Kazuma Kaneko’s depictions of Nebiros (also known as Naberius), the 24th spirit of the Goetia…
…Or is he? It’s assumed so because of his associations with Belial and inclusion in the Fallen race, but in fact, this demon is probably not supposed to be the Nebiros/Naberius of Goetic origin, instead representing a figure with a slightly more obscure legacy.
A necromancer of Hell known as Nebiros is mentioned in a text called the Book of Ceremonial Magic, which itself descends from older books like the Grand Grimoire and the Grimorium Verum among others. It states of Nebiros:
"NEBIROS has the power to inflict evil on whomsoever he will; he discovers the Hand of Glory and reveals every virtue of metals, minerals, vegetables, as also of all animals, both pure and impure. He possesses the art of predicting things to come, being one of the greatest Necromancers in all the Infernal Hierarchies; he goes to and fro everywhere and inspects the hordes of perdition. His immediate subordinates are Ayperos, Naberrs and Glassyalabolas.”
Not only is necromancy not associated with the Goetic spirit Naberius, a “Naberrs” appears here as Nebiros’ subordinate, which may imply a distinct character. There’s also the fact that Naberius is depicted as a three-headed dog akin to Cerberus (with whom there may be some connection):
Given the attention to source detail Kaneko gives the other demons, this is probably not something he’d miss. Indeed, this elucidates Nebiros’ design itself: Because of his association with necromancy, his depiction appears to suggest Vodou, which has long been inaccurately stereotyped as associated with the raising and control of corpses and souls. Nebiros’ modern design also perfectly visualizes his role as a necromancer with the puppet he manipulates. On top of all this, Nebiros’ in-game profile corroborates:
"The general of Hell. He keeps watch over other demons. One of Hell’s greatest necromancers, he can control souls and corpses."
There’s slightly more to the demon, but I hope this sheds some light on who Shin Megami Tensei’s Nebiros is really supposed to be!
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