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Princeton Collection of Ethiopic Magic Scrolls
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Ethiopic magic scrolls are textual amulets containing brief protective and healing texts in Ge'ez and occasionally Amharic. Ethiopian Christians wore these scrolls on the body in the belief that they prevented disease, death in childbirth, demonic possession, malevolent spirits, the Evil Eye, and other sources of personal misfortune. They were generally prepared by unordained clerics (debtera), who wrote on narrow strips of parchment arranged in scroll format. The magical efficacy of these scrolls is based in large measure on a selection of amuletic texts, apotropaic prayers, charms, incantations, prayers, Scriptural quotations, miracle tales, formulas, invocations of divine names and helpful saints, and images. Most magic scrolls were activated for the use of a particular person, whose name is given. Contributing to their protective power are painted images of guardian angels with drawn swords, St. Susenyos slaying Werzelya for the protection of mothers and infants, magic squares and eight-pointed stars, the net of Solomon for capturing demons, and other figurative illustrations and designs. The magic scrolls were generally rolled up in small leather capsules, enabling them to be worn on the body. Some fairly modern magic scrolls are sewn into the capsules so that they cannot be read, but most could be opened and even hung on walls for prayer and protection. Most extant examples in the Princeton University Library date from the 18th to 20th centuries. For more information, see Jacques Mercier's Ethiopic Magic Scrolls (1979) and Art that Heals: The Image as Medicine in Ethiopia (1997).
Arranged by item number, beginning with No. 163. (Nos. 1-162 form the Robert Garrett Collection of Ethiopic Magic Scrolls, C0744.04).
Ephraim Isaac, "Princeton Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts," Princeton University Library Chronicle 42:1 (Autumn 1980), pp. 33-52. Richard Pankhurst, "Secular Themes in Ethiopian Ecclesiastical Manuscripts: V.: A Catalogue of Illustrations of Historical and Ethnographic Interest in Princeton University Library and Art Gallery," Journal of Ethiopian Studies 22 (November 1989), pp. 31-64. Don C. Skemer, "Princeton's Ethiopic Manuscript Collections at 100," Princeton University Library Chronicle 71:3 (Spring 2010), pp. 461-466.
This is an open collection acquired by gift or purchase.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
The Library has recently cataloged or recataloged its Ethiopic manuscript collections with generous support from the David A. Gardner '69 Magic Project, Princeton University, coordinated by the Council of the Humanities. This collection was cataloged by Professor David L. Appleyard, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
No appraisal information is available.
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2008
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Drawings:
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. (In ink with yellow and bright red color.)
Six-winged cherub, set against a yellow background within a painted red frame. (In ink with bright red, yellow and pale blue color.)
Lobed cross design. (Painted red, yellow and black.)
Owner: Wälättä Kidan Negest Maryam (f.)
Physical Description2 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics (in European ink) in a reasonable hand (4-5mm). 3 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
Guardian angel with drawn sword, with decorated borders above and below. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Grid of twelve squares with alternate transverse cross and semicircle infill, with a border of eye motifs above and below and a lattice-work border on the right. (In ink with pale red and yellow color.)
Eight-point star with central face between decorated borders. (In ink with pale red and yellow color.)
Owners: Wälättä Heywät (f.) and her mother Wälättä S'eyon.
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in an untidy and angular hand (5-6mm). 3 talismanic drawings. Preserved in half a leather cylinder case.
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Drawing:
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword with a border of transverse crosses above and below. (In ink, uncolored.)
Owner: Täklä Giyorgis (m.)
Physical Description2 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a reasonable hand (4mm), framed between a simple uncolored linear border. 1 talismanic drawing.
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Date according to Ephraim Isaac but probably later.
Drawing:
One soiled ink sketch of an angel holding a sword in his right hand and sheath in his left. Upper and lower borders. Upper border torn.
Owner: Täklä Giyorgis (m.)
Physical Description1 itemScroll composed of two long strips; first two strips of a longer scroll. Extreme endings of each strip torn. Thread attached to end of first strip. Excellent handwriting; faded throughout but legible; in black and red ink; framed by two lines on each side. Fair to good condition.1535 x 86mm
Drawings:
Cruciform design with a central face, each arm ending in a pair of curling extensions. (In ink with traces of undefined color.)
Another cruciform design with curling arms. (In ink with yellow and faded purple color.)
Cross with spears protruding from between each arm. (In ink with yellow and pale purple color.)
Owner: Wälättä Iyäsus (f.)
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics (in faded brown or purple ink) in a reasonable hand (5-6mm), framed within a simple linear border with faded yellow color. 3 talismanic drawings. the top of the scroll is damaged.
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Drawings:
Eight-pointed star with central face. (In ink with faded red and possibly yellow color.)
Derivative eight-pointed star design with central face and curling arms; beneath are two further faces, with decorated borders above and below. (In ink with red and yellow color.)
Eight-pointed star with central face. (In ink with red and yellow color.)
Owner: Wälättä Giyorgis (f.) the name Harägä Wäyn (f.) has been added later over erasures.
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate hand (3-5mm). 3 talismanic drawings. the top of the scroll is damaged.
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Drawings:
Two figures, probably guardian spirits; the bodies are reduced to simple X-forms. Above and below are decorative borders. (In ink with some red color.)
Guardian spirit figure (?), the body reduced to a square, the whole framed within another square. (In ink with slight red color.)
A square with a small face at the center and chevron designs at the edges. (In ink, uncolored.)
Grill-like design of crossing lines and circles, framed within a square border. (In ink, uncolored.)
Owner: Wälättä Sänbät Bäyénäy (f.), written throughout in purple ink.
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate hand (3-5mm), framed within a simple uncolored linear border. 4 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
Roughly drawn guardian angel with drawn sword. (In ink with yellow and magenta ink color.)
Central square face with transverse radiating arms and four further faces between each arm. (In ink with red-brown, faded yellow and magenta ink color.)
Owner: Amätä Maryam (f.)
Physical Description4 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in an uneven and slightly sloping hand (4-5mm). 2 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. (In ink red, blue and traces of yellow color.)
Derivative cruciform design with a central face. (In ink with faded red, yellow and dark blue color.)
Hand-cross with talismanic figures above and the sun and moon either side. (In ink with faded red color.)
Owner: Wälättä S'eyon (f.)
Physical Description2 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate and compact hand (2-4mm). 3 talismanic drawings. the top of the scroll is damaged.
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Drawings:
Central square face with smaller faces at each corner and four large curling arms radiating above and below, with decorative borders above and below. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Grid pattern forming a central cruciform design with faces or heads in the middle and in each arm of the cross, the remaining squares in the quadrants filled with transverse cross designs. (In ink with red and yellow color.)
Grid chart with letters and magic names.
Eight-pointed star with central face set against a checkerboard background. (In ink with red and some yellow color.)
Owner: Wälättä Sellasé (f.)
Physical Description2 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in an uneven hand (3-5mm), framed within a simple linear border with traces of yellow color. 3 talismanic drawings and 1 small chart. Written across the first drawing in a Western hand is "Madglla [sic] Abyssinia, April 13/1868" and on the reverse is a paper label reading "Presented by Rev. R Hackwell, member of the American Presbyter[ian] Mission, Rawal Pindi Northern India []0th July 1874," over which is written in a different hand "Jan. 1899 Pres. by Alan Marquand." Preserved in a Western cardboard cylinder box.
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[incomplete]
Drawing:
Guardian angel with drawn sword. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with traces of red color.)
Owner: Wälättä S'eyon (partially erased).
Physical DescriptionSingle piece of parchment. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate hand (3-6mm), framed within a simple linear border with yellow color. 1 talismanic drawing. the top of the scroll is badly worn and discolored and the bottom portions of the scroll are missing.
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Drawings:
Angel (head and shoulders) or seraph above a decorated border. (In ink with some red color.)
Crudely drawn cruciform design with the center and arms of the cross formed of heads or faces. (In ink with some red color.)
Grid chart with crossing lines. (In ink without color.)
Grid chart with letters filling some squares. (In ink with red color.)
Crudely drawn design of interlacing squares. (In red ink).
Owner: Zämädä Maryam (f.)
Physical Description4 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate hand (3-4mm). 5 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
Derivative eight-pointed star with central face. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Eight-pointed star with central face. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.) Written in the bottom left-hand corner of the drawing is the name Wäldä Gäbre'él.
Transverse cross design with eye motifs in the center and smaller crosses above and below. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Lobed cross design with a stylized central face and smaller crosses within each arm of the larger cross. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.) Again the name Wäldä Gäbre'él is written in the bottom left-hand corner.
Cross design. (In ink with faded red color.)
Owner: Wäldä Gäbre'él (?) written across two of the drawings only.
Physical Description2 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black in an indifferent hand (3-4mm). 5 talismanic drawings and a decorative border at the top of the scroll. Written on the reverse in a large untutored hand is a now mostly illegible text.
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Drawings:
1-3. All 3 drawings comprise a square winged head or seraph with a design of small dots below. (In ink with faded purple color.)
Set of identical talismanic letters or figures. (In ink.)
Owner: Wälättä Yohannes (f.)
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with some rubrics (in faded purple ink) in a large and widely spaced hand (4-5mm), framed within a plain, uncolored linear border. 3 identical talismanic drawings and 1 set of talismanic letters or figures.
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Drawings:
Equestrian saint trampling a naked demon. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with traces of yellow and red color.)
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Hand-cross with the small figure of an angel on the right. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Owner: Wälättä Iyäsus (f.)
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate, sloping hand (3mm), framed within a simple linear border with traces of yellow color. The top and edges of the scroll show some rodent damage.
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Drawings:
Grid pattern of six squares with one head and two transverse crosses in the upper row, and two heads and one transverse cross in the lower row. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with red and faded yellow color.)
Eight-pointed star with central face and two small hand-crosses in the lower quadrants. (In ink with yellow and red color.)
Owner: Wälättä Mika'él (f.)
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a large and widely spaced hand (4-5mm), framed within a scalloped border colored yellow. 2 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
Large hand-cross design with a standing figure and a pair of eye motifs each side. Simple lattice-work decorative borders above and below. (In ink with some red and faded yellow color.) the name Wärqenäsh has been written across the lower part of the drawing.
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Simple decorative borders above and below. (In ink with pale red and yellow color.)
Owner: Wärqenäsh (f.) Unusually for a magic scroll this is a given rather than a baptismal name. Additionally, the name Sheshetu (f.) occurs at the bottom of the scroll.
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in an untidy hand (3-5mm), framed within a plain linear border colored yellow.
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Drawings:
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with possible traces of red color.)
Small cross (In ink without color.)
Owner: Wälättä Heywät Tägadé (f.)
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a well-formed hand (4-5mm), framed within a simple linear border with traces of yellow color. 2 talismanic drawings. the left-hand edge of the lower portion of the scroll shows rodent damage obliterating some of the text.
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[incomplete]
Drawing:
Eight-pointed star with central face. (In ink with red color.)
Owner: Bezunäsh (f.) Unusually for a magic scroll this is a given rather than a baptismal name.
Physical DescriptionSingle piece of parchment. 2 cols. written in black with rubrics in a poor hand (4-5mm), framed within and separated by a simple uncolored linear border. 1 talismanic drawing. the upper portions of the scroll are missing, and there is some water damage obliterating part of the text.
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Drawings:
Stylized guardian angel apparently holding a drawn sword (the scabbard is shown but the sword seems to be missing.) Above and below are wide borders with checkerboard decoration. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Stylized guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Above and below are checkerboard pattern borders. (In ink with faded red and yellow color.)
Owner: the name Tarik or Tarik Wälättä Sämayat (f.) has been inserted over erasures
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate, somewhat angular hand (4-6mm), framed within a wide linear border colored yellow. 2 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
Stylized guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Decorative border above and below. (In ink with blue, yellow and some red color.)
[Upside down] Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Decorative border above and below. (In ink with blue, red and yellow color.)
Owner: the name Tarik Wälättä Hawaryat (f.) has been inserted over erasures.
Physical Description2 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a moderate hand (3-4mm), framed within a linear border the top part of which has lattice-work decoration. 2 talismanic drawings. the scroll is currently rolled from top to bottom.
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Drawings:
Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Simple decorative borders above and below. (In blue ink with red and blue-black color in crayon or Western ink ?)
Eight-pointed star with central face. (In blue ink with red and blue-black color.)
Hand-cross design. (In blue ink with red and blue-black color.)
Owner: Wälättä Tensa'é (f.)
Physical Description5 pieces of parchment all but the second and third pieces of which are held together by modern, Western tape. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a large, widely spaced hand (4-5mm), framed within a simple uncolored linear border. 3 talismanic drawings.
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Drawings:
[bottom part only remains] Guardian angel holding a drawn sword. Border below with scale-like design. (In ink with some yellow color.)
Grid pattern with alternate infill of stylized faces and transverse crosses. (In ink with some red and purple color.)
Eight-pointed star with central face. (In ink with some red color.)
Owner: the name Wälättä Maryam (f.) has been inserted later in erstwhile blank spaces.
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics in a mediocre hand (3-5mm), framed within a linear border colored yellow. 3 talismanic drawings. the top of the scroll has been cut off removing the upper part of the first drawing.
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Drawings:
Guardian angel with drawn sword. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with yellow and purple color.)
Grid of nine squares with a face in the center square, a bird in each of the top left-hand and right-hand squares, a sun disk in the bottom left-hand square, and a crescent moon in the bottom right-hand square. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with yellow and purple color.)
Hand-cross design. (In ink with yellow and purple color.)
Owner: Wälättä Maryam Berré (f.) – given at the bottom of the scroll as Wälättä Maryam Berré Berré [sic] Lämma.
Physical Description3 pieces of parchment sewn together. 1 col. written in black with rubrics (in purple ink) in a mediocre hand (4-5mm), framed within a scalloped border. 3 talismanic drawings. There is a leather thong for hanging attached to the top of the scroll.
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Drawings:
Guardian angel with drawn sword. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with red-brown and yellow color.)
Eight-pointed star with central face. Decorative borders above and below. (In ink with red-brown and yellow color.)
Cruciform design with a central face and curling bifurcating arms. the name Wälättä Sänbät Teku is written across the bottom of the drawing.
Owner: Däbritu (f.) with baptismal name Wälättä Sänbä. daughter of Teku.
Physical Description4 pieces of parchment sewn together. Written in black with rubrics in a moderate to uneven hand (3-5mm), framed within a linear border with traces of yellow color. 3 talismanic drawings.
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