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This is improbable. It sounds more like a direct personification of the night, for which an epithet as 'veiled bride' seems appropriate. The name may have arisen in consequence of mythological conceptions affecting the relationship between day and night. A magic potion compounded of this plant. 'Maklu' series, i. ll. 8-12. 'Maklu' series, ii. ll. 148-168. See p. 137.
But though in the form in which these Maklu petitions are preserved to us, they appear as prayers to the gods, and not as spells, or counter-spells; it is true, and important to notice, that, in some cases, the sentences in the optative mood seem quite detachable from the invocation of the gods.
King suggests that such tablets were hung up in the houses of the Babylonians whenever a plague broke out. One is reminded of the mezuzoth, the metallic or wooden cases, attached to the doorposts of their houses by the Jews, and which originally served a similar purpose. Tallqvist, Assyr. Beschwörungsserie Maklu, p. 115, suggests that the 'veiled bride' may be a name of some goddess of the night.
As the last specimen of the 'Maklu' series, I choose an incantation addressed to the demons, which is interesting because of the direct character of the commands it contains: Away, away, far away, far away, For shame, for shame, fly away, fly away, Round about face, go away, far away, Out of my body, away, Out of my body, far away, Out of my body, away for shame, Out of my body, fly away, Out of my body, round about face, Out of my body, go away, Into my body, come not back, Towards my body, do not approach, Towards my body, draw not nigh, My body torture not.
The "Maklu" series embraced eight tablets and contained, according to Tallqvist's calculations, originally about 1,550 lines, or upwards of 9,000 words. The "Shurpu" series, although embracing nine tablets, appears to have been somewhat shorter.
Thus these Maklu petitions are not counter-spells, as at first sight they may appear; nor are they properly to be treated as being themselves spells for the purpose of counteracting magic. They are in form and in fact prayers to the gods 'to undo the spell' and 'to force back the words' of the witch into her own mouth.
Maklu, I. 122-143. The fiery element belongs to all three divisions of the universe, to heaven, earth, and water. Maklu, III. ll. 89-103. Many of the seals used by the Babylonians were of white stone or bone. Zimmern's edition, pp. 25-29. I.e., the evil word. His protecting deity has deserted him. Of his body. I.e., whoever may have invoked the evil demon to settle upon him.
Let us then assume that this was the case with some of these Maklu petitions, and let us consider what is implied when we make the assumption. What is implied is that there are some wishes, for instance those embodied in these Maklu petitions, which may be realised by means of spells, or may quite appropriately be preferred to the gods of the community.
The argument would not indeed be conclusive, because though the sentences are in the optative mood, there would be nothing to show on what, or on whom, the speaker relied for the fulfilment of his wish. But as it happens, it is characteristic of these Maklu tablets that they are all addressed to the gods by name, e.g.
These incantations were combined into a ritual, and indications were given of the occasions on which the incantations were to be used. An analysis of one of these rituals will serve to illustrate this branch of the religious literature of the Babylonians. I choose for this purpose the series known as Maklu, i.e., Burning, the interpretation of which has been so considerably advanced by Dr.
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