Lament mentioning Namtar
Jan 2, 2017 6:37:03 GMT -5
Post by hukkana on Jan 2, 2017 6:37:03 GMT -5
In Kramer's "The Weeping Goddess: Sumerian Prototypes of the Mater Dolorosa" he mentions a lament which includes refferences to Namtar. I've not been able to find the original text, as he does not include an identification, or even a name for this composition.
He describes it's beginning thusly.
"Fate, bitter tragic fate symbolized
by the nether-world demon
Namtar,is frequently mentioned in
the Sumerian lamentations. But
there is one liturgic composition, a
rather difficult text found in several
versions according to which the
"weeping goddess"is either Ninisinna
or Inanna, that treats Namtar
as the villain par excellence, the
goddess's bete noir as it were. Beginning
with the mournful words "I
will cry woe, I will cry oh; I will cry
woe, I will cry oh again and again; I
will cry woe for my house, I will cry
oh for my city," the goddess complains
that Namtar is standing at her
side day and night; she married a
spouse but now has no spouse; she
gave birth to a son but now has no
son; like a ewe she cherished a
strange lamb; like a mother-goat
she cherished a strange kid; she has
been devastated in her own city;
her friends, male and female, are
distraught because of her. She
therefore announces her decision to
go to Enlil's "House of Fate" and
bring him her defiant complaint."
To continue
“Namtar, she continues, looked at her
angrily, screamed at her, and clung
tenaciously to her lap and side, so
that she became even more despondent,
because of her desolation.“
“Namtar, she weeps, brought
her misery as if it were a silver
ornament for her hand and a
precious stone for her neck; then he
added insult to injury by pressing
her to meet fate with a cheerful face,
to rejoice in the death of her
husband and son.“
And finally the most interesting part
"The composition, rather strangely,
closes with an obscure four-line
address to the goddess that relates in
some way to the death of Gilgamesh,
an enigmatic ending whose real
meaning is at present difficult
to penetrate."
He describes it's beginning thusly.
"Fate, bitter tragic fate symbolized
by the nether-world demon
Namtar,is frequently mentioned in
the Sumerian lamentations. But
there is one liturgic composition, a
rather difficult text found in several
versions according to which the
"weeping goddess"is either Ninisinna
or Inanna, that treats Namtar
as the villain par excellence, the
goddess's bete noir as it were. Beginning
with the mournful words "I
will cry woe, I will cry oh; I will cry
woe, I will cry oh again and again; I
will cry woe for my house, I will cry
oh for my city," the goddess complains
that Namtar is standing at her
side day and night; she married a
spouse but now has no spouse; she
gave birth to a son but now has no
son; like a ewe she cherished a
strange lamb; like a mother-goat
she cherished a strange kid; she has
been devastated in her own city;
her friends, male and female, are
distraught because of her. She
therefore announces her decision to
go to Enlil's "House of Fate" and
bring him her defiant complaint."
To continue
“Namtar, she continues, looked at her
angrily, screamed at her, and clung
tenaciously to her lap and side, so
that she became even more despondent,
because of her desolation.“
“Namtar, she weeps, brought
her misery as if it were a silver
ornament for her hand and a
precious stone for her neck; then he
added insult to injury by pressing
her to meet fate with a cheerful face,
to rejoice in the death of her
husband and son.“
And finally the most interesting part
"The composition, rather strangely,
closes with an obscure four-line
address to the goddess that relates in
some way to the death of Gilgamesh,
an enigmatic ending whose real
meaning is at present difficult
to penetrate."
