Concluding Remarks

By way of conclusion, I would like to concentrate on the so-called standard catalogue of demons and diseases that can be found in the anti-witchcraft and apotropaic incantation series^[119] In these magical texts we find three components of the conception of disease: 1) harmful demonic beings causing diseases (evil Utukku, evil Alu, evil ghosts, evil Gallu, evil gods, evil Rabisu, Lamastu, Labasu Ahhazu, Lilu, Lilith, Ardat Lili, Saghulaza); 2) personified harmful forces (Hand of a god, Hand of a ghost, Hand of a curse etc.); 3) physical pains and diseases like epilepsy, swelling, paralysis, numbness or “fever”.

I distinguish the following main groups of diseases: general terms for all illnesses (mursu lemnu “evil disease” or mursu la tabu “not good disease” etc.), terms for harmful magical activity (kispu “sorcery” or ruhu “hex” etc.), terms for epidemic illnesses or infections (sili’tu “infection”, garabu “leper”, lipit namtari “touch of Namtar demon” etc.), terms for illnesses in specific parts of the body (murus libbi “illness of belly”, kls libbi “bond of belly”, murus qaqqadi “illness of head” etc.), terms for specific diseases (di’u, asu, uququ, busanu, kissatu etc.), terms for physical pains (sihiltu, mungu etc.), terms for skin problems (risutu, ekketum, sagbanu etc.), terms for swelling (dikis siri, isiltu, simertu etc.), terms for “fever” (isatu, li’bu, ummu, hintu, himit seti, kibbu) and shivering (suruppu, hurbasu, surbu, ra’ibu), terms for jaundice (ahhazu, amurriqanu), terms for anxiety and depression (asustu, gilittu, pirittu, marustu), terms for epilepsy (bennu, antasubbu, miqit same, miqtu, hand of Lugalurra), terms for paralysis, muscle and sinew disease (simmatu, rimutu, misittu, sanadu, maskadu, saddnu, sagallu, ser’anu lemnu), and terms for bodily fluids such as blood, pus, saliva and phlegm. The terms for “fever” and shivering are the most varied and commonly attested, so we can conclude that “fever” (especially li’bu and suruppu) was among the more common ailments caused by a demon or witch.

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Source: Bhayro Siam, Rider Catherine (eds.). Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period. Leiden, Boston: Brill,2017. — xiv, 434 p.. 2017

Concluding Remarks

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