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INCANTATION

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 348 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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INCANTATION , the use of words, spoken, sung or chanted, usually as a set See also:

formula, for the purpose of obtaining a result by their supposed magical See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power. The word is derived from the Latin incantare, to See also:

CHANT (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. cantare, to sing; an old form is " chaunt ")

chant a magical formula; cf. the use of carmen, for such a formula of words. The Latin use is very See also:

early; thus it appears in a fragment of the XII. Tables quoted in See also:

Pliny (V.H. See also:

XXVIII

xxviii. 2, 4, 17), " Qui malum carmen incantasset." From the O. Fr. derivative of incantare, enchanter, comes " enchant," " enchantment," &c., properly of the exercise of magical See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers, hence to See also:

CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm, to fascinate, words which also by origin are of magical significance. The early magi of See also:

ASSYRIA

Assyria and Babylonia were adepts at this See also:

art, as is evident from the examples of Akkadian spells that have been discovered. See also:

Daniel (v. II) is spoken of as " See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of the enchanters " of See also:

BABYLON (mod. Hillah)

Babylon. In See also:

EGYPT

Egypt and in See also:

India many formulas of religious magic were in use, See also:

witness especially the Vedic mantras, which are closely akin to the See also:

MAORI

Maori karakias and the See also:

North See also:

AMERICAN

American matamanik. Among the See also:

HOLY

holy men presented by the See also:

king of See also:

Korea to the See also:

MIKADO (Japanese for " exalted gate ")

mikado of See also:

JAPAN

Japan in A.D. 577 was a reciter of mantras, who would find himself at See also:

home with the majinahi or incantation practised by the See also:

ancient See also:

JAPANESE

Japanese for dissipating evil influences.

One of the most See also:

COMMON

common, widespread and persistent uses of incantation was in healing wounds, instances of which are found in the Odyssey and the Kalcvala, and in the traditional folk-See also:

lore of almost every See also:

EUROPEAN

European See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. Similar songs were sung to win back a faithless See also:

LOVER, SAMUEL (1797-1868)

lover (cf. the second Idyll of See also:

THEOCRITUS

Theocritus). See further MAGIC.

End of Article: INCANTATION

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