The magic of medicine.
نویسنده
چکیده
There are many wonderful museums in Jerusalem, but one of my favourites is the Bible Lands Museum. Its collection includes historical artefacts from all around the ‘‘fertile crescent’’—the great swathe of land from Persia to Egypt that was the source of many ancient civilisations, and gave birth to some of the world’s great religions. Currently there are two special exhibitions there. One is centred on ancient musical instruments and is a multi-media event, helping to bring back to life the tunes and harmonies from thousands of years ago. The other is an exhibition showing the different faces of monotheism. It includes some fascinating examples of how the three principal local religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have influenced each other and shared many of their core symbols and modes of representation. There are dozens of objects in both these exhibitions that deserve attention, but if you visit there and you are a doctor I suggest that you should head for the second and look at the display cabinet containing incantation bowls from the sixth and seventh centuries. Incantation bowls are small pottery bowls with painted writing on them, designed as charms to ward off diseases and other misfortunes. They were usually buried under the floors of houses to protect the owner and his or her household from harm attributable to demonic causes. The bowls themselves are quite simple, and look like ordinary domestic ones. However, the writing and drawings on them are ornate, and were clearly done by professional religious scribes. One of the bowls on display shows the demoness Lilith bound at her hands and feet with ropes in order to incapacitate her. The text around her portrait includes a writ of divorce, presumably aimed at separating her from the helpless person that she has possessed. It calls upon her to place her own signature on the writ, to complete the act of separation. ‘‘The magical deed of divorce given to the demoness’’, the catalogue explains, ‘‘is an act of sympathetic magic to rid the human victim, his family, houses and property in general from demonic possession; the dissolution of which is intended to restore the patient to good health’’.
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Postgraduate medical journal
دوره 84 996 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2008