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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Dec 23, 2007 10:29:14 GMT -5
ĝiš-ḫur: circle or plan? Recently on the " Devils and Evil Spirits: CT16 + CT17" thread, Madness has pointed to an example of the concept of ĝiš-ḫur when used in the ban.ban incantation and he has cross-referenced Binsbergen and Wiggermann for an explanation of this concept. I believe a detailed survey/examination of this term may say something about its use in incantations, about the theortical approach we are elsewhere considering, and at the same time, highlight what would seem to have every possibility of being an important Sumerian religious concept. There would seem to be two ePSD entries to consider. The first, already given, is very non-descript and seems to be of little use in understanding ĝiš-ḫur - however B/W have given usurtu as the Akk. of ĝiš-ḫur and so Im drawn to this first entry, if for no other reason Entry 1: "wr. ĝeš-har-har "encirclement" Akk. usurtu" The second entry seems much more relevent though lacking the Akkadian equivolent. So far as B/W's explanation of secret knowledge or divine plan, we have here a corresponding entry: Entry 2:ĝešhur [PLAN] (123x: ED IIIb, Ur III, Old Babylonian) wr. ĝeš-hur "plan" Incedentially, its interesting to note also the ePSD for the cuneiform sign ĝeš hur meaning "Draw". ĝeš meaning tree and hur scratch. The cuneiform sign is also very much like that for "Design" though with a space between the signs The relation between Draw and Design is understandablen though I wouldnt be inclined to think of tree's as a typical medium for Mesopotamian drawing (?). Its possible entry 1 above could be an extension of design, or by merit of forethought and cunning, the enemy is encircled and surrounded. Examples of ĝiš-ḫur in literature: -Ninurta and the Turtle T.1.6.3 : When Anzu is struck he loses the divine perogatives he stole and explains: (Segment B, l.3) "As I let the divine plan go out of my hand, this divine plan returned to the abzu." In this case ĝiš-ḫur is rendered divine plan. - The lament for Sumer and Urim T.2.2.3 1-2. To overturn the appointed times, to obliterate the divine plans, the storms gather to strike like a flood. Here ĝiš-ḫur is rendered divine plans. -Amar-Suena and Enki's temple (Amar-Suena A) T.2.4.3.1 In the fourth year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. Although he had been advised (?) by a sage, he could not realise the plans of the temple. Here ĝiš-ḫur is rendered the plans. -Sîn-iddinam and Iškur (Sîn-iddinam E) T.2.6.6.5 "who puts in order the divine plans of Eridug, who makes perfect offerings to the gods; the wise one who has restored the ancient divine powers, ……" Here ĝiš-ḫur is rendered divine plans (Part of the royal praise of a king). As a Magic Circle:Although sources so far considered seem to solidify the meaning of ĝiš-ḫur, the CAD entry indicates we might still look for some examples of this term as meaning magic circle. They entry for gišḫuru ( gešḫuru) 1. plan (of a building), model, archetype 2. magic circle, 3. (unkn. mng.); MA, NA, NB; Sum. lw. writing pl. gišḫurāte; we. syll. ( gešḫuru YOS 7 61:4) and GIŠ.ḫUR [h should be capitalized.] Will need to study further.
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Jan 8, 2008 0:36:36 GMT -5
Well, after numerous hours of sifting through journal entries, Ive finally managed to find a scholar he directly comments on at least a possible explanation of the relation between ĝiš-ḫur as divine plan and ĝiš-ḫur as magic circle. The comment is unfortunately very early, W. F. Albright Journal of Biblical Literature (1920), however it reads:
"The Babylonians undoubtedly did possess an incipient meta-physics based upon the animistic conception that the form or outline of a thing is a separable soul, an idea which originated in the beliefs concerning the shadow, and also in the practices of sympathetic magic, where the soul of a man might be captured by being enclosed in a magic circle or outline representing the man's body. Once admitting that the outline of an object had a separate existence from the object, it would have naturally have to be considered older, just as the outline or plan of a building or ship, cast by the hand of an architect, is older than the building itself. Hence the term giš-zar was employed by the Sumerians in the sense both of specific plan or outline, and or prototype. Before the creation of any person or of any object, that person or object exists as a mystic prototype in heaven, or in the minds of the gods."
Beyond the antique rendering of term in question, (zar), this explanation is maybe flawed in a few other ways. I haven't seen the assertion that 'form or outline of a thing is a separable soul' substantiated elsewhere, and I dont know why such an outline would "naturally have to be considered older." I may be missing something there - however it's also hard to follow why the function of a magic circle should defined as entrapping a man's soul. More recent examinations give the Magic Circle a decidedly apotropaic function, that is a device that serves to protect the patient. In magic rituals it is common to demarcate a circle by sprinkling flour. Another name for such circle is zì-sur-ra, which has the literal meaning "flour which makes a boundary (black and green.) An incantation which features the use of a magic circle , and which recalls the ban.ban incantation, is found in Forerunners to Udughul (730-736)
730: Cast a magic circle of flour as a strong guard, 731: as it is kindled at the (var. his) gate, cast the magic circle of flour, 732: and pour out zidubdub-flour at both the door and door-bolt of the house. 733: As for the evil Udug or evil Ala-demon, [evil] ghost or evil [Galla-demon], who obstructs the man walking in the street at night, 734: the oath of the great gods has adjured them. [734: sag-ba-a dingir-gal-gal-e-n[e..] e-ne-pá]
Elsewhere, Geller has explained that the use of the magic circle is to encourage benevolent spirits to be present at the patients beside, in some cases to repel an evil spirit or ghost, as in line 789 "with šemuš flour, [which is unpleasant for the ghost], [encircle] the bed's location." It seems within the magic circle a number of ritual procrodured may have been carried out as well, as the CAD for zì-sur-ra: "you purify him (the bull) with a censor and torch, you surround him with a magic circle of flour" ; "you set three heaps of flour opposite the kettledrum within the magic circle" . From these indications, Albright's suggestion that the magic circle entrapped the soul of a man by virtue of following his outline seems untenable, as the significance of the circle in Forerunners to Udughul 789 seems to have more to do with the properties of the flour rather then the shape, and its somewhat unthinkable that the function of the circle in the above mention ritual was to contain the soul of the bull.
But ĝiš-ḫur can mean divine plan, and it can mean magic circle, which is why in the ban ban incantation Römer's translated foreordination where Thompson had translated barrier. The significance of the relationship between between use's (if there is one) is unfortunately, still not clear.
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Post by madness on Jan 12, 2008 16:16:18 GMT -5
Simo Parpola, in stating that the Assyrian sacred tree represents the divine world order, refers the reader to the ĝiš-hur: Cf. me-gal-gal an-ki-a = uşurāt šamê u erşeti (GIŠ.HUR.MEŠ AN-e u KI-tim), lit. "the designs (Sum. "the great offices") of heaven and earth," ACh Sin 1: 2 and 6, and Tablet V of Enūma eliš, where the words uşurātu, "designs," and parşū, "offices," refer to the organization of the divine and the material world by Marduk (lines 1-5 and 65-67); note also the mystical work I.NAM GIŠ.HUR AN.KI.A . . . explaining the "designs" of the world by gematric techniques . .
The Assyrian Tree of Life, p. 167, n. 29 Perhaps Parpola is implying that ĝiš-hur should be read literally, that is: ĝiš = tree hur = design The divine world order as a "tree design" (i.e. the Assyrian tree).
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Post by madness on Mar 15, 2008 3:32:13 GMT -5
And in considering that, perhaps it is worth pointing out that ĝiš-hur and ĝiš-kin2 (i.e. the kiškanû tree) are written using the same signs.
hur = kin2 = HI×AŠ2
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Apr 5, 2009 21:26:02 GMT -5
More reflections on ĝiš-ḫur, Divine plans, and magic circles Draw - Design and the Writing boards/ I have recently come across a few new sources and have a few new notes on this topic - first, I am quoting some observations I was trying to make earlier regarding the cuneiform signs for 1. wr. ĝeš-har-har (akk. usurtu) and 2. ĝeš-hur / ĝiš-hur . I had noted that 1., the Akkadian usurtu (ĝeš-har-har), meaning encirclement, is related by Binsbergen and Wiggerman to 2., ĝiš-hur (meaning divine plan or magic circle). Here is some of the observation post one, above: Entry 1: "wr. ĝeš-har-har "encirclement" Akk. usurtu" The second entry seems much more relevent though lacking the Akkadian equivolent. So far as B/W's explanation of secret knowledge or divine plan, we have here a corresponding entry: Entry 2:ĝešhur [PLAN] (123x: ED IIIb, Ur III, Old Babylonian) wr. ĝeš-hur "plan" Incedentially, its interesting to note also the ePSD for the cuneiform sign ĝeš hur meaning "Draw". ĝeš meaning tree and hur scratch. The cuneiform sign is also very much like that for "Design" though with a space between the signs The relation between Draw and Design is understandable though I wouldnt be inclined to think of tree's as a typical medium for Mesopotamian drawing (?). Its possible entry 1 above could be an extension of design, or by merit of forethought and cunning, the enemy is encircled and surrounded.
I now have a new hypothesis regarding to a possible reason why signs meaning "draw" and "design" seem both to be on the same visual axis, that is derive from a combination of the signs for `tree + scratch`, or maybe `wood + scratch` - I have since become aware of the existence of writing boards in the scribal practice, which were actually of wood with a wax coating. This surprised me deeply as before learning of these tools I was only envisioning scribal practice on some form of clay. On these wooden writing boards, the scribes would compose preliminary copies of texts, perhaps one could say 'draw up the design', the finalized composition then would be commited to clay as a secondary step. This information is noted in Laurie E. Pearce's CANE IV article entitled The Scribes and Scholars of Ancient Mesopotamia and appears on the The Scribal Art thread. Pearce: "Another medium for cuneiform inscriptions was writing boards, flat pieces of wood bound together with hinges. Writing boars of silver and gold are rarely mentioned. Writing boards, in use from the Ur III to Late Babylonian periods, were coated with a layer of wax to which orpiment was added. This allowed the wax to flow easily to coat the surface of the boards and to retain its malleability for the inscription. This malleability also made it possible for the scribes to erase and reuse the wax, rendering it ideal for the preliminary composition of texts. Once the preliminary copy was completed, the scribe copied all of the data onto a durable clay tablet. The wax was then erased and reused and this process was repeated... " I therefore wonder if the writing for draw/design (tree + scratch) may have been inspired by the drawing boards themselves? Pearce has also shared that the "Tablet of Life" that Nabu held, which must certainly have been conisdered to contain the design of the gods, is identifiable as one of these writing boards. On the power of Circles/ In his dissertation which compares the Mesopotamian Shurpu text with parts of the Egyptian book of the dead, Henry Schriebman gives an excellent analysis of Mesopotamian ritual concepts. On page 138, the author explores the concept of the magic circle, noting that it is "a universal means of setting the ritual action apart from the realm of operation. This simple action closes out the foreign, undesirable forces and powers, thus delineating the scared space. It also concentrates the positive powers, not permitting them to stray during the ritual. It, in a literal sense, claims or acquires this given space for the forces of good." The author's discussion continues to a discussion of the Akkadian word Lamu which meas "to surround" - this discussion which relates zisurru (magic circle) with Lamu (to surround) reminds one of the possible relation between the Sumerian 1. wr. ĝeš-har-har (encirclement) and 2. ĝeš-hur / ĝiš-hur (divine plan and magic circle?). "In Akkadian, the verb lamu "to surround" is used in a ritualized sense, both in medicine and magic. The patients can be circumscribed with various substances including flour (as in our text) salt, and sand... The act of "surrounding" (lamu) constitutes a central step in the "gestures of approach" to and enclosure of the holy. Without these precautions the power of the sacred might "burst out" and become dangerous, if not life threatening." Especially given the explanation "this simple action closes out the foreign, undersirible forces and powers, thus delineating the scared space", the following line from a Sumerian myth is quite interesting - the gods encircling, and their designs, seem here to claim foreign land and by extension to bring it into the realm of divine order - "14-16. Meslamta-ea, your supremacy in the rebel lands! You have encircled the rebel lands, O youth. Nergal, your supremacy in the rebel lands!"
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Post by madness on Apr 30, 2009 4:28:44 GMT -5
The ĝiš-hur itself could be drawn, and apparently looked something like a net.
Babylonian Ritual for Curing a Sick Man Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works, p. 173
1. The gypsum and bitumen which they smear on the door of the sick man. :The gypsum is Ninurta. The bitumen is Asakku. Ninurta pursues Asakku. 2. The circle of flour (zi-sur-ra-a) which surrounds the bed of the sick man. :Lugalgirra and Meslamtaea. 3. The three heaps of flour which they cast down. :Anu, Enlil, and Ea. 4. The design (giš-hur-ra) which they draw in front of the bed. :That is a net and traps Any Evil. 5. The drum and cymbals which are resplendent at the head of the sick man. :The drum is Anu. The cymbals are Enlil. 6. The standards which are set up at the head of the sick man. :They are Sibitti, the great gods, sons of Išhara. 7. The scapegoat which is placed at the head of the sick man. :Ninamaškuga, Enlil's shepherd. 8. The censor and torch placed in the house of the sick man. :The censor is Kusu. The torch is Nusku.
Compare with the sag-ba sag-ba incantation (CT 17 34-36), where the ĝiš-hur is described as a trap and a net, associated with Enki and Nisaba.
"May the ĝiš-hur of Heaven and Earth not let it go."
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Post by madness on Nov 14, 2009 0:10:11 GMT -5
While we wait for CAD U/W to be finished, we can take a look at the Assyrian-English-Assyrian Dictionarys.v. gišhurru# n. magic circle; plan, design, model, archetype s.v. usurtu# nf. siege s.v. uṣurtu nf. design, drawing, sketch, draft, plan; layout, scheme, pattern; form+, image+, picture+ nf. = feminine noun # = Standard Akkadian word or meaning + = word or meaning added from Aramaic So, the difference between usurtu "siege" and uṣurtu "design" is the letter tsade.
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