mystical Messianic idea; hence the verse "David Liveth." I can not enter into a detailed discussion of this complicated question, beyond that it has nothing whatsoever to do with "superstition," and it does not contain a single item of superstitious belief or practice.
The change of the name of a patient is part of the general system of ascribing the most potent value to a name. Readers of Folk-Lore have had the opportunity of studying the extremely suggestive article by Mr. Clodd on Rumpelstiltzchen, and on the mystical and symbolical value attached to names. The same idea is expressed in the change of the name of the patient, which is equivalent to a re-birth, and is expected to save the patient by endowing him with a new life-entity, not by deceiving the evil spirit who is his enemy.
The ceremony described as an "exorcism" is merely a "propitiation" or "disenchantment," for it does not drive out any malignant spirit. Nor can the person who pronounces the "disenchantment" formula be called a "witch," for she does not refer in her practice to any connection with the "Evil Ones."[1]
The Evil Eye formula is borrowed from the Arabs. Miss Freer has evidently taken it from the Jews who came from Yemen some thirty years ago after a terrible persecution they suffered at the hands of the Arabs when occupying Sanaa after their fight against the Turks. An absolutely identical formula has been published by me from Rumanian sources, which prove the extreme antiquity of this special form of "disenchantment." It occurs also with slight variations in Assyrian tablets, and has been published by Lenormant and since then often by others.
The reference to Joseph in the amulet has a history of its own. It rests ultimately on the combination of two separate sets of ideas. In the blessing of Jacob (Genesis xlviii. 16), according to an old traditional interpretation of the Hebrew words, the
- ↑ [It is not expressly stated who are the "My Lords" whom the witch addresses, but their nature may be inferred from the prohibition to pray, mention holy names, or recite Scripture. To serve other gods is of the very essence of the witch's craft, so that Miss Goodrich Freer's terminology here seems perfectly correct. But Dr. Gaster's criticism of her application of the word "exorcism" to the ceremony seems justified. Exorcism is the banishment of spirits by the power of other mightier spirits; the ceremony in question consists merely of prayer to, and propitiation of, the haunting spirits themselves.—Ed.]
