Binding and oaths

Binding magic ties, holds or seals: knots, cords, seals, vows, oaths and spells. It includes the Roman defixio, the Greek katadesmos, the Slavic knotted charms, the Jewish and Arabic binding of demons, the Indian sacred thread, the Hindu marriage knot, the oaths sworn on an object, and the knot magic of sailors and witches in Europe. This page covers the idea of tying, what it is said to secure, and the uses people make of oaths.

Ties and knots

A knot is a simple image of holding. In many places a cord is tied for protection or a promise: the red thread on a wrist in India and among Jewish families, the sacred thread of a Hindu boy at his upanayana, the knotted cords of a wedding ceremony. Sailors in Europe were said to buy winds tied in knots. Untying is also a rite, to loosen a hold or a vow.

Oaths and covenants

Oaths bind a person by calling on a power to witness. People have sworn on a sacred book, a shrine, a river, an ancestor or a sacred object. In West Africa, oath shrines have been used to resolve disputes and are still used by some courts and police. Fear of divine punishment can compel honesty, and can also be used to coerce, as in oaths forced on trafficked women. Knots are also tied for healthy purposes, as when a thread is tied round a child's wrist for a blessing.

Binding as harm

Some binding is directed at another person to stop them speaking, moving or competing. Greek and Roman lead tablets sought to bind an athlete or a rival in court. In modern use, some practitioners describe binding as a way to stop a harmful person, and others consider it ethically problematic. The aim is typically described as restraint and not injury. Oaths on shrines also have a place in oath-taking in courts and in oaths of loyalty to kings, so the idea is part of public life.

Trafficking and coercion

Oath rites have been misused. Women trafficked from Nigeria to Europe have been bound by juju oaths sworn in shrines, and fear of the oath keeps many in debt. The Nigerian Oba of Benin issued a decree in 2018 revoking such oaths. Anti-trafficking groups work with priests to counter them, and scholars point out that religious fear has been exploited by criminals. Counter-measures include untying, offerings to the oath's shrine and the work of priests and activists who release people from fear.