The Performance of Healing: The Copto-Arabic Service ‘Abu Tarbu’ against Dog Bites as a Case Study in Ritual Healing

Abstract Abu Tarbu is a healing ritual against dog bites that is attached to the sacrament of unction of the sick in the Coptic Church of Egypt. The elaborate ritual with prayers, scripture readings, a historiola, and role-play is intended to protect the bitten person from infection with rabies. However, Abu Tarbu stands out above all for its theatricality: without the play with many participants, the role-playing of the priest and his assistants, and the symbolic exorcism of the dog-demon, Abu Tarbu is inconceivable. This article sheds light on this performative facet as a constitutive feature of magical healing rituals and finally looks for possible precursors or parallels of this unique Coptic sacrament.