Two Sumerian incantations against migraine (sag̃-ki-dab-ba) on amulets and cuneiform tablets

Résumé 0

This paper discusses two Sumerian incantations against headache (sag̃-ki-dab-ba) preserved on cuneiform medical tablets from the Neo-Assyrian and Late Babylonian period, as well as on two cylinder-shaped stone beads discovered in the royal tomb II. in North-West Palace at Kalhu. The importance of the incantations is twofold. First, they provide an example for the practical use of medical incantations. Second, the two incantations were an integral part of two medical series from the first millennium: the UGU series and the Muššu’u series. The previous editions of the incantations (Böck 2007, Schuster-Brandis 2008 and Al‑Rawi 2008) did not take into account all known manuscripts, and this has led to some misunderstandings. In this paper I present not only a new edition of all relevant cuneiform texts but also discuss the textual and orthographical differences between the various manuscripts, as well as the ritual context of the incantations.