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Research on the medical systems of ancient Mesopotamia has progressed considerably in recent years and has been enriched by theoretical contributions from the social sciences. This paper aims to show how theories and methodologies of Medical Anthropology can be useful to understand the internal logic of nīš libbi therapies, which aim to regain the male sexual desire. The article explores Mesopotamian classificatory systems related to the body and pathologies, as well as the relationship between male and female agencies in the therapeutic itinerary. Other issues are investigated: recipients of treatment; symptomatology and ideology of binding; interrelationship between incantations and prescriptions; etiological analysis; function of abracadabra and historiolae.

Introduzione alla storia della musica nell'antica Mesopotamia.

The Distant Worlds Journal (DWJ) is an online peer-reviewed journal established especially for presenting the research of early-career scholars on the ancient world. Each edition of the DWJ centres on a specific question or topic pertinent to the diverse disciplines engaged in the study of ancient cultures. In our fourth edition, we explore cultural anthropological theories and methods in the ancient studies, both in terms of the opportunities they offer for the study of ancient cultures and the problems they pose when applied

Ressenya, Recensione

The Old-Babylonian text “A man and his god” has enjoyed a wide reputation for its many parallels with the biblical story of Job, and has been the subject of accurate philological analysis. This composition describes the suffering and pain of desperate man calls his God for healing. The aim of this work is to show how you can apply to the Mesopotamian literary texts dealing with the issue of suffering, pain and discomfort-disgrace, the theoretical and methodological tools of medical anthropology. An anthropological approach to the problem of illness in Mesopotamia can understand, in a deeper sense, the symbolic, socio-cultural and political complexity. The essay provides much food for thought on the concept of sickness and the body in the Old-Babylonian Mesopotamia. The affliction of the protagonist is both physical and mental. The words of the poem does not refer only and exclusively to the sphere of physical suffering. The verbs are used in their more general semantic value, showing a man debilitated, helplessly, the victim of an imbalance, which upsets not only the physical and psychological well-being, but also social relations. The pains are part of a broad category which is that of misfortune. Therefore, there is a clear distinction between the evils that affect physically and emotionally man and the events of the most varied nature, which affects his difficult life. The ignorance of the divine will seems to be the human condition. The miserable situation of the sufferer is determined by an inscrutable divine decision.

Sri Lanka, durante las dos últimas décadas, fue el escenario de una prolongada guerra civil entre la mayoría cingalesa budista y la minoría tamil hindú, que ha defendido su independencia. La primera parte de este artículo muestra que no fueron las diferencias de origen étnico-cultural las que llevaron a la guerra, sino las razones políticas y económicas. La guerra civil ha llevado a una radicalización y cristalización de las diferencias étnicas a través de la manipulación del pasado y del papel político del budismo. La guerra provocó la diáspora tamil en todo el mundo, incluyendo también Sicilia. En la segunda parte del artículo, se presentan algunos puntos del trabajo de campo realizado con la comunidad tamil en la ciudad de Palermo, Sicilia. In the last two decades, Sri Lanka was the stage of a long civil war between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and the Tamil Hindu minority, that fought for independence. The first part of the article shows that war was not caused by ethnic-cultural differences, but rather by political and economic reasons. The war has led to a radicalization and crystallization of ethnic differences, through the manipulation of the past and the political role of Buddhism. The conflict has created Tamil diaspora in whole world, and in Sicily too. In the second part of the article I present some items of the field-work done inside the Tamil community located in Palermo, Sicily. Fil: Zisa, Gioele. Università degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento Culture e società; Italia