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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. The so-called zār ritual or zār cult is the practice of reconciling the possessing spirit and the possessed ...
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 ...
Maya medicine concerns health and medicine among the ancient Maya civilization. It was a complex blend of mind , body, religion , ritual and science . Important to all, medicine was practiced only by a select few, who generally inherited their positions and received extensive education .
Hamman refers to both a place of public bathing popular in the Islamic world (sometimes also called a Turkish bath) and the actual Mozarabic ritual that combines cleansing the body (typically ...
Emilie Savage-Smith gives a very broad definition including "anything wondrous, including elegant and subtle poetry, ... sleight-of-hand tricks, ... the healing properties of plants, ... invocations to God for assistance, ... invocations to jinn or demons or the spirits of the planets, and on occasion even to the divinatory art of astrology." [16]
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
An ancient Egyptian apotropaic wand shows a procession of protective deities. It was used in birth rituals, perhaps to draw a magic circle around the mother and child. Items and symbols such as crosses, crucifixes, silver bullets, wild roses and garlic were believed to ward off or destroy vampires.
Ethiopian Talismanic scrolls have practical remedial functions within ritual contexts as well. In this pantheon of remedial applications, these scrolls possess the capacity to aid in the exorcism of demons. By presenting the patient with a scroll, the demon is stirred and forced to leave the body of the afflicted.