[The following is the thirty-third of many posts–here is the first, here is the second, here is the third, here is the fourth, here is the fifth, here is the sixth, here is the seventh, here is the eighth, here is the ninth, here is the tenth, here is the eleventh, here is the twelfth, here is the thirteenth, here is the fourteenth, here is the fifteenth, here is the sixteenth, here is the seventeenth, here is the eighteenth, here is the nineteenth, here is the twentieth, here is the twenty-first, here is the twenty-second, here is the twenty-third, here is the twenty-fourth, here is the twenty-fifth, here is the twenty-sixth, here is the twenty-seventh, here is the twenty-eighth, here is the twenty-ninth, here is the thirtieth, here is the thirty-first, and here is the thirty-second–about a fictitious discovery of ancient manuscripts of a religious text of narratives and magic spells. Its purpose for my readers and me is to provide a cosmology and mythography on which I am basing much, if not most, of my fiction–short stories and novels. If anyone is interested in reading this fiction, he or she can use these blog posts as references to explain the nature of the magic and universe in my fiction.]
Translator’s Introduction
And at long last, we come to the wicked spells of the Tanah.
When one considers just how heinous the intentions are of many, if not most, or all, of these spells, and how much the ancient elders abominated them and fought to keep people from using them, it is amazing that so many of the texts have survived, rather than all of them destroyed.
But here they are, as incomplete as they may be.
These Lyrics are verses set to music, for it is the nature of the music–the melodic contours of the singing (as expressed in an upward or downward slash for each word, beside each line of verse), the instrumental accompaniment–that makes an important contribution to the efficacy of the spells (the poetic power of whose words is rendered rather dull, unfortunately, in English translation). Little of the musical arrangements has survived, though, in terms of how the music is precisely to be performed: there’s no notation even of the sung melodies of the verses, except for the above-mentioned slashes, as mentioned above, which only suggest a tune; and there are only vague indications of what instrumental backing is recommended…if that.
These are spells for selfish ends. They fulfill individual desires, or those of the tribe, and they often have outright malevolent purposes. Examples include the summoning of such demons as Ai, the demon of lust as introduced in Part Two of The Preaching, or the capturing of souls in jars, for the purpose of gaining greater magical power from them.
Elsewhere, there are songs meant to help in the conquering and subjugation of foreign peoples, cruelty to enemies, controlling people, gaining wealth, stealing, and more.
For sexual exploitation, wait for the book of spells known as Amores.
[Sing the following verse repeatedly, louder and louder, with accompanying flute and drum.]
Your land is our land. \\\\
Your home is our home. \\\\
Your wealth is our wealth. \\\\
Your food is our food. \\\\
Your men are our slaves. \\\\
[Sing the following verse repeatedly, louder and louder, with increasing intensity, until the singing sounds like screaming, with the dissonant plucking of adjacent strings on a zither, and harder and harder pounding on drums.]
May you hurt, ///
may you groan, ///
may you cry, ///
may you bleed, ///
may you die! ///
[Sing the following verse repeatedly, louder and louder, in a breathy voice, with no instrumental backing.]
I take you, //\
I have you, //\
I use you, //\
I own you. //\
[Sing the following verse repeatedly, louder and louder, with increasing intensity, and with the tapping of more and more cymbals.]
My gold and silver grow. /////
My gold and silver double. /////
My gold and silver triple. /////
My gold and silver, endless. /////
Comment: Each upward slash represents a rise in pitch, and each downward slash represents a lowering in pitch, each slash being for each word to the left.
Infinite Ocean 