Sumerian Mythology, A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium Options

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From the work of:

SAMUEL NOAH KRAMER

REVISED EDITION

University of Pennsylvania Press

Philadelphia

[1944, revised 1961]

{rem Scanned at sacred-texts.com, October 2004. John Bruno Hare, redactor. This text is in the public domain in the US because it was not renewed in a timely fashion at the US Copyright Office as required by law at the time. These files can be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.}

|In those days there was no snake, there was no scorpion, there was no hyena, There was no lion, there was no wild dog, no wolf, There was no fear, no terror, Man had no rival. In those days the land Shubur (East), the place of plenty, of righteous decrees, Harmony-tongued Sumer (South), the great land of the "decrees of princeship," Uri (North), the land having all that is needful, The land Martu (West), resting in security, The whole universe, the people in unison, To Enlil in one tongue gave praise./ [attachment=218:attachment] (IMG:http://www.loveleaf.net/rcs/image/FG6014.jpg)(IMG:http://xfacts.com/neil_freer.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/pics/av31.gif)(IMG:http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/pics/sekhmet.gif)(IMG:http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/pics/enki.gif) This post has been edited by mystick: May 30 2006, 01:55 AM

An extract of the file:

INANNA PREFERS THE FARMER{xr. x}

This charming agricultural myth,{xr. 90} which I have entitled "Inanna Prefers the Farmer," is another example of the Cain-Abel motif. The characters of our poem are four in number: the seemingly ubiquitous Inanna; her brother, the sun-god Utu; the shepherd-god Dumuzi; the farmer-god Enkimdu. The plot is as follows. Inanna is about to choose a spouse. Her brother Utu urges her to marry the shepherd-god Dumuzi, but she prefers the farmer-god Enkimdu. Thereupon Dumuzi steps up and demands to know why she prefers the farmer; he, Dumuzi, the shepherd, has everything that the farmer has and more. Inanna does not answer, but Enkimdu, the farmer, who seems to be a peaceful, cautious type, tries to appease the belligerent Dumuzi. The latter refuses to be appeased, however, until the farmer promises to bring him all kinds of gifts and--here it must be stressed the meaning of the text is not quite certain--even Inanna herself. The intelligible part of the poem begins with an address by the sun-god Utu to his sister Inanna: |$"O my sister, the much possessing shepherd, O maid Inanna, why dost thou not favor? His oil is good, his date-wine is good, The shepherd, everything his hand touches is bright, O Inanna, the much-possessing Dumuzi . . ., Full of jewels and precious stones, why dost thou not favor? His good oil he will eat with thee, The protector of the king, why dost thou not favor?"/$/| {p. 102 } But Inanna refuses: |$"The much-possessing shepherd I shall not marry, In his new . . . I shall not walk, In his new . . . I shall utter no praise, I, the maid, the farmer I shall marry, The farmer who makes plants grow abundantly, The farmer who makes the grain grow abundantly."/$/| A break of about twelve lines follows, in which Inanna continues to give the reasons for her preference. Then the shepherd-god Dumuzi steps up to Inanna, protesting her choice--a passage that is particularly remarkable for its intricately effective phrase-pattern: |$"The farmer more than I, the farmer more than I, The farmer what has he more than I? If he gives me his black garment, I give him, the farmer, my black ewe, If be gives me his white garment, I give him, the farmer, my white ewe, If he pours me his first date-wine, I pour him, the farmer, my yellow milk, If he pours me his good date-wine, I pour him, the farmer, my kisim-milk If he pours me his 'heart-turning' date-wine, I pour him, the farmer, my bubbling milk, If he pours me his water-mixed date-wine, I pour him, the farmer, my plant-milk, If he gives me his good portions, I give him, the farmer, my nitirda-milk, If he gives me his good bread, I give him, the farmer, my honey-cheese, If he gives me his small beans, I give him my small cheeses; More than he can eat, more than he can drink, I pour out for him much oil, I pour out for him much milk; More than I, the farmer, what has be more than I?"/$/| Follow four lines whose meaning is not clear; then begins Enkimdu's effort at appeasement: |$"Thou, O shepherd, why dost thou start a quarrel? O shepherd, Dumuzi, why dost thou start a quarrel? Me with thee, O shepherd, me with thee why dost thou compare? Let thy sheep eat the grass of the earth, {p. 103} In my meadowland let thy sheep pasture, In the fields of Zabalam let them eat grain, Let all thy folds drink the water of my river Unun."/$/| {cont}But the shepherd remains adamant: |$"I, the shepherd, at my marriage do not enter, O farmer, as my friend, O farmer, Enkimdu, as my friend, O farmer, as my friend, do not enter."/$/| {cont}Thereupon the farmer offers to bring him all kinds of gifts: |$"Wheat I shall bring thee, beans I shall bring thee, Beans of . . . I shall bring thee, The maid Inanna (and) whatever is pleasing to thee, The maid Inanna . . . I shall bring thee."/$/| And so the poem ends, with the seeming victory of the shepherd-god Dumuzi over the farmer-god Enkimdu. This post has been edited by mystick: May 30 2006, 09:47 AM