Zauberpüppchen – Magische Durchbohrung und Bannung

Description

"Take wax (or clay) from a potter's wheel and form two figures… Take thirteen bronze needles, stick one in the head and say: I pierce you, [Name], in the head, and twice in the ears, twice in the eyes…" (Papyri Graecae Magicae IV 296-466)

Besides curse sheets, so-called magic dolls provide an eloquent testimony to ancient magic and sorcery. Two such figurines were found during excavations in the village of the Roman military camp of Eining. The clay figures are very simplified in their presentation: only the head, the face and the genitalia of the male figures are carved out, the extremities, on the other hand, are very shortened. While one of the dolls is three dimensional, the other was formed as a torso with a flattened back. Both dolls have puncture holes by nails or needles in the neck, chest, stomach, hips, genitalia, eyes and back. One of the dolls is hollow and filled with little stones that make a rattling noise when shaken.

Such figures symbolized the victims of harm and love spells in voodoo-like rituals. In some cases the dolls were not only pierced with needles, but also tied up, mutilated or had their body parts twisted. To ensure that the magic figurines were actually handed over into the hands of the underworld deities and demons who were to carry out the curse, they were hidden in magical places such as graves, sanctuaries or even directly in the homes of the victims.