Curse

A genre of speech used by the speaker to access an essentially therapeutic power, but also traditionally to invoke a magical or divine power to destroy an opponent, the curse (in Portuguese “praga”, from the Latin “plaga”: “blow,” “wound,” “calamity,” in the proper and figurative sense) is at the same time a discourse of threat and satire, a discourse of merciless predation by an adversary who employs the force of words and gestures invested with supernatural power. In this article, based mainly on the many dozens of curses spoken by characters in the works of the Portuguese novelist Aquilino Ribeiro (proposed for the Nobel Prize in Literature), I try to build a theory (literary, cultural and anthropological) of the curse.

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Género do discurso a que o emissor recorre por lhe reconhecer um poder essencialmente terapêutico mas também por tradicionalmente se lhe atribuir um poder mágico ou divino de destruição de um oponente, a praga (do latim plaga: “golpe”, “ferimento”, “calamidade”, nos sentidos próprio e figurado) é ao mesmo tempo discurso de ameaça e sátira, discurso de predação impiedosa de um adversário que deve sucumbir à força de palavras e gestos investidos de poder sobrenatural. Nesta conferência, a partir sobretudo das muitas dezenas de pragas rogadas por personagens dos romances de Aquilino Ribeiro (proposto, em 1960, para o Prémio Nobel da Literatura), procuro construir uma teoria (literária, cultural e antropológica, principalmente) da praga.

Género do discurso a que o emissor recorre por lhe reconhecer um poder essencialmente terapêutico mas também por tradicionalmente se lhe atribuir um poder mágico ou divino de destruição de um oponente, a praga (do latim plaga: “golpe”, “ferimento”, “calamidade”, nos sentidos próprio e figurado) é ao mesmo tempo discurso de ameaça e sátira, discurso de predação impiedosa de um adversário que deve sucumbir à força de palavras e gestos investidos de poder sobrenatural. Neste artigo, a partir de muitas dezenas de pragas recolhidas por mim quer da oralidade quer de monografias, contos, romances, etc. (que, por sua vez, as foram buscar à oralidade ou nela se inspiraram), proponho-me construir uma teoria (literária, cultural e antropológica, principalmente) da praga.

In this contribution, we present a representative corpus of similia similibus formulae attested in ancient Greek and Latin curse tablets or defixiones. The simile formulae, attested in about 80 tablets in widely differing states of preservation and legibility, are introduced in the context of sympathetic magic and, in contradistinction to literary similes, as performative utterances that are based on a persuasive analogy. This analogy operates in the general form of "just as X possesses property P, so let also Y possess property P", in which Y is the target or victim of the curse, while X and P are variables that change in accordance with the intended results. We provide a provisional taxonomy of simile formulae, offer new readings and interpretations of some defixiones, and compare Greek and Latin documents. Due to its length, the paper has been divided into two parts. In the first part, presented here, we focus on comparata that reference the materiality of the tablet itself and comparata referencing corpses or ghosts of the dead. The remaining comparata, namely animals, historiolae and rituals, aversus formulae and unusual orientations of the script, "names", and drawings, will be presented in a follow-up paper, to be published in the next issue of Philologia Classica.

In this contribution, we present a representative corpus of similia similibus formulae attested in ancient Greek and Latin curse tablets or defixiones. The simile formulae, attested in about 80 tablets in widely differing states of preservation and legibility, are introduced in the context of sympathetic magic and, in contradistinction to literary similes, as performative utterances that are based on a persuasive analogy. This analogy operates in the general form of "just as X possesses property P, so let also Y possess property P", in which Y is the target or victim of the curse, while X and P are variables that change in accordance with the intended results. We provide a provisional taxonomy of simile formulae, offer new readings and interpretations of some defixiones, and compare Greek and Latin documents. Due to its length, the paper has been divided into two parts. In the first part, presented in the previous issue of Philologia Classica (Vol. 14, Fasc. 1, Pp. 27-55), we introduced curse tablets, briefly discussed the principles of sympathetic magic, and focused on comparata that reference the materiality of the tablet and comparata referencing corpses or ghosts of the dead. The remaining comparata, namely animals, historiolae and rituals, aversus formulae and unusual orientations of the script, "names", and drawings, are presented in here together with general conclusions.

Being rich with crude oil and other numerous natural resource, Nigeria is potentially among the richest countries in the world. Yet, it suffers chronic underdevelopment. Could the Resource Curse theory apply to it? The study examines the resource curse hypothesis of the Nigerian oil rich State. Globally, the country is perceived as structurally disconnected from the abundant natural and human capital resources. The discovery of crude oil in Nigeria provided for its socioeconomic viability and has contributed to recent upsurges of institutional uncertainty and insecurity. The ongoing debate about the deplorable state of human and natural resource development in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, signifies concomitant threat to the natural environment by oil and gas exploration. This situation has resulted to some forms of excruciating poverty, restiveness, criminality, human rights abuse, and attendant underdevelopment crisis that have been more conspicuous in recent time. It has bee...