Organization of Mesopotamian Reconstructionism

[saharda]

There are perhaps a half dozen Mesopotamian Recon groups that one can easily find on line. (Perhaps not easily, but they are there) and I know of several others here and there off line. The trouble is that they don't all hold to the same beliefs and organization.

Temple of Sumer for example has myself as the Ensi (Leader) UsHeGal as my Sukkal (Second in command / minister / assistant) a few members and a few students. We chose this organization to reflect the political organization because the Sumerians didn't differentiate between the religious world and the political one.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

[david]

I kind of think it would be kind of cool to try and get Sumerian recons from different groups working together, I don't mean to form one huge organization, just a community of groups who might have different beliefs but who work towards the same ends (stregthening the Sumerian religion, bringing it in to the modern world, etc).

A lot of other recon religions do the same, like in the Hellenic religion, there are many different groups who hold different beliefs and are devoted to different gods, but they work towards strengethening the Hellenic religion, and they are forming offline groups, same with Asatru, and Kemeticism is probably very successful considering Kemetic Orthodox is already established offline in Chicago, and is legally recognized (like free from taxes, etc).

I think what Sumerians need is probably to have more articles on how you can actually practice the religion in the modern world (like maybe on the Temple of Sumer site, you could have articles about what you need for an altar, rituals to do, things you can do on the holidays, etc).

I'd like to see more books about modern Sumerian reconstructionism, just like other recon religions have them (e.g. Diana L. Paxson of The Troth, an Asatru organization, recently released 'Essential Asatru', and also 'Ring of Troth' or something has been in circulation since the 1980s, I think, and Kemetic Orthodox has a few books out too (I'm not sure about other Kemetic groups, although Fellowship of Isis does, I know that, etc).

I think there are a lot of knowledgable people on this board, TOD, Gateways to Babylon and others that could write a book like that.

Maybe show people that the Sumerian religion can be for anyone who's dedicated to the Sumerian gods and/or it's beliefs (i.e. not something that's ancient and gone), maybe show that you can be gay (I happen to know one other Sumerian who's gay, he led be to TOD in fact) and a Sumerian, a woman and a Sumerian, of any "race", etc.

Anyway, I hope that made some sense, but I really would like the Sumerian religion to get more out there (it probably will never be as big as Christianity but I think it can catch up with other recon religions, like the Hellenic religion, Kemeticism, Heathenism, etc).

[saharda]

I really would like to have more interconnection between the various Sumerian recon groups, but many of the other groups out their are flaky or cultish. Prime examples being Arratu and Zagduku.

I will work on getting some material up detailing generic Sumerian rituals. I agree that there isn't nearly enough information out there. I was also thinking about having a bit more structure to T/S membership. At present we have a number of people interested, but few actual members.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Just mentioning that Im aware this thread was spawned after reviewing my "Running list of Meso/Sum. Communities" post in the general board area. So I understand the context and I think its good to bring some attention to these communities as these should be cherry picked. I would want to move this thread on to the general board as it would be best suited there hm.

My take on Sumerian recon groups, as we use the term, is that yes there isnt much interconnection, owing to flakiness and cultishness.
While I want to see demonstrated here the focus and methodology that is so lacking in these groups, I wouldnt define Enenuru as a recon group or even as a mutated recon group. I dont see it as a pagan group, though most here would be pre-disposed to draw on it for relevant insights. Its its own animal, and something Ive hoped will fill a very particular void (its meant to fill unoccupied space).
Of course I realize you are not referencing Enenuru as yet in this thread, but as for how various Sumerian pagan groups might unite together? If anything, it would take something both very extroverted and very ambitious.. Ultimately I suspect the process of earning coherence would be so demanding on this, you would have but a handful of committed persons sharing it at the end of the day, it would probably be in effect exactly the same boat as if you had set out on an introverted effort..or so I would suspect.
So I prefer introversion (not to indirectly imply again that this is a pagan focus group.. My ideas of orientation recently posted in the 'from fingers to forks thread')

[saharda]

The Sumerian Evangelism page has gotten me thinking that the community needs all of the resources it can get. TempleofSumer.org is decent, but more needs doing.

[xuchilpaba]

Not to be nit picky or anything. But on your TOS site's list, you have 'Death od Gilgamesh'.

Oh yeah theres other spelling mistakes too. Like in the Morality section you spelt 'done' as 'dine'.

[saharda]

Yeah, I suck at spelling. I need an editor bad.

[saharda]

Oh and it's T/S because TOS is Temple of Set.

[xuchilpaba]

saharda said:

Yeah, I suck at spelling. I need an editor bad.

YOu could always hire me. ;D I spell check.

[saharda]

I could hire you at 10% of what I draw in from the site itself. That is to say that I could pay you 0.00 to do the editing.

[adante]

Saharda, I went to your forum and tried to register, but had so much trouble with the people doing sign in stuff. It lets me register, but won't let me sign in at all.

Another group, called Temple of the Ancients, has on their page that the dead don't eat in the underworld. Yet I've seen reference to the food of the dead and in the story of Ereshkigal and Nergal, Nergal is warned not to eat anything offered to him. Can someone please clarify this please?

[us4-he2-gal2]

Adente:


TempleofSumer.org has never been an active forum I don`t think. Saharda and whatever following there is there can be reached at the Tablet of Destinies yahoo group:

groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/


As for what your saying about eating in the netherworld, I think your got some distorted information. The netherworld was believed by the Sumerians and Mesopotamians to lack the essentials of life as they are here - in some periods the water is described as brackish, the food is dust. The dead want to eat but their situation is pitiable, and they are dependent on the food and drink offerings of their living relatives for sustenance. Thus ancestor worship and the cults of the dead had a presence in Mesopotamia, and it was thought if certain offerings to the deceased weren`t made, that the ghost would by unrestful and would return to the living to inflict them with disease and illness - much like the workings of demons.

If you read the bottom half of the myth Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld (available at ETCSL), you will see Enkidu explain (as he has just come from the Netherworld) that the more sons a man has (the more sons to make offerings) the better and the richer a man will be in the Netherworld:

etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.1.4

[adante]

Thanks so much for that us4. Its all really new to me.

[adante]

Sorry, meant to say I'm also a member of TOD.