Zu-buru-dabbeda, inscribed ''zú-buru''₅''-dib-bé-da'', is the most complete exemplar of a small body of similarly themed texts from ancient

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. Composed in

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

, it is a compendium of

incantation An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...

s against field pests such as

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

s, grasshoppers, insect

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

s and other vermin, the creatures known as the "great dogs of

Ninkilim The god Ninkilim, inscribed dnin-PEŠ2, is a widely referenced Mesopotamian deity from Sumerian to later Babylonian periods whose minions include wildlife in general and vermin in particular. His name, ''Nin-kilim'', means "Lord Rodent," where rod ...

". Authorship credited to a certain Papsukkal-ša-iqbû-ul-inni, a scholar and cleric of Babylon and Borsippa.

The text

Listed in the '' Exorcist's Manual,''VAT 8275 (KAR 44) and duplicates, obverse 22. recovered from Nineveh,

Aššur Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal ...

, Babylon,

Sippar Sippar ( Sumerian: , Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its '' tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah near Yusufiyah in Iraq's Baghdad Governorate, som ...

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 ...

and the catalogue of apotropaic and prophylactic rituals known as '' Namburbi'' from Nineveh, it was inscribed on perhaps four tablets. It is one of the many texts only recovered from the Library of Ashurbanipal. The text provides a series of invocations to various deities, entreating them to deflect various subjects of the god Ninkilim: There is a sequence of ''šuilla''-prayers and incantations ("ka.inim.ma") to a variety of gods and the four winds, in a formulaic structure. The latter part of the series introduces rituals, one of which involves the fumigation of the infested field with a censer of juniper. In a letterTablet ABL 1015. to Sargon II by his governor of

Assur Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal ...

, Ṭab-ṣilli-Ešarra, he quotes the king's instructions to carry out just such a ritual fumigation. The final ritual includes a pause of seven days, a sacrificial white lamb, a bonfire heaped with a variety of offerings, and careful treatment of the charred remains. The tablet includes a plea that "An ignorant scholar, who does not know the wise arts and is not skilled in wisdom, must not see (it)!" It then concludes with a list of equipment needed to perform the rituals.

Inscriptions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zu-buru-dabbeda Akkadian literature Incantation Works about animals