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EATING TRANSGRESSIONS: ABDOMINAL SYMPTOMS OF DIVINE PUNISHMENT AND METAPHOR IN MESOPOTAMIAN MEDICINE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2022

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Abstract

This article examines the conceptualization of medical symptoms of transgression and divine punishment in the Mesopotamian exorcistic corpus, with a focus on the association between māmītu and abdominal illness. It first demonstrates the metaphorical, and sometimes more literal, associations between taboo violations and eating, before situating the concept of māmītu within the context of broken oaths and transgressions against divine order. It then outlines the symptoms and treatments of māmītu in order to demonstrate a strong connection with the abdomen and digestive tract. Finally, within the context of the use of metaphor and analogy in Mesopotamian medicine, it suggests that the association between eating and transgression may have provided a reason for attributing abdominal symptoms to the punishment of transgression in the form of māmītu. The resulting case study provides insights into the intellectual frameworks by which Mesopotamian exorcists conceptualized the workings of illness and the body, especially in terms of the relationship between language and reality.

الملخص

الملخص

تبحث هذه المقالة في تصور الأعراض الطبية الناتجة عن ارتكاب الخطايا والعقاب الإلهي المنصوص عليه في مجموعة النصوص المدونة في بلاد الرافدين حول وأمراض البطن . فتوضح أولاً الارتباطات المجازية ، وأحيانًا حرفيا ، بين انتهاك māmītu طرد الأرواح الشريرة، مع التركيز على العلاقة بين الإلهه ماميتو في سياق كسر اليمين والتجاوزات المحرمة ضد الأمر الإلهي . ثم تحدد أعراض وعلاجات ماميتو māmītu المحرمات وتناول الطعام ، قبل وضع مفهوم ماميتو من أجل إظهار ارتباطا قويا بالبطن والجهاز الهضمي . أخيرًا ، في سياق استخدام التعابير المستعارة والتشبيه في طب بلاد الرافدين ، تشير المقالة إلى أن الارتباط بين الأكل وارتكاب الخطايا قد يوفر السبب اللازم لإسناد أعراض البطن إلى عقوبة māmītu توفر . māmītu الخطيئة المنصوص عليها على شكل ماميتو دراسة الحالة الناتجة رؤى ثاقبة للأطر الفكرية التي تصور بها طاردي الأرواح الشريرة في بلاد الرافدين طريقة تطور المرض وردود فعل الجسد، خاصة فيما يتعلق بالعلاقة بين اللغة والواقع .

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 84 , December 2022 , pp. 129 - 139
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2022

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