ኅቡረ፡ እንዘ፡ ሰብእ፡ ከማነ፡ ወዘንተ፡ ብሂሎ፡ ተስእሎ፡ ሰሎሞን፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ ወይቤሎ።

There are a number of prayers in manuscripts that contain the words አስማተ፡ ሰሎሞን፡, but none of them seem to have any similarity to the text in BLorient5425.

Because it is a Asmat-prayer that works with the invocation of secret names, the generic ID LIT5888AsmatPrayer would be useful as well.

I suggest to create a new ID for this prayer in BLorient5425 to avoid the usage of one of the two generic IDs. I will find a way to relate it to LIT5888AsmatPrayer and to LIT3991Prayer.

@eu-genia @DenisNosnitsin1970 @nafisa-valieva @karljonaskarlsson

[eu-genia]

OK; it would be good if LIT3991Prayer is edited to include the text to allow for clear disambiguation

I also wonder if it makes sense to take Prières magiques éthiopiennes pour délier les charmes (maft̳aḥe š̳arāy) by Strelcyn and create a repertory starting from the study rather than redoing Strelcyn's work going occasionally through manuscripts (just like we did for the hymns and Chaîne). Griaule's recettes could also be considered.

@abausi if you agree that it is a sensible task I would ask @CarstenHoffmannMarburg to dedicate some time to it, I believe we need to work more systematically

[abausi]

It makes sense, but it will not be easy. We van try Rocznik Orientalstycny is fully available online.

Il gio 5 set 2024, 21:25 Eugenia @.***> ha scritto:

OK; it would be good if LIT3991Prayer is edited to include the text to allow for clear disambiguation

I also wonder if it makes sense to take Prières magiques éthiopiennes pour délier les charmes (maft̳aḥe š̳arāy) by Strelcyn and create a repertory starting from the study rather than redoing Strelcyn's work going occasionally through manuscripts (just like we did for the hymns and Chaîne). Griaule's recettes could also be considered.

@abausi https://github.com/abausi if you agree that it is a sensible task I would ask @CarstenHoffmannMarburg https://github.com/CarstenHoffmannMarburg to dedicate some time to it, I believe we need to work more systematically

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/BetaMasaheft/Documentation/issues/2627#issuecomment-2332477998, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEYMY2CQPTHFNYR3ZELZA4LZVCV3RAVCNFSM6AAAAABNWGPTP2VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDGMZSGQ3TOOJZHA . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

I like the idea of systematically encoding the magical prayers from the sources published by Stefan Strelcyn mentioned above. I am aware of the difficulties of comparing these texts with the already existing records, which often enough lack sufficient indications for a clear identification. But even though it is not easy, I think it is necessary. I am prepared to devote myself to this task, unless there is another, possibly more experienced, scholar who wishes to undertake it.

[eu-genia]

Thank you @CarstenHoffmannMarburg, very good! You can also propose while you are at it a meaningful set of keywords.

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

I found the article recommended by Eugenia in zotero:

Strelcyn, S. 1955 Prières magiques éthiopiennes pour délier les charmes (maftǝḥe šǝrāy), Rocznik orientalistyczny 18.

However, I did not find this contribution online, but it is indicated to be present in SUB with the signature AR 4302.

Beyond, there are more publications by Strelcyn related to his research on Magic prayers. As far as I can see from the titles, there are the following:

Strelcyn, S. 1949, Sur une prière 'falacha' publiée par c. conti rossini dans les appunti di storia e letteratura falascià, Rassegna di Studi Etiopici 8, 63-82 (online available).

Strelcyn, S. 1951, Note sur le manuscrit éthiopien d'Abbadie 7 de la B. N., Rassegna di Studi Etiopici 10, 52-55 (online available).

Strelcyn, S. 1960, La magie éthiopienne, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi Etiopici (Roma 2–4 aprile 1959), 357, Problemi attuali di scienza e di cultura, 48, 147-166.

Strelcyn, S. 1983, Un poème satanique éthiopien, Guirlande pour Abba Jérome: travaux offerts à Abba Jérôme Gabra Musé par ses élèves et ses amis réunis par Joseph Tubiana, Paris, 83–115.

Strelcyn, S. 1951: Un magicien grec en Éthiopie.

Furthermore, there is also a number of publications concerning plant names and medicine, that may also be related to magic, but which I do not want to consider for the moment. Furthermore, there are a number of catalogues, that may contain valuable information, as well. I want to consider the Indeces of these catalogues, because they contain keywords for Magic prayers, that could serve very well also for keywords in Bm.

[eu-genia]

1955 is a monograph, the rest are minor contributions, so I would start with the main study. The earlier articles are clearly superceded by the monograph, and the later ones also depend on it. If you cannot get borrow the copy from SUB or another library, maybe @MarcinKrawczuk has it (?) or we can ask @JanetFre to scan

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

From the titles above, I would like to suggest a number of keywords and also list those for which I think we should turn them into keywords. First of all, we should discuss the criteria for what is a good keyword in relation to magic texts or pictures. I think that a keyword should point to a specific and important part of a text (or picture) that makes it different from others. It should be a more or less common feature, more often attested in catalogues, and not solitary. I would also avoid using coded names of patrons or helpers such as Salomon, Moses, Michael, Adam, the three Children, St Andrew, Elyās, the Trinitiy, Mary or the Cross, as these could easily be used for other non-magic texts and lead to confusion. Information about helpers may be better given in summaries or relationships in work records.

In principle, all the keywords listed in Strelcyns' catalogue for distinguishing magical prayers are candidates for keywords in Bm, but I want to limit the number of keywords to dozens, not hundreds. For this reason I would like to suggest the following keywords:

a) Those that are already suggested by Eugenia in https://github.com/BetaMasaheft/Authority-Files/pull/33#issuecomment-2342779558 and for which I agree: Bāryā, BindingDemons (or: Maftahe), Bleeding, Buda, Colic, Dask, DrowningDemons, Colic (or Qwersat), Epilepsy, EvilEye (or Aynat), Falasa (or better Falasha), Fever (or Nedad), Gudale, Legewon, and Malaria (or fera)

b) Those that Eugenia suggested, but which are not very frequent to my perception or which are represented by other keywords, that I want to suggest, but which are nevertheless acceptable to me: Dabbas, Aqweyasat, ChestPain

c) Keywords, that I suggest to add to this list according to Indices and titles from Strelcyns catalogue of BL manuscripts in 1978:

Asmat (ʾasmāt or Secret Names) Blacksmiths BlackMagic (or SatanicMagic?) Charms Disease Maganna (Magāññā = a demon?) Neqatqat (nǝqaṭqaṭ or Smashing of Demons?) Pain Šotalay (Šotalāy or Šotālāy) Witch Witcher (or witch doctors or magicians) Zar (zār) (to be continued)

d) Words taken from Strelcyns index, that are useful to distinguish Magic prayers from one another, but which I would suggest not to create a keyword, because the indicated calamity does appear only once or rather rare in manuscripts or which are already sufficiently represented in other keywords are the following:

aphrodisiac abdominal pain (or stomach pain) contagion demon of noon injustice mǝč migraine pestilence qʷǝraññā (= wrath) ṣǝllā wagi (= tablet or beam of the warrior?) (to be continued)

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

Continuation keyword-list for magic prayers: c) suggested keywords

animals love/mastafāqǝr Satan miscarriage/pregnancy enmity/enemies/ṣar/magrare ṣar stones/ʾandarabbi (to be continued)

d) no keywords recommended

ʾabrǝq/flash ʾalbugo ʾardǝʾt ascaris/soldiers ʾaṣǝnt (= existence?) baldness cataract cattle čǝfe/blindness conjuntivitis cough delivery devils ears ʾǝṭi/tumor eye fire gǝrma mogas ḥaṣura masqal / cross haemorrhage (represented by bleeding) horse house goods impotence/potence leprosy lance wounds lǝfāfa ṣǝdq/bandlet of the rightousness marbabta Salomon measles mule nocturnal terror rain revelations rheumatism rich respect smallpox snake sores (= wounds) suckling infants tǝmḥǝrta ḫǝbuʾat thieves traveller (to be continued)

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

Continuation of proposed keywords taken from Strelcyn 1978 (BL as above), Strelcyn 1974 (Rylands) amd Strelcyn 1972:

c) proposed keywords

Dǝdǝq (a demon or an accident or a sudden disease) Dino/Dini/Dānit/Dinit (evil spirit or demon) Dobbi/Dobbit (a kind of a sorcerer) Gargāri/Nagārgār (probably the same demon) Ǧǝn (ghosts or demons as in Arabic ǧinn) Qāwzā/Qāwezo/Qāwezā/Maqawze ('king of devils') Ṣəlā/ʿayna ṣǝlā/Ṣəlā wagi (According to Strelcyn 1973, it is a demon with that name and not ṣəllā = tablet as described above) Śərāʾel/Śǝrāyal (According to Strelcyn 1972 'beings', but not demons, encountered in rivers, especially at noon, and in desert places when one is walking alone.) Tǝgridā/Tǝgrǝtyā (a demon) Wǝllāǧ (literally "the offspring" or "mulatto" = according to Strelcyn a mongrel of a zar and a demon. It can possibly be included to Zār) Wǝrzǝlyā (a demon)

d) not proposed for keywords

abort amulet artisan asthma chains/bonds (for demons, there is already BindingDemons, for humans it is negligible) Christian coitus dagāmyāna ʿǝṣ (magicians who make incantations using wood) diviner/mʷārtaññā/māri dog enlightment fart fidelity foetus food (as beer, bread, fish, etc.) four elements fright/fear Gog and Magog gʷǝrguho (a demon, related to ʾangʷargʷara = being angry?) haemorrhoids hair headache hemeralopy (day blindness) injustice jaundice labour lašǝt (smell?) madman madyāt (medicine) market mǝč/mǝtāt (violent disease with fever) mətʿat (rhythm = compulsive movements?) mǝthat (phantom, illusion; already represented in black magic) murder/murderer/qatalāy nails (of the cross) Nǝdārā (= proper name of the evil eye, probably identical with ʿaynat or ʿayna warq or ʿayna ṣǝlā wagi etc.) nǝdǝft (a disease of horses or mules) nose-bleeding palpitation (tǝrǝntǝr) perfume periostitis/sǝqǝssǝqat placenta premature delivery pus/magǝl qamaññā/qʷǝmaññā/qumañña/qamaññā (Sorcerer who makes people ill using philtres and poisons; Could be useful to mention in a file for wizard/sorcerer. However, Trzes explains the word as a disease) qoqolāy (unidentified) scabies scrofula/mǝšǝro shadow skin disease (waṭa) slaves (not to leave the masters house) sleep sterile woman/makān swelling syphilis/qiṭṭǝñ talāwāš (listed as 'unidentified' in Strelcyn 1972) tapeworm ṭǝfi (slap?) toothache (la-ḥǝmāma ṭǝrs) travel ulcers urination tongue/voice/stutter/mute yamedā wǝdqat (crop failure) yazār wǝllāǧ (the offspring of the demon Zar?) Zaradašat ('father of the magicians') zema

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

In my opinion, more information to each keyword could be added for using Strelcyns publications and several articles in EAe. This would be very useful as many names or terms are ambiguous and need explanation. This can be done in the summary of the files you have created for the keywords. But it might be more visible and practical if each of them, or at least some of them, also got authority files. I think this is more practical because demons, diseases, etc. can also appear in other texts (e.g. chronologies). It could be easily marked up with ref type="authFile", but also with PRS IDs for demons or wizards.

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

I have seen that "TrueCross" is already a keyword saved to Authority-Files > ObjectsVeneration. I think, it can be used to mark up Magic Prayers, as well.

[eu-genia]

I think I will wait a bit till a meaningful list (should not be too detailed) is compiled

[eu-genia]

And keyword files are already authority files, each keyword can be referred to through ref type="authFile" (just like we do for TrueCross e.g. when pointing from churches or texts).

[CarstenHoffmannMarburg]

Another name of a demon, probably suitable for a keyword/authority file is Bǝryāl (witnessed i.e. in BLorient12859).