Work dossier · summary and historical context
The Geʿez prayer ጸሎት፡ በእንተ፡ ዘደም፡ (Prayer concerning blood) is an anonymous liturgical text from the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church, preserved in the manuscript betmas (LIT6487PPDam). It is used in rituals for stopping hemorrhage or for postpartum purification, blending Christian invocations (Trinity, Saint George, Raphael) with apotropaic and healing formulas. The prayer features imperative commands, adjuration, and repetitive naming, including obscure terms like 'Alpha Wi, Adonaʾawi' and the Arabic/Aramaic loanword ሱሐል (suḥal, 'chain' or 'fetter') for magical binding. The supplicant is named Nurit, likely a woman. Its exact date is unknown, but it belongs to the broader corpus of medieval Geʿez prayers without attribution.
This prayer is significant for illustrating the intersection of Christian liturgy and folk medicine in medieval Ethiopia, particularly in addressing bodily blood flow. It preserves apotropaic and healing formulas that blend biblical, apocryphal, and magical elements, such as the invocation of Raphael and the use of ሱሐል (suḥal) as a binding term. It relates to other Geʿez prayers for healing and protection, and to broader traditions of Christian amulets and exorcisms.
The prayer is transmitted in the manuscript tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church, specifically in the collection betmas (LIT6487PPDam), which contains prayers and blessings. Its date of composition is unknown, but it likely originates from the medieval period (13th–17th centuries), when Geʿez liturgical and apotropaic texts flourished in the Ethiopian highlands. The community was predominantly Christian, with a strong monastic and scribal culture. The language is Geʿez, the classical liturgical language of Ethiopia. The genre is a prayer for ritual purification or healing, used in contexts of blood flow (e.g., hemorrhage, postpartum bleeding). The text lacks colophons or internal dating, and no critical edition or translation exists. It is anonymous, typical of many Geʿez prayers that circulated without attribution. The prayer reflects a blend of Christian theology (Trinitarian invocation, saints, angels) and folk healing practices, with terms like ሱሐል (suḥal) indicating cross-cultural influences from Arabic or Aramaic magical traditions. Its transmission is manuscript-based, with no evidence of wider dissemination beyond the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.
Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded
| Coptic | Rendering | Count | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| no glossary terms recorded | |||