When in 8
AD Ovid was sent into exile to the Black Sea, he was writing a poem about the
religious festivities taking place at every month, the Fasti (calendar). Every month had its own book, but Ovid did not
complete the work and only the first six months were ready.
Ovid was
a poet and not a scholar in religion and the Fasti is therefore not always a reliable guide. Still, it contains a
wealth of information, which we otherwise would not have known. For example the
ritual to drive away malevolent ghosts of deceased forefathers from ones house
during the Lemuria is only known from
the passage below. The name lemuria
is derived from lemures `evil spirits’
and took place on 9, 11 and 13 May and because of the connection with evil
spirits, the whole month of May was considered inauspicious and no festivities
were allowed to take place.
As I
have done a master in comparative religion, I have a keen interest in rituals
and this one is quite easy: the pater
familias has to go at midnight through the house, make a fist in order to
avert the evil eye, wash his hands and throw black beans over his shoulder while
uttering some Latin. So far so good: I can easily do that, but where can I find
Temesan bronze? I am afraid that I will
have to live with the evil spirits in my house…
Ovid,
Fasti 5, 429-444
nox ubi
iam media est somnoque silentia praebet,
et canis et variae conticuistis aves, 430
ille
memor veteris ritus timidusque deorum
surgit (habent gemini vincula nulla
pedes),
signaque
dat digitis medio cum pollice iunctis,
occurrat tacito ne levis umbra sibi.
cumque
manus puras fontana perluit unda,
435
vertitur et nigras accipit ante fabas,
aversusque
iacit; sed dum iacit, 'haec ego mitto,
his' inquit 'redimo meque meosque fabis.'
hoc
novies dicit nec respicit: umbra putatur
colligere et nullo terga vidente
sequi. 440
rursus
aquam tangit, Temesaeaque concrepat aera,
et rogat ut tectis exeat umbra suis.
cum dixit novies 'manes exite paterni'
respicit, et pure sacra peracta putat.
praebeo praebui praebitum: to give, grant
canis: everyone knows of course that this means
`dog’, but it is less known that canis is directly related to `hound’. In
words inherited from Indo-European the Latin initial c can correspond to Germanic h:
cornu –horn, centum – hundred etc.
conticesco conticui: to fall silent
memor (+gen.): mindfull of
ritus ritus (m.): ceremony, rite
timidus deorum: genitivus objectivus `afraid of’
habent gemini vincula nulla pedes: his both feet have no fetters
(i.e. not wearing sandals).
signaque dat digitis medio cum pollice iunctis: `and he makes a sign with his
fingers, connected with the thumb (pollex
pollicis (m.) in the middle’. So he
makes a fist with the fingers over the thumb. This sign is made to ward of the
evil eye. In Italian it is called `the fig’. la fica or mano fica.
occurrat tacito ne levis umbra sibi = ne occurrat tacito levis umbra sibi
tacito with sibi
umbra: shadow, ghost
puras: resultative adjective, so `in order the hands
become clean’.
fontanus: belonging to/from a fountain
perluo perlui perlutum: to wash
unda = in
unda
faba: bean
averto averti aversum: to turn away
iacio ieci iactum: to throw
redimo redemi redemptum: to redeem
novies: nine times
nullo vidente: seen by nobody
terga sequi: to follow behind
colligere: i.e. to collect the beans
rursus: again
Temesaea aera: bronze (aes
aeris (n.) from the mines near Temesa. Probably some kind of bell is meant.
concrepo concrepui concrepitum: to sound, rattle
Manes: the spirits of the forefathers. Normally they
are benevolent, but here they are identified with evil spirits.
Translation
by Sir James Frazer (1931):
When
midnight has come and lends silence to sleep,
and dogs
and all ye varied fowls are hushed, the
worshipper
who bears the olden rite in mind and
fears
the gods arises ; no knots constrict his feet ;
and he
makes a sign with his thumb in the middle
of his
closed fingers," lest in his silence an unsub-
stantial
shade should meet him. And after washing
his
hands clean in spring water, he turns, and first
he
receives black beans and throws them away with
face
averted ; but while he throws them, he says :
"
These I cast ; with these beans I redeem me and
mine."
This he says nine times, without looking
back :
the shade is thought to gather the beans,
and to
follow unseen behind. Again he touches
water,
and clashes Temesan bronze, and asks the
shade to
go out of his house. When he has said
nine
times, " Ghosts of my fathers, go forth ! " he
looks
back, and thinks that he has duly performed
the
sacred rites.
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