Oaths of Allegiance to a Moral Order

Abstract

This article reevaluates the term māmītu (“oath-curse”) in Šurpu III. Applying it to transgressions has perplexed scholars, prompting divergent views: some posit an ancestral oath to a moral code (cf. Deuteronomy 27), others reject any oath link. Moving beyond purely semantic or inferred-belief approaches, I use a two-fold method: (1) reconstructing the scribal editing of Šurpu III to show how reuse of earlier sources generated semantic fluidity around māmītu ; (2) reassessing cross-cultural evidence for oaths of allegiance to moral codes from ancient and ethnographic data. These comparisons illuminate perceived ties between norm violations and supernatural sanctions. Together, they ground a new account of māmītu ’s exceptional usage in Šurpu: a metonymic process whereby the term can denote both cause (oath/commitment) and effect (curse/sanction).