Healing Scroll 19th century Amhara or Tigrinya peoples One of the earliest African objects to enter the Metropolitans collection, this Ethiopian scroll was part of a ritual healing process. It was created by a däbtära (an unordained cleric) to rid a person of physical illness caused by malevolent spirits. The parchment scroll is composed of three alternating panels of talismanic imagery and prayers selected according to the clients zodiac sign. While däbtäras draw from a common pool of motifs to create scrolls, there is no fixed symbolic interpretation for any one talismanic design.The upper and lower motifs are both variations on eight-pointed stars. Interpreted as the "Sea; of Solomon," gätsä säbe ("face of man"), or an eight-winged angel, the motif is among the most common in Ethiopian scrolls. The upper talisman precedes the prayer to Saint Susenyos, who was invoked in scrolls intended for women. In the central panel, a large man wearing a white and ocher robe sprinkled with ora