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THE FIRST KNOWN AUTHOR

ENHEDUANNA

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Commentary and translation by Betty De Shong Meador

Enheduanna Seven Sumerian Temple Hymns

Tablet O, coped by E. Bergmann S.J. The obverse of the tablet contans lnes 267 to 285: all of Th 22, as well as fragments of Th 21 and Th 23; the reverse contans lnes 527-545. ncludng all of the hymn to Nsaba plus the unusual (and controversal) lnes n whch Enheduanna clams authorshp. A number of scholars thnk there s no way to be sure she actually wrote the hymns. Others, equally certan, nsst she dd.

hese seven hymns are among the forty-two Sumeran Temple hymns attrbuted to the hgh prestess Enheduanna, 2300 B. C.E. Whle some lterary texts have been found n what was ancent Mesopotama, datng from 2600 B.C.E., the texts of Enheduanna are the frst by a known author. There s strong evdence that the Sumerans nvented and developed the frst wrtten scrpt n the fnal thrd of the fourth mllennum B.C.E. The terrtory of Sumer encompassed the southern half of present-day Iraq. Enheduanna was the daughter of the frst kng to buld an empre, Sargon. he apponted hs brllant daughter, Enheduanna, to the poston of hgh prestess at the temple of the moon god, Nanna, n the ancent cty of Ur. There she presded for forty years over the prestgous temple n Ur. holdng the most mportant relgous offce n the land, she spread her theologcal deas throughout the country, wrtng hymns to each of forty-two major temples. Each hymn s wrtten to the temple tself, as though t were a lvng beng wth power and nfluence over ts dvne occupant, n most hymns the patron dety of the cty. Enheduana addresses the temple n the second person: O house you wld cow, she says n Temple hymn 22. The temple seems to lsten as she descrbes ts resdent: your lady a water brd - sacred woman of the nner chamber, she says n Th 40 as she descrbes Inanna to the temple n the ntmate conversaton that characterzes each hymn. The expresson wld cow as a descrpton of the goddesses comes up over and over agan. Inanna s the prncple wld cow. The mage conveys the unpredctablty whch the goddesses all embody n one way or another. Wth Nanshe, the hymn descrbes her paradoxcal character. She s carefree playng n the waves, but also a great storm / strong dark water. The Sumerans had great respect 17

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for the whms of nature on whom they so depended. The wld cow s unexpected n a docle herd, but there she s! Each hymn ends wth an dentcal two-lne colophon, except for the fnal hymn 42. There, nstead of endng wth a colophon, Enheduanna sgns her name, sayng she herself gave brth to ths composton, somethng never before created. Note: Betty Meador worked wth a specalst n the Sumeran language at the Unversty of Calforna, Berkeley, John Carnahan, to create a word-for-word lteral translaton of each hymn based on varants from numerous tablets, from whch she rendered the fnal poetc verson.

hgh-lyng Kesh n all heaven and earth you are the form-shapng place spreadng fear lke a great posonous snake O Lady of the Mountans Nnhursags house bult on a terrfyng ste O Kesh lke holy Aratta nsde s a womb dark and deep your outsde towers over all mposng one great lon of the wldlands stalkng the hgh plans great mountan ncantatons fxed you n place nsde the lght s dm even moonlght (Nannas lght) does not enter only Nntur Lady Brth makes t beautful O house of Kesh the brck of brthgvng your temple tower adorned wth a laps lazul crown your prncess Prncess of Slence unfalng great Lady of heaven when she speaks heaven shakes open-mouthed she roars Aruru sster of Enll O house of Kesh has bult ths house on your radant ste and placed her seat upon your das

Temple Hymn 7

The Kesh Temple Of Ninhursag1

The Lofty

13 lnes for the temple of Nnhursag of Kesh 18 19

Temple Hymn 15

The Gishbanda Temple Of Ningishzida


ancent place set deep n the mountan artfully

Temple Hymn 17
O house

The Badtibira Temple Of Dumuzi3

Emush

dark shrne frghtenng and red place safely placed n a feld no one can fathom your mghty har-rasng path Gshbanda the neck-stock the fne-eyed net the foot-shacklng netherworld knot your restored hgh wall s massve lke a trap your nsde the place where the sun rses yelds wdespread abundance your prnce the pure-handed shta prest of Inanna heavens holy one Lord Nngshzda hs thck and beautful har falls down hs back O Gshbanda has bult ths house on your radant ste and placed hs seat upon your das 10 lnes for the temple of Nngshzda n Gshbanda

jeweled laps herbs fleck the shnng bed heart-soothng place of the Lady of the Steppe Emush brckwork glstenng and pure ts burnshed clay placed frmly (on the earth) your sky-rsng wall sprawls over the hgh plan for the one who tends the ewes and over the Aral house for the shepherd your prnce radant one of the holy Woman a lon pacng the steppe back and forth the wonder-causng pure breasted one the Lord spouse of pure Inanna Dumuz master of the Emush O Badtbra (fortress of the coppersmth) has bult ths house on your radant ste and placed hs seat upon your das 10 lnes for the house of Dumuz n Badtbra

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Temple Hymn 20

The Lagash Temple Of Ningirsu4

Ennnu rght arm of thck-necked Lagash n Sumer wth heavy-cloud brd Anzus eyes that scan nsurgent mountans

Eninnu

warror the lord of lords who plots schemes kng of kngs who mounts vctores mghty one great hero n battle has no rval son of Enll lord Nngrsu O Ennnu has bult ths house on your radant ste and establshed hs seat upon your throne 22 lnes for the Nngrsu house n Lagash

Nngrsus crowd-flattener blade a menace to all lands battle arm blastng storm drenchng everyone battle arm all the great gods the Annuna grant agan and agan so from your skn of brcks on the rm of the holy hll you determne fates green as mountans

a holy whrlpool spns n your rver blowng whrlwnds spawn from your glance at the gate facng the holy Cty they pour wne nto fne stone vessels of An out under the sky what comes n cannot be equaled what goes out never ceases at the fery face of the Shugalam gate ts radant brllance the fate-cuttng ste Lord Nngrsu beseges wth har-rasng fear all the Annuna appear at your great wne festval your prnce furous storm-wnd destroyer of rebel ctes your kng angry bull flauntng hs brawn savage lon that makes heads shake 22 23

Temple Hymn 22

O house you wld cow there to conjure sgns from dvnaton you arse splendd to behold bedecked for your prncess Srara great and prncely place you dream-opener hghly przed n the shrne your lady Nanshe a great storm strong dark water born on the shore of the sea laughng n the sea foam playng playng n the waves dvne Nanshe mghty Lady O house of Srara has bult ths house on your radant ste and placed her seat upon your das 10 lnes for the temple of Nanshe n Srara

The Sirara Temple Of Nanshe5

Temple Hymn 26

The Zabalam Temple Of Inanna6

O house wrapped n beams of lght wearng shnng stone jewels wakenng great awe

sanctuary of pure Inanna (where) dvne powers the true me spread wde Zabalam shrne of the shnng mountan shrne that welcomes the mornng lght she makes resound wth desre the holy Woman grounds your hallowed chamber wth desre your queen Inanna of the sheepfold that sngular woman the unque one who speaks hateful words to the wcked who moves among the brght shnng thngs who goes aganst rebel lands and at twlght makes the frmament beautful all on her own great daughter of Suen pure Inanna O house of Zabalam has bult ths house on your radant ste and placed her seat upon your das 12 lnes for Inanna n Zabalam

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Temple Hymn 42

The Eresh Temple of Nisaba

ths shnng house of stars brght wth laps stones has opened tself to all lands a whole mx of people n the shrne lft heads for you Eresh all the prmeval lords every month

Ezagin

TH 42, Transliteration from the Sumerian

14 lnes for the house of Nsaba n Eresh

soapwort the very young saba on your platform great Nanbgal Nsaba Lady of Saba brought powers down from heaven added her measure to your powers enlarged the shrne set t up for prasng fathful woman exceedng n wsdom opens [her] mouth [to recte] over cooled lned tablets always consults laps tablets [and] gves strong councl to all lands true woman of the pure soapwort born of the sharpened reed who measures the heavens by cubts strkes the coled measurng rod on the earth prase be to Nsaba the person who bound ths tablet together s Enheduanna my kng somethng never before created dd not ths one gve brth to t 14 lnes for the house of Nsaba n Eresh 26 27

1. Nnhursag was the great goddess of nature, wld and tame. Wld anmals were her chldren. She watched over human brth n all ts aspects, as germ-loosener, blood-stauncher, mother-spreadng-theknees, and mother-who-has-gven-brth. By the md-thrd mllennum B.C.E., she was among the tro of the great detes, along wth An of heaven, and Enll of the wnd. She attended to form-shapng, both n the womb and n the dark nteror of her temple. The Sumeran word for womb, arhush, also means compasson. She was patron dety of the mportant cty of Kesh n the md-porton of the fertle alluvum of Sumer. 2. Nngshzda, a frghtful dety of the Netherworld, held the mportant poston there of char-bearer, who carred notable persons arrvng n that unsavory place. The hymn mples that the Netherworld came nto beng at creaton, callng t k-ul, prmeval place, set deep n the mountans, the mountans east of Sumer that were, when the earth was flat, beleved to be the place the dead would resde. Later, the underworld lay under the abzu, the sweet water ocean beneath the earth. 3. Dumuz, the eptome of the young dyng gods, was spouse of the nmtable Inanna, Enheduannas personal dety. Ths hymn focuses on Inanna, the holy Woman, whose heart wll be soothed on Dumuzs shnng bed. Inanna banshed Dumuz to the underworld as ransom for her freedom, when she dscovered hm baskng n her royal robe on her royal throne, not mournng her loss at all. 4. The hymn descrbes Nngrsu as a ferocous warror. In other contexts he was the gentle god of the plough. here he entertans the great gods n a great wne festval. War and refnement, savage destructon and dvne revelry cohabt under hs roof. hs temple domnated the terrtory of Lagash, as one ancent nscrptons says, The Ennnu, ts dread covered all the lands lke a garment. 5. Nanshe s goddess of the sea, notable for spannng the unreachable dstance between the conscous cvlzed socety and the dark and demonc waters of the unknown sea. She s the dream nter-

Notes

preter of the gods and adept at dvnaton. The poet Enheduanna n her role as hgh prestess, lke Nanshe, nterpreted dreams. Nanshe also cared for the socally dsadvantaged, exertng her concerns for socal justce and order. 6. Three of the 42 Temple hymns feature Inanna, Enheduannas personal dety, each hghlghtng one of her salent characterstcs: the sensual, astral, or warror goddess. Inanna, some say, was the most mportant dety n the ancent world, her temple at Uruk datng from the ffth mllennum B. C.E. untl the Common Era. All of Sumers ntal detes were astral bengs; the frst three were cosmc lghts, the moon, the sun, and the radant mornng and evenng star Inanna. her jeweled mountan temple at Zabalam houses the axs mund, the openng through whch the celestal rotaton emerges. Inanna opens the gate each mornng at ths nodal pont of the cosmos. She s the eptome of desre, the energzng force that anmates creaton and fuels the heavenly processon. Suen/Nanna s her father the moon. The me (a Sumeran word) were the many aspects of the known world, both the natural world and that of cvlzaton. Each dety was gven domnon over a porton of the me. In ths hymn, Innanas sanctuary guards her porton, her domnon. 7. Nsaba s the venerable goddess of wrtng who watched over the Sumerans remarkable achevements n the arts, scences, and lterature. Evolvng from record-keepng tabulatons, stamped or drawn nto damp clay, true wrtng began to emerge n the late fourth mllennum B.C.E. The frst lterary tablets dscovered are from 2600 B.C.E. A new professon, the scrbes, emerged. They worshped Nsaba as ther protector, gude, and nspraton. her realm encompassed all scholarly pursuts from the creatve and ntellectual achevements of lterature and scence to the practcal recordng of the elements of cvl lfe. As purveyor of creatve thought, she came to be known as the goddess of wsdom. The saba porton of her name, the sacred soapwort plant, s wrtten n Emesal, a dalect of the Sumeran language used to record the speech of women, and n ths case, the names of goddesses. Ths fnal Temple hymn omts the usual colophon and adds Enheduannas personal sgnature.

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