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Bau
Feb 12, 2009 13:08:34 GMT -5
Post by ummia-inim-gina on Feb 12, 2009 13:08:34 GMT -5
Well at least we know that Bau is defined largely by her people - in reality if not in mythology. Finding out her other Babylonian name is helpful, I guess. Or more work. Whatever. Gula was the Babylonian name. At first Bau and Gula appear to be separate deities and then in later periods the two became viewed as one goddess. At Lagash in specific she was usually called Gatamdug. Her temple there was called the Ebagara. As well as sometimes being referred to as the patron deity of Lagash (more often her husband Ningirsu/Ninurta is stated as the patron deity of Lagash) she was the patron of Isin. There she went by the epithet Ninisina and her temple was called the Eurgira. She was a goddess of healing and medicine. She was represented by dogs (which were associated with physicians). There are inscriptions referencing "the hounds of Gula" and her temples are filled with statues of them. Ninurta and Gula-Bau had two children together. There son was Damu (assigned as the god of doctors) and there daughter was Gunura.
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Bau
Feb 12, 2009 15:03:24 GMT -5
Post by sheshki on Feb 12, 2009 15:03:24 GMT -5
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Bau
Feb 12, 2009 15:25:37 GMT -5
Post by sheshki on Feb 12, 2009 15:25:37 GMT -5
A while ago i read a wonderful story about a sumerian fishermen. And Gula-Bau was mentioned there too. I´ll quote those parts below. 122-132: The men of Abi-sare swept upon the city of Isin like an oncoming flood. The cowardly soldiers of Isin stood no chance against the tremendous force. The men were slaughtered, the women were raped. On its lofty city-gates where walks had been taken, corpses were piled. On its boulevards where festivals had been held, heads lay scattered. In all its streets where walks had been taken, corpses were piled. In its places where the dances of the Land had taken place, people were stacked in heaps. The temple of E-urgira was plundered by the slaves freed at Girsu and its sacraments were defiled. The hounds of Gula-Bau were defaced and desecrated. The priestesses were raped and beaten to death. Many treasures including armchair of solid gold was carried off as tribute for Abi-sare. The once opulent temple of Gula-Bau was stripped barren and then razed to the ground. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 13-24: Ka'ida went to the Diviner to get an omen from the gods. He waited outside until the Diviner came out with a ghastly look upon his face. He spoke prudently to Ka'ida "The divine assembly is punishing Umma for the desecration of the E-urgira temple in Isin. Ka'ida you must take an offering Gula-Bau to make amends to the gods and save our city. Go to Lu-dingirra, the Exorcist you have befriended. Have him perform the agubbakam incantation to bless holy water for you. Take this holy water along with a rope and a measuring rod of silver to the E-ninnu in Lagash. Enter the temple carefully; its priests should not obstruct you in making an offering. Go down to the Shugalama the fearful place, the place of making judgments, from where Ninurta keeps an eye on all lands. Go down to the inner room and offer these to Gula-Bau and repent to her." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 97-108: The Sharur spoke to them in his awe inspiring voice: "trespassers why do you in intrude into my masters temple?" Terrified and trembling Ka'ida managed to reply "Sharur, great Sharur, we are seeking atonement for our previous transgressions against your master's consort. We are here to leave an offering to Gula-Bau in the inner room." The Sharur responded stern and unsympathetically: "The followers of Shara have acted recklessly and now Umma shall be destroyed. My master will continue to punish your people until they are no more. You must pray to Gula-Bau who is more forgiving then my master. After you leave your offerings to her you must return home and sacrifice all of your wealth that was gained in the name of her suffering. Only Gula-Bau can offer you atonement and calm my master's wrath!" 109-120: They thanked the Sharur and made their way further in the E-ninnu. The reached a Steele that contained the legendary inscription of Gudea: "The eyes of An know the E-ninnu, and Gula-Bau is the life source of Gudea". They knew this was their final destination, the E-mi of Gula-Bau. They entered the dark chamber and the light of their torches seemed to flicker. They offered Gula-Bau the rope, the measuring rod of pure silver, and the holy water. The men prayed to Gula-Bau for the rest of the afternoon before leaving. The group left the E-ninnu and started to make their way back to Umma. They set up camp at the same spot in the Guedin as the night before. A great evil slithered its way into their camp. Determined to stop them from saving their beloved Umma a wicked snake bit Ka'ida. His deadly venom filled the veins of Ka'ida making him grow ill immediately. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 121-132: Shara traveled to the home of Ninurta's wife and children. Damu, Ninurta's eldest son stepped out to confront him. When Damu opened his mouth to speak Shara crushed him with a single blow. Shara stepped over the crushed vessel of Ninurta's child. He sought out Ninurta's wife Gula-Bau. When he found her he brutally beat and raped her. Shara stayed at the home of Gula-Bau to ravish her until her husband returned. After much time had past Utu arrived. Appalled, Utu shouted at Shara: "I gave you back your weapons to punish Ninurta not his family! You have violated the daughter of An and disgraced me before the gods."
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Bau
Feb 14, 2009 18:55:41 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Feb 14, 2009 18:55:41 GMT -5
Excellent work so far guys, I love this thread- also great job to point out Ummia's references Sheshki All researching here the above source is an extract from some wonderful Authentic feature featured here. Well, have just finished a long reply to "Summoning the Sacred" thread, but I must shortly write something equally long here. Cheers
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Bau
Feb 27, 2009 22:15:47 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Feb 27, 2009 22:15:47 GMT -5
So tonight I have a few small extracts from other areas of enenuru that say a little about this goddess, who is named in different places Bau, Gula or Ninisina. To start with here are those extracts: From the Medicine and Magic in Mesopotamia thread: Ninisina (Gula) as goddess of incantation/ (example etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.4.22.1)Ninisina [(d)nin-isin2si-na] (Daughter of An and Uraš. Besides the obvious association with incantations in some of this deities own hymns, the goddess may be of interest to magic studies as Black&Green refer to this deity's identification with Gula, and Geller refers to Gula's relation to Ningirimma (Ningirim) In the incantations of the Old Babylonian period the junior god is most often Asalluḫi who approaches the senior god, Enki, on behalf of the sick man. In Early dynastic incantations the former position was taken by Ningirimma (Ningirim) and the latter by Enlil - as Ninisina is identical with Gula, its interesting to note here M. Geller's comment "Ningirimma became associated in later literature with the goddess Gula, goddess of healing, and consequently is mentioned in incantations with medical texts, and she appears in ritual and incantation texts with her a-gub-ba 'ritual laver" (BASOR 1987). Incantation to Gula, Goddess of Healing/ Finkel describes this one as an "appeal to Gula and Marduk to help in the dispelling of disease and attack by ghosts, the cause of many diseases attributed ŠU.GIDIM.MA [hand of the ghost], and is a simple statement of āšipūtu. Translation:
1. EN2. O Gula, doctor to the people, 2. you incantation is a cure, your touch healing, 3. whereever I place my hands do you grant well-being! 4. O Asalluḫi, who revives the dying, 5. who soothes the sick and drives out evil, 6. who averts fate, 7. let ḫa'aṭu and ḫa'iṭu, sickness, 8. stroke, rapadu disease, 9. or the ghost that is within the body of the man, son of his god, 10. before the incantation of Tutu, 11. be distant, be far, 12. let it be off, let it retreat! 13. ḪUL.DUB2! Be adjured by Heaven! 14. Be adjured by Underworld! 15. Let the evil tongue stand aside.
In the morning, I have found an article by Heimpel entitled "The lady of Girsu" which explore the name Ningirsu, and talks a little about the familiar problem of male dieities with the names that start with NIN, and also possible some new information on the early place of the wife of Ningirsu.
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Bau
Feb 28, 2009 17:19:35 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Feb 28, 2009 17:19:35 GMT -5
_________________________________ Reviewing:
The Lady of Girsu
Wolfgang Heimpel _________________________________
Heimpel made a small contribution to the 2002 Riches Hidden in Secret Places (The T. Jacobsen memorial.) In his article, Heimpel considers the philological curiousity of the name Ningirsu. When we hear this name we think of Bau's Husband, Ningirsu, a male deity of storms and conquest centered in the district of Girsu, a part of the great city of Lagash. Outside this area, he is more commenly named Ninurta (see thread Ningirsu or Ninurta. However, Heimpel's study adds a new consideration to the name Ningirsu and to the goddess Bau. He begins with... 1. The meaning of the Name Ningirsu/ As many are probably aware, a little translation of this name can be given as "Lady of Girsu." Here again we have the problem of the male deity with mostly inexplicable name - as in Ningishzida, Ninurta for example (see the thread Ningishzzida and Gizzida names?. That author points out that early scholars tried out various explanations for this problem including suggestions of the bi-sexual nature of the god (ideas later discarded.) Interestingly, the Emesal dialect of Sumerian, a poetic dialect, does replace the element nin in a divine name according to the gender of the bearer of the name umun [male] or gašan [female]. So when a name like Ningirsu or Ningishzida is translater into emesal the element umun comes into play - the linguistical ambiguity of gender is no longer apparent. The author continues, and restates something W. G. Lambert had said when considering the name of the god Ninšubara: "While as a common noun n i n means only "lady" or "mistress," in divine names it can be masculine: "master". He adds that D. O. Edzard thought "that n i n designated the title of a ruler and was originally neutral in gender; later, but still prehistorically, it was limited to female gender as a generic term, while keeping its gender neutrality in divine names." So, we have here a possible theory that the very earliest times, n i n specified both genders, however, the common use of the word changed as language developed while in the more traditional religious sphere n i n remained representative of male or female lords as before. A significant problem with this theory is pointed out by Heimpel and that is that the sign for n i n itself has since early writing been a stylised female pubic triangle. The author discusses another theory which suggests the ancient scribes had been intending a reading of nam2 when they actually use the signs for nin with a male deity but this theory again is impossible to substantiate - dispensing with "linguistic hocus pocus" he concludes the issue is unsolvable on philological grounds at present. Which brings him to: 2. Socio-Historical Hypothesis/ Here we have the very rare instance of a Assyriologist flirting with not only the idea of a matriarchal divine structure in prehistoric times (that is before the age of writing and anything with to solidly back up ones theological scholarship) ... but he is willing to speak about an idea which he cannot substantiate , that is a predominance of female city-gods in the pre-historic era who were replaced by male deities. The problem again with this concept is a lack evidence of any sort. He has only his observations on Bau and and Ningirsu as reason to bring up the notion at all and so proceeds with a limited discussion within the immiediate context of Girsu only. 3. Bau as Lady of the Holy City/ Arg - Dammit! I'm out of time. Must go learn how to make Spaetzle. Will return and finish the last page of Heimpel soon 0_0
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Bau
Feb 28, 2009 18:39:38 GMT -5
Post by sheshki on Feb 28, 2009 18:39:38 GMT -5
Ningirzu
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Bau
Mar 2, 2009 3:53:02 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Mar 2, 2009 3:53:02 GMT -5
_________________________________ Continuing:
The Lady of Girsu
Wolfgang Heimpel _________________________________
Thanks Sheshki, nice little addition there yes so as I was saying: 3. Bau as Lady of the Holy City/ The author begins by explaining about Girsu - within greater Lagash was the district Girsu, one of 4 districts. Within Girsu was a walled section that housed important temples such as the E-ninnu and Bau's own Etarsirsir. The walled off area containing the divine abodes in Girsu was called the "Holy City" by the ancients. Heimpal states: "In the inscription of Gudea and other rulers of this period, Bau is called "Lady of the Holy City," while Ningirsu is never related to the Holy City as its king or Lord. He is mentioned in connection with the Holy City just once in the ED III period by Eanatum who "built the wall of the Holy City for Ningirsu." So what the author infers on observing this fairly uniform trend, that the land Ningirsu's temple is built on is ascribed to Bau when it is mentioned at all (a trend also apparent on the Gudea Cylinders), is that Bau is the lady of the Holy City, the divine district of Girsu. Given the tradition based nature of Mesopotamian religion, in which certain devotions are significantly modified but never die out entirely despite millennia, this reinforces the theory of a female Ningirsu being displaced as city god by a male deity sometime in the early past, though I would emphasis, only in the context of Girsu itself. Heimpel's idea present as evolutionary theory/ Heimpel: "It may have proceeded as follows: The principal deity of Girsu was originally Bau. Her first temple stood on Tell A overlooking the Tigris not far from where the river arm leading to Nina [another district] branched off. At some point another temple was built for her on lower terrain to the southwest, closer to the center of the city. Her image in that temple was differentiated from the image in the old temple by the addition of the epithet "Lady of Girsu." The epithet described her specific function as divine overseer of the affairs of the city. This function was taken over by a male divinity, who may have been her husband, or antagonist, or both, and who continued to use the title the Lady of Girsu [Ningirsu]. Step by step, this male Lady of Girsu gained in power at the expense of Bau. The latest phase of this process is historical. In ED III Bau still owned considerable areas of agricultural land, but by Ur III she had lost them all, and the last remnant of her erstwhile power was he titular ownership of the Holy City." Heimpel wonders outloud about other male deities name nin something/ Heimpel concludes his very hypothetical discussion, and wonders outloud if the scenario he proposes for the problem of the name Ningirsu may apply in like manner to other male deities whose name is similarly problematic - his comments amount to 'in some cases maybe, in some cases definitely not'. This pondering is therefore *NOT* sufficient reason to modify current understandings of these deities, or of Ningishzida, and the author has presented the information in a 'food for thought' type of manner. Heimpel: "It goes without saying that the explanation of the name Ningirsu cannot be applied to all names of male deities with the word n i n. One could argue that some of these names have been wrongly interpreted and actually fit the pattern. For example Ningizzida may not mean "Lady [or Lord] of the Good Tree" but rather "Lady of Gishzida," understanding the second element as a designation of place. Yet such an explanation cannot convince in the case of Ninazu, which seems to mean "Lady Leech," and in innumerable other cases where the second element is not in the genitive and obviously not a geographical name." So, because Ningishzida's name contains the element Gishzida, which is both a place (a geographical name) and a thing (roughly good tree), one has two options on how to proceed in interrepting the name: one could go with geographical element, and try and apply the scenario of the male deity overtaking female as with Heimpel's theory of Girsu - but - because the name could instead be read as a thing, a tree, the first interpretation could instantly be made irrelevant. There remains insufficient reason to suppose Ningishzida may have been female at some point in prehistory. And only a bare amount of information to ponder that Ningirsu may have been.
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darkl2030
dubĝal (scribes assistent)
Posts: 54
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Bau
Mar 20, 2012 15:08:55 GMT -5
Post by darkl2030 on Mar 20, 2012 15:08:55 GMT -5
Since she is known as patron of the arts of healing and medicine, Gula may hold a strong interest in modern minds. Recently while reading two very interesting, unique humorous Akkadian literary texts, "The Poor Man of Nippur," and "The Illiterate Doctor of Isin," I incidently got to learn some things about this patron goddess of Isin, also sometimes referred to as Ninisinna. This goddess is very often represented as a dog, and several images of dogs of various sizes, as well as the remains of many actual dogs, have been found at Isin itself. Though there were smaller shrines to gula throughout the Land, as evinced in the two aforementioned texts Isin was known almost as a "central hospital" that people would actually travel to when they became sick or injured, seeking the help of priests of Gula who were also known as A.ZU or asû, "doctors." It may seem odd that Gula was one of the very few Mesopotamian deities routinely portrayed in the form of an animal. Attempting to explain why a goddess of healing might be depicted as a dog, I offered an oft-cited explanation of a supposed ancient belief in the healing powers of dogs saliva, since dogs lick their wounds when injured. This is a pretty common explanation, but my teacher thinks it is completely wrong and finds no ethnographic paralels at all throughout the world. Actually, dogs had to do with healing precisely because they had to do with disease, in particular being carriers of rabies. This may be a very old concept among Semitic peoples--in Arabic the word for dog (kalib, related to Akkadian qalbu) and rabies are one and the same. Essentially in being in charge of causing diseases, the dog goddess Gula was also in charge of removing them. Indeed, the dogs of Gula are also invoked in curse formula to cause disease, as for example in the code of Hammurabi. The goddess Bau was also closely connected with Gula/Ninisina. Though it is not known if she was also represented as a dog, some have even claimed that the origin of her name is representitive of this animal's sound ("bow-wow"). Dogs in many cultures are also associated with the netherworld, also where diseases originate--diseas are sometimes thought of as hitching a ride with stars on their way up through the horizon, where they fall down from heaven). This connection may help explain why the procedures of the asû were often carried out at night. But the asû actually did address the physical problems of injury, using poulstices and salves, splints for broken limbs, etc. This is in contrast to the mashmashu, who also helped to fight disease but more so as excorcists, driving out bad spirits and thus addressing the root cause of the disease. An analogy might be that the asû were physicians, and the mashmashu more like a modern day "shrink." Anyway, I found this very interesting and wanted to share, since the article that contains this information is still unpublished. It seems to be a common feature in ancient thought that two opposites are associated with one another like this.
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