(gods in blue)
. Jectinana = Assyrian
. Belili = Babylonian, sometimes Ninsun, sometimes an old woman
. Dumuzi-abzu =
. very close to her older full-brother Dumuzi, tried many times to save him from death
. dream interpreter for the gods
SEE SITCHIN’S EARTH CHRONICLES, ETC.
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)
“eating the pure food, dripping with honey and butter,
as they were drinking the fragrant divine beer, …”
and
“were spending the time in a happy mood …”
“Dumuzi took the solemn decision to do it …”
To prepare his sister for what he had in mind, Dumuzi took a lamb and copulated it with its mother, then had a kid copulate with its sister lamb. Dumuzi was touching his sister in emulation,
“but his sister still did not understand …”
As Dumuzi’s actions became more and more obvious, Geshtinanna
“screamed and screamed in protest ..”
but
“he mounted her…his seed was flowing into her vulva …”
“Halt!” she shouted, “it is a disgrace!” But he did not stop, having done his deed,
“the Shepherd, being fearless, being shameless, spoke to his sister …”
Inanna was in on the plan:
Dumuzi, prior to leaving,
“spoke to her of planning and advice …”
and Inanna
“to her spouse answered about the plan\to him she gave her advice …”
Dumuzi was soon there-after seized with a premonition that he was to pay for his deed with his life…Waking up, he asked his sister Geshtinanna to tell him the meaning of the dream.
“My brother, your dream is not favorable, it is very clear to me …”
It foretold
“bandits rising against you from ambush…
your hands will be bound in handcuffs,
your arms will be bound in fetters …”
No sooner had Geshtinanna finished talking than the evil ones appeared…and caught Dumuzi. Bound…Dumuzi cried out an appeal to Utu / Shamash:
“O Utu, you are my brother-in-law, I am your sister’s husband…
Change my hands into a gazelle’s hands, change my feet into a gazelle’s feat,
let me escape the evil ones! …”
Hearing his appeal, Utu enabled Dumuzi to escape…Dumuzi was captured again, and again escaped. ..A strong wind was blowing, the drinking cups were overturned; the evil ones closed in on him—all as he had seen in his dream: And in the end:
“The drinking cups lay on their side; Dumuzi was dead.
The sheepfold was thrown into the wind ….”
In another version of the events, a text titled “The Most Bitter Cry”…makes it clear that they had come on higher authority:
“My master has sent us for you, …”
the chief deputy announced to the awakened god. They proceed to strip Dumuzi of his divine attributes:
“Take the divine headdress off your head, get up bareheaded;
Take the royal robe off your body, get up naked;
Lay aside the divine staff which is in your hand, get up empty-handed;
Take the holy sandals off your feet, get up barefooted! …”
The seized Dumuzi manages to escape and reaches the river
“at the great dike in the desert of E.MUSH …”
(Home of the Snakes)…the place where nowadays the great dam of Aswan is located. But the swirling waters did not let Dumuzi reach the other riverbank where his mother and Inanna were standing…
“there did the boat-wrecking waters carry the espoused of Inanna …”
In the Epic of Gilgamesh:
“Kneeling before Ereshkigal was her scribe Geshtinanna (Dumuzi’s little sister)
Holding the Tablets of Destinies …”
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)
Geshtinanna / Jectinana = Enki & Ninsun‘s Daughter, Dumuzi‘s Sister
Many Gods (ex: Marduk) ½ Brothers
Many Kings (ex: Gilgamesh) ½ Brothers, etc.
Goddess of Music & Song
As Geshtinanna:
“Narrator:
But Inanna does not grieve alone.
Geshtinanna, Dumuzi‘s sister,
Wandered about the city, weeping for Dumuzi.
Geshtinanna:
“I grieve for my brother, lady, I grieve for the king
Where is the Shepherd Dumuzi, my favorite kin?”
Narrator:
When she saw the sister’s grief,
When Inanna saw the grief of Geshtinanna
She spoke to her gently:
“Your brother’s house is no more
Dumuzi has been carried away by the galla
I would take you to him
But I do not know the place….”
“‘You will go to the Underworld half the year
Your sister, since she has asked, will go the other half
On the day you are called, that day you’ll be taken.
On the day Geshtinanna is called, that day you’ll be set free.’
(Inanna places Dumuzi and Geshtinanna the hands of Ereshkigal, bows and lends graces to her Holy Sister): …”
“Kneeling before Ereshkigal was her scribe Geshtinanna (Dumuzi‘s little sister)
Holding the Tablets of Destinies …”
Geshtinana As Ama-gestin-ana:
“Ama-g̃eštin-ana went up onto the mound and looked around, G̃eštin-ana craned her neck.
Her girl friend G̃eštin-dudu (unidentified?) advised her:
‘The big men who bind the neck are already coming for him, they are …… coming for him! ‘…”
“‘My adviser and girl friend! Are they coming?’
‘Yes, I will point out to you those who bind the neck!’
‘My brother, your demons are coming for you!
Duck down your head in the grass!
Dumuzid, your demons are coming for you!
Duck down your head in the grass!’ …”
“They caught G̃eštin-ana at the sheepfold and cow-pen.
They offered a river of water, but she wouldn’t accept it.
They offered her a field of grain, but she wouldn’t accept it.
The little demon spoke to the big demon, the wise demon, the lively demon,
and the big demon who was between them,
wise like …… destroying a ……, like …… barring a ……, they spoke:
‘Who since the most ancient times has ever known a sister reveal a brother’s whereabouts?’ …
They caught Dumuzid in the ditches of Arali.
Dumuzid began to weep and was tear-stricken:
‘In the city my sister saved my life, my friend caused my death’ …”
“Dumuzid escaped alive to the dwelling of his sister Ĝeštin-ana.
Ĝeštin-ana looked at her brother.
She scratched at her cheek: she scratched at her nose.
She looked at her sides: she …… her garment.
She recited a lament of misfortune for the unfortunate lad:
‘O my brother! O my brother, lad who has not fulfilled those days!
O my brother, shepherd Ama-ušumgal-ana (Dumuzi),
lad who has not fulfilled those days and years!
O my brother, lad who has no wife, who has no children!
O my brother, lad who has no friend, who has no companion!
O my brother, the lad who is not a comfort (?) to his mother!’ …”
“’Rather, for the shepherd let us go to the dwelling of Ĝeštin-ana.’
The demons clap their hands and begin to seek him out.
Ĝeštin-ana had barely finished that lament when the demons arrived at her dwelling.
‘Show us where your brother is,’ they said to her.
But she spoke not a word to them.
They afflicted her loins with a skin disease, but she spoke not a word to them.
They scratched her face with ……, but she spoke not a word to them.
They …… the skin of her buttocks, but she spoke not a word to them.
They poured tar in her lap, but she spoke not a word to them.
So they could not find Dumuzid at the house of Ĝeštin-ana …”
“His sister wandered about the city like a bird because of her brother:
‘My brother, let me take the great misfortune, come, let me’……. …”
“He approached the holy sheepfold, his sister’s sheepfold.
G̃eštin-ana cried toward heaven, cried toward earth.
Her cries covered the horizon completely like a cloth, they were spread out like linen.
She lacerated her eyes, she lacerated her face, she lacerated her ears in public; in private she lacerated her buttocks.
‘My brother, I will go round in the streets …….’
(The demons said:)
‘Unless G̃eštin-ana is aware of Dumuzid‘s whereabouts, she is indeed looking frightened!’ …
the drinking cups lay on their side, Dumuzid was dead …”
Geshtinana As Jectinana:
“in song, for my (½) sister Jectin-ana, my own mother Ninsumun (Ninsun) …”
(Inanna speaking:)
“Escort me to my house, to my house in Zabalam.
Escort me to my mother, to my mother Ningal (Nannar‘s spouse).
Escort me to my mother-in-law, to Ninsumun (Ninsun).
Escort me to my sister-in-law, to Jectin-ana (Dumuzi‘s sister) …”
“Jectin-ana, the lady, did …….
1 line fragmentary
The maiden …… the admiration.
Jectin-ana …….
The sacred one, Inanna …… in her hand.
…… together.
…… replied: …”
“The temple of Jectin-ana resembled an aljarsur instrument,
the aljarsur of mother Jectin-ana that makes a pleasant sound …”
“to Jectin-ana, the king’s (½) sister, in her palace,
the shepherd Ur-Namma offered a ……, the hallmark of the scribe, ……,
a peg and the measuring rod ……. …”
“I, Culgi, the king whose name is very suitable for songs, intend to be praised in my prayers and hymns.
At the command of my (½) sister Jectin-ana, my scholars and composers of ……
have composed adab, tigi and malgatum hymns about my being the Nintud (Ninhursag)
of all that is,about how wise I am in attending upon the gods,
about how the god of intercession has given me favorable signs
that years of abundance will elapse for me in due course.
They have composed cir-gida songs, royal praise poetry, sumundu, kunjar and balbale compositions …
Culgi, the great musician, superintendent of the art of music.
If …… favorable …….
My songs, lapsing from people’s mouths and passing out of memory, (?) in all the cult-places …….
…… his king ……, in the music- rooms of the gods ……
10 lines unclear
King of the singer’s art, Suen ……, protective goddess of the singer’s art, Jectinana …… …”
“So that the fame of my praises, the words which Enki composed about me,
and which Jectin-ana joyously speaks from the heart and broadcasts far and wide,
shall never be forgotten, I have had them written down line by line
in the House of the Wisdom of Nisaba in holy heavenly writing, as great works of scholarship.
No one shall ever let any of it pass from memory …….
It shall not be forgotten, since indestructible heavenly writing has a lasting renown …”
“King of the singer’s art, Suen ……, protective goddess of the singer’s art, Jectinana …… …”
“may Jectin-ana be their protective goddess.
…… treasures, lasting property of the king’s heirs, jewels of lordship which cannot be ……,
fixing them forever in the mouth of the singers…
‘I (Ishme-Dagon) made sure that my praises were spoken,
by creating numerous songs to Jectin-ana, the honey-mouthed lady.
I installed …… my scholars and chief singers.
The skilful singers composed for me adab, tigi, sumunca, malgatum, cir-gida, royal praise poems perfect in content,
arahi, balbale, zamzam and kunjar compositions’ …”
“In the temple my (Ishme-Dagon) songs should be performed splendidly (?), and my odes should be handed down.
Their attractiveness should be right in the heart of the Land, and mouths should carry the words as far as its borders.
…… the requirements of the banquet; he should put their attractiveness into the heart ……;
…… may Jectin-ana be their protective goddess.
…… treasures, lasting property of the king’s heirs, jewels of lordship which cannot be ……,
fixing them forever in the mouth of the singers …”
“Jectin-ana…….
In that city ……, festivals were not …….
Daily ……. …”
Belili Quotes From Texts
Belili = sometimes Geshtinanna, sometimes an unknown old lady
Geshtinanna As Belili:
“Belili (Geshtinanna) [sister of Tammuz (Dumuzi)] had gathered the treasure,
With precious stones filled her bosom.
When Belili heard the lament of her brother, she dropped her treasure,
She scattered the precious stones before her,
‘Oh, my only brother, do not let me perish!…’
On the day when Tammuz plays for me on the flute of lapis lazuli,
playing it for me with the porphyry ring.
Together with him, play ye for me, ye weepers and lamenting women!
That the dead may rise up and inhale the incense …”
“When Belili was stringing her jewelry,
And her lap was filled with “eye-stones,”
On hearing the sound of her brother,
Belili struck the jewelry on…
So that the “eye-stones” filled the…
My only brother, bring no harm to me! …”
“On the day when Tammuz comes up to me,
When with him the lapis flute and the carnelian ring come up to me,
When with him the wailing men and wailing women come up to me, …”
Belili as an old woman:
“’Come, let us go to the house of Old Woman Belili!’
They caught Dumuzid at the house of Old Woman Belili …”
“so I can escape to the house of Old Woman Belili …”
“so he evaded the demons and escaped with his life to the house of Old Woman Belili.
He approached the house of Old Woman Belili …”
Dumuzid-abzu Quotes From Texts
Dumuzid-abzu = Geshtinanna, Ninsun‘s daughter
Gehstinanna’s (House) – Temple Hymn
“Dumuzid-abzu, has erected a house in your precinct,
O shrine Kinirša, and taken her seat upon your dais.
7 lines: the house of Dumuzid-abzu in Kinirša.”
“Dumuzid-abzu was full of fear in the house of Kinirca.
Kinirca, the city of her noble youth, was ordered to be plundered …”
“So that the holy orchards (?) will be opened up,
{Ama-abzu-E-kura} {(1 ms. has instead:) Dumuzid–abzu} stands by at your behest…. …”
“may the goddess Duzi-abzu the mistress of Kinunir-ki, …”
“Dumuzid-abzu has abandoned that house Kinirca and has let the breezes haunt her sheepfold …”
“the favorite of the goddess Duzi-abzu (Geshtinanna, Enki & Ninsun‘s daughter). I am Ur-Bau; …”
“For the goddess Duzi-abzu (Geshtinanna, Enki & Ninsun‘s daughter),
the lady of Kinunir-ki, her temple of Girsu-ki he has constructed. …”
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue… mixed-breed demigods in teal)
SEGMENT A
1-13 My fish, I have built you a home!
My fish, I have built you a house, I have built you a store!
I have built you a house bigger than a house, in fact a large sheepfold.
Inside there is incense, and I have covered it with cloths for you;
in this happy place, I …… water of joy for you;
a house not bothered by cords dividing the plots, …… in the gutters.
In the house, there is food, food of the best quality.
In the house, there is food, food in good condition.
No flies buzz around in your house where beer is poured out.
Your reputation …… cannot be alienated (?).
The threshold and the door-bolt, the ritual flour and the incense-burner are all in place.
The scent and fragrance in the house are like an aromatic cedar forest.
(drinking beer through straws, avoiding the thick floating mash)
In the house, there is beer, there is good beer.
There is sweet beer, and honeyed cakes, extending as far as the reed fence.
14-24 Let your acquaintances come!
Let your dear ones come!
Let your father and grandfather come!
Let the sons of your elder brother and the sons of your younger brother come!
Let your little ones come, and your big ones too!
Let your wife and your children come!
Let your friends and companions come!
Let your brother-in-law and your father-in-law come!
Let the crowd by the side of your front door come!
Don’t leave your friends’ children outside!
Don’t leave your neighbors outside, whoever they may be!
25-33 Enter, my beloved son! Enter, my fine son!
Don’t let the day go by, don’t let the night come!
The moonlight should not enter that house!
But if the day has gone by and the night comes, enter and I will let you relax there;
I have made the grounds suitable for you!
Inside, I have fixed up a seat for you.
My fish, no one who sleeps there will be disturbed; no one who sits there will get involved in a quarrel.
34-39 Enter, my beloved son! Enter, my fine son!
As if you were in a river with brackish water, don’t go investigating any canals!
As if you were in silt settled on the riverbed, may you not be able to get up!
As if you were in flowing water, you should not fix your bed!
The moonlight should not enter that house!
40-44 And may you not succeed in getting away: face towards me!
And may you not succeed in getting away like a …… to your lair: face towards me!
And may you not succeed in getting away like a dog to where you go sniffing: face towards me!
And may you not succeed in getting away like a …… to where you ……: face towards me!
And may you not succeed in getting away like a bull to your cattle-pen,
like a sheep to your sheepfold: face towards me!
45-67 Now, just …… like a bull to your cattle-pen!
Now, just …… like a sheep to your sheepfold!
(Kish King Etana ascends to heaven / planet Nibiru, & Dumuzi the Shepherd, son to Enki & Ninsun)
When you lift your head like a bull towards your cattle-pen,
When you raise your head like a sheep in the sheepfold,
(Dumuzi the Shepherd, herder of animals, with his stags)
15 lines fragmentary or missing
May all kinds of fishes also enter with you, my fish!
The one with handsome barbels who eats the honey plant,
my suhur-gal fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one who always eats …… reeds, ……, my suhur-tur fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one with big lips, who sucks the gizi reeds,
1 line fragmentary
whose food ……, my ectub fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The black punting-pole, engendered in the fields,
the farrowing sow who takes away the dough from the river banks,
my gubi fish (probably = eel) : may he also enter with you, my fish!
81-95 The one with a spiny (?) tail and a spiny (?) back,
who goes ……, my ce-suhur-gal (?) fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The fish who is like a crying child in its prayers, my ce-suhur-sig (?) fish:
may he also enter with you, my fish!
With a pickaxe as a head, and having a comb for teeth, the branches of a fir-tree as its bones,
(Dumuzi, young spouse to Inanna)
Dumuzid‘s water-skin for the skin of its bladder (?),
with a dehaired skin that does not need processing, with its slender tail like the fishermen’s whip,
the jumping fish, with naturally smoothed skin, with no entrails in its nose,
the fish who seizes adversaries by arms and legs, whose sting goes across like a nail,
which is taboo and is not placed as an offering in the city’s shrines,
my mur fish (= sting-ray) : may he also enter with you, my fish!
96-113 The one whose fins (?) churn the troubled waters, a fish who seizes ……
at a glance (?), my kij fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
With a head like a small millstone, …… a dog’s head,
1 line unclear
the fish who does not eat the …… plants, ……, my jir-gid fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
With the noise of his entrails ……, my gir fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The fish who ……, the fish who knows how to escape through a reed barrier,
the fish which despite being tasty is an abomination, my ab-suhur fish:
may he also enter with you, my fish!
The fish that causes breaches in dykes, with venom in its jaws, my agargar fish:
may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one whom the merchants ……, my kamar fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one whom the Martu (primitive ape-like earthlings under Martu) fetch away,
my nunbar-gid (?) fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
114-117 The fish who does not eat edible plants, ……, my azagur fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one that …… a heavy skin, ……, my muc fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
approx. 7 lines fragmentary or missing
SEGMENT B
1-7 ……, spotted (?) ……, my jiru (?) fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one that the children bring in ……, my salsal fish: may he also enter with you, my fish!
The one with snake’s eyes, a …… mouse’s mouth, who …… on riverbanks,
approx. 8 lines fragmentary or missing
SEGMENT C
1-12 The one who utters its sinister cry in the marshes and rivers,
my agane bird: you would be dangling from its claws, my fish!
The one who circles the nets looking for you in the waters where the nets are stretched,
my ubure bird: you would be dangling from its claws, my fish!
The one with long legs, that laughs, the alien from faraway waters,
that writes in the mud, my ance-bar (?) bird: you would be dangling from its claws, my fish!
The one who does not adorn ……, with the …… of a bird and webbed (?) feet,
my kib bird: you would be dangling from its claws, my fish!
The one who seizes the quadrupeds that wander into the marshes,
my kuda crocodile: you would be dangling from its claws, my fish!
13-17 But you won’t be dangling from their claws, you won’t be snatched up by their feet!
Time is pressing, my fish! Just you come to me!
Time is pressing! Just you come to me!
(Nanshe, Enki‘s daughter, Goddess of Persian Gulf’s Fish & Birds)
Nance, the queen of the fishermen, will be delighted with you.
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue)
1-11. A small demon opened his mouth and said to the big demon,
“Come on, let’s go to the lap of holy Inana (Inanna).”
The demons entered Unug (Uruk) and seized holy Inana.
(Inanna atop zodiac symbol of Leo, & many symbols of relative gods; Inanna)
“Come on, Inana, go on that journey which is yours alone–descend to the underworld.
Go to the place which you have coveted — descend to the nether world.
(Inanna descends to Under World to see her elder sister Ereshkigal)
Go to the dwelling of Ereškigala (her sister Ereshkigal) — descend to the underworld.
Don’t put on your holy ba garment, the pala dress of ladyship — descend to the underworld.
Remove the holy headdress, that splendid ornament, from your head — descend to the underworld.
Don’t enhance your appearance with a wig — descend to the underworld.
Don’t adorn your feet with …… — descend to the underworld.
When you descend, …….”
12-21. They released holy Inana, they …… her.
(Inanna & Dumuzi in the Under World)
Inana handed over Dumuzid (Dumuzi) to them in exchange for herself.
“As for the lad, we will put his feet in foot stocks.
(Dumuzi the Shepherd cuffed hand & foot)
As for the lad, we will put his hands in hand stocks: we will put his neck in neck stocks.”
Copper pins, nails and pokers were raised to his face.
They sharpened their large copper axes.
As for the lad, they stood him up, they sat him down.
“Let us remove his …… garment, let us make him stand …….”
As for the lad, they bound his arms, they did evil …….
They covered his face with his own garment.
(Utu, twin to Inanna, brother to Ereshkigal, all children of Nannar, the patron god of Ur)
22-32. The lad raises his hands heavenward to Utu:
“O Utu, I am your friend, I am a youth.
Do you recognize me?
(young lovers Dumuzi & his spouse Inanna, Goddess of Love)
Your sister, whom I married, descended to the underworld.
Because she descended to the underworld,
it was me that she was to hand over to the underworld as a substitute.
O Utu, you are a just judge, don’t disappoint me!
Change my hands, alter my appearance, so that I may escape the clutches of my demons!
Don’t let them seize me!
Like a saĝkal snake that slithers across the meadows and mountains,
let me escape alive to the dwelling of my sister Ĝeštin-ana.”
33-46. Utu accepted his tears.
He changed his hands, he altered his appearance.
Then like a saĝkal snake that slithers across the meadows and mountains,
like a soaring falcon that can swoop down on a live (?) bird,
Dumuzid escaped alive to the dwelling of his sister Ĝeštin-ana.
(Geshtinanna, brother to Dumuzi, scribe, singer of songs, etc.)
Ĝeštin-ana looked at her brother.
She scratched at her cheek: she scratched at her nose.
She looked at her sides: she …… her garment.
She recited a lament of misfortune for the unfortunate lad:
“O my brother! O my brother, lad who has not fulfilled those days!
(Kish King Etana ascends to heaven / planet Nibiru, & Dumuzi the Shepherd)
O my brother, shepherd Ama-ušumgal-ana (Dumuzi), lad who has not fulfilled those days and years!
O my brother, lad who has no wife, who has no children!
O my brother, lad who has no friend, who has no companion!
O my brother, the lad who is not a comfort (?) to his mother!”
47-56. The demons go hither and thither searching for Dumuzid.
The small demons say to the big demons:
“Demons have no mother; they have no father or mother, sister or brother, wife or children.
When …… were established on heaven and earth, you demons were there, at a man’s side like a reed enclosure.
Demons are never kind, they do not know good from evil.
Who has ever seen a man, without a family, all alone, escape with his life?
We shall go neither to the dwelling of his friend nor to the dwelling of his in-laws.
Rather, for the shepherd let us go to the dwelling of Ĝeštin-ana.”
The demons clap their hands and begin to seek him out.
57-64. Ĝeštin-ana had barely finished that lament when the demons arrived at her dwelling.
“Show us where your brother is,” they said to her.
But she spoke not a word to them.
They afflicted her loins with a skin disease, but she spoke not a word to them.
They scratched her face with ……, but she spoke not a word to them.
They …… the skin of her buttocks, but she spoke not a word to them.
They poured tar in her lap, but she spoke not a word to them.
So they could not find Dumuzid at the house of Ĝeštin-ana.
65-73. The small demons said to the big demons: “Come on, let’s go to the holy sheepfold!”
There at the holy sheepfold they caught Dumuzid.
(Dumuzi captured & killed by demons & gods)
They went hither and thither until they caught him.
They searched for him until he was seen.
The ax was wielded against the lad who had no family.
They sharpened their daggers, they smashed his hut.
His sister wandered about the city like a bird because of her brother:
“My brother, let me take the great misfortune, come, let me …….”
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue)
1-4. His heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside.
The lad’s heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside.
(Dumuzi the Shepherd, son to Enki & Ninsun)
Dumuzid‘s heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside.
He carried with him his {(1 ms. adds:) shepherd’s} stick on his shoulder, sobbing all the time:
5-14. “Grieve, grieve, o countryside, grieve!
O countryside, grieve! O marshes, cry out!
O …… crabs of the river, grieve!
O frogs of the river, cry out!
(Ninsun, mother to Dumuzi, Gishtinanna, & many semi-divines appointed to kingships)
My mother will call to me, my mother, my Durtur (Ninsun), will call to me,
my mother will call to me for five things, my mother will call to me for ten things:
if she does not know the day when I am dead, you, o countryside, can inform my mother who bore me.
Like my little sister may you weep for me.”
5-18. In ancient times he lay down, in ancient times he lay down, in ancient times the shepherd lay down.
When in ancient times the shepherd lay down, he lay down to dream.
He woke up — it was a dream!
He shivered — it was sleep!
He rubbed his eyes, he was terrified.
(giant female goddesses as scribe, teachers, medical care, dancers, singers of songs, etc., etc.)
19-24. “Bring, bring, bring my sister!
Bring my G̃eštin-ana (Geshtinanna), bring my sister!
Bring my scribe proficient in tablets, bring my sister!
Bring my singer expert in songs, bring my singer!
Bring my perspicacious girl, bring my sister!
Bring my wise woman, who knows the meanings of dreams, bring my sister!
I will relate the dream to her.”
25-39. “A dream, my sister! A dream!
In my dream, rushes were rising up for me, rushes kept growing for me,
a single reed was shaking its head at me; twin reeds — one was being separated from me.
Tall trees in the forest were rising up together over me.
Water was poured over my holy {coals} {(1 ms. has instead:) brazier} for me, the cover of my holy churn was being removed,
my holy drinking cup was torn down from the peg where it hung, my shepherd’s stick disappeared from me.
An owl (?) took a lamb from the sheep house, a falcon caught a sparrow on the reed fence,
my male goats were dragging their dark beards in the dust for me, my rams were scratching the earth with their thick legs for me.
(Dumuzi & stags, herding in the mountains)
The churns were lying on their side, no milk was poured, the drinking cups were lying on their side,
(Dumuzi‘s deceased water-damaged body discovered)
Dumuzid (Dumuzi) was dead, the sheepfold was haunted.”
41-55. G̃eštin-ana answered Dumuzid:
“My brother, your dream is not favorable, don’t tell me any more of it!
Dumuzid, your dream is not favorable, don’t tell me any more of it!
The rushes rising up for you, which kept growing for you, are bandits rising against you from their ambush.
The single reed shaking its head at you is your mother who bore you, shaking her head for you.
The twin reeds of which one was being separated from you is you and I — one will be separated from you.
The tall trees in the forest rising up together over you are the evil men catching you within the walls.
That water was poured over your holy coals means the sheepfold will become a house of silence.
That the cover of your holy churn was being removed for you means the evil man will bring it inside in his hands.”
56-69. “Your holy drinking cup being torn down from the peg where it hung is you falling off the lap of the mother who bore you.
That your shepherd’s stick disappeared from you means the demons {will set fire to it} {(1 ms. has instead:) will smash it}.
The owl (?) taking a lamb from the sheep house {is the evil man who will hit you on the cheek}
{(1 ms. has instead:) is the evil man who will destroy the sheep house}.
The falcon catching a sparrow on the reed fence is the big demon coming {down}
{(1 ms. has instead:) out} from the sheep house.
That the churns were lying on their sides, no milk was poured,
the drinking cups were lying on their sides, that Dumuzid was dead, and the sheepfold haunted,
(Dumuzi bound hand & feet; Dumuzi, earliest “modern earthling male & female, & Dumuzi the Shepherd)”
means your hands will be bound in handcuffs, your arms will be bound in fetters.
That your male goats were dragging their dark beards in the dust for you
means that my hair will whirl around in the air like a hurricane for you.
That your rams were scratching the earth with their thick legs for you
means that I shall lacerate my cheeks with my fingernails for you as if with a boxwood needle.”
70-82. Hardly had she spoken these words when he said,
“Sister, go up onto the mound, sister, go up onto the mound!
Sister, when you go up onto the mound, do not go up onto the mound like an ordinary person,
but lacerate {your heart} {(1 ms. has instead:) your hair} and your liver,
lacerate your clothes and your crotch, sister, and then go up onto the mound!
Sister, when you go up onto the mound, look out from onto the mound!
The evil ……, hated by men, …… a river barge!
They hold in their hands the wood to bind the hands,
they are identified (?) from the wood to bind the neck — no man knows how to undo it!”
83-86. Ama-g̃eštin-ana (Geshtinanna) went up onto the mound and looked around, G̃eštin-ana craned her neck.
Her girl friend G̃eštin-dudu (unidentified?) advised her:
“The big men who bind the neck are already coming for him, they are …… coming for him!'”
87-90.
“My adviser and girl friend! Are they coming?”
“Yes, I will point out to you those who bind the neck!”
“My brother, your demons are coming for you!
Duck down your head in the grass!
Dumuzid, your demons are coming for you!
Duck down your head in the grass!”
91-94. “My sister, I will duck down my head in the grass!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!
I will duck down my head in the short grass!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!
I will duck down my head in the tall grass!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!
I will drop down into the ditches of Arali!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!”
95-97. “If I reveal your whereabouts to them, may your dog devour me!
The black dog, your shepherd dog, the noble dog, your lordly dog, may your dog devour me!”
98-102. She remembered (?): “…… give your friend instructions about it!
O my brother, may you never have a friend or comrade like ……!
After the demons (?) have searched for you, ……, if he tells you …….”
103-106. “My friend, I will duck down my head in the grass!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!
I will duck down my head in the short grass!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!
I will duck down my head in the tall grass!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!
I will drop down into the ditches of Arali!
Don’t reveal my whereabouts to them!”
107-109. “If I reveal your whereabouts to them, may your dog devour me!
The black dog, your shepherd dog, the noble dog, your lordly dog, may your dog devour me!”
110-138. Those who came for the king are a motley crew, who know not food, who know not drink, who eat no sprinkled flour,
who drink no poured water, who accept no pleasant gifts, who do not enjoy a wife’s embraces,
who never kiss dear little children, who never chew sharp-tasting garlic, who eat no fish, who eat no leeks.
There were two men of Adab who came for the king.
They were thistles in dried-up waters, they were thorns in stinking waters –
‘his hand was on the table, his tongue was in the palace’ (Alludes to a proverb) .
Then there were two men of Akšak who came for the king, with …… carried on their shoulders.
(giant alien gods King Anu’s, when visiting Earth, & Inanna‘s mud-brick-built ziggurat temple residence in Uruk)
Then there were two men of Unug (Uruk) who came for the king.
With head-smashing clubs tied to their waists, there were two men of Urim (Ur) who came for the king.
(Nannar‘s & spouse Ningal‘s mud-brick-built ziggurat temple residence in Ur, city of Biblical Abraham & family, with Stairway to Heaven)
With {shining} {(1 ms. has instead:) clean} clothes on the quayside, there were two men of Nibru who came for the king.
Crying “Man run after man!”, they came to the sheepfold and cow-pen.
They caught G̃eštin-ana at the sheepfold and cow-pen.
They offered a river of water, but she wouldn’t accept it.
They offered her a field of grain, but she wouldn’t accept it.
The little demon spoke to the big demon, the wise demon, the lively demon,
and the big demon who was between them, wise like …… destroying a ……, like …… barring a ……, they spoke:
139-150. “Who since the most ancient times has ever known a sister reveal a brother’s whereabouts?
Come! Let us go to his friend!”
Then they offered his friend a river of water, and he accepted it.
They offered him a field of grain, and he accepted it.
“My friend ducked down his head in the grass, but I don’t know his whereabouts {(1 ms. adds:)
Dumuzid ducked down his head in the grass, but I don’t know his whereabouts}”.
They looked for Dumuzid‘s head in the grass, but they couldn’t find him.
“He ducked down his head in the short grass, but I don’t know his whereabouts”.
They looked for Dumuzid‘s head in the short grass, but they couldn’t find him.
“He ducked down his head in the tall grass, but I don’t know his whereabouts”.
They looked for Dumuzid‘s head in the tall grass, but they couldn’t find him.
“He has dropped down into the ditches of Arali, but I don’t know his whereabouts”.
151-155.They caught Dumuzid in the ditches of Arali.
Dumuzid began to weep and was tear-stricken: “In the city my sister saved my life, my friend caused my death.
If a sister leaves (?) a child in the street, someone should kiss it.
But if a friend leaves (?) a child in the street, no one should kiss it.”
156-164. The men surrounded him and drained the standing waters.
They twisted a cord for him, they knotted a net for him.
They wove a reed hawser for him, they cut sticks for him.
The one in front of him threw missiles at him, the one behind him …… one cubit.
(captured Dumuzi, bound hands & feet, pleads for help)
His hands were bound in handcuffs, his arms were bound in fetters.
The lad raised his hands heavenward to Utu:
(Utu, twin brother to Dumuzi‘s spouse Inanna)
165-173. “Utu, you are my brother-in-law, I am your sister’s husband!
I am he who carries food to E-ana (ziggurat residence), I am he who brought the wedding gifts to Unug (Uruk),
(Dumuzi & his young spouse Inanna, Goddess of Love)
I am he who kisses the holy lips, I am he who dances on the holy knees, the knees of Inanna.
Please change my hands into gazelle hands, change my feet into gazelle feet, so I can evade my demons.
Let me escape with my life to Ku-bireš-dildareš.”
174-180. Utu accepted his tears {(1 ms. adds:) as a gift}.
Like a merciful man he showed him mercy.
He changed his hands into gazelle hands, he changed his feet into gazelle feet,
and so he evaded the demons, and escaped with his life to Ku-bireš-dildareš.
The demons searched for him, but didn’t find him.
181-191. “Come, let us go to Ku-bireš.” {(1 ms. adds:) …… like a net …….}
They caught Dumuzid at Ku-bireš.
The men surrounded him and drained the standing waters.
They twisted a cord for him, they knotted a net for him.
They wove a reed hawser for him, they cut sticks for him,
the one in front of him threw missiles at him, the one behind him …….
(Dumuzi‘s cuffed hands & feet)
His hands were bound in handcuffs, his arms were bound in fetters.
The lad raised his hands heavenward to Utu:
192-199. “Utu, you are my brother-in-law, I am your sister’s husband!
(house of giant alien gods in Uruk, & other cities, with their launch & landing site on tops of ziggurats, far away from the earthlings living in the cities way below them)
I am he who carries food to E-ana (Anu‘s temple in Uruk), I am he who brought the wedding gifts to Unug (Uruk),
(Inanna, daughter to Nannar & Ningal, attractive young spouse to Dumuzi)
I am he who kisses the holy lips, I am he who dances on the holy knees, the knees of Inana.
Please change my hands into {gazelle} {(1 ms. has instead:) snake} hands, change my feet into {gazelle}
{(1 ms. has instead:) snake} feet, so I can escape to the house of Old Woman Belili.”
200-205. Utu accepted his tears.
He changed his hands into {gazelle} {(1 ms. has instead:) snake} hands,
he changed his feet into {gazelle} {(1 ms. has instead:) snake} feet,
so he evaded the demons and escaped with his life to the house of Old Woman Belili.
He approached the house of Old Woman Belili.
206-208. “Old woman! I am not just a man, I am the husband of a goddess!
Would you pour water — please — so I can drink water.
Would you sprinkle flour — please — so I can eat flour.”
209-212. She poured water, and she sprinkled flour, and he sat down inside the house.
The old woman left the house.
When the old woman left the house, the demons saw her.
213-226. “Unless the old woman is aware of Dumuzid‘s whereabouts, she is indeed looking frightened!
She is indeed screaming in a frightened way!
Come, let us go to the house of Old Woman Belili!”
They caught Dumuzid at the house of Old Woman Belili.
The men surrounded him and drained the standing waters.
They twisted a cord for him, they knotted a net for him.
(Dumuzi, Biblical “Adam“, “Eve“, & Dumuzi the Shepherd)
They wove a reed hawser for him, they cut sticks for him, the one in front of him threw missiles at him, the one behind him …….
His hands were bound in handcuffs, his arms were bound in fetters.
The lad raised his hands heavenward to Utu:
227-234. “Utu, you are my brother-in-law, I am your sister’s (Inanna) husband!
I am he who carries food to E-ana (Anu’s temple residence in Uruk)
I am he who brought the wedding gifts to Unug, I am he who kisses the holy lips,
(powerful Goddess of Love, Inanna)
I am he who dances on the holy knees, the knees of Inanna.
Please change my hands into gazelle hands, change my feet into gazelle feet, so I can escape to the holy sheepfold, my sister’s sheepfold.”
(Utu, Commander of the mountain launch & landing sites)
235-244. Utu accepted his tears.
He changed his hands into {gazelle} {(1 ms. has instead:) snake} hands,
he changed his feet into {gazelle} {(1 ms. has instead:) snake} feet, so he evaded the demons,
and escaped with his life to the holy sheepfold, his sister’s sheepfold.
He approached the holy sheepfold, his sister’s sheepfold.
G̃eštin-ana cried toward heaven, cried toward earth.
Her cries covered the horizon completely like a cloth, they were spread out like linen.
She lacerated her eyes, she lacerated her face, she lacerated her ears in public;
in private she lacerated her buttocks.
245-255. “My brother, I will go round in the streets …….”
(The demons said:)
“Unless G̃eštin-ana is aware of Dumuzid‘s whereabouts, she is indeed looking frightened!
She is indeed screaming in a frightened way!
Come, let us go to the sheepfold and cow-pen!”
When the first demon entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, {he set fire to the bolt} {(1 ms. has instead:) he shouted ……}.
When the second entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, he set fire to the shepherd’s stick.
When the third entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, he removed the cover of the holy churn.
(alien cow pens of Nannar in Ur, feeding Sumer)
256-260. {When the fourth entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, he tore down the drinking cup from the peg where it hung.
When the fifth entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, the churns lay on their side, no milk was poured,
(demons attack & kill giant alien god Dumuzi, Marduk is blamed by Inanna)
the drinking cups lay on their side, Dumuzid was dead, the sheepfold was haunted.}
{(instead of lines 256-260, 1 ms. has:)
When the fourth entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, he poured water on my holy brazier.
When the fifth demon entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, he tore down my holy drinking cup from the peg where it hung.
When the sixth demon entered the sheepfold and cow-pen, the churns lay on their side, and no milk was poured.
When the seventh demon entered the sheepfold and cow-pen,
the drinking cups lay on their side, Dumuzid was dead, the sheepfold was haunted.}
(young lovers Inanna, & spouse Dumuzi the Shepherd)
261-999. A šir-kalkal for the dead Dumuzid.
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue)
|
approx. 62 lines missing …… my lacerated eyes ……. …… my lacerated nose ……. …… my beaten ……. …… my hasty ……. …… my …… 1 line fragmentary …… my ……. …… my loaded wagon ……. …… my ……. …… my ……. …… who is cheerful ……. …… who laments …….
…… the door of the gate (of the nether world) ……. My brother, …… the door of the gate …… 1 line fragmentary …… ladyship (?) ……. On the mighty river, ……. …… its fields, a waterskin ……. …… in lamenting ……. …… my …… hated …….
My brother, your feet hurt, your feet …… the road. My brother, wherever you go I will hasten with you. Dumuzid (Dumuzi), wherever you go I will hasten with you. …… I will hasten with you. I will hasten with you. …… going (?) as your slavegirl, …… of the lord, I ……. …… of the lord …… …… going (?) as your slavegirl, …… of the lord, I …….” 29-34. “My brother — because of him I cannot rejoice.
(Kish King Etana ascends to heaven / planet Nibiru, & Dumuzi the Shepherd) My brother ……. Dumuzid, my brother — because of him I cannot rejoice, ……. …… in front of him ……. …… he who bound his arms went in front of him. …… he who fettered his hands went behind him. …… they who beat him went alongside him.” 35-53. …… then the elder sister spoke to him. …… she replied to him in his distress ……: “…… those men will seize him. …… let them bring ……. …… they will rip out …….” 3 lines fragmentary approx. 11 lines missing “…… you also ……. …… you also …….” …… they paid (?) attention ……. …… went along the broad road. …… went along the broad road. …… the demon confronted her. …… the demon confronted her. …… the demon confronted her. …… met her ……, the demon confronted her. ……, he tried to control (?) her. ……, as she was tearing out her hair, he tried to control (?) her. …… as she was lacerating her eyes, as she was lacerating her nose, he tried to control (?) her. …… as she …… excessively, he tried to control (?) her. …… as she spoke …… beauty …… lips, he tried to control (?) her: 69-72. “…… you, maiden, who are in a similar state (?) to the lord, are you his sister? …… who are in a similar state (?) to Dumuzid, are you his sister? …… are you the lad’s younger sister? Are you his sister?
…… are you Dumuzid‘s younger sister? Are you his sister?” 73-80. “Cut …… with my ……; I am his sister. Cut with Dumuzid (Dumuzi); I am his sister. I am the lad’s younger sister, I am his sister. I am Dumuzid‘s younger sister, I am his sister. Now, let me too be in a similar state (?) …… to him; I am his sister. Let me too be in a similar state (?) …… to him; I am his sister. If I had a cord …… on my hands, my hands would not hurt. If I had a wine jar on my shoulder, my shoulder would not hurt.” 81-85. She returned to the side of his …… and muddied (?) the water. She, Ĝeštin-ana, poured water into a crevice in the ground for him. The maiden, equipped with ……, agitated (?) the water. She agitated (?) the water, the water for the brother, ……. She agitated (?) the water, and returned it to the river: 86-88. “Return to your river! Return to your river! Return to your river! O water which my brother cannot drink, return to your river! O water which Dumuzid cannot drink, O water, return to your river!” 89-108. She heaped up the …… of the river, and muddied the Euphrates: “…… my brother is no longer alive. He will cut …… from …….
…… Dumuzid is no longer alive. He will cut …… from ……. …… is no longer alive, he is no longer alive. He will definitely not return. My …… is no longer alive. My …… is no longer alive. My …… is no longer alive. …… is no longer alive. …… is no longer alive. …… is no longer alive. …… Dumuzid is no longer alive. He will definitely not return. I cannot rejoice over …… when you were born. I cannot rejoice over …… when you were born. I cannot rejoice over …… when you were born. …… was born. …… was born. …… I, Ĝeštin, ……. …… to Dumuzid. …… I, Ĝeštin, …….” 1 line fragmentary approx. 60 lines missing (only a few traces are visible) |
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue)
O house where lustrous herbs are strewn upon the flowery bed,
(naked Inanna in her bed-chamber, spouse to Dumuzi, & Goddess of Love)
the bed-chamber of holy Inana, where the lady of the plain refreshes herself!
Brick-built E-muš (House which is the precinct) is flowery and holy,
its …… clay established for him who tends the ewes on the high plain.
(Dumuzi with stags)
Your …… house of Arali (House which is the nether world) gives shade (?) to the shepherd.
Your prince, a raging lion on the plain, the šuba jewel of the Mistress whose breast is holy and marvelous,
(Inanna & Dumuzi the Shepherd, son to Ninsun & Enki)
the lord who is holy Inana‘s husband, Dumuzid (Dumuzi), the sovereign of E-muš, has erected a house in your precinct,
O Bad-tibira, and taken his seat upon your dais.
10 lines: the house of Dumuzid in Bad-tibira.
SEE SITCHIN’S EARTH CHRONICLES, ETC.:
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)
Farther north, in the grazing plateau of the Sudan, the youngest son, DUMU.ZI (“Son Who Is Life”), whose nickname was “The Herder” was given reign…
“When he came up to heaven,
When he approached the Gate of An,
Dumuzi and Gizzida were standing in the Gate of An.
They saw Adapa and cried, “Heaven help him!
Young man, on whose behalf do you look like this Adapa, …”
“Dumuzid (Dumuzi) is the one who makes the upper land fertile (allumlum) …”
Tablets tell that Ishtar, coming home from out of town, found her husband playing around. He was banished to the Lower World, and stayed with Inanna’s sister Ereshkigal and her consort, Nergal. Inanna later went to the Abzu to find him and make up.
That Inanna had gone to visit Dumuzi (“The Herder”) in his faraway rural district, we know from a Sumerian text:
“The young lad stood waiting;
Dumuzi pushed open the door
Like a moonbeam she came forth to him…
He looked at her, rejoiced in her,
Took her in his arms and kissed her,
The Herder put his arms around the maiden;
‘I have not carried you off into slavery,’ (he said)
‘Your table will be a splendid table,
the splendid table where I myself eat …”
In the bedroom she found
“a bed of gold, adorned with lapis lazuli,
which Gibil had refined for her in the abode of Nergal …”
After the war, and their marriage consumated,they spent many days and nights in ecstacy.
“As sweet as your mouth are your parts, they befit a princely status!
Subdue the rebellious country let the nation multiply;
I will direct the country rightly! …”
Another time she confessed to him her version:
“I had a vision of a great nation choosing Dmuzi as God of its country…
For I have made Dumuzi’s name exalted, I gave his status …”
Many songs celebrate the love affair between Inanna…and Dumuzi:
“O that they put his hand in my hand for me.
O that they put his heart next to my heart for me.
Not only is it sweet to sleep hand in hand with him,
Sweetest of sweet is also the loveliness of joining heart to heart with him …”
The tragic tale is recorded on a tablet CT.15.28-29. By prearrangement his sister, “the song-knowing sister was sitting there.” She thought she was invited for a picnic. As they were
“eating the pure food, dripping with honey and butter,
as they were drinking the fragrant divine beer,” and were spending the time in a happy mood…
Dumuzi took the solemn decision to do it …”
To prepare his sister for what he had in mind, Dumuzi took a lamb and copulated it with its mother, then had a kid copulate with its sister lamb. Dumuzi was touching his sister in emulation,
“but his sister still did not understand …”
As Dumuzi’s actions became more and more obvious, Geshtinanna
“screamed and screamed in protest …”
but
“he mounted her… his seed was flowing into her vulva …”
“Halt!” she shouted, “it is a disgrace!” But he did not stop. Having done his deed,
“the Shepherd, being fearless, being shameless, spoke to his sister …”
Inanna was in on the plan: Dumuzi, prior to leaving,
“’spoke to her of planning and advice’ and Inanna
to her spouse answered about the plan to him she gave her advice …”
Dumuzi was soon there-after seized with a premonition that he was to pay for his deed with his life…Waking up, he asked his sister Geshtinanna to tell him the meaning of the dream.
“My brother, your dream is not favorable, it is very clear to me …”
It foretold
“bandits rising against you from ambush…
your hands will be bound in handcuffs,
your arms will be bound in fetters …”
No sooner had Geshtinanna finished talking than the evil ones appeared…and caught Dumuzi. Bound…Dumuzi cried out an appeal to Utu / Shamash:
“O Utu, you are my brother-in-law, I am your sister’s husband…
Change my hands into a gazelle’s hands, change my feet into a gazelle’s feat,
let me escape the evil ones! …”
Hearing his appeal, Utu enabled Dumuzi to escape…Dumuzi was captured again, and again escaped. ..A strong wind was blowing, the drinking cups were overturned; the evil ones closed in on him, all as he had seen in his dream: And in the end:
“The drinking cups lay on their side; Dumuzi was dead.
The sheepfold was thrown into the wind …”
In another version of the events, a text titled “The Most Bitter Cry”…makes it clear that they had come on higher authority:
“My master has sent us for you, …”
the chief deputy announced to the awakened god. They proceed to strip Dumuzi of his divine attributes:
“Take the divine headress off your head, get up bareheaded;
Take the royal robe off your body, get up naked;
Lay aside the divine staff which is in your hand, get up empty-handed;
Take the holy sandals off your feet, get up berefooted! …”
The seized Dumuzi manages to escape and reaches the river
“at the great dike in the desert of E.MUSH …”
(Home of the Snakes)…the place where nowadays the great dam of Aswan is located. But the swirling waters did not let Dumuzi reach the other riverbank where his mother and Inanna were standing…
“there did the boat-wrecking waters carry the espoused of Inanna …”
Having disapproved of the Dumuzi–Inanna love match from the beginning, Marduk no doubt was even more opposed to the union after the Pyramid Wars. The rape of Geshtinanna by Dumuzi—was thus an opportunity for Marduk to block the designs Inanna had on Egypt, by seizing and punishing Dumuzi.
As far as she (Inanna) was concerned, Marduk had caused her beloved’s death. And as the (Akkadian) text makes clear
“What is in holy Inanna’s heart?
To Kill!
To kill the Lord Bilulu.(Marduk) …”
Inanna armed herself with an array of weapons to attack the god in his hiding place…she confidently approached The Mountain, which she called E.BIH (Abode of Sorrowful Calling”). Haughtily she proclaimed:
“Mountain, thou art so high, thou art elevated above all others…
Thou touchest the sky with thy tip…
Yet I shall destroy thee,
To the ground I shall fell thee..
Inside thine heart pain I shall cause …”
As Inanna continued to challenge Marduk, now hiding inside the mighty structure (pyramid), her fury rose…
“For the second time, infuriated by his pride,
Inanna approached (the pyramid) again and proclaimed:
‘My grandfather Enlil has permitted me to enter inside The Mountain! …”
Flaunting her weapons, she haughtily announced:
“Into the heart of the Mountain I shall penetrate…
Inside the Mountain, my victory I shall establish! …”
She began to attack:
“She seized not striking the sides of E-Bih and all its corners, even its multitude of raised stones.
But inside…the Grest Serpent who had gone in his poison ceased not to spit. …”
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue)
Died by the Hands of ½ Brother Marduk
“Inana’s husband, Dumuzid,…
With my sheaves spread over the meadows the sheep of Dumuzid are improved …”.
“The foremost house, firmly founded, …….
In order to destroy Kisiga, ten men, even five men …….
Three days and three nights did not pass, …… the city was raked by a hoe.
Dumuzid left Kisiga like a prisoner of war, his hands were fettered…
She rode away from her possessions, she went to the mountains.
She loudly sang out a lament over those brightly lit mountains:
‘I am queen, but I shall have to ride away from my possessions, and now I shall be a slave in those parts.
I shall have to ride away from my silver and lapis lazuli, and now I shall be a slave in those parts.
There, slavery, …… people, who can …… it?
There, slavery, Elam ……, who can …… it?
Alas, the destroyed city, my destroyed house,’ she cried bitterly.
My queen, though not the enemy, went to enemy land.
Ama- ucumgal-ana (Dumuzi) …… Kisiga … “
“built the sheepfolds, carried out their cleaning, made the cow-pens, bestowed on them the best fat and cream,
and brought luxury to the gods’ dining places.
He made the plain, created for grasses and herbs, achieve prosperity.
Enki placed in charge of all this the king, the good provider of E-ana,
the friend of An (Anu), the beloved son-in-law of the youth Suen (Nannar),
the holy spouse of Inana the mistress, the lady of the great powers who allows sexual intercourse in the open squares of Kulaba–
Dumuzid-ucumgal-ana (Dumuzi, Enki’s son), the friend of An …”
“Ama-ušumgal-ana, the son-in-law of Suen (Nannar / Sin),
Lord Dumuzid (Dumuzi), is perfect for the holy embrace.
Ama-ušumgal-ana, son-in-law of Suen, my lord: …”
“At the New Year, at the festival of Dumuzid (Dumuzi),
your spouse Ama-ušumgal-ana, Lord Dumuzid, steps forward to you.
…… of weeping are brought to you, Inana, as offerings …”
“…… to the house of old woman Bilulu (source, erroneously): Belili (Geshtinanna).
There the shepherd, head beaten in, ……, Dumuzid, head beaten in, ……; Ama-ucumgal-ana, head beaten in, ……. …”
“Inanna …….
Her song was pleasing to her spouse, Ama-ucumgal-ana.
Since that time, she has made it perfect in the holy ear,
the holy ear of Dumuzid, has sung it and has let the words be known …”
“(Inana speaks:)
‘When I was living in my dwelling place,
when I was living in An’s dwelling, my lover Ušumgal-ana called upon me to be his wife’ …”
“the lord took me in his hands, Ušumgal-ana embraced me about my neck …”
“Dearest Queen, Beloved of An,
Let your Holy heart, the Noble, return to me,
Beloved wife of Ushumgalanna, …”
