belly talkers: Notes on spirit possession

ἐγγαστριμύθος ("speech within the belly")... Almost every day I will be posting notes and images from my academic research on spirit possession and ecstatic religion throughout history. A project from biblebrisket.com

[bellytalker]

Description of the Devil’s Penis

Witches often “confessed” that sexual relations with demons were anything but pleasurable. Witches felt “the most acute pain” during intercourse. In fact, by the late sixteenth century, the Devil “always had a member like a mule’s …as long and thick as an arm.” Sometimes the demonic penis was covered with barbed scales or was composite in nature, even being half flesh and half iron. Devils’ penises might have two or three prongs, for simultaneously penetrating more than one orifice. The Devil’s semen was often ice-cold and painful, sometimes spoiled and rancid.

The Devil’s penis had to be enormous, his ejaculate incredibly copious; both had to be so cold as to cause intense pain. The Devil could have a three-pronged penis, said Pierre De Lancre in 1612, so that he could simultaneously penetrate his victims vaginally, anally, and orally. If he was uninterested in fellatio, he could reduce his penis to only two prongs. De Lancre’s expert witness added that the Devil’s “member” could sometimes be half iron and half flesh, at other times completely made of horn. The Devil also increasingly appeared as a hybrid, not simply having inappropriate feet, but materializing largely or even wholly in the shape of an animal to copulate with his devotees.

Stephens, Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief, 19, 101

[bellytalker]

Kissing the Devil’s Anus (osculum infame)

Catholic theologians imagined that, during the secret meetings of Cathars, the Devil would incarnate himself in the form of a large black cat. His devotees would demonstrate their submission to him by an obscene kiss (osculum infame) on his anus. Thus, said Alanus de Insulis in the twelfth century, in a libel that became commonplace, Cathari are so called from their worship of the cattus, or cat. In later times, the Devil often incarnated himself as a goat or a goat-like hybrid.

Stephens, Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief, 281

[bellytalker]

Demonic Offspring

Sometimes pregnancy would result from copulation with a demon. However, the semen would not come from the demon himself, properly speaking, nor from the body he had assumed; it would be taken from a man for that purpose; and the same devil would receive semen from a man and impart it to a woman…And the child so begotten would not have the devil for its father, but the man whose semen had been used.

To sire human children, a demon first becomes a succubus (female) by constructing the body of a woman from air and vapors. The demon assumed or inhabits this body, using it to steal semen from a man by having sex with him. Then the demon transgenders itself, giving its virtual body male form and becoming an incubus (male). Having sex with a woman, the incubus injects the stolen semen into her.

Those begotten in this way by devils are more powerful than other men, for devils know how to ascertain the virtue in semen. Men born in this way are powerful and big in body. Women provide testimony that they can have real sex with demons and can bear children who are genetically endowed with the perfect temperament for becoming witches. For demons, making these children large and strong would be no more difficult.

Stephens, Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief, 64

[bellytalker]

Poop-covered Demoniac

A possessed woman fell into the town water supply (prompting fears of contamination), and wandered through both city and countryside stark naked. Indeed, in her nude peregrinations she made a point of visiting every religious foundation she knew. Most controversially, she was infamous for strange episodes in which invisible demons covered her body with supernaturally produced shit. Deprived of human comfort, she turned for companionship to the fish and the animals, whose language she believed she understood.

Carciola, Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic Possession in the Middle Ages, 69

[bellytalker]

Enema Exorcisms, Penis Stealing Witches, and 48 Other Demonic Accounts You Shouldn't Read to Your Children on Halloween. Or Ever.

For the past year or so I’ve been obsessed with the study of ecstatic religion and the phenomenon of spirit possession in antiquity and beyond. If I had to give a reason for my unwavering interest,...

After lots of academic reading on ecstatic religion and spirit possession throughout history, I wanted to share the top fifty shocking, NSFW historical accounts I came across. 

[bellytalker]

Exorcism in the Book of Tobit

“Sarah daughter of Raguel was reproached by her father’s maids, because she had been given to seven husbands, and the evil demon Asmodeus had slain each of them before he had been with her as his wife.So the maids said to her, “Do you not know that you strangle your husbands?You already have had seven and have had no benefit from any of them.” – Tobit 3.7b-8 (ESV)

“And he [Raphael] was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away the white films from Tobit’s eyes, to give Sarah daughter of Raguel in marriage to Tobia[h] son of Tobit and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, because Tobia[h] was entitled to posses her.” – Tobit 3.17a

“And they both continued on their way until they came near Ecbatana.Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azarias, of what use is the liver and heart and fall of the fish?” He replied “As for the heart and the liver, if a demon or evil spirits gives trouble to anyone, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again.” – Tobit 6.6b-8

“As he [Tobiah] went he remembered the words of Raphael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of fish upon them and made a smoke.And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts to Egypt, and the angel bound him.” – Tobit 8.2-3

Image: Jan Steen Tobias - Sarah, and Raphael bind the demon in the Book of Tobit

[bellytalker]

Greco-Roman Possession and Exorcism Overview

The practice of exorcism and demonic possession as an illness are noticeably absent from conventional Greek healing traditions until the turn of the era, and as a consequence exorcism does not play a role in medicine or the healing cults.

In literary contexts as well exorcism remains a field untrodden, and is undocumented in Roman society until late in the first century Common Era. Then, Josephus (37-100), writing in Greek to a Roman audience, mentions Eleazar having exorcised a demon before Vespasian. In his account Josephus mentions both the technique and proof of that exorcism, as well as the pedigree of the practice in general, which he claims to stem from Solomon. It would appear to be something of a novelty to his readers. From the second century onward exorcists become occasional subjects of Greco-Roman literature in genres as diverse from Josephus’ historiography as the jurisprudence of Ulpian, who distinguishes exorcism from proper medicine; the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, who treats the exorcist with disdain; the satire of Lucian, who treats exorcists as fraudulent entrepreneurs in a superstitious world; and the hagiography of Philostratus, who shows the first century wise man Apollonius of Tyana to perform his miracles under a cloud of suspicion and misunderstanding by the Roman authorities.

Possession in Early Greece

The Greeks believed in daimones, that is, in intermediary beings between mortals and the fully divine gods, that provide a common ground between the Christian missionaries and those whom they wished to convert. But the belief in the indwelling possession of mortals by “foreign” spirits, that is, spirits other than one’s own life force, is less well documented.

Malevolent daimones enter the literary sources as early as the Classical period, but the clearest evidence for the idea that such entities actually possess a human body doesn’t begin to accumulate until a much later time, and the examples most often cited for exorcism outside of the New Testament day almost exclusively from the Common Era.

[bellytalker]

Udug-hul Rituals

Udug-gul (”Evil Demons”) is a serialized composition of apotropaic rituals against demons and the sorcerers who manipulate them. Preserved on sixteen tablets, the collection contains rituals that span from the Old Akkadian (2300-2200) to the Seleucid periods (300-200). It is in the context of Udug-hul that the asipu most foreshadows the New Testament exorcist in his attribution of affliction to the demons, in his dependence upon divine powers to treat those afflictions, and in his own role as the mediator between that divine assistance and the human victim which includes a confrontation with the demonic antagonist.

As in Surpu, the incantations of Udug-hul help to restore the proper cosmic order. In this case, however, the order has been disrupted by one’s personal transgressions. Tablet 4 of Udug-hul concerns the identification of demons who have come up from the netherworld and their return by Enki to their proper place. Tablet 5 illustrates this in its description of the activity of seven demons called the “watchmen”:

The watchmen (demons) pursue anything

created in the Netherworld, the seed of An.

The watchmen constitute a sort of netherworld police force, but have left their proper domain and are misusing their authority in the upper world. In a case where the literary presentation may actually document the course of a disease, one by one the demons assault the patient in worsening stages:

the fifth lays him there on his bed.

As the sixth one approached the distraught man, he lifts his head from his belly

As the seventh one approaches the distraught man, (the patient) had already set his mind on

the Netherworld.

Udug-hul includes several passages which illustrate well the confrontation between the asipu and the demonic presences he seeks to drive out. These passages refer to the asipu’s making known his source of authority, and threats made against the demons not to harm him. From Tablet 6 of the collection we read:

I am the incantation priest, the sangamah of Enki.

The Lord (Enki) sent me to him (the victim), he sent to him me, the vizier of the Abzu.

You shall not shriek behind me,

nor shall you shout after me.

O evil man, may you not lift your hand (against me).

O evil demon, may you not lift your hand (against me).

Udug-hul also makes known the asipu’s uncompromising stance against the demons’ requests. From Tablet 8 the priest adjures the demon to depart:

Do [not say, “let me] stand [at the side].”

[Go out, [evil Udug-demon,] to [a distant place],

[go] away, [evil Ala-demon], to [the desert].

These passages show the asipu’s dependence upon and confidence in divine support for his craft, and an aggressive attitude toward the demons that one also finds in connection with the New Testament exorcists.

Source: Siebeck, 2.2.1.2

Image: Clay tablet; a Greek student's exercise; on the front of this tablet is part of a cuneiform incantation against evil spirits written in both Sumerian and Babylonian; on the back the text has been repeated phonetically in Greek script. (Clay cuneiform tablet. Graeco-Babyloniaca; bilingual incantation, Udug-hul 9.) 3rdC BC-1stC BC.

[bellytalker]

Asipu: Exorcist of Mesopotamia

The asipu of the ancient Mesopotamian cultures most resembles the later exorcist. The asipu was a respected member of professional society, whose venues of service included the royal courts in Mesopotamia and elsewhere in the ancient Near East.

There are three principal contexts for physical and psychic disturbances in asiputu (the practice of the asipu). These are instances in which gods or demons afflict the patient by reason of some transgression committed by the patient, or by reason of their own maliciousness, or by having been persuaded by witchcraft to forsake or to afflict the victim. The handbooks Surpu, Udug-hul, and Maqlu attend to each of these categories respectively, and serve as important reference materials for defining the activities and persons involved with ancient Near Eastern conjurations.

A hallmark of the Mesopotamian cultures was divination through observation of the natural world.

Wrongdoing, then, was perceived as one cause of illness in ancient Mesopotamia, and part of the healing process included a “confession” of one’s infractions.

The asipu serves more to appease the divine wrath than to exorcise it.

Surpu Tablets 5-6 describe an affliction as follows:

An evil curse like a gallu-demon has come upon (this) man,

dumbness (and) dace have come upon him,

an unwholesome dumbness has come upon him,

evil curse, oath, headache.

An evil curse has slaughtered this man like a sheep,

his god has left his body,

hid goddess, usually full of convern for him, has stepped aside.

Dumbness (and) daze have covered him like a cloak and overwhelm him incessantly.

Objects such as an onion, a bunch of dates, a piece of matting, a flock of wool, goat’s hair, and red wool) are unpeeled, undone, etc., by the sufferer, and cast into the fire.

The afflictions are the dimitu-disease, which attacks from heaven, and the Ahhazu demon, who comes up from the ground. Symptoms include paralysis of hands and feet, afflictions of one’s skin with scabs, fear, cough and phlegm, filling the mouth with spittle and foam, and afflicting with dumbness and daze.

The magician must wipe the patient with coarse flour, remove it, spit on it, cast a spell on it, place it under a thorn-bush on the plain, and thereby:

entrust his “oath” [to] the Lady of the plain and the fields,

may Ninkilim, lord of the animals, transfer his grave illness to the vermin of the earth…

Tablet 2 says: 

release it, exorcist among the gods, merciful lord, Marduk…

Source: “Possession and Exorcism in the Ancient Near East” in Sieback, Possession and Exorcism in the New Testament and Early Christianity

[bellytalker]

Spirits of Islam

ARWAH: Plural for Ruh, meaning spirits. They are relatively harmless with respect to supernatural abilities. They usually possess people and speak through them etc. Arwahs can be left behind on earth sometimes if they have some sort of unfinished business. Many people are skilled in Arwah exorcisms.

JINN: These guys are the average run-off-the-mill Jinns. They also have the ability to enter our bodies. Some people say that they live in the abdominal area of humans but certain people possess the knowledge to extract them. These Jinns can be caught as they are not immensely powerful and people to use them to perform tasks even though that practice is haram. Jinns have the ability to change their shape. The Prophet said several things about telling snakes to leave 3 times before killing it to ensure that it is not a Jinn. There are of course Muslim and Kafir Jinns. Jinns tend to live in isolated areas such as forests, caves, and mountains. Jinns eat bones and they demand more and more each time they are asked to perform another task.

MAARID: Maarids are also a type of supernatural being in Islam. However, they are not made of fire, they are made of water. Maarids are generally not very harmful but many do not live on the land and reside instead in the ocean, where they are in their natural environment.

DEO: Pashtun mythology is full of stories about Deos. Deos are generally regarded as being Jinn like creature of both incredible magical powers as well as great physical strength. They have been known to be as big as mountains. Deos are generally ugly creatures with bodies that look somewhere between humans and animals. They have very thick ox-like skin and some possess horns. The famous Saif-ul-Muluk is still said to be inhabited by Deos who are there guarding the Shaperay. The most common kind of Deo seen these days is the “Tor Deo”, which is black in colour, has red coal-like eyes, and makes sounds that resemble that of an azhdeha (dragon). If you encounter a “Tor Deo”, read the Ayat-ul-Kursi.

SHAPERAY: Fairies are said to be beautiful winged creatures of varying size. Many a story has been told about fairies kidnapping handsome young men after falling in love with them, and taking them back to their kingdoms. Fairies have little physical strength but they possess supernatural and magical abilities, such as wings for flying.

SHAYTAN: A Shaytan is often a Jinn or other being that has become or turned evil. Shaytans are generally more powerful than all of the previous mentioned beings, however that is uncertain. Shaytans are usually the ones that influence mankind to commit evil deeds, on behalf of their big boss, Iblis. AFRIT: These are by far the most powerful supernatural beings mentioned in the Quran. An Afrit is mentioned in the Surah where Hazrat Suleiman wants the throne of Balqis brought to him, and the Afrit is beaten only by prayer. A female Afrit is called an Ifritah. Afrits are pure evil by nature. It is said that an Afrit is born at the site of a murder committed in cold-blood. They are made of fire and have enormous wings. Possessing both tremendous physical prowess and magical capabilities, few tasks are beyond them. Afrits generally inhabit secluded places such as large caverns, mountains, or other dark places. Surprisingly, Afrits can also be caught and made to perform tasks. However, an Afrit often lies to its master and even when it completes a task it will complete it such that the master does not fully benefit. Often in Afrit and master relationships, the Afrit becomes the master and the human becomes the slave.

From a 15th-century Arabic collectaneous manuscript known as Kitab al-bulhan. or "Book of Wonders" held at the Bodelian Library. Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. Or.

[bellytalker]

Dybbuk

In Jewish mythology, a dybbuk (Yiddish: דיבוק‎, from the Hebrew word לִדבּוֹק ldbok meaning adhere or cling) is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped.

Etymology "Dybbuk" is an abbreviation of דיבוק מרוח רעה dibbuk me-ru'aḥ ra'ah ("a cleavage of an evil spirit"), or dibbuk min ha-hiẓonim ("dibbuk from the outside"), which is found in man. "Dybbuk" comes from the Hebrew word "דיבוק," which means the act of sticking from the root "דבק," which means cling.

History The term first appears in a number of 16th century writings, though it was ignored by mainstream scholarship until S. Ansky's play The Dybbuk popularised the concept in literary circles. Earlier accounts of possession (such as that given by Josephus) were of demonic possession rather than that by ghosts. These accounts advocated orthodoxy among the populace as a preventative measure. For example, it was suggested that a sloppily made mezuzah or entertaining doubt about Moses' crossing of the Red sea opened one's household to dybbuk possession. Very precise details of names and locations have been included in accounts of dybbuk possession. Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar rebbe (1887–1979) is reported to have supposedly advised an individual said to be possessed to consult a psychiatrist.

Ansky's play is a significant work of Yiddish theatre, and has been adapted a number of times by writers, composers and other creators including Jerome Robbins/Leonard Bernstein and Tony Kushner. In the play, a young bride is possessed by the ghost of the man she was meant to marry had her father not broken a marriage agreement.

There are other forms of soul transmigration in Jewish mythology. In contrast to the dybbuk, the ibbur (meaning "impregnation") is a positive possession, which happens when a righteous soul temporarily possesses a body. This is always done with consent, so that the soul can perform a mitzvah. The gilgul (Hebrew: גלגול הנשמות‎, literally "rolling") puts forth the idea that a soul must live through many lives before it gains the wisdom to rejoin with God.

In psychological literature the Dybbuk has been described as a hysterical syndrome.