The Donkey King

Asinine Symbology in Ancient and Medieval Magic

Emily Selove (University of Exeter)

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Hardback

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English

Cambridge University Press
21 December 2023

Conjuring & magic; Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; Occult studies; Mysticism, magic & ritual

Series: Elements in Magic

The 13th-century Arabic grimoire, al-Sakkākī's Kitāb al-Shāmil (Book of the Complete), provides numerous methods of contacting jinn. The first such jinn described, Abū Isrā'īl Būzayn ibn Sulaymān, arrives with a donkey. In the course of offering an explanation for his ritual, this Element reveals the double-sided nature of asinine symbology, and explains why this animal has served as the companion of both demons and prophets. Focusing on two nodes of donkey symbology—the phallus and the bray-it reveals a coincidentia oppositorum in a deceptively humble and comic animal form. Thus, the donkey, bearer of a demonic voice, and of a phallus symbolic of base materiality, also represents transcendence of the material and protection from the demonic. In addition to Arabic literature and occult rituals, the Element refers to evidence from the ancient Near East, Egypt, and Greece, as well as to medieval Jewish and Christian texts.

By: Emily Selove (University of Exeter)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781009462549
ISBN 10: 1009462547
Series: Elements in Magic
Pages: 74
Publication Date: 21 December 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface; 1. Introduction: the complete donkey; 2. The ancient donkey and his afterliv; 3. The phallus of the donkey; 4. The voice of the donkey; 5. Conclusion; Bibliography.