You Recite the Incantation “I am a pure man”:

qabû, manû or dabābu?

Cynthia Jean
FNRS–ULB

In rituals, verba dicendi, i. e. declarative verbs, introducing an incantation,

a formula or a prayer, are mainly qabû, manû and dabābu. Others verbs
describe how to deal with the recitations but they are rather technical or
specific to certain performances. We can actually:
– throw an incantation (SÌ / nadû “to throw, to cast”1);
– murmur an incantation (la¶āšu), for example, in the ears of gods
in the mīs pî ritual or in a straw for ghost-induced hearing
troubles;
– sing a cultic prayer (different verbs meaning “to sing,” “to say in
lament,” etc.), especially in rituals involving lamentation-priests
(kalû) or singers (nāru);
– write an incantation or an apotropaic formula (ša¢āru), usually on
amulets or on the hips of apotropaic figurines.

My concern goes to verbs meaning “to recite, to say an incantation.”

The point of this discussion is
– to determine if these verbs were interchangeable or not;
– to find out if information can be obtained from the chosen verb
about the person supposed to recite, the type of incantation, the
mode of recitation, etc.

Some assyriologists have already pinpointed the problem,2 usually

within a limited corpus in the comments of an edition.
As usual in this kind of topic, the synchronic and diachronic study of
these three verba dicendi is hampered by the cuneiform system itself (verbs
written with logograms vs. written in full) and by a tendency to maintain

1
The verb SÌ is quite uncommon and often used in connection with gods
reciting specific incantations, in the expression nam-šub eriduki-ga sì “You throw/
recite the namšub-incantation of Eridu” (cf. the Akkadian translation šipat Eridu
tanaddi). As Finkel pointed out, the expression is surprising (Finkel 1980:51).
2
Reiner 1958 passim (she does not give her interpretation but purposely makes
different translations for these verbs); Caplice 1974a:12–13; Maul 1994:67–69.
338 Sumerian and Akkadian Literature and Literary Language

tradition in ritual matters, especially in written records. We may wonder

how far the vocabulary and the orthography used in the ritual instructions
are meaningful. For example, in Neo-Assyrian letters, qabû is hardly writ-
ten logographically, but is frequently spelled DUG4.GA in rituals from Assur-
banipal’s library. Moreover, determining the grammatical person is some-
times tricky. Much attention has been focused until now on identifying
who is talking in the rituals. The identification of the second person and
the third person in rituals will not be discussed here. The performer, usu-
ally the exorcist (āšipu) but the lamentation-priest (kalû) or the physician as
well (asû), will be referred to as “the specialist”. The person benefiting from
the ritual will be referred to as “the patient” in its broadest sense.
After gathering a bunch of occurrences,3 it is quite obvious that verba
dicendi in rituals are not used at random. Several texts use two or three of
them in close sentences or one in contrast with another (see Appendix
below).
Example from a ghost ritual:4
Lines 13–15
ana IGI dUTU u MUL.MEŠ U4.3.KÁM ana mu¶-¶i (eras.) im-ta-<na>-an-nu
J
ÉN GIDIML mim+ma lem-nu iš-tu U4-mi an-ni-i ina SU! NENNI A NENNI
ZI-ta5 šu-´a-a-ta
¢ar-da-Jta u kuš-šu-daL-ta (eras.)(...)
Lines 17–19
ina U4.3.KÁM ina U4.GURUM.MA KEŠDA ana IGI dUTU JKEŠDAL
LÚ.GIG NU ÍL-ma ana IGI dUTU ki-a-am tu-šad-bab-Jšú
L
J
ÉNL dUTU mu-tál dA-nun-na-JkiL e-tel dÍ-gi-gi mas-su-ú ´i-ru mut-tar-
ru-Ju te-ni-ši-eL-ti (…)
Lines 36–37
[ki-a-am tu]-šad-bab-šu ana DUG GAR-an-šu-ma tu-tam-ma-šu
[niš KI-tim lu-u ta-ma-ta5] niš AN-JeL lu-u ta-ma-ta5 niš dUTU lu-u ta-ma-
ta5 DUG4.GA-ma KÁ-šú BAD-¶i
L. 13–15. ‘Before Šamaš and the stars, for three days, he5 repeated-
ly recites over it.

3
This paper is a preliminary study on the use of declarative verbs in rituals.
The corpus studied is not exhaustive but offers a representative selection of in-
cantations and rituals: bīt rimki, dream rituals, foundation rituals, ghost rituals,
ÚUL.BA.ZI.ZI, incantations for babies (“Baby-Beschwörungen”), kalû rituals, La-
maštu incantations, Maqlû, Mīs pî, Namburbi, ŠÀ.ZI.GA, Šēp lemutti, Šurpu, Utukkū
Lemnūtu and war rituals.
4
BAM 323 and duplicates, cf. Scurlock 2006, text 226.
5
“He” refers to a performer and “NN son of NN” to the patient.
 C. Jean, You Recite the Incantation “I am a pure man” 339

Incantation: “Ghost (or) whatever is evil—from this day forward,

you are extracted from the body of NN son of NN; you are ex-
pelled, you are driven away and banished (...)”.
L. 17–19. On the third day, in the late afternoon, you set up an
offering table before Šamaš. The patient raises the figurine and
then you have him say as follow before Šamaš:
Incantation: “Šamaš, noblest of the Anunnaki, lordliest of the Igigi;
august leader, ruler of the people (...)”
L. 36–37. You have him speak thus. You put it (the figurine) in a
jar and then you make it swear. You say: “By earth may you swear,
by heaven may you swear, by Šamaš may you swear” and then you
close its mouth.’

The following observations can be made from this corpus:

1) In duplicates the same verb is used,6 maybe a consequence of
..strong scribal traditions in the transmission of rituals;
2) The recitation’s introductory verb (“you say thus” before an in-
..cantation or a prayer) is, in most cases, the same as the verb of
..the concluding formula (“you say this three times” or “after you
..said this”);
3) What we can say for sure is that the choice of the verb is not
..linked with:
– the “language” of the recitation (Sumerian, Akkadian, foreign
words or mumbo jumbo);
– the origin of the tablet (no clear-cut difference between Assy-
ria .and Babylonia);
– the datation of the text (which is never certain but we may see
the different meanings of qabû, manû and dabābu were still
vivid .at the first millennium, e. g. in written Neo-Assyrian
dialect, as .they are used in letters from scholars7).

6
In the corpus studied here, few exceptions were found. See for example the
Aššur Dream Ritual Compendium IV:30 (Butler 1998:287): three duplicates have
DUG4.GA-ma but STT 275 (with a slightly different ritual) has JŠIDL. Another
occurrence is in a namburbi dealing with a howling dog: KAR 64:23 has DUG4.GA
but two duplicates have tu-šad-bab-šu (Maul 1994:315–316).
7
For dabābu, see SAA X, 2:8–9 (letter of the chief scribe Nabû-zēru-lēšir about
the substitution of the king ritual): the substitution king and queen will repeat a
prayer before Šamaš one after the other (ina ba-at-ta-ta-a-e ma-¶ar dUTU ú-sa-ad-bi-
ib-šú-nu). For manû, see SAA X, 238rev.:4+10 (from the chief exorcist Marduk-
šākin-šumi, in an explanation of a ritual against demons and epilepsy), or SAA X,
321 passim (from the chief physician Urad-Nanaya, in an explanation about a
ritual to stop nasal haemorrhage).
340 Sumerian and Akkadian Literature and Literary Language

Dabābu
The less frequent and most technical of the three verba dicendi is dabābu.
In general, the different meanings of dabābu give the idea of elaborate
discussions, loud talking and direct speech8 (to talk, to recite, to discuss a
topic, to plead in court, to protest, …). The Š-stem conveys the idea of
“putting somebody up to something” (to get somebody—especially a
woman—to talk, to make somebody recite, to make somebody plead a
case or to cause plotting).
In his study on the namburbi incantations, R. Caplice noticed the verb
dabābu was used to introduce recitations but also in the expression “to
express what is on one’s mind.”9
mala libbašu ´abtu idabbub ‘He says everything that is captured in his heart’
amata ša libbišu idabbub ‘He says the word of his heart’
ma!adāti ī´āti ina libbišu idabbub ‘He says much or little from his heart’

This expression10 is clearly devoted to the patient praying with his

own words (i. e. not quoting a formulaic prayer) but Caplice got however
the impression that within the namburbi corpus, the two verba dicendi—
qabû and dabābu—were used interchangeably, while manû referred to a
more solemn mode of recitation (“to intone”).
Occurrences from a larger corpus of rituals show that qabû and dabābu
are definitely not used in the same context. Usually written in full 11
(which leaves no doubt about the grammatical person), dabābu is found in
both G- and Š-stems and refers exclusively to recitations which are not
carried out by the specialists but by the patient himself, sometimes de-
scribed as NA.BI, LÚ.GIG or LUGAL. The G-stem refers to a recitation just

8
The root DBB is from the Hamito-Semitic *dob “speak, call” which gives *dub
(“speak”) in the Semitic subgroup, with a reduplication in the Akkadian dabābu
(HSED 165, No. 724). This root *dob is formed from the onomatopoeic base *db-,
whose first use (hitting noises such as slaps, beatings or drippings) is connected
with actions as murmuring, slandering, speaking, etc. (DRS).
9
Caplice 1974a:13.
10
Dabābu alone can have this meaning as well, see SpTU 2, 21:14 (Butler
1998:402–403).
11
There are a few exceptions, written DU11.DU11: SpTU 2, 21:14 (Butler
1998:402), KAR 72rev.:2 (Ebeling 1954, text 13); LKA 112rev.:10 (Maul
1994:334); STT I, 64:18 (Maul 1994:317; other duplicates have the verb written
in full); A 183:5′ (Maul 1994:230; dupl. written in full); 80-7-19,88:3′ (Maul
1994:278); DT 80:8 (Maul 1994:283); A 3471:2′+14′ (Caplice 1974a:346–347);
Farber 1989 § 42:25˚.
 C. Jean, You Recite the Incantation “I am a pure man” 341

made by the patient12 or is used in the expression mentioned above (“to

express what is on one’s mind”). The Š-stem at the second person indi-
cates the specialist will have the patient recite after him.13 All kinds of
recitations are introduced by dabābu: prayers, one-sentence formulas or
incantations labelled as ÉN. In which way the patient had to repeat the
words remains unclear (informal or solemn tone). The expression “to ex-
press what is on one’s mind” would suggest a kind of conversation-like
intonation, but the ritual instructions frequently mention the patient had
to kneel before repeating the recitation, a ritual gesture which would sug-
gest an attitude of humility towards the gods.
In royal rituals or in magical protections in warfare, the king has to
repeat some formulas or prayers, also introduced by dabābu, as in
namburbi rituals to protect the royal army (horses, troops or the king’s
chariot)14 or during a ritual performed by a kalû, in which the king re-
peats eršemmû-laments.15
Some texts clearly show the opposition between the person in charge
of the recitation by using the verbs dabābu and manû: in the bīt rimki
ritual, in each of the seven “houses,” G-stem forms of dabābu are used for
the king’s recitation, while manû is for the exorcist’s16 or in some parts of
the ritual tablet of Šurpu, using Š-stem forms of dabābu for the patient
and manû for the performer.17

12
See for example, the namburbi KAR 64:34 (+ duplicates; Maul 1994:317,
referring to an incantation to Šamaš) or the ritual dealing with ghosts LKA
84rev.:6 (Scurlock 2006, text 217, referring to an incantation to Šamaš). In both
texts, compare with the Š-stem form of dabābu, introducing the same incantation.
13
See e. g. in the namburbi corpus: KAR 72:20 (apotropaic formula; Ebeling
1954, text 13), as opposed to tu-šaq-ba-šú (l. 19); 80-7-19,88:23′ (incantation to Ša-
maš; Maul 1994:280); 91-5-9,155rev.:7 = Rm 510:7′ (incantation before the stars;
Maul 1994:260, line x+21), or in rituals dealing with ghosts: with a sentence ad-
dressed to the dead, CT 23, 15-22+:67′ (Scurlock 2006, text 21); with an incanta-
tion (ÉN) to Ea: LKA 88:26+28 (Scurlock 2006, text 115); with an incantation (ÉN)
to Šamaš: KAR 267:9 (Scurlock 2006, text 119), LKA 84:9 (Scurlock 2006, text 217;
compare with G-stem rev.:6) or BAM 323:18+36 (Scurlock 2006, text 226).
14
See e. g. 82-3-23,1:27 (referring to an invocation in Sumerian; Caplice
1970, text 37) or Th. 1905-4-9,88:23 (referring to two ÉN-incantations, one in Su-
merian, one in Akkadian; Thureau-Dangin 1924:131 = Maul 1994:391).
15
See e. g. AO 6472rev.:19+23 (Thureau-Dangin 1921:38).
16
Læssøe 1955:32.
17
Šurpu I, 8–10: [ÉN] áš-ši GI.IZI.LÁ pu-¢ur lim-nu [LÚ].GIG tu-šad-bab ÉN lu pa¢-ra
DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ [ÉN] ma-mit DÙ.A.BI LÚ.IŠIB ŠID-nu ‘The incantation “I hold
the torch, release from evil” you will have the patient speak (after you). But the
incantation “Be it released great gods” (and) the incantation “Any Oath” the in-
342 Sumerian and Akkadian Literature and Literary Language

Manû and qabû

The use of these two verbs is more complex. Their general meanings do
not help to make a difference between them in the ritual texts. Qabû has
its basic meaning “to say,” sometimes with the spoken words quoted, and
manû in a ritual context means “to recite.”18
At this stage I could not find systematic rules explaining the use of
qabû and manû. Each long ritual has both of them, appearing frequently
in closely related parts of the text and sometimes used in contrast, hence
the conclusion their use should be consistent.
Unlike dabābu, the verbs qabû and manû do not give a clue about the
person involved in the recitation. Both can concern the specialist or the
patient, even if we can get the impression we identify the one or the
other because the recitation is pronounced at the first grammatical per-
son. Sometimes the first person clearly refers to the specialist, usually the
exorcist (“I am the pure man of Eridu”) but sometimes to the patient (“I
am NN son of NN,” “I am constantly terrified,” “my head,” etc.). In the
latter option, the identification of the person talking is unsure as it was
highly probable the patient was quoting or repeating after the specialist.
As Caplice pointed out,19 we may assume that all patients were not able to
read the recitations on the specialist’s tablet, or even to know these recita-
tions by heart.
The type of recitation does not seem to call for a specific verb. Invoca-
tions to gods or to ritual arrangements (Kultmittelbeschwörungen) and first
person incantations are introduced by both verbs. The adverb kīam is
more frequent with qabû, in the expression kīam DUG4.GA “you say thus,”
just followed by the words to recite, but kīam is also found with manû.
We have at least a few rules, but they are guidelines only, as many oc-
currences do not fit into these observations.
Manû, often written in his logographic form ŠID(-nu), seems more
widely used in some contexts:

cantation-priest will recite himself ’ (transl. Reiner 1958:11). Also in Šurpu I 16–17
or in the namburbi KAR 223:17 (manû) + rev.:8 tu-šad-bab-šú (Ebeling 1931:5–8).
18
The root MN! is from the Hamito-Semitic *man- “know, test” giving the
pattern *mVnVw, with a double meaning “test, try” and “count” (hence the Ak-
kadian manû “to count, to recount events, to deliver, to assign”). The base *mVn is
used in the Semitic subgroup for intellectual activities in general (HSED 373,
No. 1721). The root QB! is from the Hamito-Semitic *qab- “speak, shout,” giving
*qVb “say” in the Semitic subgroup (HSED 333, No. 1528).
19
Caplice 1974a:13.
 C. Jean, You Recite the Incantation “I am a pure man” 343

1) Introduction of recitations labelled as “ÉN” (šiptu “incantation”)

..not using the first person (also with šu’illakku, ki’utukku);
2) Consecration of tools, potions, ritual objects, persons or places,
..to activate them in the magical sphere.

Qabû, often written in his logographic form DUG4.GA(-ma), is particu-

larly used in connection with
1) Short sentences or formulas:
–. expressions to repeat such as Ea īpuš Ea ipšur ‘Ea did it, Ea
undid it’;
–. short prayers such as ‘O Šamaš, propitiate their divine wrath’;
–. murmured words (li¶šu-recitations);
2) Deconsecration and negative statements to avert troubles (e. g. at
…the end of the mīs pî ritual, the craftsmen deny having carved the
. . statue);
3) Reference to divine words or incantations given by the gods
…(purussû “dream oracles,” “say the incantation of DN”).

Some texts use the Š-stem of qabû and manû to express a meaning
similar to the Š-stem of dabābu.20
+ Saying an apotropaic formula, qabû in connection with dabābu, both
in the Š-stem:
KAR 72:18–20 (Ebeling 1954, text 13)21
(NA.BI …) ki-a-am tu-šaq-ba-šú ÚUL ISKIM an[-ni-ti]
šu-li-iq-ma 3-šú tu-šad-bab-šú
‘(This man …) you will have him say “Be the evil of this ominous
sign be cleared off”. Three times you will have him recite (this).’

+ Saying a prayer, the Š-stem of manû in connection with qabû:

BM 121037:13′– rev.:1 (Caplice 1971, text 65)
ana IGI dXXX dEN.ZU dNanna-ru šu-pu-JúL
3-šú tu-šam-na-šu JKI.ZA.ZA ùL ana IGI KEŠDA BI kám DUG4.GA
DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ li-nam-mi-ru-ka

‘You will have him recite three times before Sîn, Enzu and glori-
ous Nannar. He prostrates himself and says thus before the cultic
arrangement “May the great gods make you bright…” (prayer
goes on).’

“Deviant cases,” if I may say so, are difficult to explain. We can hardly
detect the impact of canonization in rituals, the adding or re-writing of

20
Cf. occurrences in the Š-stem of manû (CAD M1 227) and qabû (CAD Q 41),
always written phonetically.
21
See also A 183:5′–9′ = LKU 34:3′–5′ (Maul 1994:230).
344 Sumerian and Akkadian Literature and Literary Language

some lines, maybe with a vocabulary closer to the spoken dialect. Many
questions will probably remain unanswered, because we lack information
and systematic studies about facts such as the categories of incantations or
the modes of intonation (informal, solemn, aloud or under one’s breath,
antiphonic system, scansion…).

Appendix: Pairs of Verba dicendi

1) manû / qabû
+ Mīs pî
– Nineveh Ritual Tablet, l. 59a manû – l. 60 qabû (Walker–Dick 2001:41)
– Nineveh Ritual Tablet, l. 162 manû – l. 164 qabû (Walker–Dick 2001:49–50)
– Babylonian Ritual Text, l. 10–15 qabû and manû alternatively (Walker–
Dick 2001:71)
– Babylonian Ritual Text, l. 52 qabû – l. 53 manû (Walker–Dick 2001:73)
+ Dream rituals
– Aššur Dream Ritual Compendium IV 22, 27, 31, 33 qabû – l. 25–26 manû
(Butler 1998:284–287)
– Ritual to obtain a purussû, l. 81c manû – l. 84 qabû (Butler 1998:359–360)
+ Namburbi corpus
– LKA 108, l. 3 qabû – l. 7, 9 manû (Ebeling 1956, text 31)
– LKA 117, l. 2 qabû – l. 7 manû (Ebeling 1956, text 32)
– K 9789+, rev.:6′ qabû – rev.:13′–18′ manû (Maul 1994:212)
– K 3909+ and dupl., l. 10 manû – l. 11 qabû (Caplice 1971, text 35)
– KAR 38 + dupl., l. 70 qabû (2 occ.) – l. 74 manû (2 occ.) (Maul 1994:427–428)
– K 2773+, l. 18, 26 manû – l. 20, 26 qabû (Maul 1994:447)
– K 157+, l. 30′, 46′ qabû – l. 33′, 48′ manû (Maul 1994:358–359)
– “Universalnamburbi”, l. 83 manû – l. 78, 85 qabû (Maul 1994:490)
+ Ritual of the kalû, VAT 8022rev., l. 1 manû – rev., l. 2 qabû (Thureau-Dan-
gin 1921:22)
+ Foundation rituals (Ambos 2004), passim
+ Ghost rituals (Scurlock 2006), passim
+ Šēp lemutti, l. 150, 158 manû – l. 158, 162, 163 qabû (Wiggermann 1992:12)

2) dabābu / manû
+ Dream rituals
– Ritual to obtain a purussû, l. 68 manû + dabābu (Butler 1998:356)
+ Namburbi corpus
– IV R2 60rev., l. 11 dabābu – rev., l. 13 manû (Ebeling 1955, text 20)
+ Šurpu I, l. 9 dabābu – l. 10 manû; l. 16 manû – l. 17 dabābu (Reiner 1958:11)

3) qabû / dabābu
+ Dream rituals
– SpTU2, 21, l. 12, 15 qabû – l. 14 dabābu (Butler 1998:402)
+ Namburbi corpus
 C. Jean, You Recite the Incantation “I am a pure man” 345

– KAR 72rev., l. 1 qabû – rev., l. 2 dabābu (Ebeling 1954, text 13)

– LKA 112 + dupl., rev., l. 6 qabû – rev., l. 10 dabābu (Maul 1994:334)
– KAR 64:23 qabû (but dupl. have dabābu); l. 35 qabû – l. 34 dabābu (Maul
1994:317)
– 80-7-19,88:19′ qabû – l. 23′ dabābu (Maul 1994:279–280)

References
Ambos 2004 Ambos, C. Mesopotamische Baurituale aus dem 1. Jahrtau-
send v. Chr. Dresden.
Butler 1998 Butler, S. A. L. Mesopotamian Conceptions of Dreams and
Dream Rituals (AOAT 258). Münster.
Caplice 1970 Caplice, R. Namburbi Texts in the British Museum IV
(Pl. I–IX). Or 39:111–151 (texts 34–43).
Caplice 1971 Caplice, R. Namburbi Texts in the British Museum V
(Pl. II–XVIII). Or 40:133–183 (texts 44–72).
Caplice 1974 Caplice, R. The Akkadian namburbi Texts: An Introduction
(SANE 1/1). Malibu.
Caplice 1974a Caplice, R. An Apotropaion against Fungus. JNES 33:
345–349.
Ebeling 1931 Ebeling, E. Aus dem Tagewerk eines assyrischen Zauberpriesters
(MAOG 5/3). Leipzig.
Ebeling 1954 Ebeling, E. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Beschwörungs-
serie Namburbi. RA 48:178–191 (texts 11–15).
Ebeling 1955 Ebeling, E. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Beschwörungs-
serie Namburbi. RA 49:32–41 (texts 16–20).
Ebeling 1956 Ebeling, E. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Beschwörungs-
serie Namburbi. RA 50:22–33 (texts 30–34).
Farber 1989 Farber, W. Schlaf, Kindchen, Schlaf.! Mesopotamische Baby-
Beschwörungen und -Rituale (MC 2). Winona Lake.
Finkel 1980 Finkel, I. L. The Crescent Fertile. AfO 27:37–52.
Læssøe 1955 Læssøe, J. Studies on the Assyrian Ritual and Series bît
rimki. Copenhagen.
Maul 1994 Maul, St. M. Zukunftsbewältigung. Eine Untersuchung alt-
orientalischen Denkens anhand der babylonisch-assyrischen Lö-
serituale (Namburbi) (BaF 18). Mainz am Rhein.
Parpola 1993 Parpola, S. Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars
(SAA X). Helsinki.
Reiner 1958 Reiner, E. Šurpu. A Collection of Sumerian and Akkadian
Incantations (AfO Bh 11). Graz.
Scurlock 2006 Scurlock, J. Magico-Medical Means of Treating Ghost-In-
duced Illnesses in Ancient Mesopotamia (Ancient Magic and
Divination 3). Leiden.
Thureau-Dangin 1921 Thureau-Dangin, F. Rituels accadiens. Paris.
Thureau-Dangin 1924 Thureau-Dangin, F. Le rituel pour l’expédition en char.
RA 21:127–137.
346 Sumerian and Akkadian Literature and Literary Language

Walker–Dick 2001 Walker, Chr.; Dick, M. The Induction of the Cult Image in
Ancient Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian Mīs Pî Ritual
(SAALT 1). Helsinki.
Wiggermann 1992 Wiggermann, F. A. M. Mesopotamian Protective Spirits. The
Ritual Texts (CM 1). Groningen.