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from EarthHistory Website (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!)
The myth 53 involving Lahar, the cattle-god, and his sister Ashnan (Nisaba), the grain-goddess, represents another variation of the Cain–Abel motif in Near East mythology. Labar and Ashnan, according to our myth, were created in the creation chamber of the gods in order that the Annunnaki, the children and followers of the heaven-god An, might have food to eat and clothes to wear. But the Anunnaki were unable to make effective use of the products of these deities; it was to remedy this situation that man was created. All this is told in an introductory passage which, because of its significance for the Sumerian conception of the creation of man (replacement workers for the alien gods who “came down”). The passage following the introduction is another poetic gem; it describes the descent of Lahar and Ashnan (Nisaba) from heaven to earth and the cultural benefits which they bestow on mankind: In those days Enki says to (1/2 brother) Enlil: “Father Enlil, Lahar (unidentified goddess) and Ashnan (Nisaba), They who have been created in the Dulkug, Let us cause them to descend from the Dulkug.” At the pure word of Enki and Enlil, Lahar and Ashnan descended from the Dulkug. For Lahar they (Enlil and Enki) set up the sheepfold, Plants, herbs, and . . . they present to him;
For Ashnan (Nisaba, Enlil’s mother-in-law) they establish a house,
Plow and yoke they present to her. Lahar standing in his sheepfold, A shepherd increasing the bounty of the sheepfold is he; Ashnan (Goddess of Grain) standing among the crops, A maid kindly and bountiful is she. Abundance of heaven . . . , Lahar and Ashnan caused to appear, In the assembly they brought abundance, In the land they brought the breath of life, The decrees of the god they direct, The contents of the warehouses they multiply, The storehouses they fill full. In the house of the poor, hugging the dust,Entering they bring abundance; The pair of them, wherever they stand, Bring heavy increase into the house; The place where they stand they sate, the place where they sit they supply, They made good the heart of An (Anu) and Enlil.” “But then Labar and Ashnan drank much wine and so they began to quarrel in the farms and fields. In the arguments which ensued, each deity extolled its achievements and belittled those of its opponent.
(Enlil, 2nd son born, 1st of the “double seed”, Enki, eldest son to Anu, robbed of succession by Enlil) Finally Enlil and Enki intervened, but the end of the poem which contains their decision is still wanting.
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