Marco Morrigi, ed., A Corpus of Syriac
Incantation Bowls: Syriac Magical Texts from Late Antique
Mesopotamia
Erica C. D.
Hunter
School of African and Oriental Studies, London
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
George A. Kiraz
James E. Walters
TEI XML encoding by
James E. Walters
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
2018
Volume 21.1
For this publication, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
license has been granted by the author(s), who retain full
copyright.
https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/article/hv21n1prhunter
Erica C. D. Hunter
Review of: A Corpus of Syriac
Incantation Bowls: Syriac Magical Texts from Late Antique
Mesopotamia
https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/pdf/vol21/HV21N1PRHunter.pdf
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute, 2018
vol 21
issue 1
pp 241–245
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies is an electronic journal dedicated to the study
of the Syriac tradition, published semi-annually (in January and July) by Beth
Mardutho: The Syriac Institute. Published since 1998, Hugoye seeks to offer the
best scholarship available in the field of Syriac studies.
File created by James E. Walters
Marco Morrigi, ed., A Corpus of Syriac
Incantation Bowls: Syriac Magical Texts from Late Antique
Mesopotamia (Leiden, Brill: 2014). Pp. xviii + 278; €139.
This volume has the principal aim of analysing all published Syriac
incantation bowls in order to describe their language and to update Victor
Hamilton, Syriac Incantation Bowls (Ann
Arbor, MI, 1971), thus incorporating scholarly literature published
thereafter. Forty-nine texts, spanning one hundred and sixty years
(1853–2012) have been re-edited and presented in this volume, together with
palaeographic charts for each specimen. Grammar, magical practice, drawings,
angelic and demonic names, clients’ names and “all other aspects” are not
discussed since in Moriggi’s opinion they deserve particular treatment.
The Introduction commences with I.1 The Study of Syriac Incantation Bowls which
provides a chronological overview of publications of Syriac incantation
bowls, as well as notes about further specimens – essentially in private
hands – that are being prepared for publication. Hence, exempted from this
volume are unpublished Syriac incantation bowls that are currently being
worked on by other authors. Also excluded are several items with Syriac
inscriptions that do not fit the standard definition of incantation bowls.
I.2 Methodology clearly shows how
carefully and clearly Moriggi has organised the data accompanying each
entry. Particular attention is paid to the transliteration of Syriac into
Latin, and the vexed question surrounding the reconstruction of text is
discussed. Moriggi concludes that the texts must “speak their own language”
(p. 5) noting that some grammatical features of Syriac bowls diverge from
Classical Syriac, and as a consequence emendation of the text to accommodate
standard Classical Syriac grammar has been avoided. This is indeed a sound
point to make.
I.3 Language of Syriac Incantation Bowls
examines previous authors’ comments on the relationship of Syriac to other
Aramaic dialects that were in usage in Mesopotamia, noting the various
positions that have been adopted over the decades. In particular, Moriggi
queries the premise offered by Müller-Kessler that many of the Syriac and
Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowls were translated from Mandaic Vorlagen and offers three conclusions: (i)
that the language of Syriac bowls is not far removed from Classical Syriac,
(ii) that non-Classical features may be internal factors of varieties of
Syriac found in Mesopotamia, and (iii) that the linguistic traits may allow
for some reconstruction of contemporary spoken varieties now found in Near
Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA). He suggests as a working hypothesis that the
language of Syriac incantation bowls be considered as a written non-literary
variety, used alongside literary written varieties, i.e., Classical Syriac.
This is an entirely sustainable position, and one of the pressing desiderata in incantation bowls is for a
comprehensive analysis of the language, which may reveal various dialects
especially if provenance factors are taken into consideration.
II Palaeography discusses the two major
scripts of the Syriac incantation bowls before presenting a meticulous and
carefully worked analysis of the individual characters of both the
Estrangela and Manichaean scripts which are treated separately in the
following sections.
II.2 Syriac Bowls and Estrangela Script
reviews previous scholarly opinion, then analyses selected diag-nostic
characters and variants thereto. These observations have chronological
implications, e.g., the Resh always being
written with the upper point. Moriggi does also briefly comment on the
application of diacritical points and concludes by refering to the 2011
publications of Ayda Kaplan on Syriac typology which he upholds as being
applicable to incantation bowls.
II.3 Syriac Bowls and Manichaean Script
presents a long discussion of different scholarly views about the origins
and chronology of this Syriac script, before embarking on a detailed
analysis of each character as found in the bowls and drawing conclusions
about parellels with Aramaic scripts from northern Mesopotamia, Palmyrene
Aramaic, and characters that have no direct parallels in contemporary
Aramaic scripts from Mesopotamia.
The major part of the volume, III Texts,
is devoted to detailed studies of each the forty-nine bowls. The catalogue
material which commences each entry valuably presents: current location,
dimensions, remarks (by previous scholars), script, text arrangement, number
of lines, drawings and other signs, clients, contents, parallels, editions,
notes, and finally photographs and facsimiles. The transliterated text and
translated text are conveniently presented side by side. Accompan-ying notes
comment on phraseology and language, providing insight into the philological
intricacies of the texts, and referring to appropriate parallels. The sum
total is a rich contri-bution to our knowledge of Syriac incantation bowl
texts and is the culmination of an enormous amount of effort in com-piling,
amalgamating, and extrapolating previous scholars’ expertise.
Any volume often stands or falls by the indexes and listings which allow
the user multiple access points. Moriggi has compiled a listing of bowls
1–49 together with references to the provenance number and author of
publication. Such a listing is very helpful, but might have been improved by
listing the publications in chronological order, commencing with the 1853
incantation bowl which Ellis published. A slight re-arrangement of each
entry might be recommended, namely placing the date of publication after the
bowl number, e.g., Bowl no. 1 (1912) YBS 2357, editio princeps: Montgomery 1912a. The Glossary, as Moriggi points
out, contains only complete words and words that have been reconstructed
with certainty using R. Payne Smith, Thesaurus
Syriacus (1879–1901) for the lemma
where possible. Again the detail supplied provides very valuable entry
points to the texts. Various appendices include List of Angels, Deities, Demons and other Entities with
identifiable names in parenthesis following the transliteration, also Lists of Clients and Adversaries. The Bibliography is comprehensive. Concluding
the volume are the Script Charts or
palaeographic tables for each of the forty-nine specimens, covering both the
Edessene Syriac and Manichaean Syriac fonts. These again form a very useful
reference point for anyone undertaking serious comparative work on
incantation bowls.
In this meticulous publication it was disappointing that the photographic
plates sequelled the entries of each of the texts. Some minor
re-organisation (perhaps by the publisher) could have addressed this
shortcoming. The plate might have been placed alongside the Prolegomena,
i.e., before the transliterated text and
translation for each specimen.
In this otherwise very thorough volume, there were two areas that were
lacking. Firstly, given the very careful organisation of the volume, it was
remarkable that provenance was not designated under a distinct sub-heading,
but was incorporated under Remarks. Granted, many bowls are without
provenance. However, where the provenance is known, e.g., those from Nippur,
this should have been documented. An appendix listing of provenanced
incantation bowls should have been supplied. In any concerted reconstruction
of the dialects of Syriac used to write the incantation texts (and this also
applies to Mandaic and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic) provenance is a key
factor. When sufficient bowls with known provenance are published, it might
be possible to map various dialects, in the same way that modern NENA
studies are now being undertaken. Pinpointing provenance may also enable
patterns of transmission of the refrains to be charted, thus providing
invaluable data since incantation texts straddle various communities in
Sassanian Mesopotamia.
Physical dimensions were given for each specimen. However, a much more
detailed physical typology should have been a desideratum.
As, for example, in Erica C. D. Hunter, “The typology of the Incantation Bowls: Physical Features and Decorative Aspects, ” in J. B. Segal, Catalogue
of theAramaic and Mandaic Incantation Bowls in the British
Museum (London: British Museum Publications, 2000) 63–204.
Incantation bowls were drawn from the repertoire of Sasanian household
plain-ware and were not ritually manufactured, but differences between the
Mandaic and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic bowls can be discerned. Such
perspectives may shed light onto the sociological aspects of the incantation
bowls and ab extensio possible regional
differences. At the very least, it would have been worthwhile to have
indicated whether the bowls were flat-based or hemispherical (generally
approximately 50% in each category) as it is not possible to ascertain this
from the photographs. A profile line-drawing and physical description for
each specimen (which would not have taken an inordinate amount of time)
would have added the finishing dimension to the volume.
Moriggi considers that the volume will provide scholars with the most
accurate and complete anthology of published Syriac incantation bowls,
providing a secure foundation for further study on the grammar of these
texts, and will be useful for subsequent discoveries of incantation bowls.
Moriggi’s expertise lies in the philological and also palaeographical
aspects, which he has addressed soundly. The volume certainly makes an
enormous contribution to furthering studies on Syriac incantation texts, and
more generally on incantation bowls. For any scholar who has an interest in
incantation bowls, this work is a ‘must’, but one hopes that in future
publications both provenance and physical typology will be given the careful
treatment that Moriggi has otherwise applied to the forty-nine Syriac
specimens upon which he has clearly devoted much time and attention.