Šulak
In the Babylonian magico-medical tradition, Šulak was a demon that lived within toilets. The name Šulak derived from a phrase meaning "dirty hands", due to his dwelling in the bīt musâti, or "house of rinse-water", i.e. lavatory. Šulak is described in Akkadian sources as a lion that stands upright like a human. A Neo-Assyrian composition, retelling a dream by an Assyrian prince, states that "Šulak is a normal lion standing on its hind legs". Babylonian texts suggest that the demon could jump out of toilets to bite people as they defecated but could also leap into them and possess them.[1]
The Babylonians and Assyrians believed that Šulak was responsible for various maladies, including stroke (mišittu) and epilepsy. The phrases "qāt Šulak" ("hand of Šulak") and "Šulak iṣṣabasu" ("Šulak has possessed him") appear in several Babylonian diagnostic omen-apodoses. The connection between strokes and Šulak may have arisen due to fears that excessive strain on the toilet could cause such maladies.[1]
Protective amulets in the form of the lion-centaur Urmahlullu, or cuneiform tablets inscribed with spells to ward off Šulak, were often buried in the doorways of lavatories, or in the foundations of the house, or deposited in drainage pipes. There are two known published spells to ward off Šulak. In one, he is known by the epithet "Ša mu-un-ze-e-ti" (likely a variation on the phrase "Ša musâti", or "the one from the house of rinse-water") and in another spell he is called "the one who struck a young man and took away his life".[1] Šulak was also known by the epithets of "the Lurker"[1] or "the Striker".[2]
See also
[edit source]Notes
[edit source]Further reading
[edit source]- *Manekin Bamberger, Avigail. "An Akkadian Demon in the Talmud: Between Šulak and Bar-Širiqa", JSJ 44.2 (2013), 282-287.
- Geller, M.J. "West Meets East: Early Greek and Babylonian Diagnosis." In Magic and Rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman Medicine, Studies in Ancient Medicine 27 (Brill, 2004), p. 19 online.
- George, A.R. (2015). On Babylonian Lavatories and Sewars. Iraq, 77: pp 75–106.
- Rosner, Fred. Encyclopedia of Medicine in the Bible and the Talmud. Rowman & Littlefield, 2000, p. 96 online.
- Stol, Marten. Epilepsy in Babylonia. Brill, 1993, pp. 17, 71, and 76 online.
- Stol, Marten. Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean Setting. Brill, 2000, p. 167 online.