Armenian Incantations Against Demons and Evil Spirits
Յուռութք Հայոց ընդդէմ դիւաց եւ այսոց
Sisinniuis Legend
- The “Sisinnius Legend” is the label given by scholars of folklore to a type of narrative found in amulets or incantations for binding demons, which goes back to late antiquity.
- It is known in a number of other traditions, including Aramaic, Jewish, Coptic, Arabic, Ethiopian, Classical Syriac, Byzantine Greek, Modern Greek, South Slavic (Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian), Romanian and East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian).
- The designation “Sisinnius Legend” is based on one of the Byzantine Greek versions of the narrative, in which St. Sisinnius confronts a female demon who has stolen and killed the children of his sister.
- The widespread tradition of the child–stealing-killing-eating witch goes back to Lamashtu, the ancient Mesopotamian demon of the 2nd millennium b.c.; among other malicious deeds, Lamashtu killed unborn and newborn babies.
- Sisinnius Legend incantations are a type of “Encounter Charm” (Ger. Begegnungssegen), as defined by the Danish folklorist Ferdinand Ohrt (1873–1938), which are composed of three parts: an introduction, a dialogue, and a conclusion.
- Ohrt noted that the various types of Encounter Charms had certain aspects in common: a description of the meeting of two or more characters, and interaction between the characters which changes the situation for the better.
- In the Sisinnius Legend, the characteristics of the Encounter Charm are (1) a sacred character meets an evil spirit, demon or personified disease; (2) the sacred character has a dialogue with it; and (3) the sacred character binds it or drives it away.
- Scholars of folklore have categorized the traditions of the Sisinnius Legend into two types, the Sisinnius-Melitene-type and the Michael-type, based on similar elements of the incantation narratives.
- The designation Michael-type is based on one of the Byzantine Greek versions of the narrative, in which the archangel Michael confronts the female demon.
- The Armenian tradition of the Sisinnius Legend has been classified as Michael-type, although the archangel himself does not appear in the narratives, having been replaced by various saints during the transmission of the narrative into the Armenian tradition.
- In the Armenian version of the Sisinnius Legend, the female demon is the al, or the mother of the al in the narratives in which her offspring are characters.
- In one of the Jewish versions, the demon is Lilith, the first wife of Adam, who is confronted by the triad of angels Senoy, Sasanoy, and Semangelof.
- Since the narrative source from which the Armenian tradition developed did not include these angels or St. Sisinnius, the names of the triad of saints were usually changed to familiar ones, which often included St. Peter and St. Paul, and additional saints were sometimes added to the triad.
(Toporkov, Andrei, ed., “St Sisinnius’ Legend in Folklore and Handwritten Traditions of Eurasia and Africa (Outcomes and Perspectives of Research)”, in Studia Litterarum, 2019, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 312–341.)
- Two narratives elements that are common to most traditions of the Sisinnius Legend are: (1) the female demon pleading with the angel-saints for her life and the lives of her offspring, and (2) the demon promising to stay away from, and not harm anyone in, the place in which the names of the demons and/or angel-saints are spoken, written or remembered.
- In the Armenian tradition, the oath to stay away is usually forced upon the demon, either by the indirect threat of the confrontation, or by a direct “we make you swear” threat from the angel-saints, often at the point of the fiery sword. The demon’s oath is usually sworn on or to various sacred-magic objects and persons, which gives it strength and makes it harder for the demon to break.
- Ethiopian Scrolls
- Aramaic Incantation Bowl
- Jewish Amulets