Of conjurers and kings -- Magic in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch

.Brier, Bob . Natural History !"." #Apr $$%&' (!

Magic and religion )ere inseparable in ancient Egypt, as Geraldine Pinch elucidates in her book, Magic in Ancient Egypt. *ineteenth-and early-t)entieth-century scholars and anthropologists +ade distinctions bet)een +agic and religion, one scholar saying, ,Magic, after all, is only the disreputable base+ent in the house of religion., Pinch, an Egyptologist at -a+bridge .ni/ersity, is intrigued by the inseparability of the t)o real+s. ,0he theory,, she says, ,that +agic is al)ays unorthodo1 and sub/ersi/e, part of a religious and political counterculture, does not see+ to apply in Egypt )here ritual +agic )as practised on behalf of the state for at least three thousand years., Although lay +agicians unattached to an institution e1isted in ancientEgypt, by far the +ost nu+erous )ere the trained priest-+agicians fro+ established te+ples, )ho )ere partof the orthodo1 hierarchy and )hose job )as pri+arily to be a stand-in for the pharaoh. 0oday )e e1pect our clergy to ha/e entered into their profession because of a deep religious co++it+ent. 2n ancient Egypt, ho)e/er, being a priest )as +erely a job, a +eans of +aking a good li/ing and ha/ing status in the co++unity. 0he rituals of the priest-+agician still persist in Egypt, as 2 )as to disco/er )hile doing research in 3u1or about a do4en years ago. My stay coincided )ith the 5esti/al of Abul 6aggag, co++e+orating a nineteenth-century Musli+ holy +an buried a+ong the 7,!!!year-old car/ings of Egyptian deities inside the te+ple of3u1or. On the fourteenth day of the 2sla+ic +onth of 8haban, a t)el/e-foot boat is taken fro+ its place in front of the Abul 6aggag Mos9ue and, acco+panied by an e1uberant cro)d, rolled on )heels through the streets of 3u1or, north)ard to the te+ple of :arnak, t)o +iles a)ay. 0he asse+blage, re+inding +e ofcollege students follo)ing a parade float, +akes stops at the burial places of local saints along the route. 0hey recite /erses fro+ the :oran before e/entually returning to the te+ple of 3u1or. 3ater 2 asked a )ell-kno)n 3u1or elder and anti9uities dealer about the significance of the boat. 6e said that the ans)er )as )ritten in the car/ings of the te+ples at 3u1or and :arnak. 8o 2 took a closer look at the te+ple )alls depicting the 5esti/al of Opet, a yearly celebration )hen 3u1or )as the capital of Egypt during the *e) :ingdo+ # %%!- !;! B.-.&. 5or the festi/al, the statues of the god A+on, his consort Mut, and their son, :hons, )ere taken fro+ their shrines at :arnak, placed in +odel boats, )hich )ere carried onto barges decorated )ith gold and sil/er, and to)ed do)n the *ile to 3u1or.

8tatues of the gods had tre+endous oracular po)ers for forecasting the future and dispensing di/ine guidance. An Egyptian papyrus, no) in the British Museu+, recounts ho) the statue of A+on sol/ed a theft during the 5esti/al of Opet. A local citi4en na+ed A+une+)ia #the na+e +eans ,A+on in the sacred boat,& had fi/e shirts stolen fro+ a storehouse he )as guarding. <uring the festi/al, as the priests paraded the statues in their boat shrines, the populace )as per+itted to approach and ask 9uestions or dispensations ofthese oracles. A+une+)ia asked, ,My good and belo/ed lord, )ilt thou gi/e +e back their theft=, According to the papyrus, the god ,nodded /ery greatly., #Possibly the priests dipped the shrine they )ere holding=& 0hen A+une+)ia began reading a list of suspects. >hen the na+e of a far+er )as read, the statue nodded again. 0he culprit confessed and e/entually returned the shirts. 0he statues )ere then transported back to :arnak in a procession that represented the cere+onial restoration of )orld order. 0hus, in Abul 6aggag?s festi/al, 2 had )itnessed the ancient ritual +agic associated )ith the 5esti/al of Opet incorporated into a Musli+ religious celebration. 2n Magic in Ancient Egypt, Pinch )isely a/oids o/eranaly4ing and lets the practices speak for the+sel/es. 0he reader is presented )ith the /ast array of ancient +agical procedures for e/ery occasion, e+ployed by ancient Egyptians fro+ the top do)n. 8ince the gods do+inated all aspects of ancient Egyptian life, the pantheon included the god of +agic, 6eka. But e/ery deity and lesser supernatural being also had access to +agical po)ers, called heka. A priest perfor+ed +agical cere+onies as often as religious ones. #Pinch points out that because )o+en )ere +ostly illiterate, /ery little is kno)n about priestesses? participation in ritual +agic.& Perhaps the only real distinction for ancient Egyptians )as that +agical rituals )ere usually called upon for indi/idual crises, )hile religious rituals )ere intended to benefit the co++on good. 0he book is +ore co+pilation than analysis, but 2 )as happy to ha/e it all in one place for reference. 2n her chapter, ,>ritten Magic,, Pinch elucidates the po)er of the )ritten )ord. 2n +agical te1ts, hieroglyphic i+ages occasionally depict birds )ithout feet and snakes cut in half because ancient Egyptians )ere afraid the i+ages +ight co+e to life, run a)ay, and spoil the spell. >ealthy people could ha/e a +agical spell copied, then dissol/e the copy in beer and drink it up, hoping to i+bibe the +agic. As Pinch points out, ,drinking your )ay through t)enty +etres of 0he Book of the <ead )ould take 9uite so+e ti+e and deter+ination., A spell to cure a snake or scorpion bite in/ol/ed the patient?s licking off three +agical i+ages dra)n on his hand. Physical contact )ith the )ords enhanced the +agical protection.

0he +ost significant chapter is ,Magical 0echni9ues,, in )hich the reader is sho)n the essentials of rituals. Pinch notes, for e1a+ple, the use of elaborate purification rites. Officiating priest-+agicians )ere re9uired to rinse out their +ouths )ith a solution of )ater and natron--the salt co+pound used in +u++ification. Areas )ere fu+igated )ith incense s+oke to kill insects, and linen clothes and sandals +ade fro+ reeds or pal+ fibers )ere )orn instead of )ool and leather, )hich )ere considered i+pure. 6ead and body hair )as sha/ed to get rid of lice. 0he list )as e1tensi/e but usually practical. .sing ,the principle of si+ilars,--that is, treating like )ith like--ancient Egyptians +ade e1tensi/e use of blood and e1cre+ent as +edicines@ because +any proble+s )ere digesti/e, they reasoned that such potions +ight enable putrefying food inside the body to co+e out. 5ly and ostrich dung )ere a+ong the +ore e1otic re+edies that Pinch cites, although she suggests that they +ay be +erely descripti/e na+es for herbs or other substances. ,8tress on the significance of si+ilarities in na+e or appearance,, says Pinch, ,so+eti+es led to treat+ents that )ere actually har+ful, but it )ould not ha/e been easy for the Egyptians to pinpoint the causeof failure , A+ulets, s+all objects the ancient Egyptians )ore for protection, still e1ist by the +illions. Often they )ere s+all figures of the gods si+ilar to -atholics? 8aint -hristopher +edals, but +any had no i++ediate association )ith deities' t)o fingers #used in funerary rites to bring speech and breath to a +u++ified body&, papyrus colu+ns #for stability and strength&, and lotus flo)ers #for rebirth&. 0he color of an a+ulet )as +ore i+portant than the substance fro+ )hich it )as +ade. A spell +ight re9uire that an a+ulet be +ade of the red carnelian stone' ho)e/er, it )as the /ery po)erful color red #representing the blood, +agic, and po)er of the goddess 2sis& that ga/e the a+ulet its /alue, not the stone. 0he fa+ous gold +ask of 0utankha+en, for e1a+ple, )as inlaid )ith paste i+itating lapis la4uli, again because the po)er of the +ask resided in the color blue-probably associated )ith the sky and resurrection. One of the +ost co++on a+ulets )as the scarab, )hich re+ained a po)erful i+age for thousands of years. .nfortunately, Pinch does not include one of +y fa/orite scarab spells #elaborated in the 3eiden-3ondon +agical papyrus& designed to +ake a )o+an fall in lo/e )ith a +an. 0he instructions are too co+ple1 to include in full #)hich +ay e1plain )hy Pinch lea/es it out& but in/ol/e reciting incantations o/er +any days@ cutting the scarab in half and taking its right half and the nail parings of the practitioner?s right hand and foot and cooking the+ in a ne) pot )ith /ine )ood@ then repeating the spell se/en ti+es )hile +aking the )o+an drink the )ine'

0ake a)ay her sleep by night@ gi/e her la+entation and an1iety by day@ let her not eat, let her not drink, let her not sleep, let her not sit under the shade of her house until she follo) A=B hi+ to e/ery place in )hich he is. 2n the final act in this dra+a, the other half of the scarab, )ith nail parings fro+ the practitioner?s left hand and foot, is tied in a strip of linen along )ith +yrrh and saffron around the +an?s ar+ )hile he sleeps )ith the )o+an. >ith such intensi/e persuasions-not to say brain)ashing--)hat )o+an could resist the spell= One of Pinch?s +ost interesting chapters is ,Medicine and Magic., Most of the +edical papyri include +agical spells, an e1ception being the fascinating Ed)in 8+ith 8urgical Papyrus #)ritten circa C!! B.-., )ith so+e parts that probably date back to the third +illenniu+ B.-.&. 0he nearly purely clinical te1t describes a series ofinjuries fro+ the head do)n)ard and tells physician ho) to e1a+ine and treat the+. Because the injuries in/ol/ed trau+a, and the causes of the proble+s )ere kno)n, the treat+ent )as straightfor)ard and go/erned by syste+atic scientific principles. 2n one instance, the physician )as e/en instructed ho) to probe the brain and re+o/e cranial splinters. But )hen the cause of an illness )as unkno)n--)hat )e )ould recogni4e today as those diseases caused by +icroorganis+s such as bacteria or /iruses--ancient Egyptians +obili4ed +agical spells, rituals, and potions to treat the +ysterious infections. Often, especially in funerary rites, they assigned a deity to /arious parts of the body to protect the healthy or to pre/ent an illness fro+ spreading. One spell in Papyrus 3eiden 2 7"( na+es the particular gods responsible for the specific parts of the patient?s body' 0he solar eye of Da-Atu+, the creator, protects the patient?s right eye@ the lunar eye of 6orus, representing the force of order, protects the left@ the earth god, Geb, o/ersees the back@ the sky goddess, *ut, the belly@ their children 2sis and *epththys )atch o/er the thighs@ the baboon god, Baba, guards the penis@ and 8hu, associated )ith po)ers of rene)al, guards the feet. Magic )as )idely used during epide+ics, )hich )ere on the increase by the second +illenniu+ B.c. due to greater contacts and trade outside of Egypt. 0he plague, an e/il )ind thought to be carried on the breath ofe+issaries of the lion-headed goddess 8ekh+et, )as treated on a national scale. 8o+e ti+e during his reign, A+enhotep 222 erected a pair of giant lioness-goddess statues for e/ery day of the year in a te+ple at 0hebes@ this )as an appeal for 8ekh+et?s protection in )arding off plague and disaster. Pinch suggests that, unfortunately, e/en royal inter/ention pro/ed no +atch for the plague, and it is thought to ha/e ter+inated this pharaoh?s line by the end of the fourteenth century B.-.

0he subject of +agic is so rich in ancient te1ts and i+ages that 2 +issed not ha/ing +ore elaboration of so+eof the +ar/elous particulars of practices, potions, spells, and incantations. But although Magic in AncientEgypt is not a book that readers )ill bree4e through, it is a thorough and thoughtful treat+ent of a )orld in )hich science, +agic, and religion coe1isted. Bob Brier is chair+an of the philosophy depart+ent at the -. >. Post -a+pus of 3ong 2sland .ni/ersity. 6e is the author of Ancient Egyptian Magic and Egyptian Mu++ies. >ord count' 1943 -opyright *atural 6istory Maga4ine, 2nc. Apr $$%