Amulets and Talismans of the Middle East and North Africa in Context Transmission, Efficacy and Collections

318 Pages·2022·3.623 MB·English

by  Marcia A. Garcia Probert, Petra M. Sijpesteijn

AmuletsandTalismansoftheMiddleEastandNorthAfricainContext
Leiden Studies
in Islam and Society
Editors
LéonBuskens(LeidenUniversity)
NathalM.Dessing(LeidenUniversity)
EditorialBoard
MauritsBerger(LeidenUniversity)–R.MichaelFeener
(KyotoUniversity)–NicoKaptein(LeidenUniversity)
JanMichielOtto(LeidenUniversity)–DavidS.Powers(CornellUniversity)
volume 13
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/lsis
Amulets and Talismans of the
Middle East and North Africa
in Context
Transmission,EfficacyandCollections
Editedby
MarcelaA.GarciaProbert
PetraM.Sijpesteijn
leiden | boston
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:GarciaProbert,MarcelaA.,editor.|Sijpesteijn,Petra,editor.
Title:AmuletsandtalismansoftheMiddleEastandNorthAfricaincontext:
transmission,efficacyandcollections/editedbyMarcelaA.GarciaProbert,
PetraM.Sijpesteijn.
Othertitles:LeidenstudiesinIslamandsociety;v.13.
Description:Leiden;Boston:Brill,2022.|Series:LeidenstudiesinIslamand
society,2210-8920;volume13|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:lccn2022002783(print)|lccn2022002784(ebook)|isbn
9789004471474(hardback)|isbn9789004471481(ebook)
Subjects:lcsh:Amulets–MiddleEast.|Amulets–Africa,North.|
Talismans–MiddleEast.|Talismans–Africa,North.
Classification:lcc gr600.A472022(print)|lcc gr600(ebook)|ddc
737/.230956–dc23/eng/20220225
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Copyright2022byMarcelaA.GarciaProbertandPetraM.Sijpesteijn.PublishedbyKoninklijkeBrillnv,
Leiden,TheNetherlands.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
ListofFiguresandTables viii
NotesonContributors x
NotesonTransliteration,NamesofPersonsandPlacesandDates xii
Introduction.Transmission,EfficacyandCollections:Amuletsin
InteractionwithTheirEnvironment 1
MarcelaA.GarciaProbertandPetraM.Sijpesteijn
part 1
Transmission
1 SpecimensofJudaeo-ArabicandArabicMagicalTextsfromtheCairo
Genizah 15
GideonBohak
2 ATwentieth-CenturyManuscriptoftheKitābal-Mandalal-Sulaymānī
(Ar.ies286,AddisAbaba,Ethiopia):TextsonPractices&Textsin
Practices 47
AnneRegourd
3 ArabicMedical-MagicalManuscripts:ALivingTradition 78
PetraM.Sijpesteijn
part 2
Efficacy
4 CastingDiscord:AnUnpublishedSpellfromtheEgyptianNational
Library 107
HazemHusseinAbbasAli
5 “ThisBlessedPlace”:TheTalismanicSignificanceofHouseInscriptions
inOttomanCairo 126
JuanE.Campo
vi contents
6 ATalismanicScroll:Language,Illumination,andDiagrams 162
YasmineAl-Saleh
7 TheMaterialNatureofBlockPrintedAmulets:WhatMakesThem
Amulets? 180
KarlR.Schaefer
part 3
CollectingandCollections
8 ArabicMagicalTextsinOriginalDocuments:APapyrologistAnswers
FiveQuestionsYouAlwaysWantedtoAsk 211
UrsulaHammed
9 AmuletsandTalismansintheEarliestWorksoftheCorpus
Bunianum 230
Jean-CharlesCoulon
10 TwigsintheTawfikCanaanCollectionofPalestinianAmulets 253
MarcelaA.GarciaProbert
11 ArabicandPersianSealsandAmuletsintheBritishMuseum:Notesona
History 275
VenetiaPorter
Index 291
Acknowledgements
We would like to take this opportunity to thank those institutions and indi-
viduals whose financial and personal support made the publication of this
volumepossible.TheLeidenUniversityCentrefortheStudyofIslamandSoci-
ety(lucis)enabledthescholarlymeetingatwhichthisbookwas‘born’.lucis
alsofacilitateditsopenaccesspublication.Wewouldespeciallyliketothank
AnnemarievanSandwijkandTinekeRooijakkersoflucisfortheirassistance
duringthepublicationprocess.Theorganisational,communicationandcopy-
editingskillsofBirteKristiansenandNynkevanderVeldtwerecrucialatsev-
eralstages.Thebookthatliesinfrontofyousurelythanksitssolidandbeautiful
formtotheirsteadyandsupportiveinputalongtheway.Wewouldliketothank
the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies and the European Research
CouncilwhofinancedNynkeandBirte’scontribution.Weexpressourgratitude
totheseries’editorsforacceptingthisvolumeintheLeidenUniversityStud-
iesinIslamandSocietyseries.LastbutnotleastwethankourpartnersatBrill
publishinghouse,especiallyAbdurraoufOueslati,fortheirfriendlyefficiency.
Leiden,23April2021
Figures andTables
Figures
1.1 T-Sns.322.19;T-Sar.43.91andT-Sas.142.28.Threedifferentcopiesofthe
samebasicrecipe 25
2.1–8 Ms.Addis/ies286,ff.1r–28v 59–64
2.9–11 (annex)Ms.Addis/ies286,ff.14v–15r 71–73
3.1 or1250f.243aTitlepageofal-Ṣanawbarī’sKitābal-Raḥmafīal-ṭibbwa-l-
ḥikmawithinstructionforhowtoprepareanddealwithanamuletagainst
worryandstress. 79
3.2 or1250f.260bInstructionfromal-Ṣanawbarī’sKitābal-Raḥmafīal-ṭibbwa-
l-ḥikmaontheprayerandwashingstoperformtohandleexcessive
anger. 95
3.3 Bethseda,Maryland:NationalLibraryofMedicinemsA29f.6a.Pagefrom
al-Ṣanawbarī’sKitābal-Raḥmafīal-ṭibbwa-l-ḥikmashowingthemany
additionsmadebyreadersandusers. 97
4.1 Aspellforcastingdiscordwrittenonpapyrus.P.Cair.No.408(R) 119
5.1 Apoet(left)andanastronomer(right)portrayedin19th-centurydomestic
receptionareas,showingpseudo-Arabicscriptinuppercartouches.TheNew
YorkPublicLibrary.Descriptiondel’Égypte,Étatmoderneii,platesAand
B 128
5.2 TheThroneVerse(top)andQ67:1(bottom)inthesouthiwānofBayt
al-Dhahabīinthuluthscript 133
5.3 FirstpartofthefoundationinscriptioninlintelofnorthiwānoftheBayt
al-Dhahabīfirst-floorqāʿainthuluthscript 133
5.4 SecondpartoffoundationinscriptioninlintelofsouthiwānoftheBayt
al-Dhahabīfirst-floorqāʿainthuluthscript 133
5.5 Versesofal-Būsīrī’sBurda(vv.4–6)asdisplayedinthemaqʿadofBayt
al-Suḥaymīinnastaʿlīqscript 134
6.1 lns12msv9–v10Talismanicscroll 170
6.2 lns12msv11Talismanicscroll 173
7.1 Fragmentofatalismanicscroll(Met.Mus.1971.237.1) 186
7.2 Talismanwithdecorativetextheading(p.Vindob.A.Ch.12.140) 190
7.3 FragmentwithlistofGod’sNames(P.Vindob.A.Ch.12.142) 191
7.4 FragmentwithGod’sNamesinboxes(Cambr.T-Sns306.27) 192
7.5 Fragmentshowing“magicsquare”(Cambr.Univ.Mich.E33) 193
7.6 Completeamuletwithmagicnumbersatbottom(GutenbergMus.gm03.1
Schr.) 194
figures and tables ix
7.7 Block-printedtalismaniccircularleaf(Met.Mus.1978.546.37) 196
7.8 Talismanicscrollswithstarshapes(Left:Bayer.A.or.2022;Right:Met.Mus.
1978.546.35) 197
7.9 Amuletwithteardropshapeattop(Col.Univ.Papyrus705b) 198
7.10 Amuletwithtwoscriptstyles(Camb.T-Sar.20.1) 200
7.11 TalismanicscrollwithKufitextinreserve(Met.Mus.1978.546.33) 201
7.12 Amuletwithverticaltextinreserve(Camb.Mich.E31) 202
9.1 Thehierarchyofthespheres.msParis,bulac,ara.572,fol.37b. 237
9.2 Thecircleoftheletterḥāʾ 240
10.1 Boxwithspraysofrue.Objectno.1017TawfiqCanaanCollection 262
10.2 Twojujubetwigs.Objectno.1088TawfiqCanaanCollection 264
10.3 Twigofceltisaustralis.Objectno.810TawfiqCanaanCollection 267
Tables
1.1 ComparingT-Sns.322.19/T-Sar.43.91/T-Sas.142.28 26
2.1 SectionssharedbymanuscriptsṢanʿāʾ/DaM(A)andAddis/ies 66
5.1 CaireneOttomanhouseinscriptionsandtheirlocations 136
9.1 Tafṣīl—taksīr 246
9.2 Exampleforaletter 247
10.1 Kindoftrees 260
Notes on Contributors
HazemHusseinAbbasAli
isassociateprofessorofArchivesandDocumentsatBeni-SuefUniversityand
headofdepartmentattheMiddleEastCollegebasedinMuscat.Hisresearch
focusesonArabicpapyrianddocumentswithaspecialinterestinmagicalprac-
tices.
YasmineAl-Saleh
teaches at the American University of Kuwait. Her Harvard dissertation was
entitled“LicitMagic”:TheTouchAndSightOfIslamicTalismanicScrolls.
GideonBohak
is professor of Jewish Studies at Tel Aviv University. His research interests
include Jewish magic, “practical Kabbalah,” Jewish mysticism, the Cairo
Genizah,Hekhalotliterature,ToledotYeshuandJewishliteratureof theSec-
ondTempleperiod.
JuanE.Campo
isanassociateprofessorofReligiousStudiesattheUniversityofCaliforniain
SantaBarbarawithafocusonIslam.Majorpublicationsincludehispopular-
sciencebookEncyclopediaofIslamFactsonFile(InfobasePublishing2009)and
hisscholarlywork:TheOtherSidesof Paradise:ExplorationsintotheReligious
MeaningsofDomesticSpaceinIslam(UniversityofSouthCarolinaPress,1991)
Jean-CharlesCoulon
isaresearcheratInstitutderechercheetd’histoiredestextes—attheCentre
nationaldelarecherchescientifiqueandtheeditorof Arabica,JournalofAra-
bicandIslamicStudies/Revued’étudesarabesetislamiques.Hespecializesin
thehistoryofoccultsciencesandmagicinthemedievalIslamicateWorld.