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Divining using "specific parts of the human body" (physiognomy), such as twitching eyelids or other involuntary movements, "the shape and appearance of the hands, joints, and nails" (`ilm al-kaff) and chiromancy or palmistry (employing lines on the hands - ʿilm al-asārīr), "were, and still are popular" in the Muslim world. [56]
The cross is an object of veneration in Ethiopia, separating Christians from Muslims, while the eight-pointed star is a common ancient motif. The eight points refer to the four directions of the talisman's protection, while the face, known as gätsä säb' e ("face of a person") relates to the prayer that goes with the talisman. [ 14 ]
Salting the earth, or sowing with salt, is the ritual of spreading salt on the sites of cities razed by conquerors. [1] [2] It originated as a curse on re-inhabitation in the ancient Near East and became a well-established folkloric motif in the Middle Ages. [3] The best-known example is the salting of Shechem as narrated in the Biblical Book ...
Wuduʾ (Arabic: الوضوء, romanized: al-wuḍūʼ, lit. 'ablution' [wuˈdˤuːʔ] ⓘ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The steps of wudu are washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head, the ears, then washing or ...
Basamum is a god worshipped in South Arabia whose name may be derived from Arabic basam, or balsam, a medicinal plant, indicating that he may be associated with healing or health. [13] [14] One ancient text relates how Basamum cured two wild goats/ibexes. [13] Attested: Dai Dai is named in an Assyrian inscription. [11] Attested: Datin
In ancient Egypt, these household rituals (performed in the home, not in state-run temples) were embodied by the deity who personified magic itself, Heka. [1] The two gods most frequently invoked in these rituals were the hippopotamus -formed fertility goddess , Taweret , and the lion-deity, Bes (who developed from the early apotropaic dwarf ...
In ancient Judaism, there existed a complex relationship with magic and witchcraft, with some forms of divination accepted by some rabbis, yet most viewed as forbidden or heretical. In the medieval Middle East, under Islamic and Christian influences, witchcraft's perception fluctuated between healing and heresy, revered by some and condemned by ...
Zār ceremony on Hormuz Island. In the cultures of the Horn of Africa and adjacent regions of the Middle East, [1] Zār (Arabic: زار, Ge'ez: ዛር) is the term for a demon or spirit assumed to possess individuals, mostly women, and to cause discomfort or illness.