Witchcraft—Homceopathic Influences—The Transference of Evil | 12

ABSTRACT

Besides the evil eye and the curse there are other mysterious malign influences which are due to envy or ill-will, namely, practices called sḥȫr (or sḥōr), that is, witchcraft. The plural sḥȫr is much more frequently heard than the singular saḥr or sẹḥr, the latter of which is, to my knowledge, only used by scribes. A person who practises sḥȫr is called sá̤ḥḥā̤r or să̤ḥḥâ̤r (plur. sa̤ḥḥâ̤rīn or să̤ḥḥâ̤ra if a man, and sa̤ḥḥâ̤ra or să̤ḥḥâ̤ra, if a woman. The Berbers have berberised forms of these words, such as ssḥȫr (Aiṯ Wäryä̂ġer), ssḥör (Aiṯ Sáddĕn), or sséḥär (Ait Waráin); ssaḥḥā̤r (plur. ssaḥḥâ̤ra; Aiṯ Wäryä̂ġer), asḥḥā̤r (plur. isḥḥä̂rn; Aiṯ Sáddĕn), or asḥḥār (plur. isḥḥārn; Iglíwa); ssaḥḥâ̤ra (plur. ssaḥḥâ̤rat; Aiṯ Wäryä̂ġer), ṯasḥḥā̤rṯ (plur. ṯisḥḥä̂rin; Aiṯ Sáddĕn), or ṯasḥḥārṯ (plur. tisḥḥarīn; Iglíwa). Among the Aiṯ Sáddĕen the term ssḥör is used for a written charm, whereas the witchcraft practised by women is called iḥärg^yǟn and the woman who practises it ṯiḥärg^yīṯ (plur. ṯiḥärg^yä̂ṯin).