The Late Series Utukkū Lemnūtu
May 26, 2013 8:48:05 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on May 26, 2013 8:48:05 GMT -5
Thread Orientation: To discuss a late period incantation series and facilitate its study
While the late incantation series Utukkū Lemnūtu has been mentioned throughout the years at enenuru, it has not received sustained attention as of yet owing to the typically early focus of the board. However the late series represents an important part of any study of cuneiform magic. At 16 tablets in length, it provides the most complete picture of the Mesopotamian magical response to a particular set of problems - in this case, the Utukkū demons (Sum. Udug) and the seven (associated evil demons, of which the Udug demon is one).
We have certainly encountered related texts from the OB period, which M.J. Geller terms "Forerunners to Udug-hul ( Utukkū Lemnūtu)"; he wrote a book of the same name dealing with these texts (Geller 1986). According to Geller, the content of the forerunners or the early version of this series corresponds to tablets 3-8 of the later 16 tablet series. It is unknown if the OB version may once have had the same amount of content as the later version (or more), those tablets may simply be lost to time.
Utukkū Lemnūtu has had a long and notable history of translation and interpretation. The core tablets, mainly coming from the library of Ashurbanipal in the Neo-Assyrian period, were treated by R. Campbell-Thompsen in 1903 - see CT 16. (click CT 16 for a link to the document). The translations to the transliterations of CT 16 were published a few years later by the same author in The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia.
Campbell-Thompsen's initial treatments were solid and facilitated early studies of Mesopotamian incantation lore - Adam Falkenstein's unsurpassed PhD thesis (U. of Leipzig 1931) analyzed and categorized Sumerian incantations for the first time and largely used the Utukkū Lemnūtu series (see Die Haupttypen der sumerischen Beschwörung) as core material - however the early text translations have now become dated. Fortunately Geller has prepared a student edition of the series in his 2007 Evil Demons: canonical Utukkū Lemnūtu incantations. This is a student edition, meaning it is formatted with the intention of being used as a tool for students learning the languages - it includes cuneiform, transliteration and translation. Extensive analysis of the series and tablet documentation are left off for a later publication.
An additional resource has recently become available to researchers, students and layman learners everywhere and is offered through the Geography of Knowledge project: an online database hosted by ORACC (the Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus). This treasure hold of Mesopotamian intellectual content treats the Utukkū Lemnūtu series offering a description of the series and a summarization of each of the 16 tablets; in addition, transliteration and translations are linked for each tablet (although the page is still under construction and a number remain unlinked as of yet.) See:
oracc.museum.upenn.edu/cams/gkab/theworldoftheipu/healingtexts/utukklemntu/
_______________________
Still to come: As a summer project I have taken on the task of translating portions of this series and working with the Akkadian language. Largely my reading is guided by Geller's experienced interpretations for which I am thankful. As enenuru is about sharing what you are doing (not necessarily what you are publishing) I hope to post some of my translations below for any who might be interested.
Utukkū Lemnūtu
While the late incantation series Utukkū Lemnūtu has been mentioned throughout the years at enenuru, it has not received sustained attention as of yet owing to the typically early focus of the board. However the late series represents an important part of any study of cuneiform magic. At 16 tablets in length, it provides the most complete picture of the Mesopotamian magical response to a particular set of problems - in this case, the Utukkū demons (Sum. Udug) and the seven (associated evil demons, of which the Udug demon is one).
We have certainly encountered related texts from the OB period, which M.J. Geller terms "Forerunners to Udug-hul ( Utukkū Lemnūtu)"; he wrote a book of the same name dealing with these texts (Geller 1986). According to Geller, the content of the forerunners or the early version of this series corresponds to tablets 3-8 of the later 16 tablet series. It is unknown if the OB version may once have had the same amount of content as the later version (or more), those tablets may simply be lost to time.
Utukkū Lemnūtu has had a long and notable history of translation and interpretation. The core tablets, mainly coming from the library of Ashurbanipal in the Neo-Assyrian period, were treated by R. Campbell-Thompsen in 1903 - see CT 16. (click CT 16 for a link to the document). The translations to the transliterations of CT 16 were published a few years later by the same author in The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia.
Campbell-Thompsen's initial treatments were solid and facilitated early studies of Mesopotamian incantation lore - Adam Falkenstein's unsurpassed PhD thesis (U. of Leipzig 1931) analyzed and categorized Sumerian incantations for the first time and largely used the Utukkū Lemnūtu series (see Die Haupttypen der sumerischen Beschwörung) as core material - however the early text translations have now become dated. Fortunately Geller has prepared a student edition of the series in his 2007 Evil Demons: canonical Utukkū Lemnūtu incantations. This is a student edition, meaning it is formatted with the intention of being used as a tool for students learning the languages - it includes cuneiform, transliteration and translation. Extensive analysis of the series and tablet documentation are left off for a later publication.
An additional resource has recently become available to researchers, students and layman learners everywhere and is offered through the Geography of Knowledge project: an online database hosted by ORACC (the Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus). This treasure hold of Mesopotamian intellectual content treats the Utukkū Lemnūtu series offering a description of the series and a summarization of each of the 16 tablets; in addition, transliteration and translations are linked for each tablet (although the page is still under construction and a number remain unlinked as of yet.) See:
oracc.museum.upenn.edu/cams/gkab/theworldoftheipu/healingtexts/utukklemntu/
_______________________
Still to come: As a summer project I have taken on the task of translating portions of this series and working with the Akkadian language. Largely my reading is guided by Geller's experienced interpretations for which I am thankful. As enenuru is about sharing what you are doing (not necessarily what you are publishing) I hope to post some of my translations below for any who might be interested.