The incantation and ritual series Maqlû

The series Maqlû is the most important collection of Mesopotamian incantations against witchcraft and black magic. In ancient times Maqlû was often associated with Šurpu, for instance in the commentary tradition. Maqlû, like Šurpu, means "burning" in Akkadian. It also covers nine Tablets in the first millennium, the first eight bearing mostly incantations, while the ninth describes a ritual.

However, there are essential differences from Šurpu. First, unlike Šurpu, the Maqlû incantations and rituals are aimed at counteracting the evil machinations of witches (more rarely wizards). Thus, the key point of the ceremony described in Maqlû is the destruction by fire of a wax or wooden figurine representing the witch. Second, it describes consecutive stages of a single ceremony, which takes place during the night and the following morning in the month of Abu (July-August). The ceremony comprises three different stages.

The first phase, accounted on Tablets 1-5, happens during the night. It starts with an incantation to the night gods, which was probably recited on the house's roof. The continuation of the ceremony is centred around the expulsion of the witch. The figurine representing her is burnt in a brazier, along with other related objects. Meanwhile, knots are untied and fumigants are burnt in order to counteract the witchcraft. At the end, water is poured over the brazier and the remnants of the objects are discarded.
The second phase, described on Tablets 6 and 7, takes place later in the night, in the client's bedroom. The main rite is a fumigation, in which various objects are arranged around the bed and in the bedroom. Finally, a protective circle is drawn around the patient. The ritual thus becomes rather protective.
The third phase, depicted on Tablets 7 and 8, represents a reversion ceremony. At dawn, the patient washes and rubs himself over an image of the witch. As he thus cleanses himself, the evil returns to the witch herself. Dogs are then fed edible substitutes for her. Finally, protective amulets are made.

Almost all of the sixteen Maqlû manuscripts from the CAMS/GKAB corpus are from the first section of the ceremony, namely Tablets 1-3. This actually corresponds to the central phase of the ceremony, which was probably also the oldest. Other rituals and incantations were probably added later on. SpTU 5, 241 [/cams/gkab/P348828/], an Achaemenid manuscript from Uruk, is related to Maqlû, but cannot be precisely placed in the series as known from the Assyrian "libraries". It was written by the āšipu Anu-ikṣur PGP . STT 1, 82 [/cams/gkab/P338399/], one of the Huzirina manuscripts, was copied by the apprentice Sin-šum-iddin PGP .

The incantation and ritual series Maqlû

Further Reading