[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The ewe did not give birth to its two lambs,
The goat did not give birth to its three kids.
Because the name of Ashnan, the wise, and Lahar (the cattle-god),
The Anunnaki, the great gods, did not know,
The . . . grain of thirty days did not exist,
The . . . grain of forty days did not exist,
The small grains, the grain of the mountain, the grain of the pure living creatures did not exist.
Because Uttu had not been born, because the crown (of vegetation?) had not been raised,
Because the lord . . . had not been born,
Because Sumugan, the god of the plain, had not come forth,
Like mankind when first created, {p. 73}
They (the Anunnaki knew not the eating of bread,
Knew not the dressing of garments,
Ate plants with their mouth like sheep,
Drank water from the ditch.
In those days, in the creation chamber of the gods,
In their house Dulkug, Lahar and Ashnan were fashioned;
The produce of Lahar and Ashnan,
The Anunnaki of the Dulkug eat, but remain unsated;
In their pure sheepfolds milk, . . ., and good things,
The Anunnaki of the Dulkug drink, but remain unsated;
For the sake of the good things in their pure sheepfolds,
Man was given breath./$/|
The creation of man concludes our study of Sumerian cosmogony, of the theories and concepts evolved
by the Sumerians to explain the origin of the universe and the existence of gods and men. It cannot be
sufficiently stressed that the Sumerian cosmogonic concepts, early as they are, are by no means
primitive. They reflect the mature thought and reason of the thinking Sumerian as he contemplated the
forces of nature and the character of his own existence. When these concepts are analyzed; when the
theological cloak and polytheistic trappings are removed (although this is by no means always possible
at present because of the limited character of our material as well as of our understanding and
interpretation of its contents), the Sumerian creation concepts indicate a keenly observing mentality as
well as an ability to draw and formulate pertinent conclusions from the data observed. Thus rationally
expressed, the Sumerian {sic "comogonic" "cosmogonic"} concepts may be summarized as follows:
1. First was the primeval sea; it is not unlikely that it was conceived by the Sumerian as eternal and
uncreated.
2. The primeval sea engendered a united heaven and earth.
3. Heaven and earth were conceived as solid elements. Between them, however, and from them, came
the gaseous element air, whose main characteristic is that of expansion. Heaven and earth were thus
separated by the expanding element air.
{p. 74}
4. Air, being lighter and far less dense than either heaven or earth, succeeded in producing the moon,
which may have been conceived by the Sumerians as made of the same stuff as air. The sun was
conceived as born of the moon; that is, it emanated and developed from the moon just as the latter
emanated and developed from air.
5. After heaven and earth had been separated, plant, animal, and human life became possible on earth;
all life seems to have been conceived as resulting from a union of air, earth, and water; the sun, too, was
probably involved. Unfortunately in this matter of production and reproduction of plant and animal life
on earth, our extant material is very difficult to penetrate.
Transferred into theological language, these rationalistic Sumerian concepts may be described as
follows:
1. First was the goddess Nammu, the primeval sea personified.
2. The goddess Nammu gave birth to An, the male heaven-god, and Ki, the earth-goddess.
3. The union of An and Ki produced the air-god Enlil, who proceeded to separate the heaven-father An
from the earth-mother Ki.
4. Enlil, the air-god, now found himself living in utter darkness, with the sky, which may have been
conceived by the Sumerians as made of pitch-dark lapis lazuli, forming the ceiling and walls of his
house, and the surface of the earth, its floor. He therefore begot the moon-god Nanna to brighten the
darkness of his house. The moon-god Nanna in turn begot the sun-god Utu, who became brighter than
his father. It is not without interest to note here that the idea that the son, the begotten one, becomes
stronger than the father, the begetter--in a deeper sense this is actually what happens in the development
which we term progress--is native to the philosophy and psychology of the Near East. Enlil, the air-god,
for example, becomes in historical times more powerful than his father An, the heaven-god. At a later
date Marduk, the god of the Semitic Babylonians, becomes more powerful than his father Enki,
{p. 75}
the water-god. In the Christian dogma, Christ, the son, becomes in many ways more significant and
pertinent for man and his salvation than God, the father.
5. Enlil, the air-god, now unites with his mother Ki, the earth-goddess. It is from this union but with
considerable help from Enki, the water-god, that the vegetable and animal life is produced on earth.
Man, on the other hand, seems to be the product of the combined efforts of the goddess Nammu, the
primeval sea; of the goddess Ninmah, who may perhaps be identified with Ki, the mother earth; and
finally of the water-god Enki. Just what is involved in this particular combination-and there is every
reason to believe that in view of the more or less superficial data of the times there was good logic
behind it and not mere playful fantasy--it is difficult to gather from our present material and limited
understanding.
{file "Chapter III. Myths of Kur"}
{p. 76}
CHAPTER III
MYTHS OF KUR
One of the most difficult groups of concepts to identify and interpret is that represented by the Sumerian
word kur. That one of its primary meanings is "mountain" is attested by the fact that the sign used for it
is actually a pictograph representing a mountain. From the meaning "mountain" developed that of
"foreign land," since the mountainous countries bordering Sumer were a constant menace to its people.
Kur also came to mean "land" in general; Sumer itself is described as kur-gal, "great land."
But in addition the Sumerian word kur represented a cosmic concept. Thus it seems to be identical to a
certain extent with the Sumerian ki-gal, "great below." Like ki-gal, therefore, it has the meaning "nether
world"; indeed in such poems as "Inanna's Descent to the Nether World" and "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and
the Nether World," the word regularly used for "nether world" is kur. Kur thus cosmically conceived is
the empty space between the earth's crust and the primeval sea. Moreover, it is not improbable that the
monstrous creature that lived at the bottom of the "great below" immediately over the primeval waters is
also called Kur; if so, this monster Kur would correspond to a certain extent to the Babylonian Tiamat.
In three of four "Myths of Kur," it is one or the other of these cosmic aspects of the word kur which is
involved.
THE DESTRUCTION OF KUR: THE SLAYING OF THE DRAGON
It is now more than half a century since the Babylonian "Epic of Creation," which centers largely about
the slaying of the goddess Tiamat and her host of dragons, has been available to scholar and layman.
Inscribed in Accadian, a Semitic language, on tablets dating from the first millennium B. C.--tablets that
are therefore later by more than a
{p. 77}
millennium than our Sumerian literary inscriptions--it is quoted and cited in the major works concerned
with mythology and religion as an example of Semitic myth-making. But even a surface examination of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
The ewe did not give birth to its two lambs,
The goat did not give birth to its three kids.
Because the name of Ashnan, the wise, and Lahar (the cattle-god),
The Anunnaki, the great gods, did not know,
The . . . grain of thirty days did not exist,
The . . . grain of forty days did not exist,
The small grains, the grain of the mountain, the grain of the pure living creatures did not exist.
Because Uttu had not been born, because the crown (of vegetation?) had not been raised,
Because the lord . . . had not been born,
Because Sumugan, the god of the plain, had not come forth,
Like mankind when first created, {p. 73}
They (the Anunnaki knew not the eating of bread,
Knew not the dressing of garments,
Ate plants with their mouth like sheep,
Drank water from the ditch.
In those days, in the creation chamber of the gods,
In their house Dulkug, Lahar and Ashnan were fashioned;
The produce of Lahar and Ashnan,
The Anunnaki of the Dulkug eat, but remain unsated;
In their pure sheepfolds milk, . . ., and good things,
The Anunnaki of the Dulkug drink, but remain unsated;
For the sake of the good things in their pure sheepfolds,
Man was given breath./$/|
The creation of man concludes our study of Sumerian cosmogony, of the theories and concepts evolved
by the Sumerians to explain the origin of the universe and the existence of gods and men. It cannot be
sufficiently stressed that the Sumerian cosmogonic concepts, early as they are, are by no means
primitive. They reflect the mature thought and reason of the thinking Sumerian as he contemplated the
forces of nature and the character of his own existence. When these concepts are analyzed; when the
theological cloak and polytheistic trappings are removed (although this is by no means always possible
at present because of the limited character of our material as well as of our understanding and
interpretation of its contents), the Sumerian creation concepts indicate a keenly observing mentality as
well as an ability to draw and formulate pertinent conclusions from the data observed. Thus rationally
expressed, the Sumerian {sic "comogonic" "cosmogonic"} concepts may be summarized as follows:
1. First was the primeval sea; it is not unlikely that it was conceived by the Sumerian as eternal and
uncreated.
2. The primeval sea engendered a united heaven and earth.
3. Heaven and earth were conceived as solid elements. Between them, however, and from them, came
the gaseous element air, whose main characteristic is that of expansion. Heaven and earth were thus
separated by the expanding element air.
{p. 74}
4. Air, being lighter and far less dense than either heaven or earth, succeeded in producing the moon,
which may have been conceived by the Sumerians as made of the same stuff as air. The sun was
conceived as born of the moon; that is, it emanated and developed from the moon just as the latter
emanated and developed from air.
5. After heaven and earth had been separated, plant, animal, and human life became possible on earth;
all life seems to have been conceived as resulting from a union of air, earth, and water; the sun, too, was
probably involved. Unfortunately in this matter of production and reproduction of plant and animal life
on earth, our extant material is very difficult to penetrate.
Transferred into theological language, these rationalistic Sumerian concepts may be described as
follows:
1. First was the goddess Nammu, the primeval sea personified.
2. The goddess Nammu gave birth to An, the male heaven-god, and Ki, the earth-goddess.
3. The union of An and Ki produced the air-god Enlil, who proceeded to separate the heaven-father An
from the earth-mother Ki.
4. Enlil, the air-god, now found himself living in utter darkness, with the sky, which may have been
conceived by the Sumerians as made of pitch-dark lapis lazuli, forming the ceiling and walls of his
house, and the surface of the earth, its floor. He therefore begot the moon-god Nanna to brighten the
darkness of his house. The moon-god Nanna in turn begot the sun-god Utu, who became brighter than
his father. It is not without interest to note here that the idea that the son, the begotten one, becomes
stronger than the father, the begetter--in a deeper sense this is actually what happens in the development
which we term progress--is native to the philosophy and psychology of the Near East. Enlil, the air-god,
for example, becomes in historical times more powerful than his father An, the heaven-god. At a later
date Marduk, the god of the Semitic Babylonians, becomes more powerful than his father Enki,
{p. 75}
the water-god. In the Christian dogma, Christ, the son, becomes in many ways more significant and
pertinent for man and his salvation than God, the father.
5. Enlil, the air-god, now unites with his mother Ki, the earth-goddess. It is from this union but with
considerable help from Enki, the water-god, that the vegetable and animal life is produced on earth.
Man, on the other hand, seems to be the product of the combined efforts of the goddess Nammu, the
primeval sea; of the goddess Ninmah, who may perhaps be identified with Ki, the mother earth; and
finally of the water-god Enki. Just what is involved in this particular combination-and there is every
reason to believe that in view of the more or less superficial data of the times there was good logic
behind it and not mere playful fantasy--it is difficult to gather from our present material and limited
understanding.
{file "Chapter III. Myths of Kur"}
{p. 76}
CHAPTER III
MYTHS OF KUR
One of the most difficult groups of concepts to identify and interpret is that represented by the Sumerian
word kur. That one of its primary meanings is "mountain" is attested by the fact that the sign used for it
is actually a pictograph representing a mountain. From the meaning "mountain" developed that of
"foreign land," since the mountainous countries bordering Sumer were a constant menace to its people.
Kur also came to mean "land" in general; Sumer itself is described as kur-gal, "great land."
But in addition the Sumerian word kur represented a cosmic concept. Thus it seems to be identical to a
certain extent with the Sumerian ki-gal, "great below." Like ki-gal, therefore, it has the meaning "nether
world"; indeed in such poems as "Inanna's Descent to the Nether World" and "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and
the Nether World," the word regularly used for "nether world" is kur. Kur thus cosmically conceived is
the empty space between the earth's crust and the primeval sea. Moreover, it is not improbable that the
monstrous creature that lived at the bottom of the "great below" immediately over the primeval waters is
also called Kur; if so, this monster Kur would correspond to a certain extent to the Babylonian Tiamat.
In three of four "Myths of Kur," it is one or the other of these cosmic aspects of the word kur which is
involved.
THE DESTRUCTION OF KUR: THE SLAYING OF THE DRAGON
It is now more than half a century since the Babylonian "Epic of Creation," which centers largely about
the slaying of the goddess Tiamat and her host of dragons, has been available to scholar and layman.
Inscribed in Accadian, a Semitic language, on tablets dating from the first millennium B. C.--tablets that
are therefore later by more than a
{p. 77}
millennium than our Sumerian literary inscriptions--it is quoted and cited in the major works concerned
with mythology and religion as an example of Semitic myth-making. But even a surface examination of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]