soot produced by burning substances

Ingredients

soot, resins, liquid medium, frankincense, myrrh, mastic, storax

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The ink is produced by mixing soot with a liquid medium. The soot is derived from burning specific substances, often resinous incenses like frankincense, myrrh, mastic, or storax, which were also used as ritual offerings (p. 517). The author notes that in magical rituals, the specific constituents of this soot were often prescribed to match the ingredients burned in the accompanying offerings (p. 517).

Evidence

"Ink in the ancient world was generally produced by mixing the soot produced by burning substances with a liquid medium, and in magical rituals the constituents of this soot were often specified; usually they used the same kinds of resins burned in offerings, and at times precisely the same combination of ingredients as those used as offerings in the same rituals."

Remarks

The choice of ink ingredients in Coptic magic was highly significant and linked to the materiality of the ritual. The soot was often a physical byproduct of the sacrificial resins (p. 517). The author suggests the production of inks for 'applied texts' was central to the ritual's efficacy (p. 517).