Full Length Research Paper
Malefic Magic in the Greek Curse Tablets of the Classical Period and in the “Curse Effigies” of Ala deity of African Traditional Religion (ATR)
Rowland Onyenali and Cletus O. Obasi
Article Number - 663E97CB9B89F | Vol. 4(2), pp. 12-21, May 2024 |
Received: 10 March 2024 | Accepted: 29 April 2024 | Published: 13 May 2024
Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.
Abstract
The human effort to manipulate the
spiritual world and achieve supernatural effects through the use of magic or
mystical forces is as old as the human race. This practice also cuts across
many religions and cultures of the world. Sometimes it is done through the use
of charms, incantations, casting of spells, the burning of different kinds of
spiritual objects, the wearing of amulets or the use of curse tablets. Although
the primary aim of this sort of spiritual manipulation may be to protect the
person engaged in them from harmful spiritual forces, such practices have given
rise to various kinds of occult exercises some of which aim at bringing harm to
perceived enemies or detractors of the supplicant. This is mostly done through
the use of curse tablets in some traditions. The paper seeks the lines of
agreement and difference between the use of Greek curse tablets and
incantations to manipulate the spiritual forces and the use of such spells in
the shrine of Ala deity in Igboland,
South-East Nigeria. Keywords: Ala deity, ATR, Curse tablets, Effigies, Greek
Religion, Igboland, Shrine.
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Authors
Rowland Onyenali1* and Cletus O. Obasi2
1Department of
Religion and Cultural Studies, Spiritan International School of Theology,
Attakwu, Enugu, Nigeria.
2Department of
Religion and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
How to Cite this Article
Onyenali, R. &
Obasi, C. O. (2024). Malefic Magic in the Greek Curse Tablets of the Classical
Period and in the “Curse Effigies” of Ala
deity of African Traditional Religion (ATR) Journal
of Culture, History and Archaeology, 4(2), 12-21.
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