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Evil Demons: Canonical Utukku Lemnutu Incantations
Everyone knows that all the ills of life, from headaches to athlete's foot and from minor annoyances (like a broken shoelace) to major catastrophes (like a fallen souffl�) are the result of evil demons at work. Call them what you will--gremlins, goblins, imps, afrit, rakshasas, poltergeists, whatever--these supernatural creatures together account for all the world's misfortunes.
The ancient Sumerians and their cultural heirs, the Assyrians and Babylonians, knew this as well as anyone, and so they made an extensive collection of incantations to ward off or counteract the effects of evil demons. These incantations were recited by the exorcist (a-sipu), doubtless accompanied by the appropriate ritual, to cast out the demon causing the problem. Indeed, the miraculous cures of Jesus were attributed to casting out demons and he passed this ability on to his disciples (Mark 16:17). So the casting out of demons has a lengthy history in the ancient Near East and continues to this day.
There are many demons mentioned in the incantations, but prominent among them is Lilith, who, in her guise as Ardat Lil� or the Maiden Lilith, was the essential Mesopotamian temptress who copulated with men when they were asleep and bore demon children. According to some stories, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, who ran off when she refused to be sugjugated to her husband. The tradition of Lilith continues today with most first wives being considered demons by their ex-husbands.
This work of scholarship contains 88 pages of cuneiform text, most of it bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian. It also includes a transliteration and a translation of the text and a glossary to the Sumerian text. The Sumerian glossary gives the Sumerian word or phrase, the Akkadian equivalent used in the text, and the English meaning. A separate index to the Akkadian words in the glossary is provided.
The ancient Sumerians and their cultural heirs, the Assyrians and Babylonians, knew this as well as anyone, and so they made an extensive collection of incantations to ward off or counteract the effects of evil demons. These incantations were recited by the exorcist (a-sipu), doubtless accompanied by the appropriate ritual, to cast out the demon causing the problem. Indeed, the miraculous cures of Jesus were attributed to casting out demons and he passed this ability on to his disciples (Mark 16:17). So the casting out of demons has a lengthy history in the ancient Near East and continues to this day.
There are many demons mentioned in the incantations, but prominent among them is Lilith, who, in her guise as Ardat Lil� or the Maiden Lilith, was the essential Mesopotamian temptress who copulated with men when they were asleep and bore demon children. According to some stories, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, who ran off when she refused to be sugjugated to her husband. The tradition of Lilith continues today with most first wives being considered demons by their ex-husbands.
This work of scholarship contains 88 pages of cuneiform text, most of it bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian. It also includes a transliteration and a translation of the text and a glossary to the Sumerian text. The Sumerian glossary gives the Sumerian word or phrase, the Akkadian equivalent used in the text, and the English meaning. A separate index to the Akkadian words in the glossary is provided.
336 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2007
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January 11, 2014
An updated version of the texts first published by Campbell-Thompson as the 'Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia' over a century ago. The introduction gives a history of the text but not much else. I would have liked something that put this collection of incantations in a magical-cultural context.
There follows the Akkadian transliterations and then English translations of the texts. At the end there is a computer generated glossary.
These incantations were designed to drive off the evil demons that caused disease and misfortune to mankind. They have a long history in the Near East, the earliest texts were discovered in Susa (Iran) and date to the mid 3rd millennium BCE.
As this book is essentially just the texts, to get an insight into their structure and content I'll quote one of the shorter pieces in full:
"May the evil Utukku-demon (and) ghost who appeared in the steppe, or you Namtar, who affected the victim adversely, and the idle talk which was maliciously attached to the man, be smashed like a pot and poured out like water. They must not cross the circumference of the door-jam, nor cross the threshold. Evil Utukku-demon to your steppe. Evil Alu-demon to your steppe - you evil Utukku-demon, who lives in the house, without regard for either god or man, may the evil Utukku-demon, Alu, ghost, Sheriff-demon, god or Bailiff-demon be smashed in the square like a sherd of the potter's wheel" (from page 218)
There follows the Akkadian transliterations and then English translations of the texts. At the end there is a computer generated glossary.
These incantations were designed to drive off the evil demons that caused disease and misfortune to mankind. They have a long history in the Near East, the earliest texts were discovered in Susa (Iran) and date to the mid 3rd millennium BCE.
As this book is essentially just the texts, to get an insight into their structure and content I'll quote one of the shorter pieces in full:
"May the evil Utukku-demon (and) ghost who appeared in the steppe, or you Namtar, who affected the victim adversely, and the idle talk which was maliciously attached to the man, be smashed like a pot and poured out like water. They must not cross the circumference of the door-jam, nor cross the threshold. Evil Utukku-demon to your steppe. Evil Alu-demon to your steppe - you evil Utukku-demon, who lives in the house, without regard for either god or man, may the evil Utukku-demon, Alu, ghost, Sheriff-demon, god or Bailiff-demon be smashed in the square like a sherd of the potter's wheel" (from page 218)
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