[Short Story] the Shepherd and the Goddess Part Six (V2) The Courting of Inanna and Dimuzi

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 5: Divine Matchmaking

 

Translation of Sumerian texts.

Mea culpa! I originally intended to put up this version. I don’t know why I put the other version up. Sorry for the mistake.  The em-dashes are lacunae, where the tablets are broken and can’t be translated.

 

The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi

 
The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi
The brother spoke to his younger sister.
The Sun God, Utu, spoke to Inanna, saying:
“Young Lady, the flax in its fullness is lovely.
 
Inanna, the grain is glistening in the furrow.
I will hoe it for you. I will bring it to you.
A piece of linen, big or small, is always needed.
Inanna, I will bring it to you.”
 
“Brother, after you’ve brought me the flax,
Who will comb it for me?”
“Sister, I will bring it to you combed.”
 
“Utu, after you’ve brought it to me combed,
Who will spin it for me?
“Inanna I will bring it to you spun?”
 
“Brother, after you’ve brought the flax to be spun,
Who will braid it for me?”
“Sister, I will bring it to you braided.”
 
“Utu, after you’ve brought it to me braided,
Who will weave it for me?”
“Sister, I will bring it to you woven.”
 
“Utu, after you’ve brought it to me woven,
Who will bleach it for me?”
“Inanna, I will bring it to you bleached.”
 
“Brother, after you’ve brought my bridal sheet to me,
Who will go to bed with me?
Utu, who will go to bed with me?
“Sister, your bridegroom will go to bed with you.
 
He who was born from a fertile womb,
He who was conceived on the scared marriage throne,
Dumuzi, the shepherd! He will go to bed with you.”
 
Inanna spoke:
“No, brother
The farmer! He is the man of my heart!
He gathers the grain into great heaps.
He brings the grain regularly into my storehouses.”
 
Utu spoke:
“Sister, marry the shepherd.
Why are you unwilling?
His cream is good; his milk is good.
 
Whatever he touches shines brightly.
Inanna, marry Dumuzi.
You who adorn yourself with the agate necklace of fertility,
Why are you unwilling?
Dumuzi will share his rich cream with you.
You who are meant to be the kings protector,
Why are you unwilling?”
 
Inanna spoke:
“The shepherd?I will not marry the shepherd!
His clothes are course; his wool is rough.
I will marry the farmer.
The farmer grows flax for my clothes,
The farmer grows barley for my table.”
 
Dumuzi spoke:
“Why do you speak about the farmer?
Why do you speak about him?
If he gives you black flour’
I will give you black wool.
 
If he gives you white flour,
I will give you white wool.
If he gives you beer,
I will give you sweet milk.
If he gives you bread,
I will give you honey cheese.
 
I will give the farmer my leftover cream.
I will give the farmer my leftover milk.
Why do you speak about the farmer?
What does he have more than I do?”
Inanna spoke:
 
“Shepherd, without my mother, Ningal, you’d be driven away,
without my grandmother, Ningikuga, you’d be driven into the
steeps,
without my father, Nanna, you’d have no roof,
without my brother Utu&emdash;”
 
Dumuzi spoke:
“Inanna, do not start a quarrel.
My father, Enki, is as good as your father,Nanna.
My mother, Sirtur, is as good as your mother, Ningal.
My sister, Geshtinanna, is as good as your.
 
Queen of the palace, let us talk it over.”
The word they had spoken
Was a word of desire.
From the starting of the quarrel
Came the lovers desire.
 
The shepherd went to the royal house with cream.
Dumuzi went to the royal house with milk.
Before the door, he called out:
“Open the house, My Lady, open the house!”
Inanna ran to Ningal, the mother who bore her.
 
Ningal counseled her daughter, saying:
“My child, the young man will be you father.
My daughter, the young man will be your mother.
He will treat you like a father.
He will care for you like a mother.
 
Open the house, My Lady, open the house!”
Inanna, at her mothers command,
Bathed and anointed herself with scented oil.
She covered her body with the royal white robe.
She readied her dowry.
She arranged her precious lapis beads around her neck.
She took her seal in her hand.
 
Dumuzi waited expectantly.
Inanna opened the door for him.
Inside the house she shone before him.
Like the light of the moon.
Dumuzi looked at her joyously.
He pressed his neck close against hers.
He kissed her.
Inanna spoke:
“What I tell you
Let the singer weave into song.
What I tell you,
Let it flow from ear to mouth,
Let it pass from old to young:
 
My vulva, the horn,
The Boat of Heaven,
Is full of eagerness like the young moon.
My untilled land lies fallow.
As for me, Inanna,
Who will plow my vulva?
Who will plow my high field?
Who will plow my wet ground?
As for me, the young woman,
Who will plow my vulva?
Who will station the ox there?
Who will plow my vulva?
 
Dumuzi replied:
“Great Lady, the king will plow your vulva?
I, Dumuzi the King, will plow your vulva.”
 
Inanna:
“Then plow my vulva, man of my heart!
Plow my vulva!”
 
At the king’s lap stood the rising cedar.
Plants grew high by their side.
Grains grew high by their side.
Gardens flourished luxuriantly.
 
Inanna sang:
“He has sprouted; he has burgeoned;
He is lettuce planted by the water.
He is the one my womb loves best.
My well-stocked garden of the plain,
My barley growing high in its furrow,
My apple tree which bears fruit up to its crown,
He is lettuce planted by the water.
 
My honey-man, my honey-man sweetens me always.
My lord, the honey-man of the gods,
He is the one my womb loves best.
His hand is honey, his foot is honey,
He sweetens me always.
My eager impetuous caresser of the navel,
My caresser of the soft thighs,
He is the one my womb loves best.
He is letus planted by the water.”
 
Dumuzi sang:
“O Lady, your breast is your field.
Inanna, your breast is your field.
Your broad field pours out the plants.
Your broad field pours out grain.
Water flows from on high for your servant.
Bread flows from on high for your servant.
Pour it out for me, Inanna.
I will drink all you offer.”
 
Inanna sand:
“Make your milk sweet and thick, my bridegroom.
My shepherd, I will drink your fresh milk.
Wild bull Dumuzi, make your milk sweet and thick.
I will drink your fresh milk.
Let the milk of the goat flow in my sheepfold.
 
Fill my holy churn with honey cheese.
Lord Dumuzi, I will drink your fresh milk.
My husband, I will guard my sheepfold for you.
I will watch over your house of life, the storehouse,
The shining quivering place which delights Sumer&emdash;
The house which decides the fates of the land,
The house which gives the breath of life to the people.
I, the queen of the palace, will watch over your house.”
 
Dumuzi spoke:
“My sister, I would go with you to my garden.
Inanna, I would go with you to my garden.
I would go with you to my orchard.
I would go with you to my apple tree.
There I would plant the sweet, honey-covered seed.”
 
Inanna spoke:
“He brought me into his garden.
My brother, Dumuzi, brought me into his garden.
I strolled with him among the standing trees,
I stood with him among the fallen trees,
By the apple tree I knelt as is proper.
 
Before my brother coming in song,
Who rose to me out of poplar leaves,
Who came to me in the midday heat,
Before my lord, Dumuzi,
I poured out plants from my womb.
I placed plants before him,
I poured out plants before him.
I placed grain before him,
I poured out grain before him,
I poured out grain before my womb.”
 
Inanna sang:
“Last night as I, the queen, was shining bright,
Last night as I, the Queen of Heaven, was shining bright,
As I was shining bright and dancing,
Singing praises at the coming of the night&emdash;
He met me&emdash;he met me!
My lord Dumuzi met me.
 
He pushed his hand to my hand.
He pressed his neck close against mine.
My high priest is ready for the holy loins.
My lord Dumuzi is ready for the holy loins.
The plants and herbs in his field are ripe.
O Dumuzi! You fullness is my delight!”
She called for it, she called for it, she called for the bed!
She called for the bed that rejoices the heart.
She called for the bed that sweetens the loins.
She called for the bed of kingship.
She called for the bed of queenship.
 
Inanna called for the bed:
“Let the bed that rejoices the heart be prepared!
Let the bed that sweetens the lions be prepared!
Let the bed of kingship be prepared!
Let the bed of queenship be prepared!
Let the royal bed be prepared!”
 
Inanna spread the bridal sheet across the bed.
She called to the king:
“The bed is ready!”
She called to her bridegroom:
“The bed is waiting!”
He put his hand in her hand.
He put his hand to her heart.
Sweet is the sleep of the hand-to-hand.
Sweeter still is the sleep of heart-to-heart.
Inanna spoke:
 
“I bathed for the wild bull,
I bathed for the shepherd Dumuzi,
I perfumed my sides with ointment,
I coated my mouth with sweet-smelling amber,
I painted my eyes with kohl.
He shaped my loins with his fair hands.
 
The shepherd Dumuzi filled my lap with cream and milk,
He stroked my pubic hair,
He watered my womb.
He laid his hands on my holy vulva,
He smoothed my black boat with cream,
He quickened my narrow boat with milk,
He creased me on the bed.
 
Now I will caress my high priest on the bed,
I will caress the faithful shepherd Dumuzi,
I will caress his loins, the shephership of the land,
I will decree a sweet fate for him.”
The Queen of Heaven,
The heroic woman, greater than her mother,
Who was presented the me by Enki,
Inanna, the First Daughter of the Moon,
Decreed the fate of Dumuzi:
 
“In battle I am you leader,
In combat I am you armor-bearer
In the assembly I am your advocate,
On the campaign I am your inspiration.
You, the chosen shepherd of the holy shrine,
You, the king, the faithful provider of Uruk,
You, the light of An’s great shrine,
In all ways you are fit:
 
To hold you head high on the loft dais,
To sit on the lapis lazuli throne,
To cover you head with the holy crown,
To wear long clothes on your body,
To bind yourself with the garments of kingship,
To carry the mace and sword,
To guide straight the long bow and arrow,
To fasten the throw-stick and sling at your side,
To race on the road with the holy scepter in your hand,
And the holy sandals on your feet,
To prance on the holy breast like a lapis lazuli calf.
 
You, the sprinter, the chosen shepherd,
In all ways you are fit.
May your heart enjoy long days.
That which An has determined for you&emdash;may it not be altered.
That which Enlil has granted&emdash;may it not be changed.
You are the favorite of Ningal.
Inanna holds you dear.”
 
Ninshubur, the faithful servant of the holy shrine of Uruk,
Led Dumuzi to the sweet thighs of Inanna and spoke:
“My queen, here is the choice of your heart,
the king, your beloved bridegroom.
May he spend long days in the sweetness of your holy loins.
Give him a favorable and glorious reign.
Grant him the king’s throne, firm in its foundations.
Grant him the shepherd’s staff of judgment.
Grant him the enduring crown with the radiant and noble
diadem.
 
From where the sun rises to where the sun sets,
From north to south,
From the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea,
From the land of the huluppu-tree to the land of the cedar,
Let his shepherd’s staff protect all of Sumer and Akkad.
 
As the farmer, let him make the fields fertile,
As the shepherd, let him make the sheepfolds multiply,
Under his reign let there be vegetation,
Under his reign let there be rich grain.
In the marshland may the fish and birds chatter,
In the canebrake may the young and old reeds grow high,
In the steppe may the deer and wild goats multiply,
In the orchards may there be honey and wine,
In the grasslands may the lettuce and cress grow high,
In the palace may there be long life.
 
May there be floodwater in the Tigris and Euphrates,
May the plants grow high on their banks and fill the meadows,
May the Lady of Vegetation pile the grain in heaps and mounds.
O my Queen of Heaven and Earth,
Queen of all the universe,
May he enjoy long days in the sweetness of your lions.”
The king went with lifted head to the holy loin.
He went with lifted head to the loins of Inanna.
He went to the queen with lifted head.
He opened wide his arms to the holy priestess of heaven.
 
Inanna spoke:
“My beloved, the delight of my eyes, met me.
We rejoiced together.
He took his pleasure of me.
He brought me into his house.
He laid me down on the fragrant honey-bed.
 
My sweet love, lying by my heart,
Tongue-playing, one by one,
My fair Dumuzi did so fifty times.
Now, my sweet loves is sated.
Now he says:
‘Set me free, my sister, set me free.
You will be a little daughter to my father.
 
Come, my beloved sister, I would go to the palace.
Set me freeÉ’
Inanna spoke:
“My brother-brearer, your allure was sweet.
My blossom-bearer in the apple orchard,
My bearer of fruit in the apple orchard,
Dumuzi-abzu, your allure was sweet.
 
My fearless one,
My holy statue,
My statue outfitted with sword and lapis lazuli diadem,
How sweet was you allure

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 7: The Queen of the Underworld Attends a Wedding

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 6

Translation of a Sumerian tablet:

 

1-6. “Maiden, the cattle-pen ……; maiden Inana, the sheepfold ……. …… bending in the furrows. Inana, let me stroll with you; …… the emmer ……. Young lady, let me …….”

7-11. “I am a woman and I won’t do that, I won’t! I am a star ……, and I won’t! I won’t be the wife of a shepherd!” Her brother, the warrior youth Utu, said to holy Inana:

12-19. “My sister, let the shepherd marry you! Maiden Inana, why are you unwilling? {His butter is good, his milk is good} {(2 mss. have instead:) He of good butter, he of good milk} — all the work of the shepherd’s hands is splendid. Inana, let Dumuzid marry you. You who wear jewellery, who wear šuba jewels, why are you unwilling? {(1 ms. adds 2 lines:) His butter is good, his milk is good — all the work of the shepherd’s hands is splendid.} He will eat his good butter with you. Protector of the king, why are you unwilling?”

20-34. “The shepherd shall not marry me! He shall not make me carry his garments of new wool. His brand new wool will not influence me. Let the farmer marry me, the maiden. With the farmer who grows colourful flax, with the farmer who grows dappled grain …….”
1 line fragmentary
approx. 7 lines missing
“The shepherd shall not marry me!”

35-39. These words ……. ……the farmer to the shepherd. My king ……, the shepherd, Dumuzid ……. …… to say ……:

40-54. “In what is the farmer superior to me, the farmer to me, the farmer to me? Enkimdu, the man of the dykes and canals — in what is that farmer superior to me? Let him give me his black garment, and I will give the farmer my black ewe for it. Let him give me his white garment, and I will give the farmer my white ewe for it. Let him pour me his best beer, and I will pour the farmer my yellow milk for it. Let him pour me his fine beer, and I will pour the farmer my soured (?) milk for it. Let him pour me his brewed beer, and I will pour the farmer my whipped milk for it. Let him pour me his beer shandy, and I will pour the farmer my …… milk for it.”

55-64. “Let him give me his best filtered beer, and I will give the farmer my curds (?). Let him give me his best bread, and I will give the farmer my …… milk for it. Let him give me his little beans, and I will give the farmer my small cheeses for them. {(1 ms. adds 2 lines:) Let him give me his large beans, and I will give the farmer my big cheeses for them.} After letting him eat and letting him drink, I will even leave extra butter for him, and I will leave extra milk for him. In what is the farmer superior to me?”

65-73. He was cheerful, he was cheerful, at the edge of the riverbank, he was cheerful. On the riverbank, the shepherd on the riverbank, now the shepherd was even pasturing the sheep on the riverbank. The farmer approached the shepherd there, the shepherd pasturing the sheep on the riverbank; the farmer Enkimdu approached him there. Dumuzid …… the farmer, the king of dyke and canal. From the plain where he was, the shepherd from the plain where he was provoked a quarrel with him; the shepherd Dumuzid from the plain where he was provoked a quarrel with him.

74-79. “Why should I compete against you, shepherd, I against you, shepherd, I against you? Let your sheep eat the grass of the riverbank, let your sheep graze on my stubble. Let them eat grain in the jewelled (?) fields of Unug, let your kids and lambs drink water from my Surungal canal.”

80-83. “As for me, I am a shepherd: when I am married, farmer, you are going to be counted as my friend. Farmer Enkimdu, you are going to be counted as my friend, farmer, as my friend.”

84-87. “I will bring you wheat, and I will bring you beans; I will bring you two-row barley from the threshing-floor. And you, maiden, I will bring you whatever you please, maiden Inana, …… barley or …… beans.”

88-89. The dispute between the shepherd and the farmer: maiden Inana, your praise is sweet.

90. A balbale.

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 5: Divine Matchmaking

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 4: An Ignorant Fool

Dumu was relieved to find that the flock of Utu were regular cows… more or less. They were much bigger than his other cattle and their milk held an aftertaste of cinnamon, but they behaved just like any other animal. Days, weeks and then years went by with only his flock for company. Dumu didn’t care. He missed his sisters, but they were better off living in comfort in Midu’s cities, with his fineries and delicacies, than they were living with him in the pastures. Dumu learnt the song of the Tree as he grazed his flock, playing for it, learning its voice so well that he began to speak with its voice. Flowers bloomed when he played his pipe, animals danced and frolicked, the eight winds sang and the pastures became enraptured in a permanent spring, forgetting the cold bitterness of winter and the sultry apathy of summer. The pastures turned into a grove that rivalled Dilmun. The black headed people, whose cities had spread to the borders of the grove, marvelled at the power of the place. One needed merely to hear the sound of Dumu’s pipes to be healed of all pestilence. One needed merely to feel the wind of the grove to be rid of all weariness. One needed merely to eat the flesh of one of the boars of the grove to be given sustenance for years. One needed merely to drink of the streams of the grove to see the gates of An. They spied on Dumu through their far glasses, but were too fearful of the wild shepherd, clothed in his furs, to ever approach him.

“So this is the arrogant shepherd you wanted to punish,” Utu laughed, as he and his sister approached the grove in their barge. “He has worked wonders here, don’t you think.”

Inanna snorted, “He’s just an earth born. A wild man.”

Utu shook his head, the glint of humour in his eyes growing ever deeper. The black headed people in the cities below gazed up at the sun in fear as it responded to Utu’s mood. “That earth born is Enki and Ninsun’s dearest child. I see them watching over him constantly.”

“All the more reason for me to punish him,” Inanna said. “My quarrel with Enki grows worse by the day.”
“End that quarrel quickly. It will not go well for you.”

They landed the barge near the Tree, and greeted Dumu, one with a smile the other with a scowl.

“You compared my sister to one of my cows,” Utu said. “Enki calls you the Child of Knowledge, and the Lady Inanna calls you a fool. I wonder which one is right.”

“They both are,” Dumu answered. “Knowledge is curtailed, after all, unless the seeker constantly acknowledges his ignorance. I am a fool who does not wish to be a fool. A child who constantly devours but cannot grow.” Dumu turned towards Inanna, “Why are you angry, dear lady?”

“We gave you leave to use our pastures, and to be take nourishment from the Tree of Life,” Inanna answered, her eyes closing to slits. “You repaid my brother’s kindness by looking after his cattle, but you have yet to do me any service. I have waited for you on the Holy Mountain for an entire year, and yet you did not come.”

“I could not leave my flock,” Dumu said, crestfallen. “They would be lost without me.” He could sense his flock getting agitated and took out his pipe to calm them down. |

“The arrogance of this one,” Inanna snapped. “He now seeks to lull me to tranquillity with his incantations.”
“Not so,” Dumu said between breaths. “My flock have just recovered from a fever and grow agitated easily. I do not want them to fall ill again. I apologize for the interruption.”
“But…” Utu chuckled, “I think he would use his music on you if he thought it would work. Don’t bother him, sister. Let us listen to his song for a while. It has been a long time since I heard anything this calming.”
Inanna surprisingly acquiesced. The two siblings sat, listening in rapt attention as Dumu ministered to his flock. Utu left at dusk, but Inanna stayed behind, too curious about this strange wild earth-born shepherd to leave. Time seemed to stand still when she was with him. Who would have thought that sheep and cattle could be so interesting. It was many years later that she left the grove.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Once she returned to the Holy City, trouble began. She despised Enki’s controlling ways. Who was he to relegate An and Nanna to obscurity, taking their mes for himself. The mes belonged to them all. Was she not one of the Seven, and moreover the daughter of Nanna? Didn’t she have as much right as he did in using the mes of the First Land? The quarrel between Enki and Inanna soon grew into an all out battle. The cities of the black headed people were caught in the crossfire. Enki controlled the mes but Inanna was nothing if not resourceful. Their fight nearly destroyed the earth, until Utu came up with a plan to put a stop to their destruction.
“You already love the shepherd,” he said to Inanna. “Marry him, and learn to call Enki your father.”

[Short Story] the Shepherd and the Goddess Part Six (V2) The Courting of Inanna and Dimuzi

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 4: An Ignorant Fool

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 3: A Jealous Brother

 

Image courtesy: https://ishraniel.deviantart.com/art/Inanna-Sumerian-goddess-of-love-Oil-pastel-686251642

 

In the centre of Utu’s pasture stood a tall tree. It was more than just a tree, thought Dumu, as he gazed at it in wonder. It was a composite of all life. Its sap oozed with life energy, its leaves were a myriad of shapes, colours and materials, some like wafers of rubies with veins of emerald, some like diamonds inlaid with purple and some the thick green that Dumu was used to seeing. Its bark pulsed with a golden light and it sang with a soft hum. Dumu could hear its song far clearer than any other tree in all the lands he had traversed. It was a slow song, and soothing to hear.

As Dumu walked closer to the tree he noticed the form of a woman sitting atop one of its branches, gazing absently at the sky. Could she be one of Utu’s cattle? The standards of the people of the flying mountain were different from those who walked the earth. Perhaps it would have been wise to have asked the Lord of the Sun the nature of his cattle before agreeing to mind them. This one looked like she could be trouble.
“Good Lady,” he called to her from beneath the tree, “come down or you might hurt yourself.” Dumu grimaced when she gave no response. Was she deaf perhaps? No, she was humming to the song of the Tree. “Good Lady,” he called to her again, “I have some bread and honey for you, if you’ll come down and join me for lunch.” He heard her give a sniff of disdain. Well, at least she’d heard him this time. That was good. Dumu took out his flute and began to play a song.
“What are you doing?” the Lady asked him, curiosity replacing her irritation as she peered down at him.
“When my flock are belligerent I often play them a song. It makes them more receptive to my words,” Dumu sang.
“Your flock?” the Lady jumped down the Tree, lightning flashing in her eyes. “You dare compare me to sheep and cows, you foolish shepherd?” Now that she was on the ground, Dumu could see that she was a head taller than he was.

“Utu asked me to mind his cattle,” Dumu said. He knew who she was now. He knew that he was mere seconds away from the final death. He had insulted one of the Seven. He had insulted one whose rage was a thing of legend. And yet he felt no fear. “You are the only being I found in his pasture. I realise now that I have made a mistake,” he bowed towards Inanna, “And I apologize.”
“I have smashed men’s heads open for less,” she said.

“I know.”

“You likened me to livestock.”

“I am sorry.”

“While trespassing in my sacred grove, you really dare!”

“I have Utu’s permission.”
“I ought to kill you.”
“But you won’t.”
“Why not?”

“Because you wish to laugh instead. Your lips are starting to twitch.”

Inanna couldn’t help smiling at his audacity, “You’re a brave fool at least, young shepherd. You have put me in a good mood today, and for that I’ll grant you mercy.”

She disappeared into the wind. Moments later, Dumu saw a barge rise from the earth and sail towards the heavens.

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 5: Divine Matchmaking

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 3: A Jealous Brother

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 2: Pastoral vs Agrarian

When the time was right, Midu reaped the first harvest of his hard work. His canals and fields grew into cities so big that they almost rivalled the flying city of the gods. His surplus grain was turned into beer, mud tracks turned into stone roads filled with the people that were its life blood. Trade, commerce and culture boomed. The black headed people made Midu’s cities their home, giving him the due reverence he deserved. Artisans crafted crowns of gold set with lapis lazuli. Priestesses honoured him alongside the elder gods. He was not the first king of the land, for the black headed people did not yet hold within their minds the concept of royalty. The land of Aratta grew strong and prospered with its cities of stone, its winds of perfume and sounds of music, its fields of grain, its plantations of spice, its mountains of gold, its dockyards of ships that sailed across the earth. The gods showered it with patronage from atop their holy mountain… but all this still wasn’t enough for Midu. There was one person’s praise he wanted more than any others… well, two actually, but his father had never visited them since the day of their birth and Midu had given up any hope of ever meeting him.
“My brother,” he said to Dumu as they feasted in his hall, “you have seen for yourself the wonders I have wrought. I have tamed the earth and the sky. I have broken mountains and lulled the ocean to sleep with my voice. The black headed people sing my praise for the wonders I have wrought. Why have you not said a single word?”

Dumu shrugged as he took another sip from his straw, “What you have built here is wonderful indeed, brother. You are as great and powerful as our father. The black headed people are right to praise you, for you have helped them tremendously. I, on the other hand, cannot feel at home here trapped in stone, far from my pastures and groves. I cannot feel at home here, trapped in this tomb of artistry and culture that you have created. I cannot feel at home here, where the lowly are cast aside by the powerful. If this were my flock I’d give some of them a good whipping. I prefer my wild wild mead drunk from my wooden mug to this pale beer sipped with straws. I prefer my loin cloth to these rich tapestries that you force me to wear. I prefer my wooden flute to your silver lyres. I prefer the lights of the sky to the torches on the street. I prefer feeling the grass on my feet with the occasional pebble to the cold uniformity of these characterless roads. I prefer the sounds of my sheep and cattle to the sounds of the quarrels of the black headed people. We are too different, you and I. I do however, like your bread as I always have. Would you like some more cheese?”
“Your can shove your stinking cheese,” Midu roared, banishing his brother for life. “Come anywhere near my cities and I will gather all my power to end your existence.”
Dumu gathered his sheep and cattle and travelled west, to find new pastures far from his brother’s expanding cities. His music attracted more livestock to his flock the further he travelled. The clouds of the sky became enthralled by the shepherd’s sad song and began following him as well, weeping when he played a sad song, jumping around when he played a trill. Dragons grew tame at the sound of his flute, and river spirits sang in polyphony. The shepherd soon attracted the attention of Utu, the lord of the sun.
“You have my favour,” Utu said, after learning Dumu’s story. “Travel south east for two days and use my pastures there as you wish. You may add my cattle to your flock.”

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 4: An Ignorant Fool

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 2: Pastoral vs Agrarian

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 1:The Story of Tammuz and Ishtar

Dumu and Midu may have been brothers but they were as different as night and day, blood and spirit, wisdom and sanctuary. Dumu enjoyed the light of the celestial spheres while Midu enjoyed the glint of father’s fire. Dumu preferred resting in groves while Midu preferred resting within rock. Dumu enjoyed the feel of the elements on his skin while Midu built stone walls. Dumu enjoyed the morning walk to the Great River while Midu built canals. Dumu played the songs of the winds with his pipe as he grazed his sheep and cattle while Midu played the songs of the earth with his hammer while he chiselled stone. Needless to say, the two did not always get along.

“You have it easy,” Midu would often complain. “All you do is lie on the grass and play your pipe. Your sheep and cows obey you without any effort on your part. I have to work all day, and sometimes all night, hammering the earth into submission with my blood, sweat and tears. It just isn’t fair.”

“My brother,” Dumu would say on the occasions Midu was not too tired to listen, “we both follow our hearts. I cannot do what you do, and you cannot do what I do. If we changed roles, it would give neither of us pleasure. Our souls are different, and so are our paths… but our destination is the same. Come, taste this cheese.”

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 3: A Jealous Brother

 

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 1:The Story of Tammuz and Ishtar

In those days, in those distant days,

Before all things necessary were manifest

In those nights, in those remote nights,

When the veil had just been drawn between sky and earth

In those years, in those happy years,

When An had taken the high heavens for himself

…

When Enki had slain the dragon of the Underworld

And Ereshkigal had been given dominion of Kur

When fearsome Abzu still held dominion on the earth

Before the temples of the Mother baked their first bread

Before mankind first tasted the fermented grape

…

There lived two brothers, the first of the younger gods

Earthborn: Dumu the Shepherd and Midu the Builder

 

[Short Story] The Shepherd and the Goddess Part 2: Pastoral vs Agrarian

Image: A modern illustration depicting Inanna-Ishtar’s descent into the Underworld taken from Lewis Spence’s Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916)

[Poem] The Spice Must Flow pt 3 (1300-1800 AD)

Constantinople falls to Turks

Spice trade monopolies they seize

Then Marco Polo travels east, writes books

And Vasco (de) Gama starts journeying the seas

Anchors at Calicut but awry breeze

Engulfs his trade deal; Cannons roar for war

Now France, Holland(e), Britain enter the squeeze

Addicted! Spice they now demand much more

Effects global! Napoleon, Conquistadore.

 

Damn iambs! I give up…

Image:  http://www.around-amsterdam.com/dutch-east-india-company.html