The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

2a - Utu, Shamash, twin to Inanna 5d-utu-the-law-giver2ee - Utu, Shamash

    (Utu / Shamash, son to Nannar & Ningal, twin brother to Inanna, symbolized as the Sun god;  mixed-breed kings stand before Utu)

Utu, the Sun God:

The brother spoke to this younger (twin) sister

4m-utu-inanna-nannar  (Utu, Inanna, father Nannar the Moon Crescent God, & damaged Papsukal)

The Sun God, Utu, spoke to Inanna, saying:

‘Young Lady, the flax in its fullness is lovely,

Inanna, the grain is glistening in the furrow.

I will hoe it for you, I will bring it to you

A piece of linen, big or small, is always needed.

Inanna, I will bring it to you.’

3b-utu-naked-inanna  (Utu & lovely twin sister Inanna Goddess of Love)

Inanna:

‘Brother, after you’ve brought me the flax, who will comb it for me?

Utu:

Sister, I will bring it to you combed.’

Inanna:

Utu, after you’ve brought it to me combed, who will spin it for me?

Utu:

‘Sister, I will bring it to you spun.’

weaving-spinning-clothing  (Uttu, Enki’s daughter spinning & weaving for the gods)

Inanna:

‘Brother, after you’ve brought the flax to me spun, who will braid it for me?

Utu:

‘Sister, I will bring it to you braided.’

Inanna:

Utu, after you’ve brought it to me braided, who will warp it for me?’

Utu:

Inanna, I will bring it to you warped.’

Inanna:

‘Brother, after you’ve brought the flax to me warped, who will weave it for me?’

Utu:

‘Sister, I will bring it to you woven.’

Tomb-stele, woman with distaff, child. Basalt, H: 100 cm Late Hittite, 8th-7th BCE Inv. 1756Man at a weaving loom. Tablet with seal imprint. Terracotta relief from Susa, Iran (3300-3000 BCE - Proto-urban Period) 3.9 x 6.6 cm Sb 3048 (alien giants spinning & weaving clothes for the gods)

Inanna:

Utu, after you’ve brought it to me woven, who will bleach it for me?’

Utu:

Inanna, I will bring it to you bleached.’

Inanna:

‘Brother, after you’ve brought my bridal sheet to me,

Who will go to bed with me?

The goddess Astarte, from the Hebron area, Israel. Pottery relief (around 1400 BCE) Late Bronze Age II (Inanna, Goddess of Love, laying across her holy bed)

Utu, who will go to bed with me?’

             (Utu, Twin Inanna, & father Nannar)

Utu:

‘Sister, your bridegroom will go to be with you

He who was born from a fertile womb (mother royal princess Ninsun),

He who was conceived on the sacred marriage throne Dumuzi, the shepherd!

1-inanna-dumuzi-young-lovers  (Enki’s son Dumuzi the Shepherd, & his young spouse Inanna)

He will go to bed with you.’

(The couple acts out the words told by the Narrator)

Narrator:

1e - Ishtar, goddess of love (Inanna, Goddess of Love, Dumuzi‘s widow, spouse to a god, & to many mixed-breeds)

Inanna bathed and anointed herself with scented oil.

She covered her body with the royal robe

             (Inanna wearing her lapis-lazuli necklace) 

She arranged her precious lapis beads around her neck

She took the royal seal in her hand

Dumuzi waited expectantly Inanna opened the door for him

Inside the house she shone before him

1a-inanna-dumuzi  (Inanna & her 1st spouse, Dumuzi the Shepherd, taught earthlings sheep-herding)

Like the light of the moon Dumuzi looked at her joyously,

he pressed his neck close against hers, he kissed her

Inanna:

‘Let the bed that rejoices the heart be prepared!

Let the bed that sweetens the loins be prepared!

Let the bed of kingship be prepared!

Let the bed of queenship be prepared!

Let the royal bed be prepared!’

1b-athirat-inanna-caananite-goddess-of-love 1c-astarte-hittite-goddess-of-love 1d-inanna-in-the-nude (Inanna, known by all gods & earthlings)

Inanna spreads the bridal sheet across the bed:

‘The bed is ready! ‘The bed is waiting!’

Inanna (Dance: lines read out)

‘What I tell you, let the singer weave into song

What I tell you, let it flow from ear to mouth

Let it pass from old to young.

‘My vulva, the horn, the Boat of Heaven,

Is full of eagerness like the young moon

As for me, Inanna, who will plow my vulva?

Who will plow my high field?

Who will plow my wet ground?

As for me, the young woman, who will plow my vulva?

Dumuzi:

‘Great Lady, the king will plow your vulva.

I, Dumuzi, the King, will plow your vulva!’

2d - Biblical Able, Dumuzi the shepherd, & EnlilFragment of a stele showing a god with a crown of horns Period of king Gudea,around 2100 BCE. From Tello. Limestone, H: 13 cm AO 4571

   (Dumuzi the Shepherd, Enki’s young son, Inanna‘s 1st spouse; crown of animal horns worn by royal descendants of King Anu)

Inanna:

‘Then plow my vulva, man of my heart! Plow my vulva!’

              (Inanna & spouse Dumuzi the Shepherd)

Dumuzi:

‘O Lady, your breast is your field Inanna, your breast is your field.

Your broad field pours out plants

Your broad field pours out grain.

Water flows from on high for your servant

Bread flows from on high for your servant

Pour it out for me, Inanna, I will drink all you offer!

             (young lovers Inanna & Dumuzi the Shepherd)

Inanna:

‘I bathed for the wild bull I bathed for the shepherd Dumuzi

Now I will caress my high priest on the bed

  (Dumuzi, Enki’s son, young lover to Enlil’s granddaughter Inanna)

I will caress the faithful shepherd Dumuzi

I will decree a sweet fate for him!’

Narrator:

The Queen of Heaven who was presented the Sacred Measures by Enki

Inanna, the first daughter of the moon (Nannar), decreed the fate of Dumuzi.

            3ma - Inanna & Enlil goddess (Inanna & Enlil, her 8-pointed star symbol, her father Nannar‘s Moon Crescent symbol, her grandfather Enlil’s 7-planets / stars symbol for his command on Earth, the 7th planet discovered when entering into our solar system from outer space, Venus is the eighth / Inanna‘s 8-pointed star)

Inanna:

‘In battle, I am your leader In combat, I am your armor-bearer

In the assembly, I am your advocate

On the campaign, I am your inspiration

You, the chosen shepherd of the holy shrine

You, the king, the faithful provider of Uruk,

3a-anu-in-flight 2cd-anus-temple-home-in-uruk

     (Anu in his sky-disc, King of the alien Anunnaki gods on Earth Colony;    Anu’s & Inanna‘s ziggurat residence in Uruk)

You, the light of An’s great shrine

In all ways you are fit

To hold your head high on the lofty dais

To sit on the lapis lazuli (blue-hued gemstone) throne

To cover your head with the holy crown

To wear long clothes on your body

To bind yourself with the garment of kingship

To race on the road with the holy scepter in your hand

And the holy sandals on you feet

You, the sprinter, the chosen shepherd

In all ways I find you fit

May your heart enjoy long days.

That which An determined for you – may it not be altered

That which Enlil has granted – may it not be altered


    (Inanna presents many, many mixed-breed spouse-kings to her mother Ningal for her blessing, Inanna, known as the Goddess of Love, continued to espouse mixed-breeds appointed to kingships for thousands of years)

You are the favorite of Ningal

Inanna holds you dear.’

Narrator:

2 - Ninshubur (Ninshubur, minister to Inanna, both resided in the ziggurat of Uruk)

Ninshubur, the faithful servant of the holy shrine of Uruk

Led Dumuzi to the sweet thighs of Inanna and spoke:

The couple embraced in bed

Ninshubur (taking Dumuzi‘s hand and placing it in Inanna‘s) ‘

  (Apkulla eagle-winged pilots, Inanna, & Ninshubur)

My queen, here is the choice of your heart

The king, your beloved bridegroom

May he spend long days in the sweetness of your holy loins

Give him a favorable and glorious reign!

O my Queen of Heaven and Earth Queen of all the Universe

May he enjoy long days in the sweetness of your holy loins!’

Narrator:

The king went with lifted head on the holy loins

Dumuzi went with lifted head to the loins of Inanna

He went to the Queen with lifted head

He opened his arms to the holy Priestess of Heaven