Succubus: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Mythological demoness that seduces men }} |
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[[Image:SuccubusBracket.jpg|thumb|right|A bracket carved as a winged succubus on the outside of an [[England|English]] inn, suggesting that a [[brothel]] could have been found inside.]]In [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[legend]], a '''succubus''' (plural ''succubi''; from [[Latin]] ''succubare'', "to lie under") is a female [[demon]] which comes to [[man|men]], especially [[monk]]s, in their [[dream]]s to seduce them and have [[sexual intercourse]], drawing energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or [[death]]. This legend was probably an explanation for the phenomena of [[wet dream]]s and [[sleep paralysis]]. From [[mythology]] and [[fantasy]], [[Lilith]] and the [[Lilin]] ([[Judaism|Jewish]]), [[Lilith|Lilitu]] ([[Sumer]]ian) and [[Slavic fairies#Rusalka|Rusalka]] ([[Slavic peoples|Slavic]]) were succubi. |
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{{Other uses}} |
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[[File:Fritz Schwimbeck - My Dream, My Bad Dream. 1915.jpg|thumb|A depiction of a succubus in "My Dream, My Bad Dream" by Fritz Schwimbeck, 1915]] |
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A '''succubus''' ({{plural form}}: '''succubi''') is a female [[demon]] or [[supernatural]] entity in [[folklore]]s who appears in [[Dream|dreams]] to [[seduce]] men, usually through [[sexuality in Christian demonology|sexual activity]]. According to some folklore, a succubus needs [[semen]] to survive; repeated sexual activity with a succubus will result in a bond being formed between the succubus and the person; and a succubus will drain or harm the man with whom she is having intercourse. |
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In modern representations, a succubus is often depicted as a beautiful seductress or [[magician (supernatural)|enchantress]], rather than as demonic or frightening. The male counterpart to the succubus is the [[incubus]]. |
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According to the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'', or "Witches' Hammer", succubi would collect semen from the men they slept with, which [[Incubus (demon)|incubi]] would then use to impregnate women. Children so begotten were supposed to be more susceptible to the influence of demons. |
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==Etymology== |
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[[Honoré de Balzac]] wrote a short story ''[http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/826/ The Succubus]'' concerning a [[1271]] trial of a she-[[devil]] succubus in the guise of a woman, who amongst other things could use her hair to entangle victims. |
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The term derives from [[Late Latin]] ''{{Lang|la|succuba}}'' "paramour" from ''{{Lang|la|succubare}}'' "to lie beneath" (''{{Lang|la|sub}}-'' "under" and ''{{Lang|la|cubare}}'' "to lie"),<ref>{{cite dictionary |url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/succuba |title= Succuba |dictionary= [[dictionary.com]]}}</ref> used to describe this being's implied sexual position relative to the sleeper's position. The [[English language|English]] word "succubus" dates from the late 14th century. The succubus is also known as the earth wanderer.<ref> |
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{{oed | succubus}} |
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</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |
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|url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=succubus |
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⚫ | |||
|dictionary= Online Etymology Dictionary |
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|first= Douglas |last= Ha |
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|author-link= Douglas Harper |
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|quote= late 14c., alteration (after incubus, giving a masc. form to a word generally felt as of female meaning) of Late Latin succuba |
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}} |
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</ref> |
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==In folklore== |
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From the [[16th century]], the carving of a succubus on the outside of an [[inn]] indicated that the establishment also operated as a [[brothel]]. |
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As depicted in the Jewish mystical treatise ''[[Zohar]]'' and the medieval Jewish satirical text ''[[Alphabet of Ben Sira]]'', [[Lilith]] was [[Adam]]'s first wife, who later became a succubus.<ref name="Patai 1990">{{cite book |last=Patai |first=Raphael |author-link=Raphael Patai |year=1990 |origyear=1967 |chapter=Lilith |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0iRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |title=[[The Hebrew Goddess]] |location=[[Detroit]] |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |edition=3rd Enlarged |series=Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology |pages=221–251 |isbn=978-0814322710 |oclc=20692501}}</ref><ref name="Mcdonald 2009" /> She left Adam and refused to return to the [[Garden of Eden]] after she mated with the archangel [[Samael]].<ref name="Mcdonald 2009">{{cite book |author-last=Mcdonald |author-first=Beth E. |year=2009 |chapter=In Possession Of The Night: Lilith As Goddess, Demon, Vampire |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2tgt184wXkC&pg=PA173 |editor-last=Sabbath |editor-first=Roberta Sternman |title=Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur'an As Literature and Culture |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=173–182 |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004177529.i-536.42 |isbn=978-90-04-17752-9}}</ref> In Zoharistic [[Kabbalah]], there were four succubi who mated with the [[archangel]] Samael. The four original queens of the demons were [[Lilith]], [[Eisheth Zenunim]], [[Agrat bat Mahlat]], and [[Naamah (demon)|Naamah]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Zohar: Chapter XXXII |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/zdm/zdm041.htm |website=[[Internet Sacred Text Archive]]}}</ref> A succubus may take a form of a beautiful woman, but closer inspection may reveal deformities of her body, such as bird-like claws or [[Serpentine shape|serpentine]] tails.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Jane P.|title=Early modern supernatural : the dark side of European culture, 1400–1700|year=2012|publisher=Praeger|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-0313393433|pages=40}}</ref> Folklore also describes men being forced to perform the act of [[cunnilingus]]. <ref>{{cite book |last=Guiley |first=Rosemary Ellen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nDdcVt9-jnMC&pg=PA95 |title=The encyclopedia of witches, witchcraft and wicca |publisher=Facts On File |year=2008 |isbn=978-1438126845 |edition=3rd |location=New York |page=95}}</ref> In later folklore, a succubus took the form of a [[Siren (mythology)|siren]]. |
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Throughout history, [[priest]]s and [[rabbi]]s, including [[Hanina Ben Dosa|Hanina ben Dosa]] and [[Abaye]], tried to curb the power of succubi over humans.<ref>Geoffrey W. Dennis, The encyclopedia of Jewish myth, magic and mysticism. p. 126</ref> However, not all succubi were malevolent. According to [[Walter Mapes|Walter Map]] in the satire ''{{Lang|la|[[De nugis curialium]]}}'' (''Trifles of Courtiers''), [[Pope Sylvester II]] (999–1003) was allegedly involved with a succubus named Meridiana, who helped him achieve his high rank in the [[Catholic Church]]. Before his death, he confessed of his sins and died repentant.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Succubus |url=http://www.cyodine.com/succubus/History.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040717001332/http://www.cyodine.com/succubus/History.htm |archive-date=17 July 2004 |website=cyodine.com}}</ref> |
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== Appearance == |
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The appearance of succubi varies just about as much as that of [[demons]] in general; there is no "one" definitive depiction. However, they are almost universally depicted as alluring women with unearthly beauty, often with demonic batlike wings; occasionally, they'll be given other demonic features (horns, a tail with a spaded tip, snakelike eyes, etc). |
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==Ability to reproduce== |
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== In modern fiction == |
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According to the [[Kabbalah]] and the school of [[Shlomo ben Aderet|Rashba]], the original three queens of the demons, Agrat bat Mahlat, Naamah, Eisheth Zenunim, and all their cohorts give birth to children, except Lilith.<ref>{{cite web |author=Humm |first=Alan |title=Kabbala: Lilith, Queen of the Demons |url=http://www.lilithgallery.com/library/lilith/Queen-of-the-Demons.html |access-date=21 September 2016 |publisher=lilithgallery.com}}</ref> According to other [[legend]]s, the children of Lilith are called [[Lilin]]. |
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Succubi are often featured in [[fantasy]] fiction and [[role-playing games]], and often shown with batlike wings and [[bikini]] clad. Succubi are often very prominent in the sexual aspects of fantasy fandoms and [[paraphilia]]. |
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According to the ''{{Lang|la|[[Malleus Maleficarum]]}}'', or ''Witches' Hammer'', written by [[Heinrich Kramer]] (Institoris) in 1486, succubi [[semen collection|collect semen]] from men they seduce. Incubi, or male demons, then use the semen to impregnate human females,<ref>Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James (1486), Summers, Montague (translator – 1928), ''The Malleus Maleficarum'', Part2, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/mm/mm02b08a.htm chapter VIII], "Certain Remedies prescribed against those Dark and Horrid Harms with which Devils may Afflict Men," at [http://www.sacred-texts.com sacred-texts.com]</ref> thus explaining how demons could apparently sire children, despite the traditional belief that they were incapable of reproduction. Children so begotten—[[cambion]]s—were supposed to be those that were born deformed, or more susceptible to supernatural influences.<ref name="AZ">Lewis, James R., Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy, Sisung Kelle S. (Editor) (1996), ''[[iarchive:angelstoz0000lewi|Angels A to Z]]'', Entry: Incubi and Succubi, pp. 218, 219, Visible Ink Press, {{ISBN|0-7876-0652-9}}</ref> |
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In ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' succubi are numerous [[tanar'ri]] demons, many under the command of the [[Outer Plane|Abyssal]] Lord [[Graz'zt]]. Succubi are featured prominently in the ''[[Planescape]]'' games, and in ''D&D'' the female child of a succubus and a human is traditionally called an "Alu-demon" and the male child a "Cambion". Also, the offspring of an alu-demon or cambion's union with a human is known as a [[tiefling]]. |
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[[James VI and I|King James]] in his dissertation titled ''[[Daemonologie|Dæmonologie]] ''refutes the possibility for angelic entities to reproduce and instead offered a suggestion that a [[devil]] would carry out two methods of impregnating women - the first, to [[sperm theft|steal the sperm]] out of a dead man and deliver it into a woman. If a demon could extract the semen quickly, the substance could not be instantly transported to a female host, causing it to go cold. This explains his view that succubi and incubi were the same demonic entity, only to be described differently based on the tormented sexes being conversed with. The second method was the idea that a dead body could be possessed by a devil, causing it to rise and have sexual relations with others. However, no mention has been found of a female corpse being possessed to elicit sex from men.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Warren|first1=Brett|title=The Annotated Dæmonologie of King James. A Critical Edition. In Modern English|date=2016|isbn=978-1-5329-6891-4|pages=79–83|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform }}</ref> |
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They also appear as enemies in many [[video game]] series and can be seen in the ''[[Castlevania]]'' [[video game]] series and in several [[Blizzard Entertainment]] games, such as ''[[Diablo_(computer_game)|Diablo]]'' and ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. [[Drakan]] features them as well, but the main character is female and thus the emphasis is put on their deceiving qualities. fe[[Morrigan Aensland]] is an individual succubus from the ''[[Darkstalkers]]'' series, also appearing in many of other [[Capcom]] [[fighting game]]s. Another succubus, [[Lilith Aensland|Lilith]], later made an appearance in ''Darkstalkers 3 - Jedah's Damnation''. Succubi also appeared in the ''[[Starship Titanic]]'' game, although not intended as demonic figures. |
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==In non-Western literature== |
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===Buddhist canon=== |
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A [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] scripture regarding prayer to [[Avalokiteśvara]], the ''Dharani Sutra of Amoghapāśa'', promises to those who pray that "you will not be attacked by demons who either suck your energy or make love to you in your dreams."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yü |first1=Chün-fang |url=https://archive.org/details/kuanyinchinesetr0000ychn |publisher=Columbia University Press |title=Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara |year=2001 |isbn=023112029X |location=New York |page=57 |url-access=registration}}</ref> |
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===Arabian mythology=== |
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In [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|Arabian mythology]], the ''{{Lang|ar-latn|qarînah}}'' ({{lang|ar|قرينة}}) is a spirit similar to the succubus, with origins possibly in [[ancient Egyptian religion]] or in the [[animism|animistic]] beliefs of [[pre-Islamic Arabia]].<ref name="Zwemer">{{cite book |first= Samuel M. |last= Zwemer |author-link= Samuel Marinus Zwemer |title= Studies in Popular Islam: Collection of Papers dealing with the Superstitions and Beliefs of the Common People |location= London |publisher= Sheldon Press |year= 1939 |chapter= 5 }}</ref> A ''{{Lang|ar-latn|qarînah}}'' "sleeps with the person and has relations during sleep as is known by the dreams".<ref>{{cite book |first= A. J. N. |last= Tremearne |title= Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in West and North Africa |year= 1914 |url= https://archive.org/details/cu31924029887431 }}</ref> They are said to be invisible, but a person with "[[second sight]]" can see them, often in the form of a cat, dog, or other household pet.<ref name="Zwemer" /> "In Omdurman it is a spirit which possesses. ...Only certain people are possessed and such people cannot marry or the qarina will harm them."<ref>{{cite book |first= J. Spencer |last= Trimingham |author-link= J. Spencer Trimingham |title= Islam in the Sudan |location= London |publisher= Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. |year= 1965 |page= 172 }}</ref> |
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In Upper Egyptian folk belief, the ''qarînah'' can be appeased by sacrificing an all-black animal to her. The animal is slaughtered without prayers, and it is cooked without salt. No one speaks during the meal and it is buried in the house of those it has afflicted.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Hans |title=Ghost Riders of Upper Egypt}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[List of mythological creatures]] |
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*[[Incubus (demon)|Incubus]], a male version of the demon. |
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* [[List of succubi in fiction]] |
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*[[Interdimensional hypothesis]] |
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*[[Neuralger]], a related but potentially less damaging demon. |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*{{cite journal |last1=Grover |first1=S. |last2=Mehra |first2=A. |last3=Dua |first3=D. |title=Unusual cases of succubus: A cultural phenomenon manifesting as part of psychopathology |journal=Ind Psychiatry J |date=January–June 2018 |volume=27 |number=1 |pages=147–150 |doi=10.4103/ipj.ipj_71_17 |pmid=30416306 |pmc=6198602 |doi-access=free }} |
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== External |
== External links == |
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* {{wiktionary inline}} |
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*[http://www.cyodine.com/succubus Succubus: The Demonic Seductress] - A site dedicated to information on succubi. |
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* {{Commons category-inline}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[es:Súcubo]] |
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[[de:Succubus]] |
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[[fr:Succube]] |
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[[is:Succubus]] |
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[[ja:サッキュバス]] |
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[[sv:Succuba]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Succubi| ]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Christian mythology]] |
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[[Category:Demons in Christianity]] |
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[[Category:Demons in Judaism]] |
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[[Category:Female demons]] |
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[[Category:Jewish mysticism]] |
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[[Category:Jinniyyat]] |
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[[Category:Lilith]] |
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[[Category:Medieval European legendary creatures]] |
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[[Category:Sleep in mythology and folklore]] |
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[[Category:Supernatural legends]] |
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[[Category:Jewish legendary creatures]] |
Latest revision as of 18:55, 8 December 2024
A succubus (pl.: succubi) is a female demon or supernatural entity in folklores who appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. According to some folklore, a succubus needs semen to survive; repeated sexual activity with a succubus will result in a bond being formed between the succubus and the person; and a succubus will drain or harm the man with whom she is having intercourse.
In modern representations, a succubus is often depicted as a beautiful seductress or enchantress, rather than as demonic or frightening. The male counterpart to the succubus is the incubus.
Etymology
[edit]The term derives from Late Latin succuba "paramour" from succubare "to lie beneath" (sub- "under" and cubare "to lie"),[1] used to describe this being's implied sexual position relative to the sleeper's position. The English word "succubus" dates from the late 14th century. The succubus is also known as the earth wanderer.[2][3]
In folklore
[edit]As depicted in the Jewish mystical treatise Zohar and the medieval Jewish satirical text Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith was Adam's first wife, who later became a succubus.[4][5] She left Adam and refused to return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with the archangel Samael.[5] In Zoharistic Kabbalah, there were four succubi who mated with the archangel Samael. The four original queens of the demons were Lilith, Eisheth Zenunim, Agrat bat Mahlat, and Naamah.[6] A succubus may take a form of a beautiful woman, but closer inspection may reveal deformities of her body, such as bird-like claws or serpentine tails.[7] Folklore also describes men being forced to perform the act of cunnilingus. [8] In later folklore, a succubus took the form of a siren.
Throughout history, priests and rabbis, including Hanina ben Dosa and Abaye, tried to curb the power of succubi over humans.[9] However, not all succubi were malevolent. According to Walter Map in the satire De nugis curialium (Trifles of Courtiers), Pope Sylvester II (999–1003) was allegedly involved with a succubus named Meridiana, who helped him achieve his high rank in the Catholic Church. Before his death, he confessed of his sins and died repentant.[10]
Ability to reproduce
[edit]According to the Kabbalah and the school of Rashba, the original three queens of the demons, Agrat bat Mahlat, Naamah, Eisheth Zenunim, and all their cohorts give birth to children, except Lilith.[11] According to other legends, the children of Lilith are called Lilin.
According to the Malleus Maleficarum, or Witches' Hammer, written by Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) in 1486, succubi collect semen from men they seduce. Incubi, or male demons, then use the semen to impregnate human females,[12] thus explaining how demons could apparently sire children, despite the traditional belief that they were incapable of reproduction. Children so begotten—cambions—were supposed to be those that were born deformed, or more susceptible to supernatural influences.[13]
King James in his dissertation titled Dæmonologie refutes the possibility for angelic entities to reproduce and instead offered a suggestion that a devil would carry out two methods of impregnating women - the first, to steal the sperm out of a dead man and deliver it into a woman. If a demon could extract the semen quickly, the substance could not be instantly transported to a female host, causing it to go cold. This explains his view that succubi and incubi were the same demonic entity, only to be described differently based on the tormented sexes being conversed with. The second method was the idea that a dead body could be possessed by a devil, causing it to rise and have sexual relations with others. However, no mention has been found of a female corpse being possessed to elicit sex from men.[14]
In non-Western literature
[edit]Buddhist canon
[edit]A Buddhist scripture regarding prayer to Avalokiteśvara, the Dharani Sutra of Amoghapāśa, promises to those who pray that "you will not be attacked by demons who either suck your energy or make love to you in your dreams."[15]
Arabian mythology
[edit]In Arabian mythology, the qarînah (قرينة) is a spirit similar to the succubus, with origins possibly in ancient Egyptian religion or in the animistic beliefs of pre-Islamic Arabia.[16] A qarînah "sleeps with the person and has relations during sleep as is known by the dreams".[17] They are said to be invisible, but a person with "second sight" can see them, often in the form of a cat, dog, or other household pet.[16] "In Omdurman it is a spirit which possesses. ...Only certain people are possessed and such people cannot marry or the qarina will harm them."[18]
In Upper Egyptian folk belief, the qarînah can be appeased by sacrificing an all-black animal to her. The animal is slaughtered without prayers, and it is cooked without salt. No one speaks during the meal and it is buried in the house of those it has afflicted.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Succuba". dictionary.com.
- ^ "succubus". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Ha, Douglas. "Succubus". Online Etymology Dictionary.
late 14c., alteration (after incubus, giving a masc. form to a word generally felt as of female meaning) of Late Latin succuba
- ^ Patai, Raphael (1990) [1967]. "Lilith". The Hebrew Goddess. Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology (3rd Enlarged ed.). Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 221–251. ISBN 978-0814322710. OCLC 20692501.
- ^ a b Mcdonald, Beth E. (2009). "In Possession Of The Night: Lilith As Goddess, Demon, Vampire". In Sabbath, Roberta Sternman (ed.). Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur'an As Literature and Culture. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 173–182. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004177529.i-536.42. ISBN 978-90-04-17752-9.
- ^ "Zohar: Chapter XXXII". Internet Sacred Text Archive.
- ^ Davidson, Jane P. (2012). Early modern supernatural : the dark side of European culture, 1400–1700. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger. p. 40. ISBN 978-0313393433.
- ^ Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2008). The encyclopedia of witches, witchcraft and wicca (3rd ed.). New York: Facts On File. p. 95. ISBN 978-1438126845.
- ^ Geoffrey W. Dennis, The encyclopedia of Jewish myth, magic and mysticism. p. 126
- ^ "History of the Succubus". cyodine.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2004.
- ^ Humm, Alan. "Kabbala: Lilith, Queen of the Demons". lilithgallery.com. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James (1486), Summers, Montague (translator – 1928), The Malleus Maleficarum, Part2, chapter VIII, "Certain Remedies prescribed against those Dark and Horrid Harms with which Devils may Afflict Men," at sacred-texts.com
- ^ Lewis, James R., Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy, Sisung Kelle S. (Editor) (1996), Angels A to Z, Entry: Incubi and Succubi, pp. 218, 219, Visible Ink Press, ISBN 0-7876-0652-9
- ^ Warren, Brett (2016). The Annotated Dæmonologie of King James. A Critical Edition. In Modern English. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. pp. 79–83. ISBN 978-1-5329-6891-4.
- ^ Yü, Chün-fang (2001). Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 57. ISBN 023112029X.
- ^ a b Zwemer, Samuel M. (1939). "5". Studies in Popular Islam: Collection of Papers dealing with the Superstitions and Beliefs of the Common People. London: Sheldon Press.
- ^ Tremearne, A. J. N. (1914). Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in West and North Africa.
- ^ Trimingham, J. Spencer (1965). Islam in the Sudan. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. p. 172.
- ^ Winkler, Hans. Ghost Riders of Upper Egypt.
Further reading
[edit]- Grover, S.; Mehra, A.; Dua, D. (January–June 2018). "Unusual cases of succubus: A cultural phenomenon manifesting as part of psychopathology". Ind Psychiatry J. 27 (1): 147–150. doi:10.4103/ipj.ipj_71_17. PMC 6198602. PMID 30416306.