Nisaba

Mar. 13th, 2007 10:59 pm
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I wanted to share a little of a gorgeous translation of a hymn to Nisaba, the Mesopotamian goddess of grain and scribes:

"Oh Lady colored like the stars of heaven, holding the lapis lazuli tablet,
Nisaba, born in the great sheepfold by the divine Earth,
Wild kid nourished (as) on good milk with pure vegetation,
Mouth-opened by the seven flutes,
Perfected with (all) the fifty great divine attributes,
Oh my lady, plenipotentiary of Ekurra -

"Dragon, emerging brightly on the festival,
Mother-goddess of the nation, biting off a piece from the clay,
Pacifying the habitat with cold water,
Providing the foreign mountain-land with plenty,
Born in wisdom by the Great Mountain (Enlil),
Honest woman, chief scribe of Heaven, record-keeper of Enlil,
All knowing sage of the gods -"

"Mouth-opened" is a reference to the dedication of a cult statue. "Dragon" is Hallo's translation of ušumgal, one of the serpent monsters in Tiamat's army. The "divine attributes" are of course the mes.
__

Hallo, W.W. "The Cultic Setting of Sumerian Poetry." Actes de la XVIIe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Université libre de Bruxelles, 30 juin-4 juillet 1969. Ed. André Finet. Ham-sur-Heure: Comité belge de recherches (historiques, épigraphiques et archeéologiques) en Mésopotamie, 1970.

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