Nanshe ( sux, ) was a
Mesopotamian goddess in various contexts associated with the sea, marshlands, the animals inhabiting these biomes, namely bird and fish, as well as divination, dream interpretation, justice, social welfare, and certain administrative tasks. She was regarded as a daughter of
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
and sister of
Ningirsu, while her husband was
Nindara
Nindara (, Nindar in sources predating the reign of Gudea) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped in the state of Lagash. He was the husband of Nanshe, and it is assumed that his relevance in Mesopotamian religion depended on this connection. His cha ...
, who is otherwise little known. Other deities who belonged to her circle included her daughter
Nin-MAR.KI
Nin-MAR.KI was a Mesopotamian goddess. The reading and meaning of her name remain uncertain, though options such as Ninmar and Ninmarki can be found in literature. In the past the form Ninkimar was also in use. She was considered the divine protec ...
, as well as
Hendursaga
Hendursaga (, Dḫendur-saŋ), also spelled Hendursanga or EndursagaMichael Jordan, ''Encyclopedia of Gods''p. 75 Facts on File, 1993 (, Dḫendur-saŋ-ŋa2) was a Mesopotamian god. He was regarded as a divine night watchman. He was commonly a ...
,
Dumuzi-abzu
Dumuzi-abzu ( sux, 𒀭𒌉𒍣𒍪𒀊, lit=good child of the Abzu), sometimes spelled Dumuziabzu, was a Mesopotamian goddess worshiped in the state of Lagash. She was the tutelary deity of Kinunir.
In modern scholarship it is assumed that in mo ...
and
Shul-utula
Shul-utul ( sux, , ) or Shul-utula was the personal god the rulers of the Mesopotamian Ur-Nanshe dynasty of Lagash. His name means "youngling shepherd" in Sumerian.
Despite his role as the personal deity of kings, Shul-utul was not regarded as a ...
. In
Ur she was incorporated into the circle of
Ningal, while in incantations she appears alongside
Ningirima
Ningirima was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with incantations, attested already in the Early Dynastic period. She was also associated with snakes, fish and water. According to the god list ''An = Anum'' and other sources, she was regarded as ...
or
Nammu
Nammu ( dENGUR = dLAGAB×ḪAL; also read Namma) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as a creator deity in the local theology of Eridu. It is assumed that she was associated with water. She is also well attested in connection with incantations and ...
.
The oldest attestations of the worship of Nanshe come from the
Uruk period
The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BC; also known as Protoliterate period) existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, after the Ubaid period and before the Jemdet Nasr period. Named after ...
. Her cult center was
Tell Zurghul
Tell Zurghul, also spelled Tell Surghul, is an archaeological site in Dhi Qar Governorate (Iraq). It lies on an ancient canal leading from Lagash of which is lies 10 km to the south-east. Its ancient name was the cuneiform read as Niĝin (or ...
, known in antiquity as Nina. Another place associated with her,
Sirara
At the beginning of 3rd dynasty of Ur Sirara ( sux, ) was a temple complex in Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and ...
, was likely a sacred distrinct in this city. She was also worshiped elsewhere in the state of
Lagash. Sanctuaries dedicated to her existed in its eponymous capital, as well as in
Girsu
Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq.
History
Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but sign ...
, Gu'abba and other settlements. She is also attested in a number of other cities in other parts of Mesopotamia, including
Adab,
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
,
Umma,
Ur and
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
, but her importance in their local pantheons was comparatively smaller. Her
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
declined after the
Ur III period
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...
. She was later adopted a dynastic tutelary deity by the kings of the
Sealand
SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...
, and also came to be worshiped in the
Esagil
The Ésagila or Esangil ( sux, , ''"temple whose top is lofty"'') was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon. It lay south of the ziggurat Etemenanki.
Description
In this temple was the statue of Marduk, surrounded by ...
temple complex in
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. She was still venerated in the sixth century BCE.
Multiple literary texts focused on Nanshe are known. ''Nanshe and the Birds'' focuses on her relation with her symbolic animal, the ''u
5'' bird. Its species is a matter of dispute, with proposed identifications including
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
,
swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
,
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
,
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
and
pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
. In the myth ''Enki and Ninhursag'', she appears as one of the deities created by Ninhursag to cure Enki's illness. Other compositions deal with her relation to the sea, fish or dream interpretation.
Name
The meaning of Nanshe's name is unknown, and it is agreed it has no plausible
Sumerian
Sumerian or Sumerians may refer to:
*Sumer, an ancient civilization
**Sumerian language
**Sumerian art
**Sumerian architecture
**Sumerian literature
**Cuneiform script, used in Sumerian writing
*Sumerian Records, an American record label based in ...
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
. It was written in
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
with the signs
dAB✕ḪA, with the ''dingir'' sign being a
determinative designating names of the deities, while AB✕ḪA is a combination of the words "shrine" and "fish," with the latter written inside the former. Syllabic spellings are also known, for example ''
dNa-áš'', ''Na-an-še'' and ''Na-aš-še''. The last of them occurs in an
Old Babylonian lexical list, so-called "''Diri''
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
." In texts from the
Sealand
SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...
, the name is typically written as ''
dNa-zi''. This spelling is also present in some earlier god lists, in
An = Anum
''An = Anum'', also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq. While god lists are already known from the ...
, and in the myth ''
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
and
Ninhursag
, deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers
, image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg
, caption=Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting ...
''. It has been proposed that it reflects a speculative variant form of the name, Nassi. It has also been interpreted as a possible ''
emesal'' spelling. In the Nippur god list, the traditional spelling and ''
dNa-zi'' are juxtaposed as two orthographies of a single
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
.
It is possible that ''
dŠar-ra-at-ni-na'', "queen of Nina," was an alternate name of Nanshe. However, this name is only attested in a list of deities from the Sealand, and an alternative proposal is that
Ishtar of
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
is meant, though this proposal is not universally accepted either.
Andrew R. George
Andrew R. George (born 1955) is a British Assyriologist and academic best known for his edition and translation of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Andrew George is Professor of Babylonian language, Babylonian, Department of the Languages and Cultures ...
notes that in the ''Canonical Temple List''
Sirara
At the beginning of 3rd dynasty of Ur Sirara ( sux, ) was a temple complex in Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and ...
, a toponym associated with Nanshe, might have been reinterpreted as an alternate name of her.
Character and iconography
![Terracotta plaque showing seated goddess Nanshe and geese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Terracotta_plaque_showing_seated_goddess_Nanshe_and_geese._from_southern_Iraq._2003-1595_BCE._Iraq_Museum.jpg)
Nanshe's functions have been described as "
heterogeneous
Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...
," and a variety of roles and presumed iconographic attributes are attested for her in primary sources. She was associated with water. Wolfgang Heimpel argues she was believed to reside in the
open sea, and points out individual texts allude to her playing with the waves and
sea foam, or being born on the waterfront. However, the term ''ab'', "sea," was also used to refer to
marshlands
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
in
Sumerian
Sumerian or Sumerians may refer to:
*Sumer, an ancient civilization
**Sumerian language
**Sumerian art
**Sumerian architecture
**Sumerian literature
**Cuneiform script, used in Sumerian writing
*Sumerian Records, an American record label based in ...
. and Nanshe has been described as the goddess of this biome. She was associated with the animals inhabiting it, namely fish and birds. The text ''Nanshe and the Birds'' calls her "the one who loves fish and fowl." These two groups of animals were commonly associated with each other in Sumerian literary texts. The inscription on one of the
Gudea cylinders
The Gudea cylinders are a pair of terracotta cylinders dating to circa 2125 BC, on which is written in cuneiform a Sumerian myth called the Building of Ningirsu's temple. The cylinders were made by Gudea, the ruler of Lagash, and were found i ...
states that Nanshe's emblem was an ''u
5-ku'', agreed to be a type of bird, though there is no single agreed upon translation, and proposals include "white
swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
," "sacred
seagull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
," "holy
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
" and "pure
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
." In the past it was sometimes assumed this term referred to a part of a ship, perhaps prow or cabin, but this view is no longer accepted today. Various works of art depicting Nanshe in the company of birds presumed to be geese or swans are known. It is also possible images of a goddess sitting on a large bird known from seals from
Lagash (and in one case
Ur) can be identified as representations of her. In at least one text, a fish appears to be referred to as an emblem of Nanshe as well. In two hymns, she appears in company of various fish, presumed to be
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
or
anadromous
Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...
: the "scepter fish," which she holds like the object it was named after; the "sandal fish;" the "fire fish," which provides light for her in the depths; the bellowing "bull fish;" and the "swallow fish." However, Bendt Alster noted there is no agreement among researchers if all of these names referred to real animals. The myth ''Enki and the World Order'' states that she was responsible for providing
Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
with fish as well.
Nanshe was also associated with
dream interpretation,
prophecies and
divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...
.
Gudea
Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC (middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had marr ...
referred to her as the "dream interpreter of the gods." Niek Veldhuis argues that this role might be only valid for Nanshe understood as the divine mother of the kings of Lagash, as she does not appear as a dream interpreter in other contexts, and female relatives of the protagonist were often responsible for it in Mesopotamian literary works, as attested in the ''
Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...
'', where
Ninsun
Ninsun (also called Ninsumun, cuneiform: dNIN.SUMUN2; Sumerian: ''Nin-sumun(ak)'' "lady of the wild cows") was a Mesopotamian goddess. She is best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh and wife of deified legendary king Lugalbanda, and appea ...
interprets the dreams of her son, or in narratives focused on
Dumuzi, where it is the task of his sister
Geshtinanna. Gebhard J. Selz presumes that Nanshe's attested association with wisdom also pertains to divinatory arts. It has also been pointed out that the fact that geese were associated with both wisdom and premonition might have influenced her presumed connection to them.
Certain administrative tasks, such as weighing and measuring, were also believed to be among Nanshe's responsibilities. She was said to demarcate boundaries, and this role is still attested for her in the ''
Gula Hymn of
Bulluṭsa-rabi'', where she is called ''bēlet
kudurri'', "lady of the boundary stone." She was considered a deity of justice and social
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. She functioned as the divine protector and benefactor of various disadvantaged groups, such as orphans, widows or people belonging to indebted households. Wolfgang Heimpel notes that the emphasis on this aspect of her character in one of the hymns dedicated to her indicates that it was a fundamental element of her character, rather than just an extension of the typical roles of any
tutelary deity
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...
of a Mesopotamian city, and points out that a single administrative text lists grain rations for a widow alongside these meant for Nanshe's clergy.
Texts from Lagash might indicate that Nanshe could fulfill the role of a so-called
Lamma. This term can be translated as "protective goddess." According to Gina Konstantopoulos, the responsibility of any deity considered to be a Lamma was to "maintain a protected space around an individual, creating a space wherein no harm, be it of demonic origin or otherwise, can threaten whomever they are protecting." Julia M. Asher-Greve notes they could also protect specific locations, for examples temples or private buildings, rather than individuals.
Associations with other deities
Like other deities considered to be major members of the
Mesopotamian pantheon
Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substa ...
, Nanshe was believed to have various relatives, as well as a divine court.
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
was regarded as her father, while her mother was his wife
Damgalnuna
Damgalnuna, also known as Damkina, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of the god Enki. Her character is poorly defined in known sources, though it is known that like her husband she was associated with ritual purification and that sh ...
. An inscription on one of the
Gudea cylinders
The Gudea cylinders are a pair of terracotta cylinders dating to circa 2125 BC, on which is written in cuneiform a Sumerian myth called the Building of Ningirsu's temple. The cylinders were made by Gudea, the ruler of Lagash, and were found i ...
calls her the "daughter of
Eridu." The myth ''Enki and the World Order'' refers to
Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
as her father, but this tradition is only known from this source, and the text still presents Enki as responsible for determining her destiny. Nanshe's brother was
Ningirsu, who likely initially was also viewed as Enki's child. The connection between them was meant to reflect Nanshe's importance in the local pantheon. They are attested together in various texts from Lagash, for example
Entemena mentions border dikes dedicated to them both, while
Gudea
Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC (middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had marr ...
credits them with facilitating the arrival of goods from distant lands.
Nanshe's spouse was the god
Nindara
Nindara (, Nindar in sources predating the reign of Gudea) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped in the state of Lagash. He was the husband of Nanshe, and it is assumed that his relevance in Mesopotamian religion depended on this connection. His cha ...
. An annual festival celebrated their marriage. Nindara's character is poorly known, and it is presumed that he was primarily worshiped due to his association with Nanshe. Their daughter was the goddess
Nin-MAR.KI
Nin-MAR.KI was a Mesopotamian goddess. The reading and meaning of her name remain uncertain, though options such as Ninmar and Ninmarki can be found in literature. In the past the form Ninkimar was also in use. She was considered the divine protec ...
. Walther Sallaberger notes she had much in common with her mother, for example the location of their respective cult centers (Gu'abba and
Nina Nina may refer to:
* Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname
Acronyms
*National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq
* Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology
*No income, ...
), the use of birds as symbols of them both in art, and the connection to the sea. He also notes that the deity
dNin-MÙŠ-bad, who was worshiped alongside Nin-MAR.KI, might have been initially seen as her brother and Nanshe's son. A further deity closely associated with Nanshe was
Hendursaga
Hendursaga (, Dḫendur-saŋ), also spelled Hendursanga or EndursagaMichael Jordan, ''Encyclopedia of Gods''p. 75 Facts on File, 1993 (, Dḫendur-saŋ-ŋa2) was a Mesopotamian god. He was regarded as a divine night watchman. He was commonly a ...
. He was believed to act as her herald and overseer of her estate.
Dumuzi-abzu
Dumuzi-abzu ( sux, 𒀭𒌉𒍣𒍪𒀊, lit=good child of the Abzu), sometimes spelled Dumuziabzu, was a Mesopotamian goddess worshiped in the state of Lagash. She was the tutelary deity of Kinunir.
In modern scholarship it is assumed that in mo ...
, who often appears in association with Nin-MAR.KI, as well as the family god of
Ur-Nanshe's dynasty,
Shul-utula
Shul-utul ( sux, , ) or Shul-utula was the personal god the rulers of the Mesopotamian Ur-Nanshe dynasty of Lagash. His name means "youngling shepherd" in Sumerian.
Despite his role as the personal deity of kings, Shul-utul was not regarded as a ...
, were further more deities who belonged to Nanshe's circle. Additional members of the pantheon mentioned in association with her in hymns include
Nisaba
Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Su ...
,
Haya,
Ningublaga
Ningublaga (, less commonly Ningublag) was a Mesopotamian god associated with cattle. His cult center was Kiabrig, a little known city located in the proximity of Ur. He belonged to the circle of deities related to the moon god, Nanna, and some ...
,
Ningishzida and
Ištaran
Ištaran (Ishtaran, sux, ) was a Mesopotamian god who was the tutelary deity of the city of Der, a Sumerian city state positioned east of the Tigris on the border between Sumer and Elam. It is known that he was a judge deity, and his positi ...
, though in the case of the last two the context in which they appear is unclear.
None of the deities associated with Nanshe in Lagash appear in the texts from the
Sealand
SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...
, with the exception of Ningirsu, who is only present in a single offering list. Their absence might indicate that the earlier tradition of this state had no bearing on the new dynasty who came to worship Nanshe, or that the latter only controlled a small part of the former Lagashite territory. While the god list ''
An = Anum
''An = Anum'', also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq. While god lists are already known from the ...
'' equates Nashe's spouse Nindara with
Sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
, she does not appear in relation with the moon god in this corpus, which according to Odette Boivin indicates this tradition was not related to her role in the local pantheon of the Sealand.
In
Ur in the Old Babylonian period, Nanshe came to be integrated into the circle of deities associated with
Ningal, the wife of the moon god.
In the ''
Gula Hymn of
Bulluṭsa-rabi'', Nanshe is among the deities equated with the eponymous goddess. Her presence in this text is considered unusual, though information about her usual character is preserved.
In incantations, Nanshe could be linked with
Ningirima
Ningirima was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with incantations, attested already in the Early Dynastic period. She was also associated with snakes, fish and water. According to the god list ''An = Anum'' and other sources, she was regarded as ...
. Invoking them together might have been a result of their shared association with water. Another deity she could be paired with was
Nammu
Nammu ( dENGUR = dLAGAB×ḪAL; also read Namma) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as a creator deity in the local theology of Eridu. It is assumed that she was associated with water. She is also well attested in connection with incantations and ...
. According to Wolfgang Heimpel, they appear together commonly in sources postdating the Ur III period. The incantation ''Gattung II'' groups Nanshe with both Nammu and Ningirimma and, if the restoration of the text is correct, refers to her as the "prime daughter of Enki" (''dumu-munus sag
den-ki-ga-ke
4'') while similar text, ''Gattung III'', places her in the court of this god, between Nammu and Ara, a well attested servant deity. A late expository text equates Nammu and Nanshe with
Apsu and another figure whose name is not preserved, possibly
Tiamat.
Wilfred G. Lambert
Wilfred George Lambert FBA (26 February 1926 – 9 November 2011) was a historian and archaeologist, a specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology.
Early life
Lambert was born in Birmingham, and, having won a scholarship, he was edu ...
concluded this singular source might be an example of
Enūma Eliš
The ' (Akkadian Cuneiform: , also spelled "Enuma Elish") is the Babylonian creation myth (named after its opening words). It was recovered by English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in 1849 (in fragmentary form) in the ruined Library of Ashur ...
's influence on other theological works, and as such does necessarily represent an independent tradition. He also notes Nammu was apparently understood as a male deity and perhaps Nanshe's husband by the author, despite usually being female.
It has been proposed that a goddess known as Ninšagepada ("the appointed mistress") or Šagepada ("the appointed"), who was worshiped in Ur in the temple of Gula and appears in inscriptions of
Ur-Nammu, was a Nanshe-like figure ("Nanshe-Gestalt") due to the similarity of her name and that of the temple Ešapada in Lagash, dedicated to the latter. A deity bearing the name Šagepada was also worshiped in
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
in the
Seleucid period, and might be the same goddess. Her character is poorly known.
Worship
Early attestations
Nanshe is first attested in sources from the late
Uruk period
The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BC; also known as Protoliterate period) existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, after the Ubaid period and before the Jemdet Nasr period. Named after ...
. She is one of the oldest known tutelary goddesses of specific
Mesopotamian cities, next to the likes of
Nisaba
Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Su ...
,
Ezina
Ashnan or Ezina ( dŠE.TIR; both possible readings are used interchangeably) was a Mesopotamian goddess considered to be the personification of grain. She could also be called Ezina-Kusu, which lead to the proposal that the goddess Kusu was initi ...
,
Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
of
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
(under various
epithets
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
) and
Inanna of Zabalam. Her cult center was a city represented by the signs AB✕ḪA
ki, which could also be used to write her own name if a different
determinative,
dingir
''Dingir'' (, usually transliterated DIĜIR, ) is a Sumerian word for "god" or "goddess". Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is con ...
, was used instead. According to
Joan Goodnick Westenholz, the logographic writing of the city's was patterned after the theonym. The name Nina or NINA is employed to refer to it in
Assyriological
Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southea ...
literature. Other proposed readings include Niĝin, Nenua, Ninâ Nimin and Niĝen. It was located in the southeastern part of what eventually came to be the state of
Lagash, eight kilometers to the southeast of its eponymous capital, and has been identified with modern
Tell Zurghul
Tell Zurghul, also spelled Tell Surghul, is an archaeological site in Dhi Qar Governorate (Iraq). It lies on an ancient canal leading from Lagash of which is lies 10 km to the south-east. Its ancient name was the cuneiform read as Niĝin (or ...
in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. In the past, the site was located on the coast of the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
. According to
Dietz-Otto Edzard Dietz-Otto Edzard (28 August 1930 in Bremen – 2 June 2004 in Munich) was a German scholar of the Ancient Near East and grammarian of the Sumerian language.
He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences i ...
,
Sirara
At the beginning of 3rd dynasty of Ur Sirara ( sux, ) was a temple complex in Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and ...
, another toponym associated with Nanshe, might have been a sacred precinct of Nina or the name of a temple located in it, though they might have also been two separate nearby settlements, which perhaps at some point fused into a single urban area, similarly to Uruk and Kullaba.
Andrew R. George
Andrew R. George (born 1955) is a British Assyriologist and academic best known for his edition and translation of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Andrew George is Professor of Babylonian language, Babylonian, Department of the Languages and Cultures ...
also accepts that Sirara was a location within Nina. It is first mentioned in texts from the reign of
Entemena and continues to appear in building inscriptions until the time of
Gudea
Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC (middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had marr ...
, but in the
Ur III period
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...
it is only mentioned sporadically in
theophoric name
A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that deit ...
s and names of fields, and later on its occurrences are limited to literary and lexical texts. A
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
named Esirara, originally built by Ur-Nanshe, was located in it.
Gebhard J. Selz notes that it is possible that
Ur-Nanshe, who was the founder of the first dynasty of Lagash, the first attested local user of the title ''
lugal'', and a devotee of Nanshe, came from a family which originally lived in the proximity of Nina.
Lagash
Nanshe was a central figure in the pantheon of the state of Lagash. According to Wolfgang Heimpel, she was the second main deity locally, with
Ningirsu, her and the "great gods of Lagash" constituting what he deems the "essential pantheon," though he notes a longer sequence places them respectively in the sixth and seventh spot rather than first and second, after
Anu
Anu ( akk, , from wikt:𒀭#Sumerian, 𒀭 ''an'' “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An ( sux, ), was the sky father, divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the list of Mesopotamian deities, dei ...
,
Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
,
Ninhursag
, deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers
, image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg
, caption=Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting ...
,
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
and
Suen
Nanna, Sīn or Suen ( akk, ), and in Aramaic ''syn'', ''syn’'', or even ''shr'' 'moon', or Nannar ( sux, ) was the god of the moon in the Mesopotamian religions of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia and Aram. He was also associated with ...
. It has also been argued that during the reign of Gudea,
Bau was hierarchically elevated above her. Nanshe played a role in the royal ideology during the reign of Ur-Nanshereign and might have been connected to the religious legitimization of his dynasty, as evidenced by the fact that Entemena credited her with granting him rule over his kingdom. A later ruler of Lagash, Gudea, on one of his cylinders designated her as his divine mother, though
Ninsun
Ninsun (also called Ninsumun, cuneiform: dNIN.SUMUN2; Sumerian: ''Nin-sumun(ak)'' "lady of the wild cows") was a Mesopotamian goddess. She is best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh and wife of deified legendary king Lugalbanda, and appea ...
appears in this role in relation to him too.
Entemena built a temple dedicated to Nashe which bore the ceremonial name Ešapada, "house chosen in the heart." It was one of the three primary houses of worship in the city of Lagash, next to the temples of
Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
and Ningirsu. A shrine dedicated to her, Eagasulim, possibly "house, hall of radiance," is also known, and was located either in Lagash or in
Girsu
Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq.
History
Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but sign ...
. In the latter city she was also worshiped in the Šešgarra (or Ešešegarra, "house established by the brother"), which was built by Ur-Nanshe. She also had a shrine in the
Eninnu
The E-ninnu 𒂍𒐐 (House of 50) was the E (temple) to the warrior god Ningirsu in the Sumerian city of Girsu in southern Mesopotamia. Girsu was the religious centre of a state that was named Lagash after its most populous city, which lay 25 km ...
, in which she was worshiped alongside
Shul-utula
Shul-utul ( sux, , ) or Shul-utula was the personal god the rulers of the Mesopotamian Ur-Nanshe dynasty of Lagash. His name means "youngling shepherd" in Sumerian.
Despite his role as the personal deity of kings, Shul-utul was not regarded as a ...
. It bore the ceremonial name Emaḫ, which can be translated as "exalted house," and is also attested as the designation of various other houses of worship in Mesopotamia, for example the temple of Ninhursag in
Adab. The location of a further shrine of Nanshe, Eĝidru, "house of the scepter," is uncertain: it might have been a part of the Eninnu complex in Girsu, though it also has been proposed that it was located in Lagash or Nina. In Gu'abba she was worshiped in the Igigal, literally "wisdom," implicitly "(house of) wisdom." She also had sanctuaries in Kisala, which was either located close to Girsu, or outright was a part of it, and in Sulum, whose location is unknown. Various festivals were held in Nanshe's honor. Some of the sacrifices made during them took place on the banks of canals.
Nanshe's clergy included a head priest referred to as ''en'' or ''enmezianna''. While the office might have already existed in the
Early Dynastic period, the first certain attestations come from the
Ur III period
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...
. Another title associated with the worship of Nanshe was ''abgal'', "wise person," which is not attested in connection with the
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
of any other deities. It has been proposed that the ''abgal'' also functioned as the ''en'' in early times, but this is uncertain. Other members of the temple personnel included ''
gala'' clergy, harfists and mourners. Various workmen are also attested in association with them, for example smiths and herdsmen.
Theophoric name
A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that deit ...
s invoking Nanshe were common in the state of Lagash. In addition to Ur-Nanshe, "servant of Nanshe," some of the other examples include names such as Geme-Nanshe ("maid of Nanshe"), Lu-Nanshe ("man of Nanshe") or Nanshe-urmu ("Nanshe is my heroine").
The worship of Nanshe continued in Nina, Lagash, Girsu and a number of other nearby settlements through the Ur III period. An ''en'' priest dedicated to her first attested in documents from the reign of
Shulgi and still active after assumption of the throne by
Ibbi-Sin, Ur-Ningirsu (not to be confused with the ensi
Ur-Ningirsu II, possibly also a contemporary of Shulgi) might have ruled over Lagash as an independent polity in the final years of the Ur state.
Other cities
It has been argued that in other local pantheons Nanshe has never reached a comparable prominence as in Lagash. Julia M. Asher-Greve argues that it is not impossible Nanshe was introduced to the pantheon of
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
as early as in the Early Dynastic period. An offering list from Girsu mentions "Nanshe of Nippur" as the recipient of fruit. A contemporary votive relief dedicated to her is also known from the latter city. Nanshe was also known in
Adab, but the evidence is limited to an Early Dynastic literary text, a single offering list and a handful of theophoric names, such as Lu-Nanshe, Me-Nanshe and Ur-Nanshe, all from the
Sargonic period. In
Umma, during the reign of the Third Dynasty of Ur the local manifestation of the goddess, "Nanshe of Umma," received regular offerings, as attested in administrative texts. She was venerated in
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
and
Ur in the same period too, but only in a limited capacity.
In the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the influence of the area of Lagash declined, which also resulted in the loss of importance of local deities, including Nanshe. An analogous phenomenon is attested for many other southern Mesopotamian deities, such as
Shara, the tutelary god of Umma. Evidence for the worship of Nanshe in the
Old Babylonian period
The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty ...
is rare, for example she only sporadically appears in personal letters. It is known that the city of Nina still existed, though references to it are not frequent and nothing is known about its religious life. Nanshe continued to be worshiped in Ur, and appears in a handful of religious texts from Nippur as well. In the former of these two cities, she received offerings alongside
Ningal in the
Isin-Larsa period
The Isin-Larsa period (circa 2025-1763 BCE, Middle Chronology, or 1961-1699 BCE, Short Chronology) is a phase in the history of ancient Mesopotamia, which extends between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the conquest of Mesopotamia by King H ...
. It is also possible that while sparsely attested in official documents, she was a popular object of personal devotion there.
Sealand
At some point Nanshe became the tutelary goddess of the
First Sealand dynasty
The First Sealand dynasty, (URU.KÙKIWhere ŠEŠ-ḪA of King List A and ŠEŠ-KÙ-KI of King List B are read as URU.KÙ.KI) or the 2nd Dynasty of Babylon (although it was independent of Amorite-ruled Babylon), very speculatively c. 1732–1460 B ...
. At this time, she was not associated with any cities outside of the former territory of Lagash. According to Joan Goodnick Westenholz, interpreting the situation both as a "continuation" and as a "revival" of her cult is possible. Odette Boivin argues that it was an "import" in the Sealand court, which is why according to her might be why Nanshe's traditional retinue and other Lagashite deities do not have a meaningful presence in the Sealand texts. It is possible the Sealand state controlled her old cult center Nina, but most likely the former Lagashite territories were neither the core area of the kingdom nor the point of origin of its ruling house. Nanshe's cult was nonetheless sponsored by the kings themselves, and she presumably belonged to the state pantheon. She received offerings referred to as ''nindabû'', which might have been a commemoration of the
full moon
The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...
. She also regularly received animal sacrifices, chiefly
ewes, considered to be particularly valuable. While Nanshe is one of the best attested deities in the corpus of Sealand texts next to
Ishtar,
Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
,
Shamash
Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...
and
Sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
, it is not known if the available documents are entirely representative. Despite appearing frequently in offering lists, she is presently only known from a single theophoric name, ''Uk-ku-lu-
dNa-zi'', the first element of which might be Akkadian and mean "exceedingly dark
s or less plausibly Elamite, in which case the translation "grandiose" has been proposed.
Late attestations
A single theophoric name invoking Nanshe is attested in the corpus of texts from Nippur from the
Kassite period
The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology).
They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...
. According to Wouter Henkelman, it is possible she can also be identified with a deity named Nazit, who occurs in a text from
Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
attributed to the Elamite king
Untash-Napirisha
Untash-Napirisha was king of Elam (in present-day southwest Iran) during the Middle Elamite period, circa 1300 BCE. He was the son of the previous Elamite king, Humban-Numena. He was named after Napirisha, an Elamite deity.
He founded and built ...
, a contemporary of the Kassite king
Burna-Buriash II (reigned 1359-1355 BCE according to
middle chronology). It has been suggested that people from Nina might have settled in the proximity of Susa in the Old Babylonian period already, as evidenced by the presence of a deity named Nasi in theophoric names. Attested examples include Puzur-Nasi and Puzur-Nasit, with the latter according to Ran Zadok using an Akkadianized form of the theonym with a feminine suffix.
The text known as ''Topography of Babylon'' or ''Tintir = Babylon'', most likely compiled in the twelfth century, indicates that Nanshe was worshiped in the
Esagil
The Ésagila or Esangil ( sux, , ''"temple whose top is lofty"'') was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon. It lay south of the ziggurat Etemenanki.
Description
In this temple was the statue of Marduk, surrounded by ...
temple complex in
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
, where she had a cultic seat named Ešbanda, "little chamber." Andrew R. George assumes that her presence there was tied to her connection to the god Ea (
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
). A late reference to the cult of Nanshe in the Sealand occurs on a
kudurru
A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...
(inscribed boundary stone) of
Enlil-nadin-apli of the
Second Dynasty of Isin
The king of Babylon (Akkadian: ''šakkanakki Bābili'', later also ''šar Bābili'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon and its kingdom, Babylonia, which existed as an independent realm from the 19th century BC to its fall in ...
(eleventh century BCE), which mentions that a parcel of land which was the subject of described dispute has originally been donated by "Gulkišar, king of the Sealand, to Nanše, his lady," though it is not certain if it refers to a historical document. The name is written with the traditional logogram in this case, rather than syllabically as ''
dNa-zi'' like in the earlier Sealand texts. Enlil-nādin-apli also mentioned her in a blessing formula alongside Nammu. According to Julia M. Asher-Greve, further attestations of the worship of Nanshe from
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
are available from as late as the sixth century BCE.
Mythology
''Nanshe and the Birds''
The composition ''Nanshe and the Birds'' deals with the connection between the eponymous goddess and the ''u
5'' bird, variously interpreted as a
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
,
swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
,
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
,
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
or
pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
. Niek Veldhuis refers to it as a goose in his edition of the text, and points out that identifying it as a cormorant, pelican or gull is implausible, as the ''u
5'' is described in other sources as a grain-eating bird which can raise its voice. Wolfgang Heimpel in the ''
Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie
The ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' (RlA), formerly ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie'', is a multi-language (English, German, and French) encyclopedia on the Ancient Near East. It was founded by Bruno Meissner in ...
'' argues that it is possible the term for the goose was ''kur-gi
16'', and ''u
5'' might refer to the swan instead. Bendt Alster also supported this interpretation. Julia M. Asher-Greve notes that from a comporative perspective it is important to point out that in contrast with swans and goose, cormorants rarely, if ever, appear as symbolic animals in any culture.
The text begins with the encounter between Nanshe and the aforementioned bird. According to Wolfgang Heimpel, after hearing the calls of this animal and noticing its beauty, Nanshe adopted it. Subsequently she descends to the earth, where she erects a temple dedicated to herself, and places the bird from the earlier section at her feet as her symbol. This passage apparently indicates she was believed to be capable of bird-like flight herself. While the rest of the composition is not fully preserved, the surviving passages indicate Nanshe gathers various birds in a single place, and the
Anzû
Anzû, also known as dZû and Imdugud ( Sumerian: ''AN.IM.DUGUD MUŠEN''), is a lesser divinity or monster in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the pure waters of the Apsu and the wide Earth, or as son of Siris. Anzû was depi ...
bird and the
Anunna
The Anunnaki (Sumerian: , also transcribed as Anunaki, Annunaki, Anunna, Ananaki and other variations) are a group of deities of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which c ...
, in this context the great gods of the pantheon, declare fates for them. The next section is a compilation of short statements about various birds. They provide information about the beliefs pertaining to the individual animals, as well as their behavior, diet and
calls
Call or Calls may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Call, a type of betting in poker
* Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage
Music and dance
* Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...
. Some of their names are provided with
folk etymologies
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
. A number of them are not attested in any other known texts. The text ends with a praise formula addressed to Nanshe.
As of 2004, ''Nanshe and the Birds'' was only known from six fragmentary tablets. Five of them come from
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
, while the sixth is
unprovenanced. However, the figures around whom the plot revolves belong to the tradition of
Lagash. It is presumed that the composition belonged to the curriculum of
Old Babylonian scribal schools.
Other myths
The composition ''The Home of the Fish'' is assumed to feature Nanshe, though her name only occurs in a restored passage. It is sometimes questioned if the restoration is correct, though Niek Veldhuis argues the composition shows a degree of similarity to ''Nanshe and the Birds'', and points out that a number of animal names and uncommon writings of well attested ones are shared by both texts. Both of them, as well as texts such as ''
Dumuzid's Sheep'' (also called ''Dumuzid-Inanna W''; despite the title it focuses on plants) and ''
Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
's Fields'', constitute examples of so-called "enumeration literature," Mesopotamian texts in which names from a single lexical category are listed following a specific formula. The plot focuses on a banquet to which a figure referred to as the "queen of the fishermen," often interpreted as Nanshe, invites various fish, presumed to be freshwater species. The final section instead focuses on listing animals which prey on individual fish.
In the myth ''
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
and
Ninhursag
, deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers
, image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg
, caption=Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting ...
'', Nanshe is one of the eight deities created by Ninhursag to cure Enki's illness which developed after he consumed a number of plants. Her responsibility in this text is curing the throat of this god. The remaining seven are
Abu, Ninsikila (
Meskilak
Meskilak or Mesikila was one of the two main deities worshiped in Dilmun. The other well attested member of the pantheon of this area was Inzak, commonly assumed to be her spouse. The origin of her name is a subject of scholarly dispute. She is a ...
), Ningiritud (
Ningirida
Ningirida was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Ninazu and mother of Ningishzida. Little is known about her character beyond her relation to these two gods.
Name and character
The correct reading of Ningirda's name relies on the syll ...
),
Ninkasi,
Azimua,
Ninti and Ensag (
Inzak
Inzak (also Enzag, Enzak, Anzak; in older publications Enshag) was the main god of the pantheon of Dilmun. The precise origin of his name remains a matter of scholarly debate. He might have been associated with date palms. His cult center was Aga ...
). After Enki recovers from the issues ailing him, new roles are assigned to all of them, with Nanshe's destiny being to marry
Nindara
Nindara (, Nindar in sources predating the reign of Gudea) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped in the state of Lagash. He was the husband of Nanshe, and it is assumed that his relevance in Mesopotamian religion depended on this connection. His cha ...
. According to Dina Katz, the deities present in this section of the narrative were not chosen based on any theological factors, but due to potential for reinterpreting their names through
word play
Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...
, which in Nanshe's case relies on the fact that ''zi'', the second sign alternate writing of her name, ''
dNa-zi'', could be used to write the word "throat."
Nanshe also appears in ''Enki and the World Order'', where the ''u
5'' bird standing next to her is apparently an object of
Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
's jealousy. She is mentioned in the latter goddess complaint about not being assigned a specific position, unlike her divine peers. The domain assigned to Nanshe is the open sea, and the text also states that she was capable of saving people from drowning.
In the ''Song of the Plowing Oxen'', Nanshe acts as a
dream interpreter
Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. Although associated with some forms of psychotherapy, there is no reliable evidence that understanding or interpreting dreams has a positive impact on one's mental health.
In ...
, and advises the anonymous king who serves as the narrative's protagonist.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
{{Commons category
Compositions dedicated to Nanshein the
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
*
The Home of the Fish' in the ETCSL
*
Enki and Ninhursag' in the ETCSL
*
Enki and the World Order' in the ETCSL
*
' in the ETCSL
Mesopotamian goddesses
Justice goddesses
Oracular goddesses
Sea and river goddesses
Tutelary goddesses
Abundance goddesses