On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: ensuhkeshdanna

I was going to put this in ancient magic, but when I did a search most of the discussion of these texts I found was in this forum, so I put it here, I'm new to this board and wasn't really sure where to put it, so let me know if I'm not posting this in the right place.

The earliest of Sumerian incantations come from around 2600-2300BC, these are not too well understood, the bulk of them come from a city north of Mesopotamia called Ebla around 2350BC. The Eblaites spoke their own (Semitic) language, and wrote their spells in a combination of their own language and poorly written Sumerian. The spells from Ebla can be divided into two groups, those of Sumerian origin, and those from their own tradition. The spells of Sumerian origin favor purification as a method of getting rid of demons, the ones of Eblaite origin, binding magic. The Sumerian texts always begin with the word "enur", which denotes a particular kind of spell, and end with the invocation of the goddess Nin-girima, who is associated with a kind of holy water. If you're looking to read more about these texts, your best source, unfortunately in German, is M. Krebernik's Beschwörungen aus Fara und Ebla.

There are another group of incantations from a later period in Sumerian history 2100-2000BC which are a bit easier to understand. A good source for these, with English translations this time, is M. Geller's URIII incantations.

Now we move up to the Old Babylonian period, around 1800BC, most of our Sumerian literature comes from this time, but by this time Sumerian was already a dead language. A great big collection of spells appears at this time, written in Sumerian, but by Akkadian speaking Babylonians, while bearing great similarity to the earlier Sumerian texts, it is clear the Babylonians changed some stuff around a bit, particulary as to the demonology. Most of these texts are simply known as "udug hul", that's Sumerian for evil demon. An excellent complete edition of these texts is available: M. Geller's, Forerunners to udug-hul - Sumerian Exorcistic Incantations.

Udug-Hul was re-edited into a bilingual version, Sumerian with an interlinear Akkadian translation a little over a thousand years later, in the Neo-Babylonian period. By this time the current understanding of Sumerian wasn't so great, and the Akkadian translations aren't always correct. The only modern edition of this text is Campbell Thompson's Evil Spirits of Babylonia, written about 100 years ago. Unfortunately, at that time nobody understood Sumerian too well, so his translations are only good as to the Akkadian parts of the text.

There are many other forms of magic as well, namburbi, which are rituals to undo evil omens, nam-erim-bur-ru-da, for undoing a curse. Shurpu, a kind of exorcism ritual involving burning objects, associated with whatever evil force is afflicting the person. You even get the ocasional love spell using binding magic, not so different from love spells anywhere else really.

The word for demon in Sumerian is "udug", but it doesn't actually mean an evil one, in that case it would be an"udug hul", good demons, udug du10 or udug sag10, also exist. Although as time went on "udug" mostly referred to the bad ones, and the word "lamma", came to mean a good one. Most demons are actually ghosts who died in unpleasant way, or whose bodies were not properely cared for after death. The word for ghost is "gidim", in the case of a bad one, "gidim hul". There are a variety of categories of demons, perhaps the most famous the "lilitu" Akk. or "munus lil2" Sum., this translates as "wind woman", but they are your traditional succubus, according to the texts this is the ghost of a woman who died still a virgin, there's a male version too. In the case of the demoness Lamashtu (who afflicts pregnant women and small children) they invoke another demon, Pazuzu, to drive her off.

The main deities involved in Sumerian magic are Enki and his son, Asalluhi (later equated with the Babylonian god Marduk). Enki is the god of fresh water, magic, and knowledge. Enki is also a god of fertility and procreative sex, Enki has a lot of sex, and it always produces offspring immediately, unless something is seriously wrong. Enki is also the god who tends to help out people and other gods who are in trouble, Enki helped Inanna out of the netherworld and saved mankind from The Flood. Enki lives in a realm which he created known as the abzu, it is from Enki and the abzu that all the knowldege and aspects of civilization came forth, known in Sumerian as the "me", this term can literally be translated as "being, or essence". The wise men who dwell with Enki are known as "abgal" in Sumerian and are depicted as half fish half man.
During a ritual the person performing the ritual will call himself, " the abgal, the man of Enki and Asalluhi, and their messenger". Then sometimes following this is what is commonly known as the "Marduk-Ea formula"; this passage is one in which Asalluhi describes to Enki the problem which the ritual is supposed to fix, and Enki tells Asalluhi that "you know all I know", in this way the knowledge and power of Enki is transferred down to the ritual practitioner. And as I said before, the goddess Nin-girima is also frequently invoked, although not much is known about her, she is associated with "shiny, pure water."

Other books I would recommend on the subject: G. Cunningham's Deliver me from Evil, Mesopotamian Incantations 2500-1500BC and Black and Green's Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. If anyone is interested in a specific area, I can give a more complete bibliography. I can also continue with this in several different directions, if people are interested. I noticed a thread a while back where someone was trying to translate the bilingual version of "udug-hul", I could just go through that a little bit at a time with the original cuneiform text and give better transliterations and translations than you will get in Thompson's book, or I could go in an entirely different direction, or I could just stop if you guys have had enough already.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: ensuhkeshdanna

Ok, I think this might have been that portion of an incantation I saw discussed here earlier. From the bilingual udug-hul (cuneiform texts from the British Museum, vol. 16, plate 3, lines 91-94)

91. udug sag10-ga a2 zi-da-ngu10 mu-un-da-an-ngen-na

92. she-e-du dum-ki ina im-ni-ia a-la-ku

These lines say, "The good udug/shedu is going on my right."
Line 91 is in Sumerian line 92 is an Akkadian translation. The gramatical forms of the verb is based on the Akkadian translation, as their understanding of Sumerian grammar in this period is just not that great. As for the Sumerian words:

sag10-ga = good,
a2 zi-da-ngu10 = my(ngu10) right(zi-da) side(a2)
ngen = to come/go The other stuff affixed to the ngen are verbal prefixes, like I said not so clear by this period, the "da" is what is called the commititive case, emphasizing that the udug is going together with someone, here it referrs to the lamma in the next line. If it referred to the person speaking the line here, the -un- would not preceed the -da-.

As for the Akkadian:
dum-ki = sag10-ga = good
im-ni-ia = a2 zi-da-gu10 = my right side
a-la-ku = is going

93. (d)lamma sag10-ga a2 gub3-bu-ngu10 mu-un-da-an-ngen-na

94. la-mas-si dum-ki ina shu-me-li-ia a-la-ku

"The good Lamma is going on my left"

This is virtually the same as the line above except:

a2 gub3-bu-ngu = shu-me-li-ia = my left side


Compare a similar passage from the Old Babylonian, Sumerian only, version of Udug-Hul:

udug sa6-ga (d)lamma sa6-ga da-ngu10-a he2-gub-bu

"May the good udug and the good lamma stand at my side"

sa6-ga = good

da-ngu10-a = at my side (the -a represents the locative case (at))

he2-gub-bu = may (the...) stand

sag10/sa6 literally mean something more like sweet than good, but here the contrast is really between positive and negative spirits, and nothing more

The numbers in the transliterations have to do with the conventions of transliterating cuneiform, it is often the case that two entirely different cuneiform signs with different meanings, referring to different words, have the same sound, in order to differentiate them in our alphabetic writing we use the numbers.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Qy7

fun stuff ensu ...
thanks

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: doh

Though many topics here to exist on it, I think this one sits squarely in the Ancient Magic aspect. That particular forum is a relatively new one and, if you look at some of the topics here, many are older due to a hack. So I'm moving it on over. Let me know if you see any more, though. Try to organize it a little bit anyway.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: The Cove

Greetings ensuhkeshdanna -

Damn - most impressive.

What is written when a god dies?

What is given when the powers answer correctly?

Who demands the end of that desire?

The ghost's and those with the ultimate pride have strived to exist beyond the means of there patterned soul.

Call up Sumer whisper your prayers to Babylon - they will hear you and answer with wounds and strikes of the spirit.

I am most impressed by your post - for the love of whatever you love send me a private or public mail about your thoughts.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Diceman

I would be interested to know the names of the Sumerian Gods and there general character.

I know there is Enki, who is a kind of progenitor. There is Marduk who is the principle God of the Sumerian people... there is Inanna who all I know about is her name, and there is Ishtar, or Ashtar, who I know the same about.

I'd love to hear about the Gods, and even some stories about them if you have time. Thanks for offering to give some things to the people at the board, I'm interested.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Frater Oblivion

Marduk is a Babylonian God sometimes compared with one of Enki's sons. I believe that name is Asarluhi. Enki's Babylonian name is Ea. Marduk came to prominence in the Babylonian Empire where he replaced Enlil as head of the pantheon. The epic of creation (Enuma Elish) was rewritten to give this claim credence.

Ishtar is the Babylonian name for Inanna.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Diceman

[QUOTE=Frater Oblivion;257441]Marduk is a Babylonian God sometimes compared with one of Enki's sons. I believe that name is Asarluhi. Enki's Babylonian name is Ea. Marduk came to prominence in the Babylonian Empire where he replaced Enlil as head of the pantheon. The epic of creation (Enuma Elish) was rewritten to give this claim credence.

Ishtar is the Babylonian name for Inanna.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Frater Oblivion, let me see if I got this right, because I'm having a little trouble.

Enki - Sumerian/Ea - Babylonian ?
Marduk - Babylonian/Asarluhi - Sumerian ?
Enlil - Sumerian ?
Inanna - Sumerian/Ishtar - Babylonian ?

Did I get that right? You're not being confusing, but I've learned to communicate the message I'm getting back to people because it helps with communication. Thanks for the information!

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Naomi Chan

Nice work here. I've transcribed some of the well-referenced Ancient Mesopotamian research out of The Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling over at Abrahadabra, if anyone would find it useful:

http://forums.abrahadabra.com/showthrea ... #post21705

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: us4-he2-gal2

ensuhkeshdanna, your aptitude and fluency in this most rare of subjects is noted with no little surprise. Im still re-reading to make sure Im not imagining this.
If you do enjoy active exploration of the topic at hand, I assure you that your knowledge, resource and skill would be keenly appreciated at my own ode to obscurity:

http://enenuru.proboards52.com/index.cgi

(a closed list Mesopotamian magic discussion board)

We've just started on the topic of magic itself, and intend to first explore the UrIII incantations. Please contact me if this interests you:

us4-he2-gal2@hotmail.com

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: endor957

personally i don't dig the sumerian legacy like everybody else but that was very informative. i guess i could be called udug horny:P

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Tavthe

I'm looking for older information from on Sumerian deities - specifically on Mummu/Tiamat - something other than the death of Tiamat/creation of the SumeroBabylonian world.

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Original post: Suxur-Mash596

Im wondering what the OP has done personally. He seems to have his research down, but how has he applied this knowledge in order to tranform it to knowledge?

Dont get me wrong, his information was very much appreciated for its detail, but it reeked of memorization rather than actualization. If I am wrong, please let me know.

As far as Tiamat is concerned, keep in mind she was created from the "waters of Apsu", so IMO she is the molten rock form of the material universe--or the solid. So she is the terrain that existence rests upon, but in the cosmic battle control of this terrain switched hands via force (aka MARDUK).

all this is my interpretation of the mythos.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: endor957

I've read somewhere about the "udug" thing and also I've found that in earlier traditions like shamanism, there were no particular thing as demons but spirits as in spirits.
I guess this is purely a case of keeping it simple.

As for my take on Sumerian stuff, I don't know, to me there's too much negative stuff associated with it. Have you seen the Evil Dead?

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Original post: Kuroyagi

That was a very interesting read, thanks- I'll probably look by at that forum too. :)

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: leanderle

[QUOTE=Tavthe;263596]I'm looking for older information from on Sumerian deities - specifically on Mummu/Tiamat - something other than the death of Tiamat/creation of the SumeroBabylonian world.[/QUOTE]

Probably the best source I know of is http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/.

I'm still surprised how overlooked Sumerian/Akkadian/Babylonian stuff if. The amount of power that comes out of simply saying the name of a god or goddess is incredible, and the energies are so much stronger than any other form of magic I've come across, especially when you consider how much Egyptian, Greek etc. is used in modern western magic.

With regard to the negative associated with it, yes the energies can take a while to process, but the gods and goddesses empower the user to cleanse and adapt it for their own purposes. It can be a far more fulfilling form of alchemy than found in hermetics, or a very potent form of sorcery.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Suxur-Mash596

[QUOTE=leanderle;275482]Probably the best source I know of is http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/.

I'm still surprised how overlooked Sumerian/Akkadian/Babylonian stuff if. The amount of power that comes out of simply saying the name of a god or goddess is incredible, and the energies are so much stronger than any other form of magic I've come across, especially when you consider how much Egyptian, Greek etc. is used in modern western magic.

With regard to the negative associated with it, yes the energies can take a while to process, but the gods and goddesses empower the user to cleanse and adapt it for their own purposes. It can be a far more fulfilling form of alchemy than found in hermetics, or a very potent form of sorcery.[/QUOTE]

I have to second this motion. The only form of magick I have seen that even compares is Enochian, but I tend to adhere to the theory Enochian is a variant of Sumerian or and even older tradition.

I feel the more commonly known systems, pantheons, paradigms are derived from the older and less refined but more potent Sumerian system.

After working with the Sumerian/Babylonian system I feel all the other systems pale in comparison and get the volume turned down as far as potency. The only one I can take seriously is Enochian.

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On Ancient Sumerian Spells and Incantations

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Original post: Tavthe

I find that this is true also with the names or words for elements; for things other than the gods. I have always felt a calling to Sumero-Babylonian magic and mythology, but have a hard time tracking down good information.

Thanks for the tip.

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Original post: amunptah777

Incidentally, the info on Babylon is correct, except that I've read evidence that the civilization was substantially older than that, and that the dates on the findings were reset by the church...so as to fit with the "the earth is 6000 years old" notion.


I've got a text version of "Angelology in the Epic of Gilgamesh" if anyones interested.
(sneakily swiped from the O.S.U. database)


ALSO, for Diceman, check out "godchecker.com" they rock!

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Original post: IsisShetan

I was very interested in your explanation of the Sumerian language. I was wondering if you have heard of an ancient power called "theatricks"? I might have the spelling wrong, but if you could tell me if you have heard of anything of any close....let me know.

Thanks.

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