Spätbabylonische Gottheiten in spätantiken mandäischen Texten

Religion and the Aramaic Incantation Bowls

“…The second dialect of Aramaic is Mandaic (Yamauchi 1967) written in the Mandaic script, which is the language and script of the texts of the Gnostic Mandaean religion that began to be written down in the seventh century ce . What is significant here is that the Mandaean religious content in the Mandaic incantation texts predates the Mandaean literature and is evidence for at least some Mandaean religious ideas before the seventh century (Müller‐Kessler & Kessler 1999, p. 65).…”

“…The demotion of former Babylonian deities to demons (Müller‐Kessler & Kessler 1999, pp. 65, 68–9; Müller‐Kessler & Kwasman 2000, p. 164) is symptomatic of the religious changes during Late Antiquity.…”

“…In all of this, there is an emphasis on long range continuity from antiquity to modern times. Müller‐Kessler and Kessler (1999, pp. 67–8) compare Mandaic incantation texts to twentieth‐century short Mandaean incantations written on paper to show the long‐term continuity of ideas.…”

“…The magicians wanted to cover all the bases by appealing ‘to all the protective powers to overcome all the adversaries which were known to them.’ The syncretistic features of incantation texts reflect a society where the members of different religions living side by side shared many ideas and practices on the level of popular beliefs and customs that were not necessarily accepted by the leaders of those religions. For Harviainen, ‘syncretism did not imply independence of religion; it was solely an additional instrument with which people tried to strengthen the protective system provided by their native religion.’ For Müller‐Kessler and Kessler (1999, pp. 74–5), Mandaean syncretism was an adaptation of the syncretistic tendencies of the latest cuneiform texts.…”

“…Sometimes they are demons themselves, most often in the Mandaic texts (Montgomery 1913, pp. 100, 196–7; Müller‐Kessler & Kessler 1999). Babylon, Borsippa, and Kutha appear to have been the main locations for the Babylonian deities but there is very little evidence for the survival of a temple cult in the incantation texts.…”