Position in chronology
A hymn to Nanshe
Written in modern English
The city of Nijin stands as a place of manifest sacred power — it is described as a holy mountain rising from the water, its light breaking over a secure temple, its destiny already fixed. Everything in the city is in order, and the rites of mother Nanshe are duly carried out there. Nanshe herself, daughter of Eridug and lady of the precious divine powers, is about to return to the city. She is likened to beer mash and yeast — she is the force behind great things — but the passage breaks off before the final image is complete.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLThere is a city, there is a city whose powers are apparent. Nijin is the city whose powers are apparent. The holy city is the city whose powers are apparent. The mountain rising from the water is the city whose powers are apparent. Its light rises over the secure temple; its fate is determined. There is perfection in the city; the rites of mother Nance are performed accordingly. Its lady, the child born in Eridug, Nance, the lady of the precious divine powers, is now to return. She is beer mash (?), the mother is yeast (?), Nance is the cause of great things: her presence makes the…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.14.1 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.4.14.1: A hymn to Nanshe. 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.4.14.1.
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