Saturday, April 4, 2009

curses in history world wide

Ancient Greek and Roman curses
Greek and Roman curses were somewhat formal and official. Called katadesmoi by the Greeks and tabulae defixiones by the Romans, they were written on lead tablets or other materials, generally invoked the aid of a spirit (a deity, a demon, or one of the dead) to accomplish their aim, and were placed in a location considered effective for their activation, such as in a tomb, cemetery, or sacred spring or well. In the text of katadesmoi and defixiones,

Celtic curses

In the Celtic world there were also many different forms of curses. Some of the most well known from Ireland are Curse stones, Egg curses, New Year curses and Milk curses.

Curse stones generally involved particle stones with the power to curse. One example involved turning a stone three times and saying the name of the person you wanted to curse.

Egg curses are a fertility curse. If you buried/hid eggs on someone else's land it was believed you could steal their land's fertility and therefore their luck. There are also some well documented methods believed to break these curses.

New year curses are like egg curses. If you took something from someone on the new year you took their luck for the year. People used to not clean their house or throw out water for this reason. In Munster you can see a similar form in the may bush and the stealing of may bushes. Stealing back the item or bush is believed to return the luck.

Milk curses were curses put on a household where the milk from others cows went to yours.
The first curse in the Bible is put on the serpent by God, "You are cursed more than all cattle", (Genesis 3:14). As a result of Adam and Eve disobeying God, the ground is also cursed: "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life." (3:17). Cain is cursed from the earth, "So now you are cursed from the earth", (4:11).

In the New Testament Paul sees curses as central to the meaning of Jesus's crucifixion. In Galatians 3:13 he says: "Christ redeems us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us...". He refers to Deuteronomy: " anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse." (21:23 RAEDM)

Some passages in the Tanakh treat curses as being effective techniques; they see a curse as an objective reality with real power. However, most sections of the Bible conceive a curse to be merely a wish, to be fulfilled by God only when just and deserved.

According to the Book of Proverbs, an undeserved curse has no effect (Proverbs 26:2), but may fall back upon the head of him who utters it (Genesis 12:3; Sirach 21:27), or may be turned by God into a blessing, as in the case of Balaam (Deuteronomy 23:5).

The declaration of punishments (Gen. 3:14, 17; 4:11), the utterance of threats (Jeremiah 11:3, 17:5; Malachi i. 14), and the proclamation of laws (Deut. 11:26-28, 27:15 et seq.) received added solemnity and force when conditioned by a curse.

In the Bible, cursing is generally characteristic of the godless (Ps. 10:7), but may serve as a weapon in the mouth of the wronged, the oppressed, and those who are zealous for God and righteousness (Judges 9:57; Prov. 11:26, 30:10).

A righteous curse, especially when uttered by persons in authority, was believed to be unfailing in its effect (Gen. 9:25, 27:12; II Kings 2:24; Ecclus. Sirach 3:11). One who had received exemplary punishment at the hands of God was frequently held up, in cursing, as a terrifying object-lesson (Jer. 23: 22), and such a person was said to be, or to have become, a curse (II Kings 22:19; Jer. 24:9, 25: 18; Zechariah 8:13). An elaborate trial by ordeal for a woman suspected by her husband of adultery is set forth in Numbers 5:11-30; this involved drinking a "bitter water that brings a curse"; if the woman were guilty, she would suffer miscarriage and infertility.

It is especially forbidden to curse God (Exodus 22:28), parents (Ex. 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Prov. 20:20, 30: 11), the authorities (Ex. 22:28; Eccl. 10:20), and the helpless deaf (Lev. 19:14).

Curses in Rabbinic literature

A number of sections of the Talmud show a belief in the power of curses (Berachot 19a, 56a.) In some cases, a curse is described as related to the nature of a prayer (Ta'an. 23b); an undeserved curse is described as ineffective (Makkot 11a) and falls back upon the head of him who utters it (Sanhedrin 49a).

Not only is a curse uttered by a scholar unfailing in its effect, even if undeserved (Mak. 11a), but one should not regard lightly even the curse uttered by an ignorant man (Meg. 15a).

The Biblical prohibitions of cursing are legally elaborated, and extended to self-cursing (Shebu. 35a). A woman that curses her husband's parents in his presence is divorced and loses her dowry (Ket. 72a).

Cursing may be permissible when prompted by religious motives. For instance, a curse is uttered against those who mislead the people by calculating, on the basis of Biblical passages, when the Messiah will come (Sanhedrin 97b). Cursed are those who are guilty of actions which, though not forbidden, are considered reprehensible.

According to legend, some rabbinic scholars cursed sometimes not only with their mouths, but also with an angry, fixed look. The consequence of such a look was either immediate death or poverty (Sotah 46b, and parallel passages). (See Evil eye)

cursed places

Certain landmarks or locales are said to be cursed. Various lakes, rivers and mountains have been called cursed, as has the Sargasso Sea. However even when there is a tradition of a place "taking someone" every number of years it is not always considered cursed. For example, someone is said to drown in Lough Gur in Limerick, Ireland every seven years but the lake is not considered "cursed" by the locals. The alleged Bermuda Triangle effect is believed by some to be some form of curse (and by others to be some unexplained natural phenomena).

Babinda's Boulders, Babinda township, near Cairns, Queensland on Australia's mid-north coast, is a place known for the Devil's Pool, a group of waterholes known to be dangerous to young male travellers, but never claiming the lives of locals or females. There is some dispute about the dangers, that the geography of the place is naturally risky with the rocks and fast moving currents &em; yet an Aboriginal legend exists giving it the context of a historic curse.[1]

Egyptian curses and mummies
There is a broad popular belief in curses being associated with the violation of the tombs of mummified corpses, or of the mummies themselves. The idea became so widespread as to become a pop-culture mainstay, especially in horror films (though originally the curse was invisible, a series of mysterious deaths, rather than the walking-dead mummies of later fiction). The "Curse of the Pharaohs" is supposed to have haunted the archaeologists who excavated the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, whereby an imprecation was supposedly pronounced from the grave by the ancient Egyptian priests, on anyone who violated its precincts. Similar dubious suspicions have surrounded the excavation and examination of the (natural, not embalmed) Alpine mummy, "Ötzi the Iceman". While such curses are generally considered to have been popularized and sensationalized by British journalists of the 19th century, ancient Egyptians were in fact known to place curse inscriptions on markers protecting temple or tomb goods or propert.

Hungarian curse of turan (Hungarian: Turáni átok)
The Curse of Turan (Hungarian: Turáni átok) is a belief that Hungarians have been under the influence of a malicious spell for many centuries. The "curse" manifests itself as inner strife, pessimism, misfortune and several historic catastrophes.


Origin

There are different theories of origin. It is notable that choice of theory is more controversial than the existence of the curse.
Saint Stephen and Christianity

Perhaps the most popular origin theory is that the curse resulted from Hungary's conversion to Christianity in the year AD 1000 under King Stephen. The vanquished adherents of the old Hungarian religion cast a curse upon Christian Hungary to last either forever or perhaps for 1,000 years.
1848 revolution

Another theory is that the curse was created as legend during the 1850s in the aftermath of the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and reflected the overwhelming pessimism of this repressive decade.
National catastrophes

Some tragic events of Hungarian history are traditionally seen as national catastrophes, manifestations of the Curse of Turan:

* Battle of Muhi (1241) Devastating loss to invading Mongols leading to severe population depletion.
* Battle of Mohács (1526) Decisive loss to invading Turks leading to around 150 years (until of Ottoman rule in central parts of the country.
* Crushing of the 1848 Revolution (1849) Loss to Habsburg and Russian forces led to 15 years of severe repression.
* Treaty of Trianon (1920) Redefinition of borders after World War I; Hungary loses about 72% of its territory.
* World War II (1939 - 45) Catastrophic alliance with Axis powers.
* Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Crushed by Soviet military, led to severe reprisals and mass exodus of many Hungarians.

Personal troubles

The curse has also been blamed for causing many troubles on a personal level. Among them are Hungary's high rate of suicide. Currently, Hungary is 6th in the world in suicide rate. In the mid 1980s, Hungary led this indicator. Hungarians have the third shortest life expectancy in Europe outside the countries of the former USSR.

Etymology

Turan (Hungarian: Turán) derives from the Persian توران‎ and refers to the steppes of Central Asia, land of the Tur. This root word is likely derived from the name of an ancient king, and may also be the root of "Turk". Traditionally Magyars were considered Turkic people until the end of the 18th century. The word is used figuratively to express the "Asian" nature of Magyars in both positive and negative senses. In the 19th century, when the Curse of Turan was a very popular concept, artists searched for Asian characteristics in Hungarian folk art and called them "Turanic motifs".

literature

The curse became a favourite theme in Hungarian literature. A poem written in 1832 by the great 19th century Romantic poet, Mihály Vörösmarty, explains the origin of the curse as the bloody wars fought for the territory of Hungary in ancient times:

The Curse

“Men!” announced the baneful god of Pannon memory
"I give to you a joyous land; yours to fight for, if necessary”
So great, brave nations fought determinedly for her
Until the Magyar finally emerged as the bloody victor
Oh, but discord remained in the souls of the nations: the land
Can never know happiness, under this curse’s hand

Az átok

"Férfiak!" így szólott Pannon vészistene hajdan,
"Boldog földet adok, víjatok érte, ha kell."
S víttanak elszántan nagy bátor nemzetek érte,
S véresen a diadalt végre kivítta magyar.
Ah de viszály maradott a népek lelkein: a föld
Boldoggá nem tud lenni ez átok alatt.


By http://www.wikipedia.org

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