Narrations of Magical Power in Ancient Egypt or: A Counter-Narrative to "Witchcraft" Concepts

Abstract

Narrations of Magical Power in Ancient Egypt or:A Counter-Narrative to "Witchcraft" Concepts Svenja Nagel 1. introduction: finding "witchcraft" and "witches" in egypt In Heliodorus's late antique Greek romance, Aithiopika, a scene of witchcraft is described in expressive language rich in pejorative terms: 1 she [Charikleia] found herself witnessing a performance which, abominable as it may be, is common practice among the women of Egypt. [. . .] the old woman began by digging a pit, to one side of which she lit a fire. After positioning her son's body between the two, she took an earthenware bowl from a tripod [. . .] and poured a libation of honey into the pit [. . .]. Finally [. . .], in an access of feverish ecstasy, she invoked the moon by a series of grotesque and outlandish names [. . .]. There followed a number of other bizarre actions, after which she knelt over the dead body of her son and whispered certain incantations into his ear, until she woke the dead man and compelled him by her magic arts to stand upright.2 This literary piece testifies to a typical imperial-period concept of a "witch" who is practicing necromancy with "bizarre" rituals, and since her actions are deemed impious and abominable, is shortly thereafter punished by violent [End Page 11] death.3 Her actions are at the same time characterized as "common practice among the women of Egypt," and thus as typical of indigenous Egyptian female practice. However, since this is a work of relatively late date from the Greco-Roman literary tradition, does it represent just an outsider view of native Egyptian practice; or does it reflect any aspect of reality in ancient Egypt, perhaps including a continuity of traditions about "witches" reaching into the Greco-Roman period? What is its relationship to comparable Egyptian narratives about practitioners of magical rituals? Are they, for instance, also characterized as impious and female? In this article I will explore the emic Egyptian tradition behind magical practices (foremost malign magic), and their representation in narratives. Special attention will be given to questions of gender and the (emic) moral evaluation of the practitioners, as well as to possible changes in their conception throughout Egyptian history. It will be demonstrated that it is only through the cultural lenses of the Greeks and Romans that magical practices that were in their original Egyptian context deemed a natural and generally neutral, or even positive, part of life, developed into a controversial issue rendered increasingly problematic in the eras of Greek, and more markedly, Roman, rule over Egypt. From an emic point of view, there is in fact no such thing as "witchcraft" in ancient Egypt throughout its entire history, since there is no specific terminology for it, nor is there written evidence of any kind thematizing corresponding practices in a generally pejorative light or describing accusations or trials specifically for witchcraft.4 Accordingly, in Egyptological scholarship dealing with ancient sources in which "supernatural" abilities and practices [End Page 12] displayed by mortal men and women appear, the terms "witch" and "witchcraft" are almost never used.5 For example, concerning the Demotic narrative literature in which tales of magic and wondrous deeds feature prominently (cf. section 3), Joachim Friedrich Quack states: "There is no stereotypical figure of the sorcerer/witch as someone on the margins of society who harms other people."6 Instead, the tradition of the discipline has only established the employment of the more general "magic" terminology, using this to describe a variety of ideas and ritual techniques present in ancient Egyptian texts. The term "magic" in this case should be generally understood as a translation of the emic term and related concepts (more on which below). It is not being used in its modern sense that includes the legacy of Greco-Roman culture or Christian pejorative understandings and deployments of this term as a means of "othering" and even "demonizing."7 For this reason, my article about an Egyptian perspective on "Narrating Witchcraft" might well have ended here. Nevertheless, there definitely are a number of powers and activities that closely resemble those labeled as "witchcraft" in various other cultural and historical contexts. Therefore, I would like to create a common base by selecting, from...