The Flood story

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SEGMENT A

approximately 36 lines missing

...... sets up ....... "I will ...... the perishing of my mankind; for Nintud, I will stop the annihilation of my creatures, and I will return the people from their dwelling grounds. Let them build many cities so that I can refresh myself in their shade. Let them lay the bricks of many cities in pure places, let them establish places of divination in pure places, and when the the fire-quenching ...... is arranged, the divine rites and exalted powers are perfected and the earth is irrigated, I will establish well-being there."

After An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursaja had fashioned the black-headed people, they also made animals multiply everywhere, and made herds of four-legged animals exist on the plains, as is befitting.

approximately 32 lines missing

SEGMENT B

too fragmentary for translation

" I will oversee their labour. Let........ the builder of the Land, dig a solid foundation."

After the ...... of kingship had descended from heaven, after the exalted crown and throne of kingship had descended from heaven, the divine rites and the exalted powers were perfected, the bricks of the cities were laid in holy places, their names were announced and the ...... were distributed. The first of the cities, Eridug, was given to Nudimmud the leader. The second, Bad-tibira, was given to the Mistress. The third, Larag, was given to Pabilsaj. The fourth, Zimbir, was given to hero Utu. The fifth, Curupppag, was given to Sud. And after the name of these cities had been announced and the ...... had been distributed, the river ......, ...... was watered, and with the cleansing of the small canals ...... were established.

approximately 34 lines missing

SEGMENT C

......seat in heaven. ...... flood. ...... mankind. So he made ....... Then Nintud ....... Holy Inana made a lament for its people. Enki took counsel with himself. An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursaja made all the gods of heaven and earth take an oath by invoking An and Enlil. In those days Zi-ud-sura the king, the gudu priest, ....... He fashioned ....... The humble, committed, reverent ....... Day by day, standing constantly at ....... Something that was not a dream appeared, conversation ......, ...... taking an oath by invoking heaven and earth. In the Ki-ur, the gods ...... a wall. Zi-ud-sura, standing at its side, heard: "Side-wall standing at my left side, ....... Side-wall, I will speak words to you; take heed of my words, pay attention to my instructions. A flood will sweep over the ...... in all the ....... A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made. The verdict, the word of the divine assembly, cannot be revoked. The order announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned. Their kingship, their term has been cut off; their heart should be rested about this. Now ....... What ......."

approximately 38 lines missing

SEGMENT D

All the windstorms and gales arose together, and the flood swept over the ....... After the flood had swept over the land, and waves and windstorms had rocked the huge boat for seven days and seven nights, Utu the sun-god came out, illuminating heaven and earth. Zi-ud-sura could drill an opening in the huge boat and hero Utu entered the huge boat with his rays. Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before Utu. The king sacrificed oxen and offered innumerable sheep.

too fragmentary for translation
approximately 33 lines missing

SEGMENT E

"They have made you swear by heaven and earth, ....... An and Enlil have made you swear by heaven and earth, ......."

More and more animals disembarked onto the earth. Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before An and Enlil. An and Enlil treated Zi-ud-sura kindly ......, they granted him life like a god, they brought down to him eternal life. At that time, because of preserving the animals and the seed of mankind, they settled Zi-ud-sura the king in an overseas country, in the land Dilmun, where the sun rises.

"You ......."

approximately 39 lines missing

The farmer's instruction

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Ud-ul-uru (Old man cultivator) gave advice to his son:

When you have to prepare a field, inspect the levees, canals and mounds that have to be opened. When you let the flood water into the field, this water should not rise too high in it. At the time that the field emerges from the water, watch its area with standing water; it should be fenced. Do not let cattle herds trample there.

After you cut the weeds and establish the limits of the field, level it repeatedly with a thin hoe weighing two-thirds of a mina (approx. 650 g). Let a flat hoe erase the oxen tracks, let the flied be swept clean. A maul should flatten the furrow bottoms of the area. A hoe should go round the four edges of the field. Until the field is dry it should be smoothed out.

Your implements should be ready. The parts of your yoke should be assembled. Your new whip should hang from a nail -- the bindings of the handle of your old whip should be repaired by artisans. The adze, drill and saw, your tools and your strength, should be in good order. Let braided thongs, straps, leather wrappings and whips be attached securely. Let your sowing basket be checked, and its sides made strong. What you need for the field should be at hand. Inspect your work carefully.

The plough oxen will have back-up oxen. The attachments of ox to ox should be loose. Each plough will have a back-up plough. The assigned task for one plough is 180 iku (approx. 65 ha), but if you build the implement at 144 iku (approx. 52 ha), the work will be pleasantly performed for you. 180 (?) sila of grain (approx. 180 litres) will be spent on each 18 iku area (approx. 6 1/2 ha).

After working one plough's area with a bardil plough, and after working the bardil plough's area with a tugsig plough, till it with the tuggur plough. Harrow once, twice, three times. When you flatten the stubborn spots with a heavy maul, the handle of your maul should be securely attached, otherwise it will not perform as needed.

When your field work becomes excessive, you should not neglect your work; no one should have to tell anyone else: "Do your field work!". When the constellations in the sky are right, do not be reluctant to take the oxen force to the field many times. The hoe should work everything.

When you have to work the field with the seeder-plough, your plough should be properly adjusted. Put a leather sealing on the kacu of your plough. Provide your beam with narrow pegs. Your boards should be spread. Make your furrows.

Make eight furrows per ninda of width (approx. 6 m); the barley will lodge in more closely spaced furrows. When you have to work the field with the seeder-plough, keep your eye on the man who drops the seed. The grain should fall two fingers deep (approx. 3 1/2 cm). You should put one gij of seed per ninda (approx. 3 ml/m). If the barley seed is not being inserted into the hollow of the furrow, change the wedge of your plough share. If the bindings become loose, tighten them.

Where you have made vertical furrows, make slanted furrows, and where you have made slanted furrows, make vertical furrows. Straight furrows will give you edges that are wide enough and nice (?). Your crooked furrows should be straightened out. Make the furrows clear. Plough your portion of field. The clods should be picked out. The furrows should be made wide where the soil is open, and the furrows should be narrower where the soil is clogged: it is good for the seedlings.

After the seedlings break open the ground, perform the rites against mice. Turn away the beaks of small birds. When the plants overflow the narrow bottoms of the furrows, water them with the water of the first seed. When the plants resemble a ...... reed mat, water them. Water the plants when they are heading. When the plants are fully leafed out, do not water them or they will become infected by leaf rust. When the barley is right for husking, water it. It will provide a yield increase of one sila per ban (approx. 1 litre in 10).

When you have to reap the barley, do not let the plants become overripe. Harvest at the right time. One man is to cut the barley, and one to tie the sheaves; and one before him should apportion the sheaves: three men should harvest for you. Do not let those who gather the barley bruise the grain. They should not scatter the grain when it is in the stacks.

Your daily work starts at daybreak. Gather your force of helpers and grain gatherers in sufficient number and lay down the sheaves. Your work should be carefully done. Although they have been having stale coarse flour, do not let anyone thresh for your new bread -- let the sheaves have a rest. The rites for the sheaves should be performed daily. When you transport your barley, your barley carriers should handle small amounts (?).

Mark the limits of a vacant lot of yours. Establish properly your access paths to it. Your waggons should be in working order. Feed the waggon's oxen. Your implements should be .......

Let your prepared threshing floor rest for a few days. When you open the threshing floor, smooth its surface (?). When you thresh, the teeth of your threshing sledge and its leather straps should be secured with bitumen. When you make the oxen trample the grain, your threshers should be strong. When your grain is spread on the ground, perform the rites of the grain not yet clean.

When you winnow, put an intelligent person as your second winnower. Two people should work at moving the grain around.

When the grain is clean, lay it under the measuring stick. Perform the rites in the evening and at night. Release the grain at midday.

Instructions of the god Ninurta, son of Enlil -- Ninurta, faithful farmer of Enlil, your praise be good!

The Eridu Genesis

From "The Harps That Once...: Sumerian Poetry in Translation" by Thorkild Jacobsen. Yale University Press, Publishers.

Nintur was paying attention:

Let me bethink myself of my humankind, all forgotten as they are; and mindful of mine, Nintur's creatures let me bring them back let me lead the people back from their trails.

May they come and build cities and cult places, that I may cool myself in their shade; may they lay the bricks for the cult cities in pure spots and may they found places for divination in pure spots!

She gave directions for purification and cries for elemency, the things that cool divine wrath, perfected the divine service and the august offices, said to the surrounding regions: "Let me institute peace there!"

When An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursaga fashioned the dark-headed people they had made the small animals that come up from out of the earth, come from the earth in abundance and had let there be, as it befits it, gazelles wild donkeys, and four-footed beasts in the desert.......and let me have him advise; let me have him oversee their labor, and let him teach the nation to follow along unerringly like cattle!

When the royal scepter was coming down from heaven, the august crown and the royal throne being already down from heaven, he (the king) regularly performed to perfection the august divine services and offices, laid the bricks of those cities in pure spots. They were named by name and allotted half-bushel baskets.

The firstling of those cities, Eridu, she gave to the leader Nudimmud, the second, Bad-Tibira, she gave to the prince and the sacred one, the third, Larak, she gave to Pabilsag, the fourth, Sippar, she gave to the gallant Utu. The fifth, Shuruppak, she gave to Ansud.

These cities, which had been named by names, and had been allotted half-bushel baskets, dredged the canals, which were blocked with purplish wind-borne clay, and they carried water. Their cleaning of the smaller canals established abundant growth.

[lost account of the antediluvian rulers, and how human noise vexed the chief god Enlil so much that he persuaded the divine assembly to vote the destruction of man by the deluge] ..

That day Nintur wept over her creatures and holy Inanna was full of grief over their people; but Enki took counsel with his own heart. An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga had the gods of heaven and earth swear by the names of An and Enlil.

At that time, Ziusudra was king and lustration priest. He fashioned, being a seer, the god of giddiness and stood in awe beside it, wording his wishes humbly.

As he stood there regularly day after day something that was not a dream was appearing: conversation a swearing of oaths by heaven and earth, a touching of throats and the gods bringing their thwarts up to Kiur.
And as Ziusudra stood there beside it, he went on hearing:

"Step up to the wall to my left and listen! Let me speak a word to you at the wall and may you grasp what I say, may you heed my advice! By our hand a flood will sweep over the cities of the half-bushel baskets, and the country; the decision, that mankind is to be destroyed has been made".

A verdict, a command of the assembly cannot be revoked, an order of An and Enlil is not known ever to have been countermanded, their kingship, their term, has been uprooted they must bethink themselves of that. Now... What I have to say to you...

[lost account of Enki's advice to build a boat and load it with pairs of living things, and Ziusudra's compliance]

All the evil winds, all stormy winds gathered into one and with them, then, the flood was sweeping over the cities of the half-bushel baskets for seven days and seven nights. After the flood had swept over the country, after the evil wind had tossed the big boat about on the great waters, the sun came out spreading light over heaven and earth.

Ziusudra then drilled an opening in the big boat.
And the gallant Utu sent his light into the interior of the big boat. Ziusudra, being king, stepped up before Utu kissing the ground before him. The king was butchering oxen, was being lavish with the sheep Barley cakes, crescents together with......he was crumbling for him juniper, the pure plant of the mountains, he filled on the fire and with a ...clasped to the breast he...

[lost account of Enlil's wrath at finding survivor's and his mollification by Enki]

You here have sworn by the life's breath of heaven the life's breath of earth that he verily is allied with yourself; you there, An and Enlil, have sworn by the life's breath of heaven, the life's breath of earth. that he is allied with all of you. He will disembark the small animals that come up from the earth!

Ziusudra, being king, stepped up before An and Enlil kissing the ground. And An and Enlil after honoring him were granting him life like a god's, were making lasting breath of life, like a god's, descend into him. That day they made Ziusudra, preserver, as king, of the name of the small animals and the seed of mankind, live toward the east over the mountains in mount Dilmun.

Sumerian tablet of Ereshkigal

"how Ereshkigal chose the Underworld"

Ereshkigal, Enkis twin sister, is also the mighty and very much feared Queen of the Underworld. Here is how she might have chosen to be so:

After Ki, Mother Earth and Queen, was separated by Enlil, Lord Air, Master of Winds, their firstborn, from An, Sky father and King, and the primal Unity of Heaven and Earth was forever lost, in the Heights Above, An wept for Ki, longing for her embrace and kiss. His heartfelt tears met Nammu the Sea. She reached out for the Sky Lord, and Mother and grieving son made for the first time sweet Love. From the mingling of their bodies a Boy and a Girl, Divine Twins were born. Enki and Ereshkigal, they were called.

As time went by, Ereshkigal and Enki grew with the blessings of Creations dawn. Curious and sometimes wise beyond their years, brother and sister played especially in the Watery Deep of Nammu the Sea. Enki would float here and there, whereas Ereshkigal swam and dived everywhere.

' Ereshkigal, I can't see you! Come back to the surface, will you? Why do you have to hide within the waters when there is so much to see and do without? asked Enki with a sigh.

'A rhetoric question, young brother, without doubt', countered Enlil amusedly from the shore, where he kept watch over the Duku, the Holy Mound of Creation, and Mother Ki, his eyes gleaming with fond laughter. 'Just let Ereshkigal be for a while. At least I could do without her whys and wherefores for a minute or so!'

' I heard you, Big Brother!' replied Ereshkigal. She came out to the surface riding a wave, and immediately put all her efforts together to raise a mighty wall of splashing water towards the rock where Enlil watched over the Earth and Enki's floating body. Both Enlil and Enki ran for cover. They were going to succeed and escape Ereshkigals watery rage... perhaps this time?

"Not as yet", thought Ereshkigal with a satisfied grin, dripping with water and as fresh as the purest springs of Mother Urash. She sat by Enlils and Enkis feet.

' So I ask too many questions, brothers of mine? Of course I do! I want to Know and to Know I must ask first! At least this is what I feel it should be! Ereshkigal ignored the resigned amusement of Enlil and Enki and proceeded with confidence: There is a whole world within the Sea and I suspect in everything there is. Moreover, there must be things beyond and below I feel I should know, and I will, one day. While you, Enlil, devise the Plans of Creation, and you, Enki, busy yourself with forms and shapes these plans may take without, I am concerned with the power within that binds these plans and images together in combinations of all sorts. I dont know how to explain it, but I simply feel there is a refulgence within, there is a Pattern that binds words and shapes together, beings and things, and it is this pattern I want to know. I will know. I just need to find out how.

A fleeting shadow crossed Enlils smiling face. I wish I saw things your way, Ereshkigal, just to understand and explain the unexplained. Take Kur, for example, and our dark little brothers and sisters who followed him to the lands end. It is true Kur and the others looked different from us. But why did they leave the safety of the Duku, the mound of creation, why did they go beyond the Waters of Mother Nammu.'

You are worrying about Kur and the Dark Guardians again, Enlil. Why dont you take them and Kur for what they are? Whatever and wherever they are? asked Ereshkigal.

Had you laid your eyes on Kur, youd understand my concern. He and the others are different from us, from our younger sisters and brothers. '

But why should we all be the same, Older Brother? Indeed, I believe we are all very, very different. In Form and Essence, despite some Resemblance in Appearance. I may be very wrong, Enlil, but I feel that if you keep fixing your eyes on but one thing, youll miss out what could be the other side of the same thing. Or person and being,' remarked thoughtfully Ereshkigal.

' Wise words, little sister! The point is that I take my Guardianship over the Earth too serious,' agreed Enlil. 'But there is something odd I cannot understand about Kur. And I for sure wouldnt like to visit the place where he chose to dwell either, at the entrance of the Underworld, countered Enlil.

I am sort of curious about these unknowable things. And I dont fear what I dont know. Even this Kur you dont understand, Enlil. Indeed, I am curious about Kur, replied Ereshkigal. And where is this Underworld, by the way?

None have gone there yet', answered Enki. ' It is beyond the edge of this world. Mother Nammu says that it spreads itself as deep below as the heights of Father An stretch above.

' This sounds really interesting! A whole new realm nobody has been to or knows so much about! exclaimed Ereshkigal.

O, sister, sometimes I wish you showed more respect for what you dont know. Just for safetys sake, supplied Enki.

I am careful. And Inquisitive and Curious. In her mind, Ereshkigal added silently " even about this mysterious Kur and the Underworld".

And so it was that Ereshkigal, the daughter of Nammu the Sea, born of the bittersweet loss that the Sky father felt for Ki, twin Sister of Enki, grew with the Desire to Know the Unknown and Reveal Patterns Unseen. Everyday she would play with Enki, her Companion and Best of Friends, and pester Enlil with countless questions. Everyday Ereshkigal would dive into the deep waters of the Mother and swim longer distances to resurface energized, with more and more questions in her mind and a deeper resolve forming inside.

One day, Ereshkigal chose not to return to the Middle world. This was the day she had found Kur (or he had found her perhaps?), and the little dark half brothers and sisters of theirs. They looked ugly and threatening, scattered over the edge of the world, at the entrance of the Underworld. They seemed to be lonely too, for all kept to their spaces, alone and isolated, but looking pretty menacing.

Little dark half brothers and sisters ?, So this must be a "wrong" and other creation of her mother Nammu with another God, but maybe a experimental creation of the Gods.

" So much pain and loneliness, such rage and hunger for what they know not what. Such desire to belong, but they know not where or how" , she thought, but didnt say a word.

Faithful to herself, Ereshkigal didnt flinch at Kurs features or at the misshapen faces of the dark little ones. Yes, he did not look like any of the other Anunnaki Ereshkigal knew very well, but this didnt make him threatening to her. Kur was... different. Indeed, with his huge scaly body and wings, Primeval Snake and Dragon, Ereshkigal felt he was like the raw power of Mother Ninhursag-Ki. A Beast, but she knew there was beauty within him... Still, Ereshkigal l felt no fear for the Unknown and a longing embrace it and make her it own.

I am not afraid of you. Of any of you she said out loud, and she meant it. You are my half brother, Kur, and so are the dark little ones. And somehow I feel there is beauty within you all, even if you and others dont have eyes to see. But I have. Dive into your Essence, brother, search for the seed that brought you, me and all into being. I also came from that seed. There you will find what unite us, what make us One of a Kind with the One who is All Kinds.

Thus she dived into the immensity of Kurs anguish and loss, for she accepted Kur for what he was, ugliness, pain, rage and loneliness to find out his all whys.

I vowed to challenge and fight to the very end all who dared to fare to the worlds end, said Kur.

And I take up the Challenge, answered Ereshkigal. But Ive travelled long and far to come to you. You are a Challenge to me. I need to understand you. And myself along the process.

" Why are you doing this?"

Ereshkigal heard the question in her mind, as she held Kur closer and closer to her own self.

" I myself dont know very well why, but I simply need to. Perhaps to grow in Understanding of who I am, of who and what you and your own are. To learn and Share, out of a Desire for Love and Healing that comes from the bottom of my heart, mind, body and Soul. And may this way, when I am wise about these things, may I perhaps earn my crown in a brand new Realm, she replied loud and clear.

Kurs features must have shown the equivalent to a smile, for his voice sounded also light-hearted and interested.

You are strange, half sister. I wont fight you... as yet. Tell me about this new realm where you want to conquer your crown, said Kur, his curiosity stirred.

How... I still must find out. Where...

Ereshkigal turned round pointed at the distance, where the Unknown lied yet unexplored.

There, she said, the Unknown, the Underworld, the Depths Within, where Appearances dont count, just Essence. Perhaps Ill go further by going deeper. Who knows?

Kur came closer and closer still. Ereshkigal kept her ground, just waiting. So although he might think he was seizing her, indeed it was she who had captured him. To stretch his and her boundaries of being. Heart pounding, but keeping very still outwards, Ereshkigal felt her awareness grow as she experienced the wounds Kur had inside, his desire to belong anywhere, to fit in. Suddenly, she also realized how different she had always felt. Even from Enki and Enlil, whom she loved with all her heart, mind and soul, but who could never dive into the depths she longed to thread upon.

Ereshkigal sighed deeply, and glanced into the distance for a brief moment, in the direction where Enlil and Enki sure were. Maybe her Quest was another. She turned to Kur.

What I will be from now on, I must discover, was her cryptic reply to Kurs unspoken question, but she knew he understood what she still was unable to say out loud.

It may be a long task, Kur replied.

Perhaps if I let each day bring what it has to offer, and see what I can do with what it brings, I will be able to accomplish something different. To learn something different and grow likewise. Will you do this with me?

Thoughtfully, but with an engaging smile, Ereshkigal stretched her hand to hold Kurs scaly paw. Together, they crossed the threshold to the Underworld.

Ereshkigal had always felt the pull to feel and experience the Unknown. Now she chose to go where no one had gone before, to stay in the uncharted realms of the Great Below, to fill up its Emptiness with her Being. Her voice then resonated loud and clear in all worlds of Creation, Heights Above, Middle world, over the edge of the Earth and, for the first time, echoed in the Depths Below: I claim the Realm of the Depths, the Underworld as my domain.

She had found her lifes Quest. Not looking back, Ereshkigal crossed the threshold to the Below, never to come back.