Position in chronology
A balbale (?) to Inana and Dumuzid (Dumuzid-Inana P)
Written in modern English
Several opening lines are too damaged to read, but Inana speaks in first person, describing her body and divine authority — her genitals, her buttocks, her brightly colored adornments — as holy, perfect for godhood, and fit for the palace. Three lines in the middle are fragmentary, and a handful of individual words throughout are lost. What comes through clearly is that Inana surveyed all the people and chose Dumuzid as god of the Land; because Enlil loved him, she exalted his name and decreed his destiny. Her mother cherishes Dumuzid without ceasing, and her father praises him.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL...... of my ...... is holy. I am she who directs ....... ...... genitals ....... ...... is perfect for august status. Subduing ......, fixing my gaze ......, I am she who directs ....... 3 lines fragmentary ...... my genitals ......, my ...... which is seemly for a deity, ...... of my buttocks, my brightly coloured ......, ...... of my buttocks, my ...... established by ......, my ...... ordered by ......, my ...... which befits the palace, my ...... which passes the time ......, ...... is crawling. Dumuzid brings ....... I gazed over all the people, and chose Dumuzid as god of the Land. For Dumuzid, beloved by Enlil, I exalted his name and decreed his destiny. My mother cherishes him constantly, and my father speaks his praises.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.08.16 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.4.08.16: A balbale (?) to Inana and Dumuzid (Dumuzid-Inana P). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.08.16.
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