Position in chronology
A tigi to Inana and Dumuzid (Dumuzid-Inana H)
Written in modern English
Inana describes spending a day singing and dancing until evening, when Dumuzid — lord, friend of An, called here Ucumgal-ana — found her and took her in his arms, embracing her around the neck. She urges him to let her go so she can return home, and then worries aloud: what lie can she tell her mother Ningal to explain where she has been? Dumuzid offers to help — he will teach her the lies women tell — but the tablet breaks off just as he begins to speak.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLWhile I, the lady, was passing the day yesterday, while I, Inana, was passing the day yesterday, while I was passing the day, while I was dancing, while I was singing songs all day until evening, he met me, he met me. The lord, the friend of An, met me; the lord took me in his hands, Ucumgal-ana embraced me about my neck. "......, let me go, so that I can go to our house! Friend of Enlil, let me go, so that I can go to our house! What lie can I offer to my mother? What lie can I offer to my mother Ningal?" "Let me teach you, let me teach you! Inana, let me teach you the lies of women: "My…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.08.08 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.4.08.08: A tigi to Inana and Dumuzid (Dumuzid-Inana H). 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.4.08.08.
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