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Terracotta incantation bowls such as this
example are also known as "demon bowls." This
term is used to describe vessels found in the
Middle East that were created as forms of both
protective and aggressive magic. They are
identified by the writing on their interior (and
occasionally on the outside) in either Jewish-
Aramaic, Syriac, Mandaic, or Middle Persian
(Pahlavi). Placed in the corners of rooms where
demons were believed to sneak in through
cracks in the floor and walls, the bowl was
buried face-down to lure malevolent spirits
inside
in order to trap them. The script was presumably
an enticement, attracting demons so they would
not do harm to persons or property. The open
area in the center, combined with the sinuous,
flowing script along the flared sides, does give
the impression of a swirling vortex. Elegant in its
simplicity, powerful in its incantation, this
extraordinary bowl is a tangible link to magical
practices of the Middle East in Late Antiquity.
The interior of this extraordinary demon bowl is
inscribed with nine lines of text, spiraling
outwards clockwise from the center, in Jewish
Babylonian Aramaic script. The text translates
as:
This bowl for the sealing and protection of the
house and dwelling of Babai, son of Batqina. I,
Babai, son of Batqina, am standing on a great
mountain. Upon a great mountain of stone, I am
tying magic words. I am going out and flying
against you, upon the ruins of the settlement
and
the trenches of the field, and upon the paths of
human beings. The healing that I am revealing
by it and the (…) that I am protecting by it. A
knife is in my hand which exists from the earth
to the sky which was given to me by the mother
of all great demons, of demons and dews and
satans and idols and Liliths. By it they are being
injured and their blood flows to deep rivers.
Because (…) I have killed, and thus I have
obstructed, and thus I have struck you, the knife
in your heart. By the name of SL SL SL SL SL SL
SL, by these seven words, the heavens and the
earth are bound. By them are sealed and counter
sealed the house of Babai, son of Batqina. By
the upper mystery, by the middle mystery, by the
lower mystery, by the upper divine presence, by
the middle divine presence, by the lower divine
presence, by a mystery of the mother and her
daughter, by the mystery of a bride and her
mother-in-law, by the sun and moon fires, by
the image of the signet ring of Solomon the
King, son of David.
Just the language of the text alone is of another
era; an era full of mystery, magic, and gods.
Holding this bowl in our hands, we are
transported back to a time of legends, to the
time when the words of the Bible were just being
written, to a time when great men like King
Solomon ruled, a time that continues to touch
and mold our lives today.
- (PF.5729)
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