Etymology And Magic Yaskas Nirukta Flatos Cratylus And Riddle Of Semanticetymologies

Author(s): Johannes Bronkhorst
Publisher: Johannes Bronkhorst

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Johannes Bronkhorst
Etymology and Magic
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to be understood according to a substitutional model. Kahrs himself has such doubts. Towards the end of his book he makes the following remarks (p. 278): "In the light of the technical framework of the Nirukta it is of course also possible to adopt a different model for the interpretation of nirvacunas. On the view that the -leh and -eh forms are ablatives one would simply face statements that single out the verbal element which underlies the grammatical formation and identify the action or event considered the reason for a particular name. This is a possibility also if they are considered genitive forms, and it is no longer crucial to determine which case ending we are dealing with." He then adds that perhaps this model and the substitutional model are both simultaneously valid. Perhaps, but one cannot avoid the conclusion that the problem of the Indian semantic etymologies is not definitely solved with the help of the substitution model
about the Azande: "The homoeopathic element is so evident in many magical rites and in much of the materia medica that there is no need to give examples. It is recognized by the Azande themselves. They say, 'We use such-and-such a plant because it is like such-and-such a thing, naming the object towards which the rite is directed." Similar objects are here brought into connection, just as similar words, or parts of words, are connected in traditional etymologies. It may be interesting to see what explanations practitioners and believers offer for the presumed efficacy of magical acts.
It appears that often the people concerned do not think much about this question. Hallpike (1972: 284; cited in Hallpike 1979: 157-58). e.g., maintains that the Konso never refer to any kind of force or supernatural power to explain their belief in the efficacy of their symbolism. Ohnuki-Tierney (1981: 44-45), similarly, observes that among the Ainu materia medica alone, without the involvement of a spiritual being or a ritual, is considered sufficient to effect a cure: "The analogy between the physical characteristics of the beings used in materia medica and the illness... generates the power of what Frazer once called 'sympathetic magic". Among the Nuer-EvansPritchard observes (1956: 104) - magical substances have an efficacy in themselves and do not derive their power from Spirit.
Yet there are cases documented where people do speculate about the reasons why their magic works, or should work. These reasons can be some specific power, or the involvement of spirits. The Azande. Evans Pritchard (1976: 177) observed, "do not think very much about the matter", yet they see that the action of medicines is unlike the action of empirical techniques and that there is something mysterious about it that has to be accounted for. In the case of vengeance-magic, for example, they say that the mbisimo ngua, 'the soul of the medicine'.
It appears, then, that semantic etymologizing is a universal (human) phenomenon which is in need of a universal explanation. In order to make progress in this direction, we may observe that there is a shared element between semantic etymologies and so-called magical acts which are of almost universal occurrence in human societies." Both may be looked upon as expressions of the analogical mode of thought, to borrow a term from the anthropologist SJ. Tambiah. Both in etymologies and in magical acts (or what are often referred to as such) similarity frequently plays a determining role. It must suffice here to cite Evans-Pritchard's (1976: 177) following remark
Some authors (eg, Brian K. Smith, 1989: 36 1.) ohject against the use of the word magic, claiming that this term indicates utter foreignness and difference of the activities concerned that it distinguishes them from proper religion, that it emphasizes their problematic nature, etc. None of this is here intended. No claim is here made that there is such a thing as magic, or that the term has been, or can be meaningfully used. The word has however often been used in academic literature in connection with activities that show some kind of similarity with the etymologies we are studying, The term is here merely used for convenience, without any claim as to the unity or coherence of the activities covered by it
The attitude of the Azunde towards witchcraft is not dissimilar: "But even to the Azande there is something peculiar about the action of witchcraft. They know that it cxists and works evil, but they have to guess at the manner in which it works.... They only know what the others know that the soul of Witchcraft goes by night and dewurs the soul of its victim." (Evans-Pritchard, 1976:31