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Akkadian and Syriac for “rue” (1)

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11 Language, communication, libraries and education




 		Keywords
Mandaic language
naming
Syriac language
Period
No period specified 		Channel
Aramaic culture
Mandean culture

Text
The Akkadian term for “rue” (Peganum harmala) is šibburratu, with the variants šinburratu and sibburratu. Its Sumerian equivalent is ú.luh.mar.tu, “Syrian washing plant” probably on account of the lye obtained therefrom. This aromatic plant is used in medicine and in magic according to the Akkadian texts (see CAD s.v.). The name has been borrowed into Syriac as šabbārā and into Mandaic as šambra. Moreover, there is even a Mandaic invocation for the personified Rue (Drower 1946), according to which rue had magical power over a great many sicknesses and could expel demons and witchcraft. This provides a good parallel with the use of šibburratu in the Babylonian magic, where it was used to dispel witchcraft from a person.

Bibliography

CAD, Š The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago IL: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 1956-2010. [PDF (free access)]
Drower 1946Drower, E. S. “A Phylactery for Rue (An Invocation of the Personified Herb).” Orientalia 15 (1946) 324-346.
Thompson 1949, 75-76Thompson, R. Campbell. A Dictionary of Assyrian Botany. London: The British Academy 1949.

Amar Annus


URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000891.php

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