WEBVTT - Licking, Part 1 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.760 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:14.880 Hey, you welcome do Stuff to Blow your Mind. My 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:16.120 name is Robert Lamb. 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:18.520 And I am Joe McCormick. And today we're going to 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:21.800 begin a series of episodes on the theme of licking 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:25.200 with the tongue, as this behavior appears in nature, in 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.840 human culture, in science, and even in the mass manufacture 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.479 and consumption of candy, as we'll get into later today. 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:35.800 But Rob, I've got a kind of strange place I 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.400 want to begin with this subject because I actually got 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:42.400 the idea to talk about licking on the show, not 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.000 by like watching a you know, a deer go for 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.800 assault lick, or by observing a snake's tongue, though I 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.080 think we will end up talking about all those things 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:54.840 in this series, but by reading about ancient Egyptian curses 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:55.640 last month. 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.800 Hmmm, all right. It's always an interesting way to go, right, 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:04.360 especially in considering something that is kind of seemingly mundane, 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.200 And every day we go we start with the esoteric 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:09.000 in the ritualistic. 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:11.000 I think that's the way to do it, because now 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.440 every time we look at licking in the real world, 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:15.639 we can think back to the ways that it's also 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:20.320 infused with evil or protective magic. So yeah, I came 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:22.840 across the idea to do this when we did an 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:26.440 episode earlier in October about ancient Egyptian curses, and in 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.720 preparing for that episode, I was reading parts of some 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:34.080 books about magical beliefs and practices in ancient Egypt. There's 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.679 one that I mentioned in that episode already. That was 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:40.240 the book by Geraldine Pinch called Magic in Ancient Egypt, 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:43.920 University of Texas Press, nineteen ninety four. But there's another 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:47.960 book that I have in digital form here that is 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:52.400 by Robert K. Rittner, called The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:57.720 Magical Practices, University of Chicago Press, nineteen ninety three. Writtener 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.880 I've also referenced in an episode last month, I think 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:06.200 because he did some translations and a paper on a 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:09.040 curse we talked about that cursed the reader for reading it. 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:13.040 But Writtner was an American Egyptologist who lived nineteen fifty 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.400 three to twenty twenty one. He was affiliated with the 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:20.520 University of Chicago, and this book draws on archaeological and 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.000 literary evidence to try to create a full picture of 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:29.600 how Egyptian magic was performed, so not just the written 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:34.000 words of spells and magical texts, but also the physically 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:38.600 enacted and embodied elements of magic, all the stuff around 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:42.480 the text of the spells. One of the chapters in 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:46.880 this book, chapter three, is called Spitting, licking, and Swallowing, 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:51.320 and it explores what Writtner calls the oral dimension of 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:55.480 Egyptian magic. And I ended up finding this really interesting. 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:57.639 So I just want to talk about some things from 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:00.800 this chapter, especially focused on licking, but we'll have to 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.400 discuss spitting a bit too, because spitting is important. 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:05.720 Yeah, and I think spitting is maybe a little more 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.840 familiar for folks out there who are used to seeing 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:14.000 it in various fictional depictions of magic. Yeah, you know, 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.120 a witch or wizard spitting on something, spitting into some 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:18.960 sort of a potion. And then if you're into the 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.120 weirder stuff, there's of course the film Boxer's Omen that 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:24.919 we recently watched on Weird House Cinema that also involves 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:26.080 a lot of oral. 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:29.600 Magic, amazing oral magic, a lot of spitting, a lot 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:33.520 of chewing up and spitting back out, some chicken butts, 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:36.280 all kinds of things. But before we go on to 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:39.680 discuss this licking, spitting, and swallowing chapter. I also just 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:43.280 wanted to briefly go over a couple of principles that 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.840 we talked about recently in that Egyptian magic episode, but 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:50.600 that will apply very much here. So one of the 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:54.840 things that's important to remember is the sort of consensus 0:03:54.840 --> 0:04:00.000 of scholars that in an Egyptian context, the classical anthropological 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.640 distinctions between magic and religion are not very useful. Those 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.520 might apply in some cultures sometimes in history, but in 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:13.920 ancient Egypt, state affiliated temple activity, religion was fully enmeshed 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:18.640 with everyday magic. Magic spells were a core part of religion, 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:23.160 and temple priests were also experts in private everyday magic 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.640 and may have sold their services as magic spell consultants. 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.520 So the magic religion distinction just doesn't really apply to 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.440 ancient Egypt. Religion is full of magic, and magic is 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:39.080 enmeshed with religion. Another interesting principle of Egyptian magic is 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:44.600 about language. This is something that on one hand, it 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:49.159 might sound very simple to conceptualize, maybe you even think 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.120 about the world this way already. In another sense, if 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.760 you really embrace the strangeness of it, it becomes more 0:04:55.800 --> 0:05:00.440 and more powerful in the ancient Egyptian worldview. I think 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:05.240 it's fair to say that words were not merely symbols 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:11.279 referring to objects or concepts. Words in themselves, both spoken 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:16.320 and written, had active power to change and create reality. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:20.039 So it's obviously in our reality words are very powerful 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.960 because words convey meaning, and that meaning can be acted 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:26.000 on by people. But that was not the only way 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:29.400 words were powerful in ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt, the 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:34.840 belief is words themselves do things, and so I think 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.440 perhaps in part this is not the only reason, but 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:42.360 perhaps in part because spoken words flow from the mouth. 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.480 There is a lot of ritual action in Egyptian magic 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:50.480 centered on the actions of the mouth, like spitting, licking, 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:54.680 and swallowing, and ritual attention given to the fluids of 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.200 the mouth cavity. I say that the association with language 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:01.400 is not the only reason, because just generally, the body 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:05.640 fluids in ancient Egypt are thought to convey a power 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:08.520 and vitality of the person they come from, and so 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:12.279 there's a transference power that works on the principle of 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.200 contact with body fluids of all kinds. But I think 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.520 with the mouth cavity you have this added dimension of 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:20.760 not only is saliva a powerful body fluid, but it 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.320 comes from the mouth, which is the part that speaks. 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.520 Interesting, so we can I think again, this is probably 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.920 a case where we're more familiar with the power of 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:36.840 blood being utilized in various fantasy and magical and semi 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:41.000 magical scenarios and symbolic scenarios as well. So this is 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.400 almost kind of an extension of that level of power, 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.960 but to the spit in saliva. 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:49.440 But I don't want to downplay the importance of other 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:52.560 body fluids in ancient Egyptian magic as well. Tears, the 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:59.120 tears of ray are very important. Tears, spit, blood, minstrel blood, 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:03.520 semen is all considered magically potent in different ways. 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:06.160 And of course medically today, Like we know that this 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:08.640 is this is true, Like there's a lot of data 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.880 in all of these fluids. Yeah, so you know it 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:12.960 ultimately stacks up. 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:18.760 So, according to Rittner, here spitting is the most significant 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:22.360 of these three actions. Spitting plays a huge role in 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.520 Egyptian mythology, not just in what you're supposed to do 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:29.080 in the text of these spells, but but in like 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.280 the creation narratives. So in some versions of the Egyptian 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.240 creation myth, you know, had various forms, but in some 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.280 of them, the creator deity, whichever one it is, in 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.760 this form, emerges out of the waters of chaos onto 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.560 the mound of earth, the initial mound of earth that 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.040 comes out of the water, and then creates the other 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:51.640 gods by spitting, sometimes by ejaculating, but sometimes by spitting. 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:56.840 And he gives the example of the Heliopolitan creation myth, 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.840 where you've got the sun god coming up out of 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:02.320 water and then is on the mound, and the Sun 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:06.560 God's spittle creates the primordial pair of God's shoe, the 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:11.080 god of the air and Tefnut of moisture. And so 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:14.520 there is this link between spitting and the kind of 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:18.840 creative magic, the creating force that gives rise or generation 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:24.120 to all things. Writtner gives translations of several different text passages. 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:26.960 One of them is referring to this creation narrative where 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:30.880 the sun god Atom is the creator here Atum and 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:34.400 this says Atom spat me out as the spittle of 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:37.880 his mouth, together with my sister Tefnut. But then you 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:41.600 get other expressions such as raise yourself ray. This is 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:45.400 the solar deity, ray, raise yourself, ray, spit out the day, 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:51.280 and as something cast off from a god's body. Body 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:56.400 fluids like spit convey the God's divine power, and so 0:08:56.679 --> 0:09:00.440 spitting is used in spells of healing and blessing, often 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:04.680 symbolizing a transfer of the invigorating power of the God 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.599 to the recipient of the spittle, whether literal or symbolic. 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:11.680 So spitting is very big in Egyptian magic. 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:15.439 You know, I can't help but be reminded of I 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:17.080 don't even know if this is This is probably not 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:20.800 even current slang, but in some of the older hip 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.960 hop that I have listened to, spit is often used 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:26.520 as a way of talking about I guess you would say, 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:30.120 the delivery of lyrics with a certain amount of skill 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:34.440 and rhythm. Yeah. And it creative force, yeah yeah, creative 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:37.840 force through language, through spoken word. And it seems very 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:40.200 much in line with what we're talking about here. Yeah. 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:43.120 I think that's a great parallel actually, because my understanding 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.760 of the connotation of spit there is that it is 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:50.280 not just saying like, okay, talk now. It means, like, 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.120 you know, you use your power of creation. There's like 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:58.160 an emphasis on the creative generative element there So anyway, 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:00.440 the next thing, of course I want to come to 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:04.240 is licking, the subject of today. Licking is mentioned less 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:08.360 frequently than spitting in Egyptian magical texts, but it is 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:13.240 nevertheless a really interesting and significant action in Egyptian magic 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:17.400 and religion. Licking, I would say, has some of the 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:22.040 same physiomagical properties as spitting, in that it involves the 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.920 transfer of saliva, which is again imbued with the divine 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:30.480 power of the mouth from which it comes. But it 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:34.080 also has uses of its own for spells of healing 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:38.120 or blessing and for curses or attacks. So I want 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.280 to talk about some of the examples that Rittner brings 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:45.120 up offering rituals of the Pyramid texts. This would include 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:48.720 spells one sixty six and one eighty one, and the 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:54.040 Coffin texts spell nine thirty six, all described the following scenario. 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:59.479 After death, the spirit of the deceased king is presented, 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.760 is presented with or put before two bowls of fruit 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.160 from the ziziphus plant. This is a fruit known as 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:10.920 the jujub or sometimes as the red date or Chinese date. 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.120 The use of the word date there can be confusing 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:15.199 because this is different from the dates that are the 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.080 fruit of the date palm. 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.160 Okay, so confusing in the same way that a pine 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:20.120 apple is not an apple. 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.360 And exactly yeah, yeah, So this is the fruit of 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:28.320 the zizyphus plant, and the text says these fruits or 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:32.440 fruit bowls, they're referred to in the spells as the 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:37.560 eye of Horus, which they have licked. Were that they 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:41.240 that lick to the eye of Horace a couple of possibilities. 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:45.200 Writtener cites a scholar who argues that they are the 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:50.000 followers of Seth or set the destructive god of storms, chaos, 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.880 and the desert wilderness. If that's correct, this licking of 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.160 the fruit would represent a magical attack against the eye 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:02.360 of Horace. The licking somehowers heck of violence onto the eye. 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:07.520 But Writtner argues that while there is offensive licking sorcery 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.559 of this kind in Egyptian spells, that's probably not what's 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.440 going on here. He thinks it is more likely this 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:17.199 passage refers to a motif of the sacred healing of 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:22.839 Horace's eye by way of licks from the gods. After all, 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:25.920 the eye of Horace presented to the king here should 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.160 be sound and well, not envenomed with the curse of 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.200 the Sethian tongue, and Rittner points out that there are 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:36.160 other spells where an injured or troubled eye is restored 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:40.120 by the power of Holy saliva through healing spells that 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:43.840 involve spitting, and this licking could be envisioned as a 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:48.720 parallel mechanism. And Rittner points out that this mirror's phenomena 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:53.600 observed in nature the licking of wounds by animals as 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.520 magical licking here would seem to tap into both what 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:01.000 we see in other animals and perhaps even in instincts 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:04.800 that we ourselves still possess to some extent, even if 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:08.440 we don't always express them. Another important piece of licking 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.679 imagery along these lines the healing the healing licks of 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:16.120 the gods. The cow goddess Hathor bestows blessings on her 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:20.480 offspring Horace by licking him in the same manner that 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:23.760 an earthly cow can be seen licking her newborn calf, 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:28.400 and we get texts saying that Hathor blessed the pharaoh 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:32.640 Queen Hatchepsitt of the eighteenth dynasty in the same way. 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:37.839 Quote kissing your hand, licking your limbs, endowing your majesty 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:44.360 with life and dominion. Yeah. Interesting. I think it's interesting 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:48.760 there the way that seems to be casting the Pharaoh, 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:52.280 who we want their image to be one of power 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.800 and dominion, life, power, vigor, dominion, Like it's saying they're 0:13:55.840 --> 0:14:01.000 being given, you know, the majesty of the throne in 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:05.240 this saying here, But the imagery is actually of a 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.680 little baby being taken care of by its mother in nature, 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.240 a calf being licked by the mother cow. 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:13.960 Yeah. And if you've ever seen, I mean certainly we have. 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:18.640 We have farmers and folks that live more closely to 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.440 cattle out there who can attest to this as well. 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.600 But if you've seen at least seen footage of this occurring, 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.440 there is almost this sense that like the cow is 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.600 the cat, the calf is born, and then the cow 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.720 licks this calf, and that is what truly brings it 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.320 to life. Yeah. So you can you can see where 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.720 this powerful connection could be forged, you know, just via 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:41.520 observation of the natural world. 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:42.320 Yeah. 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:43.920 So I want to come back to some of these 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:47.400 licking behaviors and animals in the next part in this series, 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:49.680 where we're definitely going to talk about wound licking and 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:54.680 about licking of offspring as well. But coming back to 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.400 the magical looking here, that which is true of gods 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.880 and pharaoh is also true of spirits in the afterlife. 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:05.280 In the Book of the Dead, we are told that 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:08.520 Hathor licks the dead man's hand to give him the 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:12.040 power of rebirth. And then there's a really interesting aside 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.560 by Writtener here where he compares this to a story 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:18.400 that's not from Egyptian texts but from Greek legends. So 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:23.200 Writtner writes, quote, a contrasting concept associated with the APIs 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:27.160 bull survives in the Greek legends of the astronomer Eudoxus 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:30.880 of Nidos, a pupil of Plato who subsequently traveled to 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.920 Egypt to study with the native clergy in the fourth 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:38.359 century BC. When his cloak was licked by the APIs, 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:41.720 Eudoxus was informed by the priests that his fame would 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:45.440 be great, but that his life would be short. He had, 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:50.720 in effect acquired certain qualities of Osiris transmitted by the 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:55.240 god's earthly representative, the APIs. We know we actually did 0:15:55.240 --> 0:16:00.120 some episodes a while back on the Osiris legend, and 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:04.000 of course Osiris is a god who is killed and dismembered, 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:08.240 so that, yeah, there's a duality there. Of course Osiris 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:12.640 is great and powerful and is famed, but does suffer 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:16.520 this fate before being sort of reassembled in the afterlife. 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.440 Yeah, yeah, yeah, he death is part of his existence. 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.720 I mean, as as it is for all of us. 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:28.440 To be clear, But that combination of greatness and early 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:32.520 doom is transferred to this human being when it is 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:45.320 licked by the bull that represents the power of Osiris. 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:49.440 Now I want to turn to therapeutic licking, So spells 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:53.720 that are actually designed to heal heal wounds. There were 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.920 healing rituals performed by human priests that probably would involve 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:02.120 literal licking. An example he is the Coffin Texts spell 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:06.040 eighty one, where the performer of the spell identifies himself 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:10.320 with Shoe, the god of air, light and wind, whose 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:14.359 name means emptiness. In this spell, the hand of the 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:20.119 deceased is painted with representations of eight Egyptian deities in 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:24.560 yellow pigment and Nubian ochre, and then the spell is 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:29.000 spoken aloud over these images, and then finally it says 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:32.320 that the painted images of the gods are to be 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:37.600 quote licked off every day very early. Rittner says that 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.960 like many of the Coffin text spells, it sounds like 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.040 it is meant exclusively for the benefit of the dead, 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:47.919 but it was probably actually used by the living. It 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.720 sounds kind of weird as phrased, But I wonder if 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:53.800 the idea of licking off the images of the gods 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:59.000 very early, meaning in the morning, corresponds to the time 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.040 of dawn, because Writtner points out that there is a 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:06.520 mythological passage sighted in the spell, and this passage states 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:09.639 that the gods shoe is blessed with kisses from the 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:13.760 sun god Autumn every day, and the Coffin texts sometimes 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:16.919 use the imagery of a favored deity getting licked with 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:19.200 sunshine by the sun god at dawn. 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:20.600 Oh nice. 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.400 And again this is especially significant because the sun god Autumn, 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.960 as one of the creator deities, has especially powerful saliva, 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:32.800 creative saliva. He can spit gods into existence, and now 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:36.359 at dawn he licks the world with his rays. Some 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:40.120 curative looking had nothing to do with funerary use or imagery. 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:42.800 It was just good old fashioned healing. Of body ailments. 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:47.440 So Writtner cites a twelfth dynasty manuscript known as Papyrus 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:51.679 Turin fifty four zero zero three, which includes the following 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.880 spell for the treatment of the eyes. And by the way, 0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:58.080 I looked up this papyrus to see what else it said. 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:00.360 In addition to the spells for healing the eyes, which 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:02.760 I'm going to read from here, it's got spells designed 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:07.000 to protect from serpents and to extract fish bones. I 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.520 didn't figure out extract them from wear, Maybe from. 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:11.600 The throat or from the fish. 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:13.920 I don't know. I want to learn more about that, 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:16.600 but I didn't get there. So this is the part 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:19.840 about healing the eyes. I thought this text is great. 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:24.560 So this is the Writtner's translation here quote, my eyes 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:27.360 are opened by the Great One. My eyes are opened 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:30.840 by the Opener. The eyes of Hathor are opened in 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:33.760 the house of the statue. The eyes of Hathor are 0:19:33.800 --> 0:19:36.680 opened in the house of Gold, that she might look 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:40.200 at that red animal when he opens his mouth, when 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:43.120 he opens his jaws, when he looks at that pupil 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.639 of gold. Feance. And by the way, we just had 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:48.080 to look that up because neither of us knew what 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:50.600 it was. That's like a type of tin glazed pottery, 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:56.679 pupil of gold, feance, quartz and Carnelian which flourishes on 0:19:56.840 --> 0:20:02.000 the eye of the Majesty of Ta when isis bent over, 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:06.199 she licked it. When I bent over my eye, I 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:09.600 licked it from this my face, from this my eye, 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:12.680 I dispelled. The blow of a god, goddess, dead man 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:16.720 or dead woman dispelled. Is the obscurity being thoroughly stripped 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.000 away as she has licked what was done to him. 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:23.280 So Mott has licked what was done to her. And 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:25.360 then the last sentence to be said by a man 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:30.359 as he puts water into his eyes. Though these spells 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:34.400 are often best interpreted literally when it comes to physical action, 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:37.480 in this case, Writtner says that the licking might not 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.719 be literal because there's that last sentence that seems to 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:44.320 specify the spell is spoken as a man symbolically licks 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:46.720 his eyes by placing eye drops into them. 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:50.359 Hmmm, yeah, yeah, okay, Yeah, you could think of putting 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:53.640 eye drops in as licking. Yeah, the licking of the eye. Yeah, 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:55.120 I mean, it's accomplished the same thing. 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.000 Yeah, It's like the gods are licking my eyes as 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:01.680 I put eye drops in isis is down licking my eye. 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:05.399 But there is literal licking and healing magic as well. 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:10.320 Many of these spells prescribe actually the licking off of 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:15.600 images or words of the spell, sometimes inscribed on the hand, 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:17.560 like I mentioned earlier, with those you know the eight 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:19.400 gods are written on the hand, and then you must 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:23.480 lick it off very early, very early every day. There 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:28.359 is an anti scorpion sting magical spell from Papyrus Turin 0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:32.040 one nine ninety three the legend of Isis and the 0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:34.800 secret name of Ray, and it goes like this. This 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:38.440 is written theer's translation again quote words to be recited 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:41.240 over an image of Autumn and horrus of praise, a 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:44.159 figure of Isis and an image of Horus drawn on 0:21:44.240 --> 0:21:46.719 the hand of the sufferer, and licked off by the 0:21:46.760 --> 0:21:50.400 man do likewise on a strip of fine linen placed 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:54.200 on the sufferer at his throat. Its plant is scorpion plant, 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:57.000 and that is a type of plant. I think it's 0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:00.960 supposed to resemble a scorpion's tail or. Ground up with 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:03.480 beer or wine. It is drunk by the man who 0:22:03.480 --> 0:22:06.480 has a scorpion sting. It is what kills the poison 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:12.639 truly effective, proved a million times. So you draw the 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:16.800 gods on the scorpion victim's hand and then someone licks 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:19.680 the image off. Actually couldn't tell from the text when 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:22.639 it says licked off by the man. I don't know 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:25.000 if that means licked off by the same part by 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:27.200 the victim they're licking their own hand, or licked off 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:29.520 by someone else like the person performing the spell. I 0:22:29.520 --> 0:22:32.280 couldn't quite tell from the text. But then yeah, it 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:37.000 says proof of scorpion cure confirmed, and Writtener cites another 0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:40.240 spell curing scorpion sting that includes a recitation of a 0:22:40.400 --> 0:22:43.960 myth of a wound received by a Nubis which was 0:22:44.000 --> 0:22:47.720 cured by Isis, in which Isis tells a Nubis quote, 0:22:48.320 --> 0:22:51.119 lick from your tongue to your heart, and vice versa, 0:22:51.560 --> 0:22:54.080 up to the edges of the wound. Lick to the 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:56.520 edges of the wound, up to the limits of your strength. 0:22:56.880 --> 0:22:59.840 What you shall lick, you shall swallow. Do not spit 0:22:59.880 --> 0:23:02.080 it out on the ground. For your tongue is the 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:05.280 tongue of Shay, and your tongue is that of autumn. 0:23:06.400 --> 0:23:10.560 And the patient benefiting from the spell, so is told 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.080 to quote, lick your wound with your tongue immediately while 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:17.520 it is still bleeding. And the patient here has become 0:23:17.600 --> 0:23:21.280 identified with Anubis, who is at once a god, but 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:26.400 also in these reflections of natural observations observations of animals 0:23:26.400 --> 0:23:31.040 in nature, is also a dog licking its wounds. Fascinating, 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:35.360 But it's also interesting how many of these spells advised 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:41.320 licking of a written spell to absorb or consume its power, 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:43.800 and that seems to come back to the belief that 0:23:44.160 --> 0:23:48.159 words in themselves have power. It's not just like that 0:23:48.240 --> 0:23:52.520 the word causes you to do something that gives the 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:55.480 spell power, but actually writing the spell or having some 0:23:55.640 --> 0:23:59.040 kind of inscription on something on a linen or on 0:23:59.119 --> 0:24:02.720 the body and then licking it can transfer the power 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:05.840 of the spell because you licked the words into you. 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:13.160 This is so fascinating because this really feels foreign from 0:24:13.480 --> 0:24:17.080 at least the modern Western conception of various magics. You know, 0:24:17.240 --> 0:24:21.640 this seems like something that, assuming I'm understanding it correctly, 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:25.160 is largely lost. It's possible I'm not thinking of some 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:28.560 more direct connection, so if anyone out there can think 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:30.119 of one, but yeah, I'm just trying to think of 0:24:30.160 --> 0:24:34.320