The Sisig Thread

[us4-he2-gal2]

**********WARNING*******



**This thread presents outdated efforts concerning the dream god and the phenomenon of lil2 - for more recent notes on these subjects please consult the Revisions on Sisig thread.


















______________________________________________-


**Originally posted by Us4-he2-gal at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6230

[**Admin note: This thread is the process of reaching an understanding of Sisig. Currently a finalized or matured result is in progress.]

Ross:
I have thought about it a long while now and I am at an
impass. So take your time. The question at hand relates both to lines
from 'The Death of Gilgamesh'
etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.1.3
***LINES 1-11 Segment E
and to the Festival of Ghosts from our Nippur Calendar, I reference
Cohen's "Cultic Calendars of the.." pg.103 which contains Cohens own
treatment the lines concerning from 'Death of Gilgamesh'. The specific
question is: Should the lines in question read as pertaining to the
wrestling of hero's [etcsl], or should the lines relate more strictly
to the Festival of Ghosts [Cohen]. Who is technically correct? The
broad question is to what I term as -loosely- 'conceptualizing the character and cosmological role of Sisig'. Here is an more detailed look:



About Sisig: To reference the deity Sisig, and
specifically his role in the Festival of Ghosts, and by extension the
Death of Gilgamesh. Sisig is a deity I am not as comfortable with as
most. Ostensibly he is a god of dreams, a god of the netherworld. We
have undertaken an attempt to present the Nippur cultic calendar,
and for this Mark Cohen's work (1993) has been essential. But for a
particular festival, the Festival of Ghosts, an understanding of the
Death of Gilgamesh has proved important..I have of course the etcsl
version, also Andrew George's book as well and also Niek Velduis'
essay 'The Solution of the Dream: A New Interpretation of Bilgames's
Death'. To explain how this relates to Sisig, a brief sketch will be
necessary:
Cohen relates (pg.100) that the month name ne.IZI.gar
originates in pre-Sargonic times and can be read "(the month when)
lamps/braziers are lit." He seems to largely rely on his own
translation of a passage from The Death of Gilgamesh for knowledge of
the existence of the festival of the dead that took place during this
month, and it seems to be largely from those lines that he develops
the description of the festival on pg.103: "a time when the spirits
of the dead followed a special passage of light leading from the
darkness of the netherworld back into the world of the living for a
brief stay. The setting of fire and lighting of torches by each
household would guide the spirits of the dead back to the ancestral
home, where a ceremonial meal, presumably the ne-IZI-gar offering,
awaited." He also provides his own translation of what etcsl terms
lines 1-11, in segment "E", of the Nibru version. I'll quote Cohens
translation here for easy reference. (The numbering of the lines is
my own addition) .

"The ne-IZI-gar observance involved ceremonies for the dead, as
suggested in the "Death of Gilgamesh"{*2}:
1 "Let..., the child of the sun-god Utu,
2 light up for him the netherworld, the place of
darkness!
3 Let him set up a threshold there (as bright) as the
moon
4 (for) all mankind whatever their names be,
5 (for) those whose statues were fashioned in days of
yore,
6 (for) the heroes, the young men, and the...!
7 From there the strong and mighty will march out.
8 Without him no light would be there during the month
ne-IZI-gar, during
9 the festival of the gh]osts. (iti ne-IZI-gar e[ze]m-
gi[di]m?-ma-ke4-ne)
*2. Kramer, BASOR (1944), 94 2-12; van Djik, studies Falksenstein,
249; our translation differs."

I'm not sure why in the first line he does not
translate Sisig as in "Let Sisig" as this is something present in
etcsl/George versions. It should be read with Sisig as the deity in
question on line 1 however. In the Cohen version the midpoint of this
paragraph is brought into tighter relation with lines 1-3 and 8-9 -
the entire thing relates to Sisig, his threshold, and who emerges
from the threshold during the festival (in the etcsl version these
lines are interpreted along the lines of "When a funerary statue is
made in honour of someone" hero's will wrestle and perform feats
before them. Assuming the making of funerary statues is not confined
to the 5th month, in this etcsl interpretation I dont believe lines 4-
7 can be as easily related to the other lines as they can in the
Cohen version. Now if we can juxtapose the version from Me-turan
Sisig lines (And i think we can since George substitutes one for
another in his work, pg.199) that Veldhuis supplies in his essay.
This is from the Me-Turan Death of Gilgamesh which differs from the
Nippur Death of Gilgamesh - but as these lines show there are strong
parallels:
"
88 The youths and the strong men, on seeing the
lunar crescent, without him they should not
make light!
90 Sisig the son of Utu makes light in the dark
places! "

This to me is a excellent improvement to etscl on those same lines
"1 line fragmentary Mighty youths and …… a semicircle ……. Without him
(i.e. Gilgames) ……. Sisig (a god of dreams) , the son of Utu, will
provide light for him in the place of darkness." (No offense of
course to etcsl). Whats more Veldhuis version seems in sync to me
with Cohen here. I take Cohen line 7 to mean the young/strong/mighty
men will march out of the threshold that was set up in Cohen line 3.
This threshold of light I think to be the start of Cohens "special
passage of light" the dead travel during the festival toward their
ancestral homes. As to who set up the threshold, since it is Sisig
who lights up the netherworld for Gilgamesh in Cohen line 2, I
believe he would be the one seting up something as bright as a moon
in line 3 [the threshold]. As for line 8 "Without him no light" is it
him Gilgamesh or him Sisig referred to? In the end the question doesn't
matter, if its Sisig 'no light during ne-IZI-gar' means no passage
for the ghosts. If its Gilgamesh meant, perhaps without his
participation Sisig will not create the threshold (?). As for
Veldhuis line 88 Could the youths/strong men be seeing the threshold
in the line 'on seeing the lunar crescent?' Finally line 90 does
of of course relate very closely with Cohen 1-2. Assuming this line
of thought has any validity, one would almost begin to suspect this
threshold as having some lunar aspects with the '(as bright) as the
moon' and 'seeing the lunar crescent' and Cohen does at a later point
(pg 456) state that the ne.IZI.gar observance "occurred around the
11th or 12th of the fifth month, just before the full moon, whose
light may have been instrumental (along with the fires and torches)
in guiding the dead from the darkness of their netherworld abode at
night." Or was the threshold solar?
Some loose observations: I notice that Sisig is the son of
Utu, and Utu makes regular trips to/from the netherworld. Based on an
amateur attempt at the use of the a Sumerian lexicon, Si and Ig could
be construed by me as relating to light or light beams [Si] and a
door [Ig]. However I have it on authority that Sisig is to be read as
an example of syllable writing. Evidently "In this case ig is a
syllable sign and has nothing to do with door (in the same way that
odor and door are unrelated words)." But reading light and door is so
tempting..The syllablic reading has it meaning breeze.
I also recall reading in the Reallexikon der
Assyriologue (with limited access i no longer have so i cant quote
here) that in some capacity Sisig is related to the dawn. I must find
another way to get that text. In Gilgamesh Enkidu and the
Netherworld, the word that etcsl has translated for the breeze (that
carries Enkidu's ghost from the netherworld) is 'si-si-ig-ni-ta' (si-
si-ig-ni-ta subur-a-ni kur-ta mu-/da\-ra-ab-ed3-de3 ) Though i
realize this is not marked with the determinative. George at least,
interprets that Utu is instructed by Enki to bring Enkidu's ghost up
at dawn, when he exits the netherworld (pg.176). So I dont know
whether to think Sisig has a lunar or solar aspect, perhaps if Cohen's
theory is sound, and my layman's observations aren't
completely and entirely blind, Sisig maybe creates and/or is the
threshold by which Utu descends to the netherworld (thus lighting it)
and reascends, and so Sisig is associated with the dawn perhaps also
the dusk. And since Utu is percieved via this threshold to enter/exit
the netherworld, Sisig is also the means by which ghosts/Enkidu are
able to make the journey as on the festival of ghosts.
Obviously Im attempting to conceptualize how Sisig was/
created Cohens threshold from which the dead would exit the
netherworld, while apparently there is some work to be done on the aspect of
Sisig as god of dreams, and death and sleep may have been related
concept in Mesopotamian thought, i suppose this might thought of as
the cosmological aspect of Sisig. Im not sure if its viable, but have
a source book coming in soon which should help. Cheers

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted By Bel Murru at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6241


This is my first time to try to get a hold of this character.
Forgive me for my mistakes or misunderstandings.

Thanks for the link to Veldhuis' paper, Kohl.

Sisig's role in the Death of Gilgamesh is unclear; only one thing
seems certain - he provides light.

I don't know why he is considered a god of dreams, or a ghost. These
impressions may come down to overinterpretation.

I'm not entirely sure, from my sources, when Sisig's name was
finally established in the collations. This might have something to
do with why I can't find much on him.

Justin Cale Johnson provides some bibliography on this passage in
the Sumerian Death of Bilgamesh in his doctoral dissertation on
Sumerian lexicography "In the Eye of the Beholder: Quantificational,
pragmatic and aspectual features of the *bi- verbal prefix in
Sumerian" (UCLA 2004)
cdli.ucla.edu/staff/johnson/Johnson_diss_2004.pdf

(page 221)
--------------
(24) The Death of Gilgamesh, segment F [1.8.1.3], ll. 180-183
(Kramer 1944; van Dijk 1967, 248-250; Wilcke 1970, 82-84; Klein
1990a, 64-65; Jacobson 1980, 19-20, 23; George 1999, 195-208;
Cavigneaux and al-Rawi 2000a; Veldhuis 2001; George 2003, 14-17)

180. (si).si.ig dumu dutu.[ke4]
Sisig (a god of dreams), the son of Utu,

181. ki.bi ku3.ku3.ga u4.ße3 mi.ni.in.(gar)
the one who enlightens a place of darkness,
--------------

The lack of the (dingir) determinative is suspicious. Veldhuis (p.
137, note 8) mentions that Sisig appears in Geller's study of the
Bit Rimki ("Very Different Utu Incantations" (ASJ 17 (1995), 101-
126). Do you have it? I'd like to know what role Sisig plays there,
and if he has a determinative.

I have a paper by Wolfgang Heimpel in 1986 "The Sun at Night and the
Doors of Heaven in Babylonian Texts" (JCS 38/2, pp. 127-151). He
mentions these passages from the Sumerian Death of Gilgamesh, but
doesn't mention Sisig. The name seems to be lacking in the collation
he quotes.

However, he does mention some interesting things, in the light of
your statement (Kohl) that si.si.ig appears to mean "breeze".

"The gradual dimming of the light at dusk and its subsequent total
extinction may have been understood either as the sole effect of the
sun's increasing distance from the western horizon or as a
combination of this of this movement and an actual dimming and
subsequent total loss of luminescence of the sun's fire. The term
_napahu_, "to flare up", for the rise of luminous heavenly bodies
and the prevailing darkness on the "road of Samas" across the Twin
Mountain demonstrates the possibility of this latter understanding.
Accordingly, a complex of beliefs about the sun's activities upon
setting can be pieced together: the sungod opens the western door of
heaven (called once "gateway of the wide earth"). He brings this
light to the previously dark places below the horizon and to the
Anunakku who dwell there. Because of the lack of draft and being
shut off from the atmosphere above, his light dims gradually.
(...)
Parallel to this succession of actions of the anthropomorphic
sungod, a gradual change takes place in the intensity of the fire of
the solar disk. Its luminescence decreases gradually upon setting,
remaining for the time of dusk light enough to brighten the darkness
of the area beneath the western horizon, dimming subsequently to a
degree that it can no longer be regarded as daylight. As it nears
the eastern horizon it is fanned to flame again by the morning
breeze." (pp. 148-149, 150-151)

Note the concept that the Sun dims in the underworld, because of the
lack of air or breeze. This is borrowed from the way a wind fans a
fire, or keeps a coal lit when it is transported.

So, Utu dims gradually in the underworld, but stays a lit coal by
the soft breeze as he passes through the underworld from west to
east. When he rises in the morning, the breeze fans him into a
blazing fire again.

It may be that Sisig is the personification of this breeze, and that
it is by Sisig's ghostly light that Gilgamesh is able to view the
happenings in the underworld. It is soft, like a coal's light, so
what is seen there is dim and shadows and shapes are uncertain. He
is called "dumu (d)Utu" because he is the offspring of Utu, the heir
of the light (the twilight and the implied dim light in the
underworld), and he might be the "interpreter" because an
interpreter's job is to elucidate. The underworld is like a dream,
which is elucidated by Sisig, the breeze blowing upon the coal of
the dim Sun.

I have not properly considered the wrestling theme, either in the
context of Enkidu and Gilgamesh or the funereal wrestling contests
in the fifth month. It could be that what is being said is that
unless it were for the light of the moon, the men could not wrestle
at night, and unless it were for Sisig's breeze, Gilgamesh could not
see in the dimness of the underworld.

The theme of wrestling with a ghostly opponent all night long is
echoed in Jacob's wrestling with the angel at Peniel (Genesis 32:24-
31), which evokes similar metaphors, and ends with the rising Sun.
Some commentator may have mentioned the parallels.

Ross

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by Ryversylt at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6249

Reading the death of Gilgamesh (for the millionth time now) it struck
me that much of what is described can be explained by sleep paralysis.

When you are under sleep paralysis (a rather common condition now
mostly related to alien abductions) you can't move, but your mind
doesn't enter a proper dream state. It fills the room with light
because the mind is filling in the blanks with detail rather than shadow.

THEN the dream begins, but the mind remains "awake"

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by us4-he2-gal2 at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6270



Bel Murru/Sylt/others following:
Sorry about my delay in replying here, I spent a few days attempting
to fight of whatever I'm catching (or whatever is catching me).
Difficult when you work elbow to elbow with 24 other people 15 of
which have the same thing. And after that delay I've found this to be
an ever expanding topic. Sylt, I'll need to make the reply to your
sleep paralysis and the relationship between death and sleep in Sumer
another post possibly another study topic as it has alot of potential
thus length. For now in regards to Sisig's possible cosmological
role..
Just for reference I'm referring to The Death of Gilgamesh as DofG:
etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.1.3
And Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld as G.E.&theNW (or
B.E&theNw. for Gilgames/Bilgames)
etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.1.4

Earlier you said Bel Murru -
----------------------------
"I don't know why he is considered a god of dreams, or a ghost. These
impressions may come down to over interpretation.
I'm not entirely sure, from my sources, when Sisig's name was
finally established in the collations. This might have something to
do with why I can't find much on him."
Justin Cale Johnson provides some bibliography on this passage in
the Sumerian Death of Bilgamesh in his doctoral dissertation on
Sumerian lexicography "In the Eye of the Beholder: Quantificational,
pragmatic and aspectual features of the *bi- verbal prefix in
Sumerian" (UCLA 2004)
cdli.ucla.edu/staff/johnson/Johnson_diss_2004.pdf

(page 221)
--------------
(24) The Death of Gilgamesh, segment F [1.8.1.3], ll. 180-183
(Kramer 1944; van Dijk 1967, 248-250; Wilcke 1970, 82-84; Klein
1990a, 64-65; Jacobson 1980, 19-20, 23; George 1999, 195-208;
Cavigneaux and al-Rawi 2000a; Veldhuis 2001; George 2003, 14-17)
--------------

The lack of the (dingir) determinative is suspicious. Veldhuis (p.
137, note 8) mentions that Sisig appears in Geller's study of the
Bit Rimki ("Very Different Utu Incantations" (ASJ 17 (1995), 101-
126). Do you have it? I'd like to know what role Sisig plays there,
and if he has a determinative."
------------------------------

-Some updates about sources - THREE PLACES TO FIND HIM:

Well, these things aren't easy to know,but might be pieced together
like you have begun to do above with Johnson's dissertation.
Excellent referencing. The subject at hand does seem to require a
history of 'who thought/interpreted what and when' to know how they
have come to the modern understanding of Sisig as a dream god. This
is really an open question, usually I'm very keen to side with
scholarly conclusion, in this case its not that easy. Why is he
called a dream god? For once its not easy to reference that.
In addition to the excellent recap of references you've supplied,
I can add a few things. It appears 9 people are credited with
developing the lines from which we learn of Sisig, from Kramer to
George. I have Kramers autobiography which lists every paper he ever
wrote pretty much, so the 'Kramer 1944" is an article by him "The
Death of Gilgamesh" which appeared in BASOR (Bulleton of the American
Schools of Oriental Research) 94, 2-12 (of course in 1944). It was
from that first interpretation I would think that the current
understanding of Sisig was seeded. It would obviously take a fair bit
of work to access that article now if it can be accessed at all. As
you say, Veldhuis on page pg.137, indicates that there are 3 source's
in the base texts for the Deity Sisig and as far as I can tell it is
indeed just these three (excluding any 'god lists' he may appear in)
- this might be why we cant find much on him. In note 8 of that page
as youve pointed out Veldhuis says "Sisig appears in the Old
Babylonian version of Bit Rimki (Geller 1995)". Secondly Veldhuis
mentions "Bilgames, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (Shaffer 1963)" This
would indicate to me that Shaffer made an arguement in 1963 for
identifying the instance of Si.Si.Ig in that text, with the deity
dealt with in the Death of Gilgamesh. So from these three sources, we
can determine that the oldest (known) example of Sisig is in fact the
DofG. and then followed by B.E.&theNetherworld, lastly the Utu
incantation which is supposed to be found at "Very Different Utu
Incantations", Acta Sumerologica, 16 (1995), 101-126.
One might think that if Sisig were a dream-god, and all sources
say he is, that a rich source for references to him might be in the
dream interpretations, which are a branch of divination with its
own set of priests. Black and Green say on pg.72 that "If they
related in some way to the revelation of future events, dreams could
also be a means of seeing into other worlds. Since death is the
future of all men, there were dreams of the afterlife. Enkidu's death
dream is an example." This is a very close fit for Sisig. However
there a few things which prevent Dream interpretation from being a
viable source here - 1 being a shortage of recovered dream
interpretations or dream omens and 2 - I dont have access to these
and Veldhuis neglecting this as a fourth source indicates they dont
reference Sisig anyway 3 - even though the experts universally
identify Sisig as Dream god, i dont see where this is explicit yet.

-Overinterpretion?
Nothing in the first two text sources state to me explicitly, that
Sisig should be associated with dreams. Yes the instance of him in
DofG does occur while Gilgamesh is dreaming.. but there are
other deities in that dream (Enki, Enlil and An) who obviously are
not dream gods- but they are in the dream. Therefore I dont think
Sisig can be identified as a Dream god based solely on the fact his
earliest occurence is in this dream. There is also nothing to
identify his dream aspect in B.E&the netherworld explicitly. Maybe
this is a case of "overinterpretation" yes. But then there might be
some 'smoking gun' somewhere I'm not able to factor in. Perhaps the
incantation might be the source for this dream role association..I am
making the attempt to track this incantation down, it took me awhile
actually to figure ASJ stood for Acta Sumerologica, but there is a
great resource for Assyriological Journals at it.stlawu.edu/
~dmelvill/mesomath/ajw.html.
I then navigated to the Acta Sumerologica homepage- a totally and
completely futile effort. I cant tell if its because I'm under-
qualified or because the layout is completely stupid but I cannot
find anything on the journal number I'm looking for, or if its even
available, or how much do I have to pay to read it. You seem to have
quoted from a journal below Bel Murru, so you might be a ways ahead
of me with the journals. Perhaps you could give me some pointers on
how to access them? Particularly I'm wondering with this Acta
Sumerologica would I be able to view the particular article by Geller
online for a fee or would I need to order the whole issue shipped to
me from...Belgium apparently. Anyways afterwards hopefully we will
have our third source. I'm also looking into other possibilities for
finding the same incantation perhaps "Scurlock, J. A. 'KAR 267 // BMS
53: A Ghostly Light on bit rimki?' Journal of the American Oriental
Society 108.2 (1988) pp. 203 - 209." But I'm not sure if this deals
with the Old Babylonian version of Bit Rimki and the title of
Geller's article implies those distinctions are important. Another
possibility is Veldhuis gives a second referal to a treatment of the
same Utu incantation in Alster 1991 (Veldhuis pg.135).
The same author also refers to "Mesopotamian Conceptions of Dreams
and Dream Rituals" by Sally Butler for the identification of Sisig as
a ghost, though how this is determined is again, not explained. (The
book is currently unavailable at Amazon and is not accessible from
google. Isbn# 3927120650).

-ONE OF THE NINE AUTHORS FROM THE JOHNSON LIST:

Also I have managed to find some of the work Ive been directed toward
by making careful use of a layman's tool - books.google.com (its quite
a good quick reference source by times). If you search for "Gilgamesh
Et la Mort" and use the in book search tool and search for "si.si.ig"
you get three results. The portion I'll quote below from is from the
second result, I was unable to view the third result due to
limited access. Of course..it is in French and I cant read a word of
it..so I was *hoping* maybe some interested party who can speak
French might please consider translating or summing for me the gist
of the Cavigneaux/Al-Rawi material on Sisig? (I was unable to
reproduce French or Sumerian accent marks)

Gilgamesh Et La Mort by Farouk N. H. Al-Rawi, Antoine Cavigneaux
pg.44
"88-89//178-179 A la vision sinistre que vient d'etre brievement
evoquee s'opposent les lumieres que deploient les vivants. 'Devant
eux', c'est-a-dire peut-etre devant des statues, ou en tete de leur
cortege? Pour l'interpretation de ces lignes, voir le comm. ad N1 v
8-11
[90-91]//180-181 Noter la ressembence avec Elegies Pushkin 88-89
(d)utu [en?] gal a-ra-li-ke4, ki ku10-ku10 ud-se u-m-ni-in-ku4 di-
ku5-zu i-ku5-de "Utu, le grand maitre de l'Arali, quand il aura
eclaire les 'lieux obscurs', reglera ton cas" - un passage que n'est
pas sans problemes, lui non plus. Mais l'analogie est peut-etre
surtout dans les formules, car ici il est question du fils d'Utu, le
dieu des reves Sisig; cf.AN: anum III 150 (d)si-si-ig : dumu (d)utu-
ke4" [see here note I have copied below, note 110]
Partant de la notion 'theologique' (derivee de An : anum) que
Sisig est le dieu des reves, nos deux lignes peuvent signifier
simplement que Sisig revele quelque chose a Gilgames. A quoi se
rapporte le bi de ki-bi? Peut-etre au reve: il s'agirait donc des
points obscurs du reve, plutot que des endriots les plus obscurs des
Enfers (qui serait une traduction possible).
Dans N, le passage conernant Sisig a une autre place dans le recit
(N v 4-5) a cet endroit (precedent celui qui debute par nig-gug-aka
nam-lu-ulu...), Enlil (ou quelqu'un qui se refere a une decision
d'Enlil) semble interpreter le reve pour Gilgames (N v 12-13), comme
si le reve etait fini, alors qu'en principe Gilgames reve encore. On
aurait donc un cas d'explicitation d'un reve a l'interieur d'un reve
- cas prevu par la serie Ziqiqu, cf. Oppenhiem, Dreams, p.305 sp., n.
229. Le debut du discours d'Enlil (N1 v 14-16) manque aussi dans M.
C'est une difference tres caracteristique entre les deux versions, N
insistant de facon beaucoup plus nette sur la facette royale de la
personnalite du heros, tandis que M, par contraste, apparait comme
plus universel, peut-etre plus populaire.

note110: ct 24. 31: 85// spTU 3, 107: 137, qui a (d)sig[zi-qi-qu]sig,
Dans cette liste Sisig suit sa soeur Mami, filli d'Utu ((d)ma-mu :
dumu-munus (d)utu-ke4, CT 24, 31:84). Pour AN : anum, ces deux
figures divinisees s'opposent donc comme male et femelle. La meme
liste mentionne un peu plue bas, dans un autre contexte AN.za [za-ga-
ar] gar: (d)utu ma-mu-da-ke4 "Zagar (Anzagar?) : Utu (en tant que
dieu) du reve" SpTU 3,107 : 171, milleur que CT 24, 32: 110: AN.za-
gar : digir ma-mu-da-ke4 "Zagar:dieu du reve"?), qui etait donc percu
comme une entite differente. Pour le sens de si-si-ig-ziqiqu, voir
A.L. Oppenhiem, The interpretation of Dreams, Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, NS 46/3. 1956, p.232-236: il va de
'souffle', 'fantome' a 'esprit subtil', 'esprit',peut-etre
'inspiration'. Suivant une suggestion d'A. Sjoberg, Or Suec 21, 1972,
p.101 n.2, on peut se demander si le rapport entre Gilgames et si-si-
ig-Ziqiqu ne peit etre rapproche de la fameuse glose de la Liste
Royal Sumerienne as-(ba)-ni-lil-la, puisque lil correspond aussi
d'assez pres a ziqiqu. Gilgames peut etre represente comme un frere
mythique d'Utu; mais comme son pere Enmerkar est 'fils d'Utu' ,
Gilgames aurait pu avoir quelque rapport analogue avec ce fils
evanescent d'Utu. Mais il y a d'autres facons de rendre compte de la
glose, cf. demierement CL Wilcke, in : Studies A.Sjoberg, 1989, p.562
sq, et 566."

[I notice they mention the "First elegy of the Pushkin Museum" which
is amoung the literary pieces Kramer uncovered in his trip to Russia.
I have a copy of the lines in question which read 88. Utu, the great
lord of arali, 89. After he turns the dark place into light he will
judge your case."]
[I've also got pathetic access via the same 'layman's tool' to one
reference found in a book "La Divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et
dans les régions voisines ". The reference which must be at the
bottem on pg.57 states:
"cT 24 31 IV 84 - 25 26,19 ; s.auch KAV 63 I 34 und A.L Oppenheim,
Dreams 232 ; dort auch zu (d)si-si-ig (Var. (d)sig-sig = (d)zaqiqu
als Sohn des Samas ; CAD 21 60."
Without being able to speak what is that german? and without being
able utilize the language of technical referencing "Ct 24 31" etc ,
Im gathering that maybe Oppenheim connected the deity (d)si-si-ig
(variant (d)sig-sig) with the occurrence or role of the deity
"(d)zaqiqu". This might be helpful as Cag. and Al-rawi use that name
above.]


-HOW B.E.&theN.W (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/
etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.1.4) COMPARES ON SISIG; A FEW OTHER TEXT
REFERENCES:

Enkidu has gone down to the netherworld to retrieve some key items
for Gilgamesh, however while there he breaks the rules or the
etiquette of the netherworld and is seized 'by the netherworld'. Enki
agrees to help Gilgamesh in this matter and according to etcsl
translation "He [Enki] said to the young warrior Utu, the son born by
Ningal: "Open a hole in the nether world immediately, and then bring
up his servant from the nether world!" He opened a hole in the nether
world and brought up his servant with his breeze (?) from the nether
world." This is where I get my reading of si-si-ig as 'breeze' -
from this instance at etcsl.. However when theres a (?) at etcsl it
means their uncertain they've translated accurately. The relevant line
in sumerian is "si-si-ig-ni-ta cubur-a-ni kur-ta mu-/da\-ra-ab-ed3-
de3". George commenting on the same segment suggests that Utu was to
bring Enkidu's shade up at dawn or at sunrise on pg 176.(as oppose to
etcsl which state immediately). This suggestion probably isn't
anything to do with the text so much as George factoring in that Utu
raises from the netherworld at sunrise. There are 2 scholars I know
of who explicitly connect the occurrence of Sisig in the two Gilgamesh
texts, Shaffer (mentioned above) and one whose book I do have, Dina
Katz (The books is "The image of the Netherworld in the Sumerian
Sources"). On pg.31 She translates the relevant lines as:
"242. He opened a hole in the kur.
243. As a dream (or: as his spirit[80]) his servant came up from the
kur."
Note 80 reads: "In si-si-ga-ni-ta we probably have the possessive
third-person singular and the ablative, which apart from direction
denotes "by means of." Sisig is also the name of the dream-god. That
Enkidu as si-si-ig came out through a hole that was opened by Utu is
strongly reminiscent of DGil 180 [DofG], about Sisig son of Utu the
dream-god. There, it is also possible that Enkidu appeared to
Gilgamesh in a dream, which explains why he came out of a hole made
by Utu rather than ganzir (as he had entered the netherworld), and
surely why he appears as si-si-ig rather than gidim as we might have
expected. It also makes understandable the role of Utu, rather than
Nergal, as in the later Akkadian tradition. If Enkidu came out as
Sisig, the dream, it explains the phrase in DGil 180 according to
which he would light the dark places. Enkidu's optimistic description
of existence in the netherworld was meant to encourage Gilgames and
brighten the prospects after life."

So Katz Does make the connection between the texts saying it is
'reminiscent' of DofG but as for the Enkidu coming out as a dream -
implying as 'Sisig he came out, As a dream he came out' thus Sisig is
a dream... that is yet another quite pointed interpretation, which I
wont explore for a number of reasons (I'm not sure I agree with alot
of that not the least of which is the description of Enkidu's
description 'optimistic'). My point is that there is some
recognized conceptual similarity here between the two Gilgamesh
texts. (Making it 3 sources for Sisig not 2).

There are a few other etscl sources which touch on the word si-si-ig
but are not close enough to be considered references to him exactly.
The word in those cases is often translated as whirlwind or gale,
thought hesitantly. Two examples Id mention here are categorized as
proverbs, the first has si-si-ig no determinative. Notice the (?)..
"18.15
35-40. (cf. 6.1.11.57) Oh whirlwind (?) [si-si-ig], I dispatched you
toward Agade. What did you accomplish in Agade? -- A misleading omen
was given to him (i.e. Naram-Suen) . He was provided with an
interpreter. Agade …… like …… Agade ……
1 line fragmentary"
The second use's what I think is considered a "variant" that is sig-
sig - again no determinative
(cf. 6.1.18.15) Oh whirlwind [sig-sig], I dispatched you towards
Agade. What did you accomplish in Agade? The dream was favorable!
approx. 26 lines missing

Its all very paradoxical trying to fit that in with the rest of the
material however. Moving on to what you said:


-THE PHYSICAL CONTEXT FOR THE DREAM?:
----------------------------
"I have a paper by Wolfgang Heimpel in 1986 "The Sun at Night and the
Doors of Heaven in Babylonian Texts" (JCS 38/2, pp. 127-151)"
"However, he does mention some interesting things, in the light of
your statement (Kohl) that si.si.ig appears to mean "breeze".

"The gradual dimming of the light at dusk and its subsequent total
extinction may have been understood either as the sole effect of the
sun's increasing distance from the western horizon or as a
combination of this of this movement and an actual dimming and
subsequent total loss of luminescence of the sun's fire. The term
_napahu_, "to flare up", for the rise of luminous heavenly bodies
and the prevailing darkness on the "road of Samas" across the Twin
Mountain demonstrates the possibility of this latter understanding.
Accordingly, a complex of beliefs about the sun's activities upon
setting can be pieced together: the sungod opens the western door of
heaven (called once "gateway of the wide earth"). He brings this
light to the previously dark places below the horizon and to the
Anunakku who dwell there. Because of the lack of draft and being
shut off from the atmosphere above, his light dims gradually.
(...)
Parallel to this succession of actions of the anthropomorphic
sungod, a gradual change takes place in the intensity of the fire of
the solar disk. Its luminescence decreases gradually upon setting,
remaining for the time of dusk light enough to brighten the darkness
of the area beneath the western horizon, dimming subsequently to a
degree that it can no longer be regarded as daylight. As it nears
the eastern horizon it is fanned to flame again by the morning
breeze." (pp. 148-149, 150-151)

Note the concept that the Sun dims in the underworld, because of the
lack of air or breeze. This is borrowed from the way a wind fans a
fire, or keeps a coal lit when it is transported.
So, Utu dims gradually in the underworld, but stays a lit coal by
the soft breeze as he passes through the underworld from west to
east. When he rises in the morning, the breeze fans him into a
blazing fire again."

----------------------------------

Well I have to say this is a brilliant reference you've made here -
well done! It is truly the proverbial needle in the haystack type
find, in that what else could you possibly substantiate an
alternative interpretation of one of the most obscure Sumerian
deities with?.. We've branched out with Cohen in saying yes, maybe
Sisig has a direct role in the festival of ghosts - the main way in
which he did so was by providing, or being, the threshold the path in
which the dead may journey from the netherworld upon the festival.
In doing so he may correlate to an aspect of Utu, specifically
Utu's ability to ascend from the netherworld, his entrance to the
temporal domain, sunrise.
Its not unprecedented that the offspring of Utu may represent one
of his aspects, His daughter Niggina appears to be Utu's ever present
truth is 'Niggina' in Sumerian (as Ive gleaned this from page 311 of
the Reallikon der Assriologue an article by J.Klien). In sum it
states:
'Niggina is identical to the abstract noun nig-gi-na "truth" ,
[she] personifies "truth", one of Utu's attributes as the god of
justice and oracle, and in mythology she is considered to be Utu's
principal daughter. She occur's in O.B. period writings or later, one
god list identifies Niggina's sister as Mamu, and her brother as
Sisig.'
We then took a conceptual leap via Heimpel's portrait of the sun
rising and its being kindled by the morning breeze. If indeed the
morning breeze is a factor in Utu's ascent from the netherworld, it
may be the breeze/Sisig that enables Enkidu to rise in G.E&theN.W
which would have been at sunrise as well. Very interesting proposal,
in that same imaginative spirit I have another conceptual leap,
regarding the Dream in DofG generally.
Katz writes an interesting piece about sunrise (pg.50 - on that
same page in a note She reference's Heimpels work 1986 150-151 as a
source for more on Utu's journey thought the N.W - she does not
directly refer to the above, but the reference indicates a general
acceptance of his ideas.) She wrights that although the "place of
sunset" is relatively un-documented in early Sumerian sources,
considerable interest was shown to the place of his rising "which
brings light back to the world and enables revitalization and justice
for all living things. Accordingly, the current belief was that
destinies were decided in the place of sunrise, which, by definition,
diminished the mythological significance of sunset. " So in one
tradition the assembly convened at the place of sunrise to determine
fates.. is this the only tradition regarding the assembly? No. There
was also a tradition which placed the assembly in the ub-su-ukkina
located in the E-kur (Black&Green). Was the place of the sunrise the
meeting place for the assembly in the dream in the DofG? maybe.

Here are a few reference to literary texts which put the place of
sunrise assembly on firmer ground, as they are rather important texts
in themselves. ud e3-a the place of sunrise:

Enki and the World Order: etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/
etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.1.3
"He has placed in my hands the decreeing of fates in the place where
the sun rises."

Death of Ur-Nammu: etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/
etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.4.1.1#
"If there are divine ordinances imposed on the Land, but they are
not observed, there will be no abundance at the god's place of
sunrise"

Building of Ningirsu's temple: etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/
etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.1.7
"Facing the sunrise, where the fates are decided, he erected the
standard of Utu, the Bison head, beside others already there."

[This fourth piece seems to be an adaption possibly by the E-kur
tradition of assembly which is cannibalizing the sunrise assembly
location]
Enlil and the E-kur: etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/
etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.05.1
"You [Enlil and Ninlil] decide the fates together at the place facing
the sunrise"

Gilgames' Dream consists of 4 initial stages. The vote for his life
at the assembly and the determining of his fate being death, his
subsequent despair, Sisig in what can be interpreted as a consolation
effort, and the consolatory speech following.
One proposal for the physical context behind these stages may read
like:

THE ASSEMBLY - lines 45-85 Veldhuis doc. - Possibly taking place at
the 'place of sunrise' the part of the dream in which Sisig's fate is
determined
GILGAMES IN DESPAIR - lines 86-87 -
SISIG - lines 87-91 - Upon the Assembly's decision, consolation is
offered via Sisig's capacity to bring men of reknown i.e Gilgames,
back for the festival [following Cohen], As a possible aspect of the
sunrise this is also consistent with the place of assembly in the
preceding lines.
CONSOLATION SPEECH - line 92-102 - following the Sisig consolation,
more soothing lines follow, trying to ensure that Gilgamesh will not
go to the netherworld with an angry heart, in despair. As to the
identity of the speaker it is not possible to determine this.. that
it is Sisig speaking is not ruled out on any level however. ('may be
Sisig speaking but that remains unclear Veldhuis pg.134)
All for now
Cheers

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by Bel Murru at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6272

--- In [e-mail], "Kohl Edelweiss"
<us4_he2_gal2@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Bel Murru/Sylt/others following:
> Sorry about my delay in replying here, I spent a few days attempting
> to fight of whatever im catching (or whatever is catching me).

Hi Kohl, I think you gave me your cold

Anyway, thanks for that response, especially the Cavigneaux piece.
That referenced Oppenheim, which I have, and he gives plenty of
references to (d)sisig, brother of (d)mamu. Sisig is also known as
zaqiqu. Thank you very much!

I'll translate the Cavigneaux shortly, Oppenheim is a very long
discussion, which will take a long time to copy out. My scanner isn't
working, or I would scan the pages instead.

I have Scurlock's "A Ghostly Light on Bit Rimki?" as well, but he
doesn't mention Sisig. He presents a theory that the seventh
house/tablet of the Bit Rimki ritual was an adaptation from a generic
exorcism of seeing ghosts.

Bel Murru

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by Bel Murru at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6273



Gilgamesh Et La Mort by Farouk N. H. Al-Rawi, Antoine Cavigneaux
pg.44
(A la vision sinistre que vient d'etre brievement
evoquee s'opposent les lumieres que deploient les vivants. 'Devant
eux', c'est-a-dire peut-etre devant des statues, ou en tete de leur
cortege? Pour l'interpretation de ces lignes, voir le comm.)

88-89//178-179 The lights deployed by the living confront the
sinister vision briefly evoked.
"Before them", that is to say maybe before the statues, or at the
front of their procession? For the interpetation of these signs, see
the commentary ad N1 v 8-11

([90-91]//180-181 Noter la ressembence avec Elegies Pushkin 88-89
(d)utu [en?] gal a-ra-li-ke4, ki ku10-ku10 ud-se u-m-ni-in-ku4 di-
ku5-zu i-ku5-de "Utu, le grand maitre de l'Arali, quand il aura
eclaire les 'lieux obscurs', reglera ton cas" - un passage que n'est
pas sans problemes, lui non plus. Mais l'analogie est peut-etre
surtout dans les formules, car ici il est question du fils d'Utu, le
dieu des reves Sisig; cf.AN: anum III 150 (d)si-si-ig : dumu (d)utu-
ke4" [see here note I have copyed below, note 110])

[90-91]//180-181 Note the similarity with Pushkin Elegies 88-89 (d)
utu [en?] gal a-ra-li-ke4, ki ku10-ku10 ud-se u-m-ni-in-ku4 di-
ku5-zu i-ku5-de "Utu, great master of Arali, when he will enlighten
the 'dark places', will judge your case" - a passage which is not
without problems itself. But the analogy is perhaps above all in the
formulations, for here it is a question of the son of Utu, the god
of dreams Sisig; cf. AN: anum III 150 (d)si-si-ig : dumu (d)utu-ke4

(Partant de la notion 'theologique' (derivee de An : anum) que
Sisig est le dieu des reves, nos deux lignes peuvent signifier
simplement que Sisig revele quelque chose a Gilgames. A quoi se
rapporte le bi de ki-bi? Peut-etre au reve: il s'agirait donc des
points obscurs du reve, plutot que des endriots les plus obscurs des
Enfers (qui serait une traduction possible).

Starting from the 'theological' idea (derived from An:anum) that
Sisig is the god of dreams, our two lines could simply signify that
Sisig reveals something to Gilgamesh. What does the 'bi' of 'ki-bi'
relate to? Perhaps to the dream: it is thus a case of obscure points
of the dream, rather than of the more obscure places of the
Underworld (which would be a possible translation).

(Dans N, le passage conernant Sisig a une autre place dans le recit
(N v 4-5) a cet endroit (precedent celui qui debute par nig-gug-aka
nam-lu-ulu...), Enlil (ou quelqu'un qui se refere a une decision
d'Enlil) semble interpreter le reve pour Gilgames (N v 12-13), comme
si le reve etait fini, alors qu'en principe Gilgames reve encore. On
aurait donc un cas d'explicitation d'un reve a l'interieur d'un reve
- cas prevu par la serie Ziqiqu, cf. Oppenhiem, Dreams, p.305 sp., n.
229. Le debut du discours d'Enlil (N1 v 14-16) manque aussi dans M.
C'est une difference tres caracteristique entre les deux versions, N
insistant de facon beaucoup plus nette sur la facette royale de la
personnalite du heros, tandis que M, par contraste, apparait comme
plus universel, peut-etre plus populaire.)

In N, the passage concerning Sisig has another place in the story (N
v 4-5) at this place (preceding that which begins by 'nig-gug-aka
nam-lu-ulu'...), Enlil (or someone who refers to a decision of
Enlil) seems to interpret the dream for Gilgamesh (N v 12-13), as if
the dream were finished, whereas in principle Gilgamesh is still
dreaming. This is thus a case of the interpretation of a dream
inside a dream - a case forseen in the series Ziqiqu, cf. Oppenheim,
Dreams, p. 305 sp., no. 229. The beginning of the discourse of Enlil
(N1 v 14-16) lacks also in M. This is a very characteristic
difference between the two versions, N insisting in a much clearer
fashion on the royal aspect of the personality of the hero, while M,
by contrast, appears more universal, perhaps popular.

(note110: ct 24. 31: 85// spTU 3, 107: 137, qui a (d)sig[zi-qi-qu]
sig,
In this list Sisig follows his sister Mami, daughter of Utu ((d)ma-
mu: dumu-munus (d)utu-ke4, CT 24, 31:84). For An:anum, these two
divinized figures are contrasted as male and female. The same list
mentions a little later, in another context AN.za [za-ga-ar] gar: (d)
utu ma-mu-da-ke4 Zagar (Anzagar?): Utu (as a god) of the dream" SpTU
3,107 : 171, better than CT 24, 32: 110: AN.za-gar : digir ma-mu-da-
ke4 "Zagar:god of the dream"?), who was therefore perceived as a
different entity. For the sense of si-si-ig-ziqiqu, see A.L.
Oppenheim, "The interpretation of Dreams", Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, NS 46/3. 1956, p.232-236: he comes
from "breath," "ghost" to "subtle spirit", "spirit",
perhaps "inspiration". Following a suggestion of A. Sjoberg, Or Suec
21, 1972, p.101 n.2, it can be wondered if the relationship between
Gilgamesh and si-si-ig-Ziqiqu might not be compared to the famous
gloss of the Royal Sumerian List as-(ba)-ni-lil-la, where lil
corresponds also quite close to ziqiqu. Gilgamesh may be represented
as a mythical brother of Utu; but as his father Enmerkar is "son of
Utu", Gilgamesh could have a some relationship similar with this
ethereal son of Utu. But there are other ways to explain the gloss,
cf. most recently CL Wilcke, in : Studies A.Sjoberg, 1989, p.562 sq,
et 566.")


note110: ct 24. 31: 85// spTU 3, 107: 137, qui a (d)sig[zi-qi-qu]sig,
Dans cette liste Sisig suit sa soeur Mami, filli d'Utu ((d)ma-mu :
dumu-munus (d)utu-ke4, CT 24, 31:84). Pour AN : anum, ces deux
figures divinisees s'opposent donc comme male et femelle. La meme
liste mentionne un peu plue bas, dans un autre contexte AN.za [za-ga-
ar] gar: (d)utu ma-mu-da-ke4 "Zagar (Anzagar?) : Utu (en tant que
dieu) du reve" SpTU 3,107 : 171, milleur que CT 24, 32: 110: AN.za-
gar : digir ma-mu-da-ke4 "Zagar:dieu du reve"?), qui etait donc percu
comme une entite differente. Pour le sens de si-si-ig-ziqiqu, voir
A.L. Oppenhiem, The interpretation of Dreams, Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, NS 46/3. 1956, p.232-236: il va de
'souffle', 'fantome' a 'esprit subtil', 'esprit',peut-etre
'inspiration'. Suivant une suggestion d'A. Sjoberg, Or Suec 21, 1972,
p.101 n.2, on peut se demander si le rapport entre Gilgames et si-si-
ig-Ziqiqu ne peit etre rapproche de la fameuse glose de la Liste
Royal Sumerienne as-(ba)-ni-lil-la, puisque lil correspond aussi
d'assez pres a ziqiqu. Gilgames peut etre represente comme un frere
mythique d'Utu; mais comme son pere Enmerkar est 'fils d'Utu' ,
Gilgames aurait pu avoir quelque rapport analogue avec ce fils
evanescent d'Utu. Mais il y a d'autres facons de rendre compte de la
glose, cf. demierement CL Wilcke, in : Studies A.Sjoberg, 1989, p.562
sq, et 566."

Bel Murru

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by us4-he2-gal2 in
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6289


> Hi Kohl, I think you gave me your cold

I hope not. Im over the main symptoms but still coughing 8 days
later.

> Anyway, thanks for that response, especially the Cavigneaux piece.
> That referenced Oppenheim, which I have, and he gives plenty of
> references to (d)sisig, brother of (d)mamu. Sisig is also known as
> zaqiqu. Thank you very much!

Beautiful ;] I was elated on reading this paragraph, because now we
are getting somewhere heheh. In my 'house of cards' I said many
things, such as 'I dont see anything to associate him with a dream
god' and gave 3 reasons which he is unlikely to be found among dream
omens. But just like any house of cards, the flaw to tumble the whole
thing is buried in the construct itself.. Is this scholarly
identification between Sisig and Zaqiqu the basis of his dream god
status? Is there any Sumerian material for this or just the late
dreambook? In the near future I will do what i can to access
material from the Zaqiqu dreambook, which to begin with, I am
assuming is a source for the Deity Zaqiqu.
Thanks so much for your translation. Obviously I was in the dark
about the dream omens heh. But as the dream aspect of Sisig is
validated, I dont yet feel this is threatening the search for his
cosmological side, after all the fact that Enki is god of Wisdom,
magic the arts and crafts does not threaten his status as god of
fresh waters. So I will continue refining both aspects.
I am hopeful to see your treatment of the Oppenheim material Bel
Murru, but take your time. At the rate we may have a rare portrait of
an esoteric god, such a finished product may be an asset to both the
T/S and B.M page. Keep in mind if you really are dealing with a bulk,
I would certainly trust your summing of general points and typing of
key points as a great contribution.
off to look into Zaqiqu
cheers

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by Bel Murru at
groups.yahoo.com/group/TabletofDestiny/message/6294



In this excerpt, after considering the different kinds of dreams,
Oppenheimer discusses three names for the Dream-god. They are:

Mamu (Sumerian, "Dream")
An.zaqar (old Akkadian<Sumerian, "tower" (same root as zikkurat))
Zaqiqu (Akkadian, "zephyr" or "breeze" (=Sumerian "sisig" in lexical
lists)).

He discusses each of these terms at length.

Oppenheim's discussion probably needs to be updated somewhat. His
conceptual arguments may be out of date, or at least need revising.
Additionally and more to our point, he makes no mention of Sisig in
the (Sumerian) Death of Gilgamesh, although he does mention the
Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, where Enkidu is said to
come "out of a hole (in the ground) like a _zaqiqu_" (tablet XII).
With the equation Sisig (Sumerian)=zaqiqu (Akkadian) which you will
see in the excerpts below, this suggests how the redactor of the
Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh incorporated this scene from
the Sumerian into the Akkadian story.

Now that we know more about Sisig from the Death of Gilgamesh,
Oppenheim's statement that the distinction between Mamu (daughter)
and Sisig (son) is a "secondary (i.e. learned) development" loses
some of its force. Since Sisig is called the "son of Utu" already in
the Sumerian text, a difference of identity, and perhaps a gender
difference, between Mamu and Sisig already in Sumerian times can be
assumed. The learned priests of Mesopotamia knew better than
Oppenheim thought.

(Note that I use the old ASCII convention of transliterating "sh"
as "$" (thus for instance "Shamash" (if in transliteration) would
be "$ama$"). The underlines "_..._" indicate that what is between
the underlines is to be put in italics.)

Bel Murru

-----------------------------

[Passage from A. Leo Oppenheim, "The Interpretation of Dreams in the
Ancient Near East" (Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society, n.s. 46/3 (1956)) pp. 232-233]

The existence of a "God of Dreams" (ilu $a $unate) in Mesopotamia
can only be understood in light of our preceding discussion dealing
with the demonic nature of certain dream-experiences. The Dream-god
exists only with respect to this specific aspect but remains
meaningless and non-existent when dreams are considered as to their
mantic implications, or where they are reserved for certain
individuals as a means of communication with the deity.

There are known, in fact, several deities which the lists of the
theologians describe as the gods of dreams, the God Dream, etc.
Their names are: (d)Ma.mu2, (d)AN.ZA.QAR (variant: (d)AN.ZAG.GAR)
and _(d)Zaqiqu_ (variant: _(d)Ziqiqu_), the first being Sumerian,
the second an Akkadian loan in Sumerian and the third Akkadian.

The name (d)Ma.mu2 (formerly misread as *_(d)Ma-hir_; a god whose
name is written in the same way is mentioned in inscriptions of
Assurnasirpal II, a god _(d)Ma-mu_, in _VAS VII_ 27:17 and _Gordon
Smith-Coll. Tablets_ no. 46:13) means "God Dream".

The text _KAV_ 63, a Middle Assyrian fragment of the great catalogue
of divine names, refers to (d)Ma.mu2 in the group which enumerates
the members of the entourage of the Sun-god. We find here: Shamash,
Aja (his spouse), the gods Pap.nun.na, Bunene (the charioteer of the
Sun-god), and our (d)Ma.mu2 (I:34). The Neo-Assyrian fragment _K._
2096 (published by _Craig ABRT_ I, 56 ff., line 13) offers a
parallel and lists, before a break, the following names: Shamash,
Aja, Bunene and (d)Ma.mu2. The Middle Assyrian version characterizes
our god as DINGIR $[u-na-ti](?), i.e., as the "God of D[reams]."

More information is forthcoming from the famous list of names of
gods preserved on one of the largest tablets in the library of
Assurbanipal and called (after its _incipit_) AN=_Anum_. Here we
have (_CT XXIV_ 31 IV:84 ff. [_K._ 4349] and _CT XXV_ 26:19 ff.
[_K._ 4144]) the following two entries: (d)Ma.mu2=DUMU.SAL. (d)
Utu.ke4 "Mamu=daughter of Shamash" and in the next line: (d)SI.SI.IG
(variant: (d)SIG.SIG)= dumu.(d)Utu-ke4 "Si(g)sig=son of Shamash."
The change of sex of Mamu is not of great consequence; in these
theological compilations, the priests, in their desire to list and
organize all the minor divine figures of the pantheon, have
repeatedly been guilty of such slight inconsistencies.

More interesting is the name of the brother of "goddess" Mamu,
because the Sumerian word si(g)sig corresponds in Akkadian (_cf._
simply _Deimel $L 112/94c and 295/122f) to _zaqiqu_, meaning "soft
blowing wind, zephyr." And our Dream-Book begins with an invocation
of the god of dreams reading: "Divine _Ziqiqu_, zephyr, Mamu, God of
[Dreams],", thus mentioning him by two of his names (_Ziqiqu_ and
Mamu). The splitting up of this deity into two figures of the
pantheon: Mamu, daughter, and _Ziqiqu_, son of Shamash, the Sun-god,
is clearly a secondary development prompted by the desire of the
learned priestly compiler to include every known name of the deity.

We shall revert presently to the most interesting designation of the
Dream-god as _Za/iqiqu_, i.e. "zephyr."

The third name of our god is introduced in the same list (AN=Anum)
some forty lines after Mamu and _Zaqiqu_, but still among the divine
personnel belonging to the court of the Sun-god (_CT XXIV_ 32:110f.
[K. 4349]). Here we find, after an enumeration of servant gods and
other minor figures of the divine household, the lines
AN.ZA.QAR=dingir.ma.mu2.da.ke4 "An.zaqar=the God of the Dream(s),"
and AN.MIN.MA$.GE6=$U "An.zaqar of the Dream(s)=same."

The same name recurs with an important variant of its spelling in
one of those theological schemes in which various minor deities are
speculated about by priests who connect them - in henotheistic but
purely learned aspirations - with an important and well-known god of
the pantheon. The pertinent text, a fragment DT 46 in the British
Museum (published by Macmillan, _BA_ 5: 655:7), says AN.ZAG.GAR.RA=
(d)EN.LIL2 _$a2_ MA$2.GE6.[ME$] "An.zaqqar=Ellil with regard to
dreams." The same equation appears in the series AN=Anum (_CT XXIV_:
39 rev. XI:11 [K. 4349]) with Bêl replacing the name of the god
Ellil ((d)AN.ZA.QAR=ditto (i.e. (d)BE) _$a $u(!)-na-ti_). Cf. also
the vocabulary izi=_i$atu_ (A II:15) which offers the equation
AN.ZAG.GAR=AN _$a2 $u-na-ti_, i.e., "God of Dreams."

The spelling AN.ZAG.GAR.RA (for (d)AN.ZA.QAR) recurs among the
equations of a Sumero-Akkadian vocabulary which organizes its
content in semantic groups (erim.hu$=anantu, Ist Tabl., _CT XVIII_
48r. I 30) as AN.ZAG.GAR.RA=DINGIR _$a $u-ut-ti_ the "God of the
Dream." Within this group, this equation is preceded by the
lines "nocturnal demon (preying upon) the traveler = _hallulaju_-
demon," "nocturnal demon (roaming) the open spaces = same" and "god
who has no abode which is taken care of" = "evil spirit (_ilu
limnu_)." This revealing context bears out again the demonic nature
of the Dream-god.

In a prayer addressed to the god Nusku (KAR 58: rev. 1-17), the
grand-vizier (?) of the gods, who travels at night, our Dream-god is
invoked (lines 9ff.) in the following way: "Anzagara, Anzagara, who
carries mankind around (_ba-bi-lu a-me-lu-ti_, cf. above p. 226),
the messenger of princely Marduk!" But in another conjuration,
directed to the Moon-god, Sin, the very same god (spelled
AN.ZA.QAR), characterized as "God of Dreams" (DINGIR.[ME$] _$a_
MA$2.GE6.ME$), is mentioned, and the ritual which is appended to the
prayer prescribes a fumigation-offering to be performed beside the
bedside of the patient for this god, the _na$partu_ (cf. presently)
of the Moon-god (King BMS 1, plus Scheil Sippar 18:10). A Neo-
Assyrian letter, _Harper ABL_ 450, likewise prescribes an incense-
offering to (d)AN.ZA.QAR in connection with a ritual performed for
Sin (lines 5-7) "a sacrificial table (provided) with beer and oil
you shall put up (in the correct) ritual arrangement in front of
(the image of) Sin (and) a censer (filled) with bura$u-cuttings you
shall place beside the bed (of the patient) for the god AN.ZA.QAR!"

In these passages dealing with references to the Dream-god An.zaqar
two notions concerning the etiology of the dream overlap but should
not be permitted to confuse our investigations. On one hand, they
reflect the "demonic" concept of the dream (as experience); hence
the god is mentioned among various evil spirits lurking in the
night; while on the other hand the god's function as transmitter of
divine grace, that is, of messages originating with the luminary
deities Shamash or Sin, is the reason for his being mentioned and
worshipped in conjuration-prayers and pertinent rituals.

The designation of the Dream-god as _na$partu_ is noteworthy; the
word is to be translated here as "means of communication" in the
sense of "messagery" or the like. The selection of this specific
term demonstratest that the Akkadians were fully aware - on a
certain level - of the fact that the very function of the dream is
to convey messages, exactly as they considered the so-called _$ipir
mahhê_, i.e., the "performances of the ecstatics" (Thompson
Esharhaddon pl. 3 II:6) as such a _na$partu_. Through madness, the
deity reveals his will exactly as he does by means of dreams.
---------------------

(to be continued…)

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by us4-he2-gal2 at
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Bel Murru/ Sumerians:
You've done a great job of presenting the fundimental Oppenheim
material Bel-murru, its opened up a whole circle of Dream deitys ;]
thank you. That takes care of step 1.
Although we're starting to broch the general topic of dreams and
dream interpretation in Mesopotamia, the over-bearing question I
suppsoe, is the nature of the deity Sisig and the how and the why of
his being identified by the logists as a part of a circle of
Mesopotamian dream gods. To have completely examined that
identification we'll need three steps (step one being done, the
work of Oppenhiem on dreams..everyone seems to reference this) 2. a
portrait of the other gods in this circle and ultimately we'll need
also 3. to determine if the identification of Sisig in the circle of
dream gods holds in light of recent Death of Gilgamesh translations
esp. Cohen's pg.105
As for the second step I'll try and fill some things in below.
Since I've never really looked into dreams, dream interpretations and
dream gods in Mesopotamia, I dont have a great source material. So
I've had to rely almost exclusively on 'electronic reference's',
which boils down mostly to scholars who have referenced Oppenheim
for various purposes. Also I'll rely on your Oppenheim quotes. But
hopefully this will fill in some details.

General Overview:

A šir-gida to Ninisina (Ninisina A) T.4.22.1
52-60 "That man calls a dream interpreter, wishing to have knowledge
of the future"

A breif overview of dreams of Mesopotamian could be:
"Various terms are used to described dreams. In Sumerian the word
ma.mu means sleep or dream. In Akkadian the word is suttu, which
comes from sittu, the word for sleep. Other expresssions include
manattu, hiltu, and the poetic phrase tabrit must. Dreams are "seen,"
which is amaru, natalu, or naplusu. The words ma.mu makhir, or
mama.da.ge can refer to a god of dreams. This is equivalent to the
Akkadian zaqiqu, which may come from z.u.q, which means "blowing of
the wind," or zaqu, which refers to demons who slip through cracks.
Zaqiqu, Zakar, or Zakar-mas-ga can refer to souls of the dead, the
carriers of a message, or dream demons who come from the netherworld.
Zaqiqu is a dream deity who moves quickly and brings dreams to
people. He is sometimes seen as a son of Shamash, the sun god, who
also could bring dreams. Another name is an.za.qar or an.zag.gar.ra,
which refer to a tower (z.k.r) and may be connected to the idea that
the dream deity is a pillar god."
[From Dreams and Dream Reports in the Writings of Josephus: A
traditio-historcal analysis by Robert Karl Gnuse - a bit off track
seemingly but he reference's Oppenhiem]

Another overview with more detail:
"Depending on which Mesopotamian culture one discusses, one finds
various terms for describing dreams. In Sumerian we find MA.MU
[meaning] "God(dess) Dream," identified sometimes as a male god of
dreams and in later scribal traditions as the daughter of the sun god
Shamash. Another term is AN.ZA.QAR (sometimes written as
AN.ZAG.GAR.RA) which appears to be an Akkadian loan word into
Sumerian, and whose meaning suggests a tower-like structure, a fact
that has led some scholars to link it to the biblical pillar stone
known as matsbah (cf. the stone in Genesis 28 erected after a dream.
See Below.) Like the Sumerian MA.MU, the Akkadian Zaqiqu is known
also as a dream god (as found in the invocation discussed above),
perhaps oringinally a dream demon. The Akkadian root zaqu appears in
conjunction with 'breezes," "winds," and demons who enter homes
through cracks, and for ghosts of the deceased. ..see Oppenheim
(1956)."
[ From Dreams: A Reader on Religous, Cultural and Psychological
Dimensions of Dreaming, by Kelly Bulkeley. pg.63]



Mamu:

Mamu I found to be a tough deity to track down, very hard to isolate
this deity. There are 27 instances on ma.mu2 with the meaning dream
at etcsl, none of which have the determinitive or relate to Mamu as
god/goddess of dreams. The word itself means "god dream" as Oppenheim
and Oppenheim referencers have stated..I interpret that to mean a
dream that is divinely originating or divinely inspired, hence typing
in 'ma.mu2' into the etcsl search engine brings up a pretty good idea
of dream interpretation as it is presented in the Sumerian literary
tradition. What I havent been able to answer as regards to the
deity, is if in 'later traditions Mamu was described as Daughter of
Shamash" in what early texts was he called god of dreams?

Black and Green say of Mamu (pg.128)
"An origanally Sumerian deity, one of several associated with dreams
(mamud being the Sumerian word for 'dream'), Mamu was sometimes
regarded as female (and a daughter of the god Utu) and sometimes as
male (and refered to as 'the god of dreams'). When Assurnasirpal II
of Assyria (reigned 883-859 B.C.) refounded the town of Imgur-Enlil
(modern Balawat), he built a temple there to a god whose name is
written in the same way, possibly in origin a local deity of a
similiar name."

Although I cant find any place at etcsl when MA.MU is mentioned (the
word as a dream yes, as a deity no), for the mention of MA.MU "as
'the god of dreams'" B&G may be refering to the introduction of the
dream book Zaqiqu from Ashurbanipal's library, which contained the
line [d] Ziqiqu []c Ziqiqu [d]MA.MU ilu sa sunate "Oh Dream God!, Oh
Dream God!, [d]MA.MU, god of dreams." This book is from the time of
Ashurbanipal however, and cant be considered a contempory description
of the Sumerian Ma.mu... One mention of Mamu in an actual religious
role (as oppose to a mention or listing) may possibe be found in the
below reference which Sylt pointed out to me. The snippet comes from
a book which is a bit out of date, so I am conerned with its
integrity. I'd be surprised if Oppenhiem didnt treat the below text
somewhere in his work, or possibly overturn it if it was found dated.
But as it stands its the only substantial piece I've found on Mamu
and cant easily be overlooked:

From "Healing gods of Ancient Civilizations" by Walter Addison Jayne
1925.
"The importance of dreams developed divinities who presided over
them, such as Makhir (Mamu), a goddess who had a small shrine at
Balawat; and there was also Mamu-da-ge, Zakar, and Zakar-mas-ge.
These were not independent deities, however, since Shamash, as bel-
biri, the 'lord of visions,' outshone them all, and they became
subject to him as his court attendants. These divine beings were
addressed in penitential prayers, of which the following is a
specimen:

Reveal thyself unto me and let me see a favorable dream,
May the dream that I dream be favorable,
May the dream, that I dream be true,
May Mamu, the goddess of dreams, stand at my head,
Let me enter E-Sagila, the temple of the gods, the house of
life. "


Of course the mention of E-Sagila (Marduk's temple) probably
implies a later date. And as you referenced Bel-Murru, Oppenheim made
clear or somewhat clear "The name (d)Ma.mu2 (formerly misread as
*_(d)Ma-hir_; a god whose name is written in the same way is
mentioned in inscriptions of Assurnasirpal II, a god _(d)Ma-mu_, in
_VAS VII_ 27:17 and _Gordon Smith-Coll. Tablets_ no. 46:13) means
"God Dream"." The above mentions of makhir im sure are an example
of the misreadings Oppenhiem refers to. The inscriptions of
Assurnasirpal II which speak of Mamu are the ones located at Jaynes
"small shrine at Balawat" which was named Imgur-Enlil in Mesopotamian
times. Black and Green relay that although the instance of of Mamu in
8th cen. Imgur-Enlil may be just a misnomer or a local deity who had
assumed Mamu's name, it also may represent Mamu his/herself. One
theory is that since that location was nearby Kalhu, then the
capital, the king may have stopped at Imgur-Enlil on his way to begin
a campaign, thus having a temple to the dream god would be an
oppurtunity to recieve a dream omen before battle. All that is rather
loose though (see Black and Green pg.72)
- The main link I see between Mamu and Sisig is also from
Ashurbanipals library, that is the An-anum god list, which was
previously referenced through Oppenheim:
"(d)Ma.mu2=DUMU.SAL. (d)Utu.ke4 "Mamu=daughter of Shamash" and in the
next line: (d)SI.SI.IG (variant: (d)SIG.SIG)= dumu.(d)Utu-ke4
"Si(g)sig=son of Shamash."The change of sex of Mamu is not of great
consequence; in these
theological compilations, the priests, in their desire to list and
organize all the minor divine figures of the pantheon, have
repeatedly been guilty of such slight inconsistencies."


AN.ZAG.GAR.RA /AN.ZA.QAR (or An.zaqar)/Anzagara

I 've had quite a time attempting to access textural references to
this deity under any of those three names. All three I've taken from
your post Bel-Murru, AN.ZA.QAR/An.zaqar from AN=anum , AN.ZAG.GAR.RA
fragment DT 46. I also lack access to KAR 58 where he is called
"Anzagara" and the neo-assyrian letter Oppenheim mentions which makes
detailing this deity very difficult. But I might have one bead on
AN.ZAG.GAR.RA, from etcsl, as theres some indication that this is the
same as as the three names, (see Shaul Bar below) The deity from
etcsl mention is described as 'the god of dreams' in sumerian "diĝir
ma-[mu-da-ke4]]" which is exactly the same as AN.ZA.QAR is described
on the AN=anum "dingir.ma.mu2.da.ke4"

ZANGARA / ZAGAR?

There is one example of Zangara at:
[dza-an-gar3-ra diĝir ma-/mu2-da\-ke4]
Lugalbanda in the mountain cave t.1.8.2.1
The multiplier of mankind, the voice of one not alive*1 -- [Zangara,
the god of dreams], himself like a bull, bellowed at Lugalbanda. Like
the calf of a cow he lowed:

351-360. "Who will slaughter (?) a brown wild bull for me? Who will
make its fat melt for me? He shall take my axe whose metal is tin, he
shall wield my dagger which is of iron. Like an athlete I shall let
him bring away the brown wild bull, the wild bull of the mountains, I
shall let him like a wrestler make it submit. Its strength will leave
it. When he offers it before the rising sun, let him heap up like
barleycorns the heads of the brown goat and the buck-goat, both the
goats; when he has poured out their blood in the pit -- let their
smell waft out in the desert so that the alert snakes of the
mountains will sniff it."

*1 The one source I could find mentioning Zangara merely makes a note
here stating "This verse is not very clear.." However is he speaks
with a ghostly voice this would further equate him with Zaqiqu I'd
think, as to how he is the multiplier of mankind - thats even less
clear. On the flip side of that, Cavigneaux and Al-Rawi seem to state
that Zangara or AN.zaqar is not the same as Zaqiqu " :AN.za-gar :
digir ma-mu-da-ke4 "Zagar:god of the dream"?), who was therefore
perceived as a
different entity"

And one example of Zagar at:
A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi D) t.2.4.2.04
[dza-gar3 diĝir ma-[mu-da-ke4]]

[ Zagar, the god of dreams], …… as their beneficent protective
spirit, …… in a dream,
2 lines fragmentary
approx. 31 lines missing




Zaqiqu/Zephyr:

"The word ziququ (zaqiqu) is a designation for the dream god. Its
Sumerian equivolent is lil, meaning literally "wind," but having the
connotation "Spirit" or "phantom." The collection of dream omens,
known from the Nineveh library, opens with the invocation: [d] Ziqiqu
[]c Ziqiqu [d]MA.MU ilu sa sunate "Oh Dream God!, Oh Dream God!,
[d]MA.MU, god of dreams" [from The Heavenly Writing: Divination,
Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture by Francesca
Rochberg]
One Possible appearence of Zaqiqu is in the "Poem of the Righteous
Sufferer" an example of which is found in "From Distant Days" by B.
Foster. pg 304. Although he translate's 'dream spirit' ive seen a
source which simply translate's "zaqiqu-spirit" so I suspect the bare
language behind this passage refers to Zaqiqu specifically:

"Nor did the dream interpreter with his incense
clear up my case
I beseeched a dream spirit [zaqiqu?], but it did not enlighten me,
The exorcist with his ritual did not appease divine wrath
What biazarre actions everywhere!"

Another instance of Zaqiqu ive noticed from electronicaly
referenceing:
"A letter that has not been read: Dreams in the Hebrew Bible" by
Shaul Bar

Here he points out that when Enkidu erects a "House of the dream god"
For Gilgamesh during the Humbaba episode of the Standard Epic of
Gilgamesh (George p.34) he is acutaly -
"In this description, Enkidu is building a bit zaqiqi. Evidently this
refers to 'the house of zaqiqu," a structure used for incubation
purposes--in other words, "a temple of the Dream God Zaqiqu."
[incubation refering to an attempt to bring upon a dream for the
divination purposes.]

Bar further says:

"In contrast, the ancients, unfamiliar with the intricate byways of
the human soul revealed by modern psychology, saw dreams as channals
of communication between human beings and external sources. In sleep,
they believed, messages were conveyed to the unconcious mind,
messages often relating to the future and sometimes including clear
and unamiguous announcements, advice, injunctions, or warnings.
Several Akkadian sources refered to a "god of dreams," whose chief
task was to send dreams to slumbering human beings [2] Some have
conjectured that this god was merely an emissary of various..."[lost
access]

[2] "Several Mesopotamian documents refer to "the god of dreams" as
bringing dreams to mortals. These sources include three different
names for this deity: [d]Mamu is Sumerian, and means '(the god)
dream'. Anzaqar, whose Akkadian equivalent is zaqiqu, 'zephyr', [and
Anzaqar] means 'tower'. Both of these terms are refered to as "the
god of dreams." The Sumerian anzaqar appears very infrequently in
both Akkadian and Sumerian literature (twice only): once in Hymn D in
honor of Sulgi, King of Ur, in a contect that is not clear; and once
in the epic Lugalbanda and hurumkurra [accent under h] , in which the
god appears to Lugalbanda in a dream and orders him to slaughter a
wild ox and a kid and to spill their blood on the ground. According
to Oppenheim (EMiqr 3:146), this reflects a very ancient belief in
invisible dream spirits and their king, who are in many ways like the
spirits known from Greek epic. The Akkadian..."

Summarizing:

Zaqiqu is tied to Mamu in that quote fromthe Dream book. I dont think Zaqiqu is anywhere tied to Zephyr, except in
schorlarly analogy, because Zephyr is the greek god of the west wind who also had to do with morning or spring [thx you Sylt], but I havent yet heard of his dream association. Lastly Zaqiqu is tied to Sisig, via Oppenheim's observation "More interesting is the name of the brother of "goddess" Mamu, because the Sumerian word si(g)sig corresponds in Akkadian (_cf._simply _Deimel $L 112/94c and 295/122f) to _zaqiqu_, meaning "soft blowing wind, zephyr."

The lingering question I have is, how solid is Sisig's identification in the dream god circle? If Zaqiqu is Mamu, and Sisig
corresponds to Zaqiqu, is Sisig supposed to be Mamu? But they seem to be siblings.
The logic is pretty fragmented here..But sorting it is another step.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Posted by us4-he2-gal2 at
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Towards a conclusion on dream gods

So I am quite pleased with this thread thus far, it's forced me
and maybe a few others to regard an aspect of Mesopotamian culture
that had remained somewhat unconsidered (at least by me).. that being
Oneiromancy, dream divination and the small circle of gods
surrounding Utu. Still a conclusion or final understanding is still
pending on Sisig...I've spent quite some time firing at this
particular wildebeest and something has got fall down and be mounted
on the mantle. Thats not to say in attempting to 'reconstruct' the
entity Sisig, and meeting with impossible intangibility, we should in
the end fabricate something that seems solid enough to display..but
the verdict on this deity as a dream god seems to be asserted firmly
enough in the Scholarly community. So the question is, is this the
final understanding of Sisig, is it that firm, are there other
perceptions of him that would survive scrutiny, and should the final
presentation of him -on T/S- not be by necessity, very tentative in
nature?
The fundimental problem is the proper interpretation of the
line's from DofG pertaining to Sisig. On the one hand theres an
understanding that these lines spoke of a cultic event, and were
meant literally, the dead would emerge via Sisig's threshold
[Cohen]. On the other hand therea a more general [though almost
universal] understanding which suggests these lines are metaphoric,
Sisig as god of dreams brings light to the netherworld, light being
understood as some form of relief (Katz p.213).
We know that the 'theological idea' for Sisig's identification as a dream god
appears to be what is found in the An:anum godlist which dates from
Assurbanipal's time..or at least this is what Cavigneaux & Al-Rawi
indicate when they say "Starting from the 'theological' idea (derived
from An:anum) that Sisig is the god of dreams" (thx Bel Murru). Now
as to who derived that from the An:anum god list, I'd suspect that
may be Oppenheim himself, or at least he seems to be the most
signifcant advocate of this view of the Sisig entry in the An:anum
list in that he says:


"More information is forthcoming from the famous list of names of
gods preserved on one of the largest tablets in the library of
Assurbanipal and called (after its _incipit_) AN=_Anum_. Here we
have (_CT XXIV_ 31 IV:84 ff. [_K._ 4349] and _CT XXV_ 26:19 ff.
[_K._ 4144]) the following two entries: (d)Ma.mu2=DUMU.SAL. (d)
Utu.ke4 "Mamu=daughter of Shamash" and in the next line: (d)SI.SI.IG
(variant: (d)SIG.SIG)= dumu.(d)Utu-ke4 "Si(g)sig=son of Shamash."
The change of sex of Mamu is not of great consequence; in these
theological compilations, the priests, in their desire to list and
organize all the minor divine figures of the pantheon, have
repeatedly been guilty of such slight inconsistencies."

To which you pointed out Ross, that Oppenheim does not appear to
take into account the early DofG instance where Sisig is called son
of Utu - If one knew he was indeed stated in Sumerian times to be
male, then one would probably conclude instead that the compiler's of
An:anum were quite right in listing different genders. If they are
different genders why are they seen to be the same entity, why is
Sisig treated like an epiphet of Mamu? It cant be just the proximity
to Mamu on this list that Sisig has become a dream god..But
ultimately I cant afford to be too skeptical on this point never
having had the chance to really view or study the god lists. Perhaps
Oppenheim recognize's some convention Ive never been able to. The
closest ive come is a greyed out list at
cuneiform.ucla.edu:16080/dcclt/dcclt_browse_c3.html
The list - so cruel:
"Gods
Abu Salabikh God List
OB Isin God List
OB Nippur God List
Weidner God List
An = Anum"

There is of course more readily compelling evidence then Sisig's
connection to Mamu from An:anum. I would say that is his connection
to Zaqiqu..First that the reading of both the Sumerian and the
Akkadian translate to gentle breeze is indirect evidence I suppose.
Zaqiqu is undisputedly a dream god, thus by virtue of their names
this possibly extends to Sisig. Perhaps our newest member might be
persuaded to, in due time, consider speaking on a possible reason why
Sisig [d)SI.SI.IG] is supposed to be read syllabically or is an
example of "syllable writing" not "word writing".. as a word writing
understanding of the name would entail something different entirely.
Also, as was pointed out earlier, Oppenheim mentions that in the
standard verision of the Epic of Gilgamesh Enkidu raise's "out of a
hole (in the ground) like a _zaqiqu_" (tablet XII)." If in fact the
corresponding B.E&the Netherword reference to Sisig is referencing
the Deity Sisig, I think this would be a significant point for the
equation of the two deites. A. George [p.100] writes about the
Gilgamesh Tablet XII:
"The last tablet in the "Series of Gilgamesh", tablet XII, is not
part of the epic at all, but an Akkadian translation of the latter
part of the Sumerian poem of Bilgames and the Netherworld. It was
appended to the epic presumably because of the relevance of the
material" and the relevant translation on pg 194 reads "O Young Hero
Shamash, [as you rise into the sky,] be it [that you make] an opening
[in the Netherworld,] [that you bring up] the shade of Enkidu [From
the Netherworld as a phantom!]"
So based on the fact Oppenheim refered to a zaqiqu in this instance,
I assume that is what Geroge is translating as phantom. If the tablet
XII/B.E&the Netherworld 'entities' are the same, then Katz statement
of Enkidu returning as a dream is more comprehendible. Lastly if this
connection between Sisig and Zaqiqu is anything it may be possible to
triangulate an identiy with Mamu, as Mamu is explicitly stated as
being Zaqiqu in the dreambook, hence this starts to become something
of a case of circular logic - which could be constued as supporting
the Oppenheim An:anum observation.
But going back to the root sources, an understanding of the Dream
gods has not helped elucidate the cultic reading of DofG, Cohen line
3 from the DofG "Let him[Sisig] set up a threshold there (as bright)
as the moon" through with the dead march out during the festival of
ghosts. Assuming we have any portrait of this festival to speak of, I
seriously doubt the dead were thought to emerge on this festival as
dreams unless people were sleeping through it. This is where things
seem to fall apart even further. Finally I've turned back to a line
Id forgotten from Velduis work "It should be noted, however, that
Sisig's role in dreaming and dream explanation is very restricted,
and may be a consequence of his primary character as an underworld
god with ghostly characteristics (see Butler 1998: 77-83)." Wow -
amazing how many sources i referenced that didnt mention this aspct
at all. So..if his dream god aspect does not explain DofG, would his
"primary charactor" as an underworld deity explain it? (Evidentely by
the wording here he not only has a netherworld aspect -elsewhere
unattested- but it appears to be his primary aspect.) Its hard to
tell where Butler could come up with the primary aspect of Sisig if
its not in fact his dream aspect, as there appear to be only 3 places
to find Sisig in the Sumerian sources, the one I cant currently
account for being the Utu Incanatation. The book is:
Butler, S.A.L
1998 Mesopotamian Conceptions of Dreams and Dream Rituals. AOAT 258.
Munster: Ugarit Verlag.

I will hit the library and attempt to research this aspect I expect
it would be even more difficult then the dream aspect. I'll leave
this thread open for anyone with further insight, as obviously its
moving toward, but not at, a conclusion just yet. In the meantime,
while individual posts on a Mesopotamian topic are great, I think
this thread might demonstrate that collaboration is in all ways
superior. Theres plenty of potential research muscle here -
as for myself, Im very open to ideas for the next subject, there are
as well some current potentials: Vampiric entities in Mesopotamia,
Details on the rites relating to Cultic Statues, Mesopotamian Magic
[long term study]. Certainly add your own idea's or questions, there
are many obsurcities which should be explored, and would benefit from
a collective effort.
Cheers

[us4-he2-gal2]

A Second Look At Sisig:

Since starting this discussion, Ive noticed an increasing accumulation and access of scholarly material, which has served to re-orient the focus a few times. Earlier posts presenting what I think was interesting information, contained many musings and an occasional insight, but tended to end in the form of a question. I am somewhat fascinated by the question - what does it taken to put a period on this? .
Though Im still not able access S.A.L Butler's work, or the relevant Utu Incantation, I can add a few preliminary points to sketch the possible ghost/phantom aspect of Sisig. As a side note, I should make it clear that in this post in particular, my reach exceeds my grasp more so lets say, then on the average day. But I feel in sacrificing any consideration of face, even this dubious attempt at progress will move the discussion forward.
For some of this perspective im drawing material currently occupying the Vampire thread, Reply #15, which should prove to be relevant to this discussion as well. For now, the terms spirit/phantom/ghost will be used interchangeably.


-Quote from Reply # 8 (of this thread)
""The word ziququ (zaqiqu) is a designation for the dream god. Its
Sumerian equivalent is lil, meaning literally "wind," but having the
connotation "Spirit" or "phantom." (Francesca
Rochberg)

There is also the CAD Zaqiqu discussion which states "The only passages in which sisig and lil correspond to mehu [violent storm] and saru [wind] are those cited in the lex. Section, and these correspondences are not paralleled in bil. Texts"

There seems to be sufficient reason to believe that like the Sumerian lil, the word Sisig had the literal meaning of wind, or more specifically fierce wind/whirlwind. Did it also have the connotation "Spirit" or "phantom", and if so, how and why?
First, in my growing appreciation for ePSD, Ive noticed that they grant access to a number of Assyriological resources, one I think being (in whole or in part) the AHw, or Akkadisches Handwörterbuch by W. von Soden. It would appear to be an Akkadian 'pocketbook' of sorts, although being at least twice removed from it on a practical level, I would withhold comment on its scope or use. However one section does suggest itself for further investigation:

psd.museum.upenn.edu/PSD/html/uniss/issl/ahw-z.htm

"li-illil2 (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
si-si-igsig3-sig3 (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
si-si-ig (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
lu2-lil2-la2 (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
lil2-la2 (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
lil2-la2 (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
NI-si-ga) (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
lil2 (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
lil2-la2-e-ne (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
AN.ZA/ZA3.GAR.RA (zīqīqum) AHw 1530
sig3-sig3-ga (zīqīqum) AHw 1530"

To me this is something else that speaks to some conceptual simularity between Zaqiqu/Sisig/lil2. In an attempt to put some context to the AHw piece, Im currently -pondering- whether or not this list of "ziqiqum' might be a detail of the 'irregular determinitive' mentioned by Oppenheim in the CAD Zaqiqu discussion. Of course, establishing a co-relation between these does not in effect speak to Sisig as ghost (as currently, I understand all three share the same ambiguity). The devil is in the details.


The instances of sisig which can be said with certainity to represent the deity are just two that I can access:
"/si-si\-[ig]" Death of Gilgamesh, at etcsl c1.8.1.3 [without determinitive] and
"dsi-si-ig" An:Anum godlist, at psd.museum.upenn.edu/PSD/html/uniss/lexical/God/Ananum.htm [with determinitive]

Starting with Halloran's lexicon, there are 3 entries which pertain to si-si-ig.

Lexicon:
entry 1. "si-si-ig: whirlwind (reduplicated sìg, 'to demolish, flatten')."
[Of course its clear from -CAD Zaqiqu 3: that "[d]SI.SI.IG (var. [d]SIG.SIG) ". The entry for sig-sig of course is very similiar then]
entry 2. "sìg-sìg: whirlwind (reduplicated sìg, 'to demolish, flatten')."
[Since sig-sig is apparently a redupicated form of sig, it would quite possibly draw its meaning from entry 3]
entry 3. "sig3,10,11,18, sag2,3, sì, sè: n., stroke, blow.
v., to chop down (trees); to strike, hurt, damage; to beat (rhythmically, for instance a drum); to (make) totter,
shake, quake; to demolish, raze; to flatten, crush; to remove, doff; to become still, settled (si, 'to stand
upright' + ug5,7,8, 'to kill'; cf., sug5)."

It may be that why I went wrong in thinking to read si-si-ig as a 'word reading' is because this may just be a syllabic variant of sig-sig, which however has word meaning (sig). Determining which sig is applicable to the deity name is proving difficult as well, the Halloran entry's specify the sig with the meaning 'demolish, flatten' - I would suspect this corresponds to the ePSD entry for sig [flatten] (written sig10). Yet the ePSD entry for Sisig demonstrates that one may come this far and still hold nothing, as none of the writings of Sisig there contain the sign sig10 as in sig [flatten].


ePSD: (This can be found easily by going to psd.museum.upenn.edu/ and at the bottem of the page doing a search for 'sisig'. The word is broken down in the Sisig ePSD entry in this way:
"Sisig [breeze] 14x: Old Babylonian, unknown) wr. sig-sig; tumusi-si-ig; si-si-ga; sig3-sig3 "ghost?; storm; breeze, wind" Akk. mehû; zīqīqu?; šāru"

1 sig-sig
-[UrIII] HSS 04 x2
- Doc 318 (unclear)
- [OB] Proverb: "http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.6.1.11" [etcsl]
11-12. (cf. 6.1.18.15) Oh whirlwind [sig-sig], I despatched you towards Agade. What did you accomplish in Agade? The dream was favourable!
approx. 26 lines missing


2 tumu si-si-ig
-OB. Etcsl - Flood story, t.1.7.4, Seg. D line 1.
"1-11. All the windstorms and gales arose together"
"[1. im-hul-im-hul tum9si-si-ig du3-a-bi teš2-bi i3-sug2-ge-eš]"


3 si-si-ga
-[Old Akkadian] USP 02 2
1(ban2@c) ka dug-ka

4 sig3-sig3
-0




At this point in time, Im not able to distinguish which of these if any impact an understanding of the deity himself, or which pertain to [d]Sisig. One difficulty of that seems comparable to how in the Zaqiqu entry in CAD, 1 a) addresses Zaqiqu as phantoms in general, and 1 b) the deity as phantom. I note that of the three meanings present at ePSD "ghost?" is a curious one. More resource needed at this point however. (Now..Im off to play with a rubik's cube with my eyes closed.)

[saharda]

With your interest in Sisig, do you think that the god may be attempting to get your attention?

[us4-he2-gal2]

Saharda: I dont rule that out, though if I am influenced at all it is on an unconcious level. How that influence or motivation plays out on a concious level is the conviction that the only way to unravel this mystery (or obscurity) is to keep pulling at the threads. And the process of this within the community is my personal definition of discussion on a discussion board.
The end result is the further elucidation of the Mesopotamian people, culture and especially religion. I can only suspect this would be pleasing to the Mesopotamian gods and merit their attention to a varying degree.

But we're still a ways from the end result..;]

[us4-he2-gal2]

It truely was a good day when we came across you, Amarsin ;]. Thanks for your offer - I will spend a few days finally sorting this out because your right it is a jumble, largely owing to the fact we really had no idea about Sisig when it began. And its ended with myself being unsure what to conclude, that being the current status. ah so a summary of finding is more then called for and I am hoping it will give you something meaningful to comment on shortly.

cheers.