Where to find cuneiform signs and their meaning?

[garashta]

Hello,
I will get me a cuneiform tattoo, but it is hard to find a list with words and their respective cuneiform sign (whatever cuneiform it is, be it Akkadian, archaic...).
So far, no matter how much I search, I always find the same words: Sun, heaven/god, freedom, ox, fish, man, mountain.

Why can't I find any more like this?
"The most important words in Sumerian had their own cuneiform signs, whose origins were pictographic, making an initial repertoire of about a thousand signs or logograms." 
Ok, so where can I find these words?
I just began my studies about these languages, so I'm quite green, but from what I seem to grasp they are somewhat like east-asian languages where you have ideograms for important things, but can also write anything by sound (thinking about Japanese with their kanji and hiragana/katana).

Actually, what began as a simple (and some might call vain) search for a tattoo concept quickly become a major interest, so high that I'm know fascinated (for some unknow reason) about this writing method and the history of these civilizations, and planning to employ the cuneiform in other arts. And as such, this site here appeared as a great thing to me, for which I am thankful.

Thanks!

*Also, how would my name (ED) be in cuneiform?

[sheshki]

Hi garashta,

well from my own expirience i can tell that getting a cuneiform tattoo, one where you actually know what is written into your skin, is not that easy.
It took me years of learning and researching until i was up to it.
Here is the link to our cuneiform diaries where i posted some of my efforts.
You could have a look at ePSD if you are searching for certain words,
but you still don´t have the grammar if you want to write something proper. If you only plan to use the script for writing,
let´s say your name, then it is not a problem. Another helpful link could be the ETCSL signlist and the cdli archaic sign list
On the CDLI signlist you can see that the sign with the value ED is A₂
 

[garashta]

Thanks for your reply!
For a beggining, I will tattoo the word freedom as in this picture.
But later on I will be adding more words downside, as if it was a clay tablet.

And this ePSD is just the thing I needed! Thanks A LOT!
With it I can simply type the word and choose the sign (if more than one is available).
I plan to put some words that carry simbolism to me, it does not need to be a coherent phrase or text, just the words. Think it is ok with that?

And here's the freedom word:

[sheshki]

you´re welcome.

Well, just adding words as tattoos wouldn´t be my approach for a cuneiform tattoo.
But as long as you are happy with the outcome all is well, isn´t it.
Would be nice if you´d put up some pictures of the tattoo here, maybe in the cuneiform diaries thread.

[garashta]

So you prefer phrases than words?
And why not words? People do it all the time with words like love, freedom, life, and in commom languages like japanese or even english.
I'm asking because there's still time to change to my mind, since as of know i am just going to tatto that word freedom, the rest of the tattoo could be a coehrent phrase if I change my mind. And that would work as well too, since the whole upper arm with cuneiform signs.

Thanks!

[sheshki]

Well it is totally your choice. I personally prefer phrases because it is more personal.
(And doing stuff because other people do that all the time was never my cup of tea )
The signs you plan (AMA.GI₄) for example are kinda widespread on the internet for reasons that are not the topic here.
Since it is something easy to find, the chances that you run across someone with the same tattoo are higher than if you have something personal.

My tats are themed around Inanna. So on the back of my left arm i have written "Praise be to the destroyer of foreign lands,
endowed with divine powers by An, to my lady enveloped in beauty, to Inana!" showing her warlike aspect.
Backside of the right arm has "May Inana pour oil on my heart that aches", which is a sumerian proverb showing her love aspect.
Left arm front has "Because you are unmatched among the Great Princes, maiden Inana, praising you is magnificent!"
and right arm front has "Sheshki, scribe, beloved spouse of Inana.", kinda imitating royal inscriptions.
3 of these lines are from HERE

The possible problem i see with having a word now and then in combination with the goal of it looking like a tablet
is the fact that scribes back then were very keen on spacing the signs to make the whole inscription look balanced.
Here is an example.



This is a brick stamp from Urnamma, In line 1 you can see his name "Ur{d}Namma".
To fill the whole line kinda evenly the scribe moved the "Namma" towards the right edge.

But like i said, in the end it is totally your decision.

[sheshki]

Another thing is the fact that people back then had slightly different concepts of things. If you look at ePSD for "freedom" you find ama-gi₄ and the translation "reversion to a previous state". In some instances ama-gi₄ was used to express their idea of "freedom", but what was that? If you look at the signs itself, AMA means "mother" and GI₄, according to ePSD can mean "to turn, return; to go around; to change status; to return (with claims in a legal case); to go back (on an agreement)" or, even better, to "kill". So does this mean their concept of freedom was A: to go home back to mummie, or B: to kill her?
Another nice example for these slightly different concepts is the fact that back then people thought that their future was "behind" them
and the past "infront" of them...a total reverse of our ideas nowadays.

Well, you can probably see the problems with this whole thing.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Welcome to enenuru Garashta:




Learning to work with cuneiform signs is never an easy prospect, to be sure. I think the advice Sheshki has given above is excellent - if you have your heart set on a cuneiform tattoo, it is best to invest some considerable time in the matter. It may be advisable to spend some time at ETCSL (Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature [link ) and learn how the Sumerians and the Mesopotamians thought. At this point, you would have a good chance of selecting a word or phrase that belongs to that long lost world, that worldview that the cuneiform script preserves for us, at least in part. Of course, we enjoy discussing these matters here at enenuru, so you are welcome to discuss your findings with us here.

[pizzewis]

Apr 22, 2014 12:11:42 GMT -5 sheshki said:

even better, to "kill".

Kinda dying here! LOL!

I also agree with Sheshki. I have a simple tattoo, just a name, but even that one took me 3 months to decide on the exact signs, context, ...