“Miri!”

     A hand shook Miri’s shoulder and she opened her eyes.

     Yohanna smiled at her.

     “You must have been very tired.”

     Miri blinked. The sun, Shemmesh, frowned down at her. Miri pulled the hood of her robe over her head to shield her eyes from the glare. Yohanna plunked a basket down on the altar, and removed the cloth covering. From inside the basket, she laid out bread and cheese, a cucumber, a flask of wine, figs and dates.

     “How was your first night?” she asked.

     Miri brightened quickly. “O Yohanna, it was wonderful! I was washed away by a flood from the chalice and I met a leopard-”

     Yohanna froze in shock.

     “A leopard?”

     Miri sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the altar, unaware of the reaction the mention of the leopard had upon Yohanna.

     “A leopardess who could talk!” she continued, “She told me a story about Anat and Haddad! It was an adventure! She said she was my servant! Can you imagine having a leopardess for a servant? Do you think its true?”

     Dumbstruck, Yohanna stared at Miri. “What are you holding?” she asked finally.

     Miri looked down. She still held the lapis wand she had received in her dream. The hair on her head tingled and she felt a strange buzzing in her arm, and she dropped the wand. It clattered onto the altar stone.

     “The wand of Ishtar!” cried Yohanna in awe. She dropped to her knees before Miri, her head bowed.

     “Yohanna, what is wrong? What are you doing?” asked Miri.

     “Forgive me,” cried Yohanna grasping Miri’s legs. “I have known since Grandmother told me you were the Anointed One, but until now, I didn’t believe it could be true. You were so much a child! An ordinary child! I couldn’t believe it was true!”

     “Believe what?” asked Miri.

     “You are the Goddess Incarnate!” whispered Yohanna fiercely. “You are the One who will choose the Messiah from the sons of Israel! It is only through you that he will fulfill his destiny! Praise the Holy Mother! Praise the Queen of Heaven! It is you!”

     “Then,” said Miri slowly, as she brought her thoughts together. “The things that Ninshibur told me in my dream are true! I am Ishtar! I am the Goddess!”

     “Yes!” cried Yohanna, her face radiant. “You are the Goddess!”

     Miri’s brow knotted.

     “Then, why do I still feel like I’m me?” she asked.

     Yohanna laughed and hugged her.

     They ate together, Miri told Yohanna all about Ninshibur and the story of Anat. Finally, Yohanna had to leave.

     “Miri, you may not be alone tonight, for the dark of the moon will bring out the blood of others. If I am called, I shall be here. You must keep all you have told me secret, for there are others who would destroy you for who you are! Those that may come here for the ceremony of the Giving of the Blood may be trusted with this tale, but with such news even they cannot stay silent for long! You must keep this a secret! Do you understand?”

     Miri nodded.

     “Good!” Yohanna hugged Miri. Miri wrapped her arms around Yohanna’s neck and squeezed as tightly as she could. “Please, Yohanna, no matter what happens, promise you’ll always treat me as Miri!”

     Yohanna patted Miri affectionately

     “Promise!” demanded Miri. Tears welled in her young eyes.

     “I promise!” whispered Yohanna, “I promise!”

     They broke their embrace and Yohanna brushed the tears from Miri’s eyes.

     “Yohanna,” cried Miri, “I don't want to be a goddess!”

     “I know, honey,” said Yohanna softly, “I know!”

     After a final hug, Yohanna left the clearing. Miri watched her weaving through the sun-dappled oasis and was overcome with a great sadness. It was not overbearing, just a sweet melancholy for the passing of her own childhood. Her body was now tuned to a deeper rhythm than that of her own breathing. She could feel movements in the forces around her, the currents which flowed through the earth, the pull of the planets as they swung through the Cosmos.

     The snapping of a twig startled her from her reverie. She turned quickly. A gazelle stood motionless at the edge of the clearing, staring straight at her. It started nervously as she turned, but did not run.

     “And who are you?” asked Miri.

     The gazelle did not answer. With all that had happened, the fact that it said nothing was a great disappointment. She had expected another revelation. She held a fig out in the palm of her hand, and the animal darted away and disappeared into the thicket. The sound of the gazelle's flight faded quickly and the silence of the woods enveloped her. Miri drew her legs in and curled into a small ball.

      As she slept, darkness crept over the countryside on silent velvet paws, turning the hills to purple. And, as the sun sank past the western rim of hills, Miri opened her eyes. The last remnant of blue sky deepened to violet and turned yellow at the edges, then orange, and the belly of the clouds turned pink, the star of Ishtar, the Evening Star appeared in radiant and splendid in the fading light. The Queen of Heaven called to her father, the Moon to join her. But his face was turned away from the world and Ishtar rose alone into the night sky and shone down on the small girl sitting alone on the altar.

     Miri stared back at the star, comforted by her presence. From beyond the darkness of the trees, came the haunting call of the owl. Miri shivered. Staring fearfully into the darkness, she peered about her with a sense of impending dread. Somewhere, a twig snapped and Miri started. The blood drained from her face immediately.

     “Who’s there?” she asked quickly.

     There was no answer. Miri shifted, slipping her feet to the ground. She picked up the lapis wand and gripped it tightly in her hand. She had no sense of how she might use it, but it seemed to be the right thing to do. She peered into the gloom of the grove. With a quiet rustle of cloth and foliage, Salome, a young woman of sixteen years who Miri knew from the village emerged from the trees.

     “Oh my!” she said, as she spied Miri. Her eyes softened as she saw Miri’s wand. “It’s all right, Miriam,” she said quietly. “It is my time of the month,” she confided. “How long have you been here?”

     “For a day,” replied Miri.

     “Good!” replied Salome, “Then we shall have some time to spend together. Do you like walnuts?”

     Miriam nodded.

     Salome unwrapped a cloth bundle from her plaited reed bag, and rolled some walnuts onto the altar stone. She picked up a rock from the ground and she and Miri broke open the walnuts and chatted about their families. As they spoke, two more young women, sisters-in-law, Ester and Edna, appeared together, then an older woman, Rachel, and another whom Miri had never seen before. She introduced herself to Miri as Naomi. Ester and Edna spent some time in the dark grove gathering wood, and Rachel sparked a flint over dried leaves before the altar, and soon they created a bright little fire. From the bonfire they lit four clay lamps and placed them at the four standing stones at the corners of the altar stones. They all had brought little wooden stools with them to sit upon, and sat huddled together within the circle of light before the altar speaking in hushed tones, laughing at times, enjoying their own company. Occasionally either Ester or Edna would rise and tend the fire, adding branches as was necessary.

     As the night wore on, they moved in closer to each other. Miri sat happily between Ester and Edna. She was glad of company in the grove, and her heart seemed as if it would burst with joy. They were connected by their hearts and the blood that flowed from them to the earth of this secret sacred place.

     “For our new sister,” announced Naomi, “I would like to tell the story of Inanna, a story told to me by my grandmother told to her by her mother brought to Canaan by the Cuthite women when they were dragged from their city by the warriors of Akkad!”

     Everyone nodded and agreed excitedly. “Naomi is a great poet!” whispered Ester to Miri, “A wonderful storyteller!”

     Edna shushed Ester, and the women snuggled in to listen.

     “In those first days,” began Naomi, “those very first days, when everything needed was brought into being, when everything was properly cared for; in the first nights when bread was first baked in every shrine in the land and the holy bread, the Staff of Life, was first tasted in the sacred temple; in the first months when the Water of Life first flowed through the land, those very first months when the Water of Life was first tasted in the sacred temple; in the first years, the very first years An the God of the Sky carried off the heavens, when the Enlil claimed the earth as his fief, and the Queen of Cutha, Erishkigal, took the Realm of the Great Below, a single sacred willow grew from the banks of the Euphrates.

     And at that time, that very first time, the whirling South Wind arose and blew at the sacred willow, pulled at its roots and tore its limbs. Not until the waters of the Euphrates rose to greet the wind and arm in arm, they carried away the world tree. The maiden Inanna, by chance walking in her garden, strolling under the palms of her palace, spied the tree. The Deiva Inanna saw spied the sacred willow tree awash in the waters of the Euphrates, and her heart was moved.

     Quick as lightning, the Queen of Heaven grasped the tree in her arms and rescued the sacred willow from the waters.

     “I shall bring you to my holy garden.” she whispered to the sacred tree, “There, in Eden, I will tend you with my own hands.”

     And so, in the garden in Eden, Inanna planted the tree by her own hand. There, she settled the tree with her foot. In Eden, the love of the maid Inanna poured from her chalice to the roots of the sacred willow and it prospered.

     The years passed, seven years passed, then seven times seven. The tree grew thick and strong. The roots reached downward from the Great Above all the way to the dark reaches of the Great Below. The bark remained whole and did not split, and the seven branches of the sacred tree reached up and caressed the very bowl of the heavens.

     In that time, the great Serpent who cannot be harmed made his home in the roots of the sacred willow tree. The dark maid Lilith, who only serves whom she pleases, took the form of an owl and built her nest in the trunk of the sacred willow tree. Inanna wept from joy seeing her tree was home to the creatures of her garden. and she asked them never to leave her wonderful willow.

     She was tired, but in those very first days, she had no throne to sit upon, no bed upon which to sleep. As Inanna watched her creatures bed down, each in it's place, she wondered how long it would be until she would have a nest of her own.

     At that moment, the birds began to sing to call up the dawn, and woke the Sun God Utu, who we call Shemmesh, in his royal bedchamber.

     Inanna called to her brother. ‘O Utu, long have I labored, since the very first years when each god claimed a place. And everyone, including the sacred creatures of the Garden has a nest of there own. I cannot wonder but how long it will be until I have throne to sit upon and bed upon which to sleep?

     ‘If the time has come,’ replied the radiant Utu, ‘then you must have your throne to separate your holy blood from the earth. A dais to keep your feet above the ground and a shining bed upon which to sleep. You must take a husband.’

     ‘But who will I marry?’ asked Inanna. ‘Who will take my hand in his? Who will bend his neck against mine? Who is there who can rise to fill my holy loins?’

     ‘Sister, I know of a bridegroom who will bed you. A man born from a fertile womb, conceived on the sacred marriage throne. Dumuzi, the shepherd, the Hunter of the West! He will bed you.’

     ‘No, brother Utu!’ replied the Inanna, ‘The man of my heart must work the hoe. The man I love will be a farmer! The man who will win my heart will gather his grain into great heaps on my threshing floor. He must bring grain each and every harvest to my storehouses. This will be the man I love!’

     The mighty Dumuzi, the shepherd, Dumuzi the valiant warrior, the hero of Uruk, and Hunter of the West, came and stood by Inanna. Fastened around his chest was armour weighing fifty minas. But fifty minas weighed as little to him as fifty feathers. He lifted to his shoulder his bronze axe, the Axe of the Path, weighing seven talents and seven minas, and spoke to Inanna in a bold and hearty voice:

     ‘If the time has come, then you must take a husband.’

     ‘And you will marry me?’ asked Inanna. ‘Though I have no throne to separate my holy blood from the earth, dais to keep my feet above the ground, and I no bed upon which to spread my bridal sheets. You will take my hand in yours? And you will your neck against mine? Can you rise enough to fill my holy loins?’

     ‘Yes, I will bed you. I am born from a fecund womb, and conceived on a sacred marriage throne. I, Dumuzi, the shepherd! I will bed you.’

     ‘No, brother dumuzi!’ cried the Holy Maiden Inanna, ‘The man of my heart must work the hoe. The man I love will be a farmer! The man who will win my heart gathers his grain into great heaps on my threshing floor. He must bring grain each and every harvest into my storehouses. This will be the man I love!’

     Inanna spun about on her heels and was gone from the garden.

     In her palace, she bathed and anointed herself with scented oil. She covered her body with a royal white robe.She readied her dowry, the seven mei of kingship. She arranged her precious lapis beads around her neck.

     She took her seal, the sacred amulet of Inanna, in her hand.

     Inanna abandoned her garden, walked through the holy palace, and descended from her temple, departing from the holy shrine in search of a husband. Inanna travelled east of Eden toward the rising Eastern Sky. Unknown to Inanna, Dumuzi followed Inanna, his armour of fifty minas was firmly fastened around his chest. He carried the bronze axe of the road, weighing seven talents and seven minas, upon his shoulder. Ahead of the Holy Maiden, the hunter travelled and entered the house of Cainanna the farmer who tended Inanna’s holy gardens in the East. He slipped into the home of Cainanna, husband of the land of verdant pastures and flowing fields of grain, and Dumuzi slew him. He hacked the farmer’s body into pieces and buried them in the ground.

      In the evening, Inanna came to a land of verdant pastures and flowing fields of grain. ‘Surely here,’ she said, ‘I shall find my husband!’ In the evening, the lovely Inanna entered the house of Cainanna. Inside it was dark and Dumuzi sat at the table of the farmer, dressed in Cainanna’s clothes. Inanna could not see his face, and spoke to him as if he were Cainanna.

     ‘O Cainanna, I have toiled many years and now I am tired. I wonder how long it will be until I have a throne to sit upon and a bed upon which to sleep? When do you think I could have a nest of my own?”

     The mighty Dumuzi, the shepherd, Dumuzi the valiant warrior, Dumuzi stood by Inanna in the clothes of Cainanna, and spoke to her, ‘If the time has come, then you must now have a throne to separate your holy blood from the earth. A dais to keep your feet above the ground. A bed upon which to sleep. You must take a husband.’

     ‘Will you marry me?’ asked Inanna. ‘Though I have no throne to separate my holy blood from the earth, no dais to keep my feet above the earth, and no bed upon which to spread my bridal sheets, will you take my hand in yours? Will you bend your neck against mine? Can you rise enough to fill my holy loins?’

     ‘Sister Inanna,

      cried Dumuzi, ‘I will be your bridegroom! I will bed you! I am born from a fertile womb, was conceived on a sacred marriage throne. I, I will bed you!’

     ‘Yes, brother!’ replied the Holy Maiden, ‘You are the man of my heart and work the hoe. I love you, Cainanna the farmer! You have won my heart by gathering your grain into great heaps on my threshing floor. You will bring grain each and every harvest into my storehouses. You are the man I love!’

     Dumuzi as Cainanna waited expectantly. Inanna opened the door for him. Inside the house she shone before him like the light of the moon. Dumuzi looked at her joyously. He pressed his neck against hers and kissed her.

     Inanna spoke softly to her lover Cainanna. ‘What I tell you, the minstrels shall weave into song! What I tell you shall flow from ear to mouth to ear forevermore! It shall pass from old to young for each and every generation to come! My vagina, the horn of plenty, the Boat of Heaven, grows eager as the waxing moon. My untilled land lies fallow. Cainanna, plow my vulva! Plow my high field! Plow my wet ground! I, Inanna, the young woman, ask you, my sweet honey lover: Who will plow my vulva? Who will bring the ox there? Who will plow my vulva?’

     ‘Great Lady,’ replied Dumuzi, ‘I will plow you vulva. Inanna, I will plow your vulva!’

     ‘Then plow my vulva, man of my heart!’ cried the maid in her passion, ‘Plow my vulva!’

     From Dumuzi’s lap stood the rising cedar. Inanna was pleased and sang to the night sky.

     ‘He has sprouted! He has swelled to great size and stands straight! He is the one my womb loves best! The one my vagina craves! My well-stocked garden of the sweet valley is ready for you! My barley grows high and plump in its furrow, my apple tree bears ripe juicy fruit to its crown! You are the sweet succulent cucumber planted by the water! My honey-man, my honey-man sweetens me! Yes! Yes, my lord! The honey-man of the gods! Yes! Yes! You are the one my womb loves best! Your hand is honey! Yes! Your foot is honey! O Yes! Yes! You sweeten me always! Plow me now! Come to the valley! Plow me now! My vulva is wet from the Spring! Plow me now, eager impetuous caresser of my belly! Caresser of my soft thighs! Plow me now! You are the one my womb loves the best!’

     ‘O Lady,’ sang Dumuzi, ‘your breast is a ripened alpine meadow! O Inanna, your breast is my pasture! Your broad field pours out plants! Your broad field pours out grain! Your milk 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! Open your mouth to me, Inanna! Open your arms to clutch me in your sweet honey embrace! I come to you! Dearest sister, spread your thighs and open wide your vulva! I will go deep into your sweet garden! I shall plow your field! Inanna, I will descend deep into the holy valley! I shall turn the soil of your womb! There I shall plant the sweet, honey-covered seed! I push deep into your orchard! I shall pluck your bright red fruit! I will go with you to the apple tree! There I shall plant the sweet, honey-covered seed!’

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

     Through the night, their necks bent together and Dumuzi danced on the knees of Inanna. Together they sowed the seeds of love in the bed of Cainanna. In the morning, Inanna rose before the dawn. She bathed in the holy waters of the Euphrates. She washed herself in the Great River. She anointed herself with perfumed oils. She covered her body with the royal white robe. She arranged her body with the sacred white robe. She arranged her precious lapis beads around her neck.

     Then she took her seal in her hand and arose. As the birds began to sing to bring the the dawn, the Sun God Utu left his royal bedchamber. And Inanna flushed by her lovemaking, called to her brother, ‘Now, I will have a shining throne to sit upon. A dais to keep my feet above the ground. Now I need that bed upon which to lie! Now I will have a nest of my own! I shall take my lover Cainanna as my husband!’

     ‘I am happy that your time has come,’ answered the radiant Utu, ‘but you must have your throne to separate your holy blood from the earth. A dais to keep your feet above the ground. A sacred bed upon which you may lie. I shall bless Cainanna with my rays and he will be your husband.’

     Dumuzi returned from another direction, a different path than Deiva Inanna. His armour of fifty minas was firmly fastened around his chest and he carried his bronze axe, the axe of the road, weighing seven talents and seven minas, on his shoulder. He spoke to the Queen of Heaven.

     ‘I have heard of your betrothal, but as a man of honour I shall acknowledge your betrothal, Inanna! I, Dumuzi, shall make you a shining throne that will dazzle the world to separate your sacred blood from the Earth. I shall build a magnificent dais to keep your feet above the ground. With my axe I shall carve a holy matrimonial bed worthy of the perpetual Virgin!! These are the wedding gifts I shall present to you!’

     Dumuzi departed from Inanna and Utu to fulfill his promise. He entered the Great Forest in search of wood to carve out the holy shrine. There he discovered the Garden of Eden where the world tree grew. The sacred willow, the huluppu tree, a tree so beautiful, a tree so strong, he knew only the huluppu would be suitable for a throne for Inanna. Only the shining wood from the great tree could be bed for the Holy Maid. Dumuzi chopped at the roots and struck the serpent who lived there. The shepherd cut through the trunk and smashed the nest of Lilith. The owl fled to the wild uninhabited places, and cried mournfully ever after for her home. Dumuzi loosened the roots to the sacred willow, and severed its seven limbs. From the trunk of the tree he carved a throne for his holy sister. From the trunk of the tree Dumuzi carved a bed for Inanna. From the roots of the tree he fashioned a dais for her feet. These he placed at the apex of the holy ziggurat. There in the holy shrine, he placed the dais for the feet of Inanna; there, he placed the throne of Inanna; there he placed the throne of the Queen of Heaven.

     Far away, the brother spoke to his younger sister. The Sun God Utu spoke to Inanna.

     ‘Maid Inanna, 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 linen bridal sheet, is always needed. Inanna, I will bring it to you.’

     ‘Brother, after you bring me the flax, will you comb it for me?’

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

     ‘Utu, after you bring it to me combed, will you spin it for me?’

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

     ‘Brother, after you bring it to me spun, will you braid it for me?’

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

     ‘Utu, after you bring it to me braided, will you warp it for me?’

     ‘Sister, I shall bring it to you warped.’

     ‘Brother, after you bring me the flax warped, will you weave it for me?’

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

     ‘Utu, after you bring it to me woven, will you bleach it for me?’

     ‘Sister, I shall bring it to you bleached.’

     Inanna ran to Ningal, the mother who bore her. Ningal hugged her daughter ‘My child,’ she said, ‘the young man Cainanna will be your father. My daughter, you will be his mother. He will treat you like a father. You will care for him like a mother. Open your house to him, Inanna, open the house!’

      Inanna, at her mother’s command, bathed and anointed herself with scented oil. She covered her body with a royal white robe. She readied her dowry, the seven mei of kingship. She arranged her body with the royal white robe. She readied her dowry, the seven mei of kingship. She arranged her precious lapis beads around her neck. She took her seal in her hand.

     Inanna waited expectantly within her shrine for Cainanna. Inanna waited to open the door for him. Inside the sacred house she shone for him like the light of the moon.

     The days passed, and Inanna waited, but Cainanna did not come. She called to her brother Utu, ‘Brother, where is Cainanna? Where is my lover?’

     ‘I shall search for him, Sister!’ replied Utu. Inanna was content. Utu could see over the whole earth from his position in the sky. He returned to the house of Inanna, and said:

     ‘He is not to be found, dear sister! He is not to be found!’

     The days passed, and Inanna waited, but Cainanna still did not come. She called to her mother, Ningal, ‘Mother, where is Cainanna? Where is my lover?’

     ‘I shall search for him, Daughter!’ replied Ningal. Inanna was content. Ningal could see over the whole earth from her position in the night sky. She returned to the house of Inanna, and said, ‘He is not to be found, dear daughter! He is not to be found!’

     The days passed, and Inanna waited, but Cainanna still did not come. She called down to Dumuzi, ‘Dumuzi, where is Cainanna? Where is my lover?’

     ‘I shall search for him, Inanna!’ replied Dumuzi. Inanna was content. Dumuzi was a valiant warrior and and a great hunter who roamed over the whole earth. Surely he would find Cainanna. He returned to the house of Inanna carrying a locket he had stolen from the body of Cainanna, and said:,‘He is not to be found, Inanna! He is not to be found! But I have found his locket!’

     Inanna took the locket and saw the blood of Cainanna on the locket. ‘He is dead!’ she cried out, ‘My sweet lover Cainanna is dead!’

     With the cries of a woman about to give birth, Inanna ripped the linen from her body. Her breasts were uncovered. Her hair swirled uncombed about her head like snakes. She dressed in a soiled sackcloth, and outside the palace gates, she threw herself in the dust at her brother’s feet, and wailed in agony.

     ‘The man I was to marry is dead! Now I have a shining throne to sit upon, but no one to share it. Now I have a beautiful bed upon which to lie but no one to lie with me! Now I have a nest of my own, but who will share it, now?’

     The mighty Utu, radiant, spoke to his sister.

     ‘Your time has come, and you have your throne to separate your holy blood from the earth, a dais to keep your feet above the ground and a glorious bed upon which you may lie. It must be shared! You must take another for a husband.’

     ‘But who will I marry?’ asked Inanna. ‘My heart is shattered! I cannot love another! Now, who will take my hand in his? Who will bend his neck against mine? Who will rise to fill my holy loins?’

     ‘Sister, there is still a worthy bridegroom who will go to bed with you. One born from a fertile womb, one conceived on the sacred marriage throne: Dumuzi, the shepherd! He will bed you!’

     ‘No, brother!’ replied the Holy Maiden, ‘I have sworn the man of my heart must work the hoe. The man I love will be a farmer! The man who will win my heart gathers his grain into great heaps on my threshing floor. He must bring grain each and every harvest into my storehouses. This must be the man I love!’

     ‘Sister,’ replied Utu, ‘Marry the shepherd! Why are you resisting? His cream is good; his milk is good. Whatever he touches turns to gold!’

     ‘Inanna, marry Dumuzi. You who adorn yourself with the agate necklace of fertility, why are you unwilling to unfurl it? Dumuzi will share his rich cream with you. You are the king’s protector, why are you resisting?’

     ‘The shepherd!’ cried Inanna, ‘How can I marry the shepherd! His clothes are coarse; his wool is rough and itches. I wanted to marry the farmer, Cainanna. The farmer grows soft flax for my clothes. The farmer grows barley for my table.’

     ‘Why do you speak about the farmer?’ asked Dumuzi, ‘Why do you still speak about him? If he gave you black flour, I will give you black wool. If he gave you white flour, I will give you white wool. If he gave you beer, I will give you sweet milk. If he gave you bread, I will give you honey cheese. I could give the farmer my leftover cream. I could give the farmer my leftover milk. Why do you speak so about the farmer? What does he have more than I do?’

     ‘Shepherd,’ Inanna replied, ‘without my mother Ningal, you’d be lost in the night; without my grandmother, Ningikuga, you’d be driven into the steppes. Without my father, Nanna, you’d have no roof! Without my brother Utu-’

     Dumuzi interrupted her tirade.

     ‘Inanna, do not start a quarrel. My father Enki, is as good as your father, Nanna. My Mother Sirtur, is as good as your mother Ningal. My sister Geshtinanna, is as good as yours. Queen of the palace, let us talk it over. Inanna, let us sit and speak together. I am as good as Utu. Enki is as good as Nanna. Sirtur is as good as Ningal. Queen of the palace, let us talk it over.’

     The words they had spoken became words of desire. From the starting of a quarrel came lovers’ desire. Dumuzi, the shepherd was strong and comely. His dark eyes smouldered with passion. As they spoke, Inanna was reminded of Cainanna. Inanna, in her grief for Cainanna, needed the comfort of Dumuzi’s strong arms. Inanna wanted the shepherd to fill the void in her heart left by the farmer. The Maid of Uruk wanted the shepherd to come to her sheepfold. Thus, from the starting of their quarrel came their lovers’ desire.

     The shepherd arrived at the royal house with a gift of cream. Dumuzi went to the royal house with the gift of milk. At the door he called out, ‘Open your house, My lady, swing wide the doors to the temple!’

     Inanna ran to Ningal, the mother who bore her. Ningal hugged her daughter.

     ‘My child, the young man Dumuzi will be your father. My daughter, you will be his mother. He will treat you like a father. You will care for him like a mother. Open the house, My lady, swing wide the doors to the temple!’

     Inanna, at her mother’s command, bathed and anointed herself with scented oil. She covered her body with a royal white robe. She readied her dowry, the seven mei of kingship. She arranged her body with the royal white robe. She readied her dowry, the seven mei of kingship. She arranged her precious lapis beads, the necklace of fertility, around her neck. She took her seal in her hand.

     Dumuzi waited outside expectantly.

     Inanna opened the door of the temple for him. Inside the house she shone before him like the light of the moon. Dumuzi looked at her joyously. He pressed his neck against hers. He kissed her.

     Inanna spoke softly to her husband Dumuzi.

     ‘What I tell you, the minstrels shall weave into song! What I tell you shall flow from ear to mouth to ear forevermore! It shall pass from old to young for each and every generation to come! My vagina, the Horn of Plenty, the Boat of Heaven, grows as eager as the waxing moon. My untilled land lies fallow. Dumuzi, plow my vulva! Plow my high field! Plow my wet ground! I, Inanna, the young woman, ask you, my sweet honey lover: Who will plow my vulva? Who will bring the ox there? Who will plow my vulva?’

     ‘Great Lady,’ replied Dumuzi, ‘I will plow your vulva! Inanna, I will plow your vulva!’

     ‘Then plow my vulva, man of my heart!’ cried the maid in her passion, ‘Plow my vulva!’

     From Dumuzi’s lap stood the rising cedar. Inanna was pleased and sang to the night sky:

     ‘He has sprouted! He has swelled to great size! He is the one my womb loves best! The one my vagina craves! My well-stocked garden of the sweet valley is ready for you! My barley grows high and plump in its furrow, my apple tree bears ripe juicy fruit to its crown! You are the sweet succulent cucumber planted by the water! My honey-man, my honey-man sweetens me! Yes! Yes, my lord! The honey-man of the gods! Yes! Yes! You are the one my womb loves best! Your hand is honey! Yes! Your foot is honey! O Yes! Yes! You sweeten me always! Plow me now! Come to the valley! Plow me now! My vulva is wet from the Spring! Plow me now, eager impetuous caresser of my belly! My caresser of soft thighs! Plow me now! You are the one my womb loves the best!’

     ‘O Lady,’ sang Dumuzi, ‘your breast is a ripened alpine meadow! O Inanna, your breast is my pasture! Your broad field pours out plants! Your broad field pours out grain! Your milk 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! Open your mouth to me, Inanna! Open your arms to clutch me in your sweet honey embrace! I come to you! Dearest sister, spread your thighs and open wide your vulva! I will go deep into your sweet garden! I shall plow your field! Inanna, I will descend deep into the holy valley! I shall turn the soil of your womb! There I shall plant the sweet, honey-covered seed! I push deep into your orchard! I shall pluck your bright red fruit! I will go with you to the apple tree! There I shall plant the sweet, honey-covered seed!’

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

     ‘Make your milk sweet and thick, my bridegroom,’ sang Inanna, ‘My shepherd, I will drink your fresh milk. Wild Bull Dumuzi, make your milk sweet and thick! I will drink your fresh milk! Let the milk of the goat flow in my sheepfold! Fill my holy churn with honey cheese! Lord Dumuzi, I will drink your fresh milk! My husband, I will guard my sheepfold for you. I will watch over your house of life, the storehouse, the shining quivering place which delights Sumer.’

     ‘Yours is the house which decides the fate of the land, the house which gives the breath of life to the people. I, the queen of the palace, will watch over your house. Serve me and I shall grant you the seven holy mei of kingship!’

     Dumuzi spoke: ‘My sister, I would go with you to your garden. Inanna, I would go with you to Eden. I would go with you to your orchard. I would go with you to your apple tree. There I would plant the sweet, honey-covered seed.’

     She brought him into her garden. The Queen of Heaven brought Dumuzi into her garden. She strolled with him among the standing trees. By an apple tree, he knelt before her as is proper. Her husband sang; he who rose to Inanna out of the poplar leaves, he came to her in the midday heat. Before the lord Dumuzi, she poured out plants from her womb. She placed plants before him. She poured out plants before him. She placed grain before him, she poured out grain before him. She poured out grain from her womb.

     That night, Inanna, the Lady of the Evening, shone brightly. The Queen of Heaven shone brightly; as she was shining brightly, she danced, singing praises at the coming of the night.

     Lord Dumuzi, the King of Uruk, met his Queen. He took her hand in his. He pressed his neck close against hers. The high priest filled the holy loins. Lord Dumuzi filled the holy loins. The plants and herbs in his field were ripe.

     ‘O Dumuzi!’ cried Inanna, ‘Your fullness is my delight!’

     She called for the bed! She called for the bed that rejoices the heart. She called for the bed that sweetens the loins. She called for the bed of kingship. She called for the bed of the husband.

     Inanna called for the bed.

     ‘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 the husband be prepared! Let the royal bed be prepared!’

     Inanna spread the bridal sheet across the bed.

     She called to the king. ‘The bed is ready!’

     She called to her bridegroom. ‘The bed is waiting!’

     He slipped his hand in hers. He placed his hand on her heart. He put his hand on her breast. Sweet is the sleep of hand-in-hand. Sweet is the sleep of the nestled sheepfolds, the closeness of the loins! Sweeter still the sleep of heart-to-heart!

     ‘I bathed for the wild bull,’ sang Inanna, ‘I bathed for the shepherd Dumuzi. I perfumed my sides with ointment. I coated my mouth with sweet smelling amber. I painted my eyes with kohl.’

     He caressed her loins with his fair hands. The shepherd Dumuzi filled her lap with cream and milk. He stroked her pubic hair, he brought water to her womb. He laid his hands on her holy vulva, he smoothed the black boat with his fingers. He quickened her narrow boat with milk. He caressed her on the bed of kingship!

     ‘Now I will caress my high priest on our bed,’ moaned Inanna, ‘I will caress the faithful shepherd Dumuzi. I will grasp his penis and fondle his testicles. I shall grant him the shepherdship of the land! I shall make him my King! I will decree a sweet fate for him!’

     The Queen of Heaven, the heroic woman, greater than her mother, who took the mei craved by Enki, Inanna, the First Daughter of the Moon, decreed the fate of Dumuzi.

     ‘King Dumuzi,’ sang Inanna, ‘In battle I am your general; in combat, your armor-bearer. In the assembly hall, I am your advocate. In speech, I am your inspiration! You, the chosen shepherd of the holy shrine, you, the king, the faithful provider of Uruk, the light of An’s great shrine, in all ways I shall deem you fit.

     I am the Matrix Inanna, Your Deiva! To you I grant the seven mei of kingship. You may now hold your head high on the lofty dais and sit on the lapis throne. You may cover your head with the holy crown, to place the robes of office upon your body, to bind yourself with the trappings of kingship. You shall carry the mace and sword, guide straight the long bow and arrow, fasten the throw-stick and sling at your side and run swiftly on the road with the holy sceptre in your hand and the holy sandals on your feet. Only you may prance on my holy breast like a lapis lazuli calf!

     You, the runner, the chosen shepherd, in all ways you are worthy. May your heart enjoy long days. That which An has determined for you: may it never be altered. That which Enlil has granted: may it never be changed. You are the favourite of Ningal.

     Inanna holds you dear.’

     Ninshubur, the faithful servant of the holy shrine of Uruk, priestess of the Temple Mount, the Holy Kur of Inanna, led Dumuzi to the sweet thighs of Inanna for the third time.

     ‘My queen,’ called Ninshibur, ‘Here is the choice of your heart, the king, your beloved bridegroom. May he spend long days in the wet sweetness of your holy loins. Grant him a prosperous and glorious reign. Grant him the king’s throne, planted firm in its foundations. Grant him the shepherd’s staff of judgement. Grant him the enduring crown with the radiant and noble diadem. From where the sun rises to where the sun sets, from south to north, from the upper sea to the Lower sea, from the land of the sacred willow to the land of the cedar, let his shepherd’s staff protect all of Sumer and Akkad.

     As the farmer, let him make the fields fertile; as the shepherd, let him make the sheepfolds multiply. Under his reign let there be bounty. Under his reign let there be growth. Under his reign, let there be rich grain. In the marshland may the fish and birds chatter. In the low canebreak may young and old reeds grow high. In the forests may the deer and wild goats multiply. In the orchards may there be honey and wine. In the gardens may the cucumber grow long and wide. In the palace may there be happiness. May there be rich floodwater in the Tigris and Euphrates, neither a torrent or a trickle. May the plants grow high on their banks and fill the meadows. May the Lady of Vegetation pile the grain in heaps and mounds to numerous to count.’

     Thus the king went with lifted head to the holy loins. He went with lifted head to the loins of Inanna. He went to the Queen with lifted head. He opened wide his arms to the holy priestess of heaven.

     Inanna greeted him. ‘My blossom-bearer, your smell is sweet. My blossom-bearer of the apple orchard, Dumuzi-abzu, your taste is sweet. My fearless one, my holy statue, my statue outfitted with sword and lapi lazuli diadem, how sweet you are!’

     Through the night, their necks and knees bent together and the royal couple sowed th e seeds of love in the bed of Inanna.

     Finally, Dumuzi said, ‘Set me free, my sister, set me free. I will be a son to your mother. You shall be a daughter to my mother. Come, my beloved sister, I would go to the palace. Set me free.’

     The king having performed his duty to Inanna returned to his palace.

     In the morning, Inanna rose before the dawn. She bathed in the holy waters of the Euphrates. She washed herself in the Great River. She anointed herself with scented oils. She covered her body with her royal white robe. She arranged her precious lapis beads, the necklace of Fertility, around her neck.

     Then she took her seal, the seal of Inanna, in her hand and arose. As the birds began to sing to call forth the dawn, the Sun God Utu left his royal bedchamber, and greeted his sister, Inanna, ‘Sister Inanna, this morning you are radiant as I have never seen you before!’

     Inanna, radiant from her lovemaking, replied ‘My beloved brother, Dumuzi, the delight of my eyes, came to my holy sheepfold. We rejoiced together. O how he took his pleasure of me! He laid me down on the fragrant honey-bed. My sweet love, lay with me: his heart by my heart, his hand in my hand, his neck bent to my neck! He caressed my breasts! He caressed my belly! My thighs! O, his his tongue-playing! His tall cedar stood straight and firm! Long and wide, the cucumber planted by the river, sweet and succulent! My pleasure warmed my loins and he plowed my fields, one by one! My fair Dumuzi descended to my flooded valley fifty times. Now, my sweet love is sated.’

     ‘O my Queen of Heaven and Earth, Queen of all the Universe, may he enjoy long days in the sweetness of your holy loins!’ replied Utu.

     ‘Come, brother,’ said Inanna, ‘Come walk with me through the Sacred Garden. I would need of your company.’

     And so, the radiant siblings, the sun Utu and the Morning Star Inanna passed into the Garden, the very first garden. They walked through the pastures of Uruk. They walked through the fields of barley. They walked through the fields of wheat. They walked through the sacred orchards. There they came to the world tree. The sacred willow. But the huluppu tree was no more!

     ‘Where is my tree?’ cried out Inanna, ‘Where is my beloved world tree? Where is the sacred willow?’

     From between the roots, crept the snake who cannot be charmed. From the broken shards of the sacred willow came the wise serpent. Reborn within the earth, thence slithered the serpent.

     ‘Mistress,’ said the snake, ‘Forgive me mistress, but the tree is gone! Dumuzi, the hero of Uruk entered the woods in search of wood to carve out the holy shrine. Here he discovered our sacred willow, a tree so beautiful, so strong, he knew only that one tree would be suitable for a throne for Inanna. Only the shining wood from the great world tree could be bed for the Holy Maid. Dumuzi chopped at the roots and struck the serpent who escaped unharmed. The shepherd cut through the trunk and smashed the nest of Lilith. The owl fled to the wild, uninhabited places, and now mournfully cries out for her home. Dumuzi then loosened the roots to the sacred willow tree and cut off the branches. From the trunk of the tree he carved a throne for his holy sister. From the trunk of the tree Dumuzi carved a bed for Inanna. From the roots of the tree he fashioned a dais for her feet.’

     ‘This cannot be!’ roared Inanna, ‘He entered my garden without my permission! He cut down the world tree without a by your leave. He has taken the world tree from me, then given it back as a gift! My bridal bed is a sham! My holy throne is a lie! The dais beneath my feet is a falsehood! And the tree, the sacred willow tree, the huluppu tree, is no more!

     Brother, what shall I do? Dumuzi is the choice of my heart, the king, my beloved bridegroom. I have granted him the king’s throne, firm in its foundations. I have given him the shepherd’s staff of judgement. I have blessed him with the enduring crown of the radiant and noble diadem. From where the sun rises to where the sun sets, from south to north, from the upper sea to the lower sea, from the land of the sacred willow to the land of the cedar, his shepherd’s staff protects all of Sumer and Akkad. Now I found he has taken from me the huluppu tree!’

     ‘Mistress, there is only one way for you to bring back the sacred willow. You must descend to the Great Below, to the realm of Erishkigal, the Lady of Cutha. There, the roots of the world tree still live! Only Erishkigal, the great Elat of the Underworld, Queen of Cutha can restore life to the world tree.’

     ‘Then I shall descend to the Great Below!’ said Inanna.

     From the Great Above she set her ear to the Great Below. From the Great Above the deiva opened her thoughts to the Great Below. From the Great Above Inanna turned her face to the Great Below.

     She gathered together the seven mei. She took them into her hands. With the mei in her possession, she prepared herself. She placed the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, on her head. She arranged the dark locks of hair across her forehead. She tied the small lapis beads around her neck, and wrapped the royal robe around her body. She daubed her eyes with ointment that no man who fell under her gaze could resist, bound the breastplate that only a pure and noble heart could remove her chest, slipped the gold ring over her wrist, and took the lapis measuring rod and line in her hand.

     Our Lady abandoned the Great Above to descend to the Great Below. In Badtibira she abandoned her temple to descend to the Great Below. In Zabalam she abandoned her temple to descend to the Great Below. In Adab she abandoned her temple to descend to the Great Below. In Nippur she abandoned her temple to descend to the Great Below. In Kish she abandoned her temple to descend to the Great Below. In Akkad she abandoned her temple to descend to the Great Below.

     Inanna set sail for the Great Below. She set sail; the maid set sail. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, set sail for the Great Below. And the forces of the Great Below rose up and attacked her. Brimstones were thrown against her. Large hailstones fell upon her brow. The dark green waters of the Ocean smashed against the keel of Inanna’s boat, the waters of the Sea snapped at the bow of her boat like the maw of a hungry wolf and struck at the stern of her boat like an angry bear. Still and steadfast, Inanna sailed on. Ninshibur, her faithful sukkal, held fast to the helm of the sacred boat.

     Thus did Inanna set out for the Great Below. Ninshibur, her faithful servant, went with her. Inanna spoke to her saying, ‘Ninshibur, my constant support, my sukkal who gives me wise advice, my bellatrix who fights by my side, I am descending to the city of Cutha, to the Great Below. If I do not return, set up a lament for me by the ruins. Beat the drum for me in the synagogues. Circle thrice the houses of the gods. Tear at your eyes, at your mouth, at your thighs. Dress yourself in a single garment like a beggar.

     If I do not return, you must go to Nippur, to the temple of Enlil. When you enter his holy shrine, cry out:

     ‘O Father Enlil, do not let your daughter be put to death in the Great Below. Do not let your bright silver be covered with the dust of the underworld. Do not let your precious lapis be broken into stone for the stoneworker. Do not let your fragrant boxwood be cut into wood for the woodworker. Do not let the holy priestess of heaven be put to death in the Great Below.’

     If Enlil will not help you, go to Ur, to the temple of Nanna. Weep before father Nanna. If father Nanna will not help you, go to Eridu, to the temple of Enki. Weep before Father Enki. Father Enki, the God of Wisdom, knows the food of life, he knows the water of life; he knows the secrets. Surely he will not let me die.’

     Inanna and Ninshibur arrived at the outer gates of the Great Below. Before the ramparts of the city of Cutha, before the Kurbat al Erishkigal, at the Holy Kur of the Queen of the Dead, Inanna stopped and said to her sukkal, her familiar, her right hand, ‘Go now, Ninshubur, do not forget the words I have commanded you. I must travel on alone!’

     Inanna stepped up to the outer gates of the Great Below, and she knocked loudly, crying out in a fierce voice, ‘Open the door, gatekeeper! Open the door, Neti! I, Inanna would enter the Great Below!’

     Neti, the chief gatekeeper of the city of Cutha, called down to Inanna from the gates, ‘Who’s there?’

     She answered, ‘I am Inanna, Queen of Heaven, Mistress of The Great Above, on my way to rising in the East.’

     Neti said: ‘If you are truly Inanna the Queen of Heaven, on your way to rising in the East, why has your heart led you on the road from which no traveller can return?’

     ‘I have need of my older sister Erishkigal,’ Inanna answered, ‘I, Inanna, wish to ask a favour of the dark Queen!’

     Neti spoke: ‘Stay here, Inanna, I will speak to my Mistress. I will give her your message.’

     Neti the chief gatekeeper of Cutha travelled deep within the kur and entered the palace of Erishkigal, the Queen of the Great Below, and announced to his Matrix, ‘My queen, a maid as tall as heaven, as wide as the earth, and as strong as the foundations of the mountains of the North, waits outside the palace gates. She has gathered together and adorned herself with the seven mei. She has taken them in her hands. With the mei in her possession, she has prepared herself.

     She placed the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, on her head. She has arranged the dark locks of hair across her forehead. She has tied the small lapis beads around her neck, and wrapped the royal robe around her body. She has daubed her eyes with ointment that ensnared every man's heart. She has bound up the breastplate that only a pure and noble man could unstrap to her chest, slipped the gold ring over her wrist, and took the lapis measuring rod and line in her hand.’

     When Erishkigal heard this, she gripped her thigh and bit her lip. She took the matter into her heart and dwelt on it.

     Then she spoke: ‘Come, Neti, my chief gatekeeper of the kur, heed my words. Bolt the seven gates to the Great Below. Then, one by one, open each gate a crack. Let Inanna enter. As she enters, remove her holy garments; let the holy priestess of heaven enter bowed low.’

     Neti heeded the words of his queen. He bolted the seven gates of the Great Below. Then he opened the outer gate.

     He said to the maid, ‘Come, Inanna, enter.’

     When she entered the first gate, from her head, the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, was removed.

     Inanna asked, ‘What is this?’

     She was told, ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     When she entered the second gate, from her neck the small lapis beads were removed.

     Inanna asked: ‘What is this?’

     She was told: ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     When she entered the third gate, from her breast the double strand of beads was removed.

     Inanna asked, ‘What is this?’

     She was told, ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     When she entered the fourth gate, from her chest the breastplate called ‘Come, man, come’ was removed.

     Inanna asked, ‘What is this?’

     She was told, ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     When she entered the fifth gate, from her wrist the gold ring was removed.

     Inanna asked, ‘What is this?’

     She was told, ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     When she entered the sixth gate, from her the lapis measuring rod and line was removed.

     Inanna asked, ‘What is this?’

     She was told, ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     When she entered the seventh gate, from her body the royal robe was removed.

     Inanna asked, ‘What is this?’

     She was told, ‘Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the Great Below may not be questioned.’

     Naked and bowed low, Inanna entered the throne room.

     Erishkigal rose from her throne.

     ‘What brings the Queen of Heaven to the realm of the Great Below?’ asked Erishkigal of her sister. ‘You seek the soul of your lover Cainanna? He is here!’

     Erishkigal waved her arm and the form of Cainanna appeared before them. The lover of Inanna appeared.

     Inanna started toward the throne, but before she could speak, Annuna, the three judges of the Great Below, surrounded her and condemned her. As quick as lightning, Erishkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of Death. She spoke against her the word of wrath. She uttered against her the cry of guilt. She struck her.

     Defenceless without the seven mei, Inanna was turned into a rotting corpse, a piece of rotting meat, and was hung from a hook on the roots of the great world tree.

     Meanwhile, in the palace of Inanna, Dumuzi sat upon the throne of Inanna, his feet rested on the dais he had created for his bride. He wore the shining garments, the mei she had presented to him on there wedding day. But his heart filled with tears. The shepherd’s heart was filled with tears. Dumuzi’s heart was filled with tears, for his bridal bed was empty. His heart was empty without the love of the Queen of Heaven and Earth to fill it. He had not her wisdom. He had not her compassion. He had only the blood guilt, the mark of Cainanna on his heart. He did not think of the misery of the people of the land. He did not care for the widow, nor think of feeding the orphan. He thought only of himself.

     He grew despondent. His reign was not the glory he had imagined. He lay down on the empty bridal bed to rest. The shepherd lay down to rest. As he lay on the sacred bridal bed, he dreamed a dream. When he awoke from his dream, he trembled from his vision. He rubbed his eyes, terrified.

      Dumuzi called out: ‘Bring... Bring her... Bring my sister. Bring my Geshtinanna, my little sister, my tablet-knowing scribe, my singer who knows many songs, my sister who knows the meaning of words, my wise woman who knows the meaning of dreams. I must speak to her. I must tell her my dream.’

     His messengers raced from the palace and found the sister of Dumuzi in the hills. On the southern slopes she stood, on the sunniest side of the hills, she tended her vines in the garden. The messengers returned to the palace with Geshtinanna, the goddess of the vine, the purple robed princess.

      Dumuzi spoke to Geshtinanna, saying, ‘I would drink of your wisdom, dear sister Geshtinanna. I would pour out my heart to you and ask of you the answer to a dream!’

     Geshtinanna, the sweet sister of Dumuzi opened her arms to her brother. She took him into her embrace. She wrapped her purple-robed arms about the king.

     Dumuzi spoke to Geshtinanna. ‘My sister, listen to my dream. Bullrushes rise all about me; rushes grow thick about me. A single growing reed trembles near me. From a double growing reed, first one, then the other is removed. In a wooded grove, the terror of tall trees rises about me. Water is poured on my holy hearth and drowns the flame. The bottom of my butter churn drops away. My drinking cup falls from its peg. My shepherd’s crook has vanished. An eagle swoops from the sky and seizes a lamb from my sheepfold. A falcon plucks a sparrow from the reed fence. My sister, your goats drag their lapis beards in the dust. Your sheep scratch the bare earth with bent feet. Our churn lies silent; no milk is poured. My cup lies shattered. The sheepfold is given to the winds.’

      Geshtinanna spoke: ‘My brother, I do not wish to hear your dream. Dumuzi do not tell me such a dream. The rushes which rise all about you, the rushes which grow thick about you are your demons, who will pursue and attack you. The single growing reed which trembles for you is our mother Sirtur; she will mourn for you. The double growing reed, from which one, then the other is removed, Dumuzi, is you and I; first one, then the other, will be taken away.

     In the wooded grove, the terror of the tall trees which rises above you is the galla; they will descend on you in the sheepfold. When the fire is put out on your holy hearth, the sheepfold will become a house of desolation. When the bottom of your churn drops away, you will be held by the galla. When your drinking cup falls from its peg, you will fall to the earth, onto your mother’s knees. When your shepherd’s crook disappears, the galla will cause everything to wither. The eagle who seizes the lamb in the sheepfold is the galla who will scratch your cheeks. The falcon who catches a sparrow in the reed fence is the galla who will clamber over your ribs and take you away.

     Dumuzi, my goats drag their lapi beards in the dust. My hair will swirl uncombed around in heaven for you. My sheep will scratch the earth with bent feet. O Dumuzi, I will tear my cheeks in grief for you. The churn lies silent; no milk is poured. The cup lies shattered; Dumuzi is no more. The sheepfold is given to the winds-’

     Dumuzi wailed in fear. His sister, Geshtinanna reached out her arms to comfort him, but he pushed her away. Dumuzi, the hero of Uruk, pushed way his sister.

     ‘Go!’ he said angrily, ‘You have told me a lie! Do I not possess the holy mei of kingship given me by Inanna. Do I not carry the shepherd’s crook? Am I not arraigned in the holy garments of the king of the land? Go Geshtinanna! Never darken my door again!’

     Eyes filled with tears, heart heavy with grief for her brother, Geshtinanna returned to her own house, to her vineyards. The weight of her brother’s scorn broke her heart, and she returned to her wine presses. There on the hillside, she cried a river of tears which flowed out into the land.

     When, after three days and nights, Inanna had not returned, Ninshubur set up a lament for her by the ruins. She beat the drum for her in the synagogues. She circled thrice the houses of the gods. She tore at her eyes; she tore at her mouth; she tore at her thighs. She dressed herself in a single garment like a beggar.

     Alone, she set out for Nippur and the temple of Enlil. Thrice she circled the temple of Enlil, then entered the holy shrine.

     Within the holy shrine, she cried out, ‘O Father Enlil, do not let your daughter be put to death in the Great Below. Do not let your bright silver be covered with the ashes of the underworld. Do not let your precious lapis be broken into dust. Do not let your fragrant boxwood be splintered. Do not let the holy priestess of heaven be put to death in the Great Below.’

     Father Enlil answered angrily, for he was jealous and had not the heart to face Erishkigal.

     ‘My daughter is too proud and knows not her place in the Order of Things. She was always too headstrong! She craved the Great Above. Inanna craved the Great Below. She who receives the mei of the Great Below does not return. She who goes to the Dark City stays there. I, Father Enlil, will not help.’

     Grieving, Ninshubur went to Ur and the temple of Nanna. Thrice she circled the temple of Nanna, then entered the holy shrine.

     Within the holy shrine, she cried out, ‘O Father Nanna, do not let your daughter be put to death in the Great Below. Do not let your bright silver be covered with the ashes of the underworld. Do not let your precious lapis be broken into dust. Do not let your fragrant boxwood be smashed into splinters. Do not let the holy priestess of heaven be put to death in the Great Below.’

     Father Nanna answered angrily, for he was fearful for his daughter, but had not the heart to face Erishkigal.

     ‘My daughter is too proud and knows not her place in the Order of Things. She was always too headstrong! She craved the Great Above. Inanna craved the Great Below. She who receives the mei of the Great Below does not return. She who goes to the Dark City stays there. I, Father Enlil, will not help.’

     Sadly, Ninshubur went to Eridu and the temple of Enki. Thrice she circled the temple of Enki, then entered the holy shrine.

     Within the holy shrine, she cried out, ‘O Father Enki, do not let your daughter be put to death in the Great Below. Do not let your bright silver be covered with the ashes of the underworld. Do not let your precious lapis be broken into dust. Do not let your fragrant boxwood be smashed into splinters. Do not let the holy priestess of heaven be put to death in the Great Below.’

     Father Enki answered angrily, for he was fearful for his daughter, but had not the knowledge to face Erishkigal.

     ‘My daughter is too proud and knows not her place in the Order of Things. She was always too headstrong! She craved the Great Above. Inanna craved the Great Below. She who receives the mei of the Great Below does not return. She who goes to the Dark City stays there. I, Father Enki, will not help.’

     Sadly Ninshibur turned from the temple of Enki. Alone she knew of the fate of Inanna. She despaired of ever rescuing her Mistress from the clutches of Erishkigal. She wandered about the land. Everywhere was despair.

     Finally she came to the wild uninhabitable places. She became lost in the dark woods, then came upon the home of Lilith, the dark maid, in the form of an owl.

     ‘Ninshibur,’ asked Lilith, ‘What has happened? What has my daughter done? Why are you so sad?’

     Ninshibur replied, ‘O Lilith! Inanna, my mistress! Queen of all the lands! Holy Priestess of Heaven! You ask me what has happened? I am troubled. I am grieved.’

     Lilith, who was wise beyond the ear of the gods, for she could see into the dark places where other could not, spoke. ‘She has gone to the realm of Mistress Erishkigal to search for the sacred willow tree, did she not?’

     ‘Yes!’ replied Ninshibur, ‘You are wise, Maid Lilith! Inanna, my Mistress! From the Great Above she set her ear to the Great Below. From the Great Above the Deiva opened her thoughts to the Great Below. >From the Great Above Inanna turned her face to the Great Below. She gathered together the seven mei. She took them into her hands. With the mei in her possession, she prepared herself. She placed the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, on her head. She arranged the dark locks of hair across her forehead. She tied the small lapis beads around her neck, and wrapped the royal robe around her body. She daubed her eyes with ointment that enthralled every man she looked upon, bound the breastplate no impure man could remove to her chest, slipped the gold ring over her wrist, and took the lapis measuring rod and line in her hand.’

     ‘I serve both Erishkigal and Inanna,’ said Lilith. ‘And I serve neither. With Inanna in the clutches of Erishkigal, the world is not in balance. The sacred willow tree, the world tree, the tree of life, the huluppu tree must be restored! You, Ninshibur, must go to the Great Below, there you must find your mistress Inanna!’

     ‘Then if I must go there, then I shall! How shall I enter without being detected?’

     ‘Drink this,’ said Lilith. She handed Ninshibur a philtre, and Ninshibur drank the liquid from the philtre.

     ‘You can now take on any form you may wish.’

     Lilith then gave Ninshibur a wooden box and a flask of goatskin from the trunk of her tree.

     ‘You must bring the Food of Life to Inanna in this box. From the flask you must give her the Water of Life. Then your mistress will be impermeable to the will of Erishkigal for a year.

     You must take with you the Food of Life and the Water of Life. You will enter the door in the form of a fly. Erishkigal will not bother you, as the flies are her servants. She shall believe you are one of her own. There in the underworld, Erishkigal, the Queen of the Great Below will be moaning with the cries of a woman about to give birth, for she feels the pain she has caused her sister, yet knows not its source. No linen will be spread over her body. Her breasts will be uncovered. Her hair will swirl uncombed about her head like wild snakes.

     When she cries, ‘Oh! Oh! My inside!’, cry also. ‘Oh! Oh! Your inside!’

     When she cries, ‘Oh! Oh! My outside!’, cry also. ‘Oh! Oh! Your outside!’

     The queen will be pleased.

     She will offer you a gift. Ask her only for the corpse that hangs from the hook on the wall. You will sprinkle the food of life on it. You will sprinkle the water of life.

     Inanna will arise.’

     Ninshibur heeded Lilith’s words. She set out for the Great Below. Before the gates of the Great Below, she changed from her form as a lion to the form of a fly. As a fly, she slipped through the cracks of the gates. They did not have to open to admit Ninshibur. Her name was never written on the tablets of the Dead.

     She entered the throne room of the Queen of the Great Below. No linen was spread over Erishkigal’s body. Her breasts were uncovered. Her hair swirled around her uncombed like wild snakes.

     Erishkigal was moaning: ‘Oh! Oh! My inside!’

     Ninshibur moaned, ‘Oh! Oh! Your inside!’

     The Queen moaned, ‘Oh! Oh! My outside!’

     Ninshibur moaned, ‘Oh! Oh! Your outside!’

     Erishkigal moaned, ‘Oh! Oh! My belly!’

     Ninshibur moaned, ‘Oh! Oh! Your belly!’

     Erishkigal groaned, ‘Oh! Oh! My back!’

     Ninshibur groaned, ‘Oh! Oh! Your back!’

     Erishkigal sighed, ‘Ah! Ah! My heart!’

     Ninshibur sighed, ‘Ah! Ah! Your heart!’

     Erishkigal sighed, ‘Ah! Ah! My liver!’

     Ninshibur sighed, ‘Ah! Ah! Your liver!’

     Erishkigal stopped. She looked at Ninshibur, the fly, and asked, ‘Who are you, moaning, groaning, sighing and gnashing your teeth with me? Such empathy for my pain! If you were a god I would bless you. If you were a mortal I will give you a gift. I would give you the water gift, the river in its fullness.’

     Ninshibur replied, ‘You are most kind, Queen Erishkigal, but I do not wish it.’

     Erishkigal said, ‘I will give you the grain-gift, the fields in harvest.’

     Ninshibur replied, ‘You are most kind, Erishkigal, but I do not wish it.’

     Erishkigal said, ‘Speak then, what do you wish?’

     Ninshibur answered:

     ‘You are most kind, Erishkigal, but I wish only the corpse that hangs from the hook on the dying root of the sacred willow tree.’

     ‘The corpse belongs to Inanna, Queen of Heaven.’

     Ninshibur replied slyly, ‘Whether it belongs to a queen or whether it belongs to a king, a corpse is the best food for a fly. The corpse will nourish me and my family for generations. That is what I wish.’

     Erishkigal smiled, ‘You have spoken the truth. The corpse will be given to you!’

     And so, the corpse of Inanna came into the possession of her servant Ninshibur. Ninshibur sprinkled the food of life on the corpse. She sprinkled the water of life on the corpse.

     Inanna’s eyes opened. She arose from the sleep of the Dead.

     ‘Mistress!’ cried Ninshibur in delight.

     ‘Shhh!’ whispered Inanna, ‘You must not be discovered here! Hide within my dark locks. There you will be safe from the eyes of Erishkigal!’

     Ninshibur crawled into the tresses of her mistress. Inanna gathered together the seven mei. She took them into her hands. With the mei in her possession, she prepared herself. She placed the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, on her head. She arranged the dark locks of hair across her forehead. She tied the small lapis beads around her neck, and wrapped the royal robe around her body. She daubed her eyes with ointment called that charmed every man who fell under her gaze, and bound the breastplate that repelled any and all evil intrusions around her chest, slipped the gold ring over her wrist, and took the lapis measuring rod and line in her hand.

     As Inanna was about to ascend from the Great Below, the Annuna, the three judges of the Great Below, seized her.

     Erishkigal rose from her throne. Inanna started toward the throne, but before she could speak, Annuna, the three judges of the Great Below, surrounded her and condemned her. As quick as lightning, Erishkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of Death. She spoke against her the word of wrath. She uttered against her the cry of guilt. She struck her.

     Yet Inanna withstood the curses of Erishkigal, Elat of The Great Below, for she had adorned herself with the seven mei, strengthened by the blessing of the Bird Deiva, Lilith. The Anannu cursed the most foul curses. Erishkigal cursed likewise. But the Maid Inanna stood unharmed.

     Erishkigal slapped her thigh, gnashed her teeth and bit her lip. Taking the matter into her heart, she dwelt on it. ‘You cannot stay here, for I alone am Mistress of the Great Below. I will then beseech thee, Sister, since I cannot force you, to return to the Great Above!’

     ‘I shall return to the realm of the Great Above, but I ask a favour before I depart.’

     ‘Name it!’ said Erishkigal, who wished to be rid of the Queen of Heaven.

     ‘Restore Life to the roots of the sacred willow tree.’

     ‘It is done!’ snapped Erishkigal, ‘Now begone!’

     Inanna turned to leave the Great Below but the Anannu blocked her way. They said, ‘No one ascends from the Great Below unmarked. If Inanna wishes to return from the Great Below, she must provide someone in her place.’

     Erishkigal sighed in exasperation. ‘Yes! It is so!’ She desperately wanted Inanna to leave, but the rules of the underworld were perfect and could not be questioned. ‘It is true, you must provide someone to take your place! I will send the galla with you to ensure you do not forget your task! The galla, the demons who know no food, who know no drink, who eat no offerings, who drink no libations, will accept no gifts. They enjoy no lovemaking, They have no sweet children to kiss. They tear the wife from the husband’s arms. They tear the child from the father’s knees. They steal the bride from her marriage home. They have no compassion! They cannot be bribed!’

     As Inanna ascended from the Great Below, the galla, the demons of the Great Below, clung to her side. The small demons clung to Inanna. Their poisons stung her body with terrible force. The large galla who walked in front of Inanna was not a minister, yet it carried a sceptre. The one who walked behind her was not a warrior, yet it carried a mace. Once they were free of the Great Below, Ninshubur returned to her form as a lioness, and threw herself in the dust at Inanna’s feet.

     ‘Take me, wicked galla, for I cannot bear to see my Mistress tormented thus!’

     The galla said, ‘Walk on Inanna, we shall take Ninshubur in your place.’

     Inanna cried, ‘No! No! Ninshubur is my constant support. She is my sukkal who gives me wise advice. She is my bellatrix who fights by my side. She did not forget my words. She set up a lament for me by the ruins. She beat the drum for me at the synagogues. She circled the houses of the gods. She tore at her eyes, at her mouth, at her thighs. She dressed herself in a single garment like a beggar. Alone, she set out for Nippur and the temple of Enlil. She went to Ur and the temple of Nanna. She went to Eridu and the temple of Enki. She descended into the underworld to rescue me. Because of her, my life was saved. I shall never give Ninshubur to you!’

     The galla said, ‘Walk on, Inanna. We will accompany you to Umma.’

      In Umma at the holy shrine, Shara, son of Inanna, was dressed in a soiled sackcloth. When he saw Inanna surrounded by the galla, he threw himself in the dust at her feet.

     ‘Take me, wicked galla, for I cannot bear to see my Mother tormented thus!’

     The galla said: ‘Walk on, Inanna. We will take Shara in your place.’

     Inanna cried: ‘No! Not Shara! He is my son who sings sweet songs of praise to me. He is my son who cuts my nails and smooths my hair. I will never give Shara to you,’

     The galla said, ‘Walk on, Inanna. We will accompany you to Badtibira.’

     In Badtibira at the holy shrine, Lulal, son of Inanna, was dressed in a sackcloth soiled with ash. When he saw Inanna surrounded by the galla, he threw himself in the dust at her feet.

     ‘Take me, wicked galla, for I cannot bear to see my Mother tormented thus!’

     The galla said, ‘Walk on, Inanna. We will take Lulal in your place.’

     Inanna cried, ‘No! Not Lulal! He is my son. He is a leader among men. He is my right arm. He is my left arm. I will never give Lulal to you,’

      The galla said, ‘Walk on, Inanna, we will accompany you to the big apple tree in Uruk.’

     In Uruk, by the big apple tree, Dumuzi, the husband of Inanna, was dressed in the shining white mei garments she had given him. He sat on her magnificent throne, but he did not move to help her.

      Inanna, in anger, fastened on Dumuzi the eye of Death. She spoke against him the word of wrath. She uttered against him the cry of guilt, ‘Take him! Take Dumuzi away!’

     The galla seized him by his thighs. They poured the milk out of his seven churns. They broke the reed pipe which the shepherd was playing. The galla who know no food, who know no drink, who eat no offerings, who drink no libations, who accept no gifts, seized Dumuzi. They made him stand up; they made him sit down. They beat the husband of Inanna. They gashed him with axes. Dumuzi let out a wail.

     He raised his hands to heaven to Utu, the God of Justice, and beseeched him, ‘O, Utu, you are my brother-in-law, I am the husband of your sister. I brought I brought cream to your mother’s house. I brought milk to Ningal’s house. I am the one who carried food to the holy shrine. I am the one who brought wedding gifts to Uruk. I am the one who danced on the holy knees, the holy knees of Inanna. Utu, you who are a just god, a merciful god, change my hands into the hands of a snake. Change my feet into the feet of a snake. Let me escape from my demons; Do not let them hold me.’

      The merciful Utu accepted Dumuzi’s tears. He changed the hands of Dumuzi into snake hands. He changed the feet of Dumuzi into snake feet. Thus, Dumuzi escaped from his demons. They could not hold him, for he had no hands nor feet.

     His empty heart filled with tears. The shepherd’s heart was filled with tears. Dumuzi’s heart was filled with tears. He left the throne and Dumuzi scrambled across the steppe. There he came across his brother Gilgamesh, Lord of the Steppes, Ram of Heaven. There he found his friend Gilgamesh. Dumuzi knelt at the feet of his friend.

     ‘O steppe,’ he wept, ‘let out a wail for me! O crabs in the river, mourn for me! O frogs in the river, call for me! O mother Sirtur, weep for me!

     If she does not know the day I will die, you, O steppe, tell her, tell my mother. On the steppe, my mother will shed tears for me. On the steppes, my little sister will weep for me.

     Mighty Gilgamesh, my friend, you must save me!’

     At the thought of his sister, at the thought of his beloved Geshtinanna, Dumuzi was filled with remorse. He regretted his harsh words at her prophecy.

     ‘I have sinned against Inanna! I have sinned against Geshtinanna! Woe is me! Who will save me now from the galla?’

     His sister, Geshtinanna heard his lament. Her heart reached out to her brother and she was moved at the grief of the shepherd. She went to Dumuzi, her brother to comfort him.

     Supported by his sister and his friend, Dumuzi cried out:

     ‘My sister! Quickly, go up the hill! Do not walk with slow regal steps. Run, Sister, run! The galla, hated and feared by men, are coming on their boats. They carry wood to bind to my hands. They carry wood to bind to my neck. Run, Sister, run!’

     Geshtinanna went up the hill. Dumuzi’s friend went with her.

     Dumuzi cried: ‘Do you see them?’

     The friend cried: ‘They are coming! The large galla carry wood to bind to your neck, they are coming for you.’

      Geshtinanna cried, ‘Quickly, brother! Hide your head in the grass. Your demons are coming for you.’

      Dumuzi said: ‘My sister, tell no one of my hiding place. I will hide in the grass. I will hide among the small plants. I will hide among the tall plants. I will hide in the ditches of Arali.’

      Geshtinanna and Gilgamesh both answered, ‘Dumuzi, if we tell of your hiding place, let dogs devour us! Your black dogs of shepherdship, Your royal dogs of kingship, let your dogs devour us!’

      The small galla spoke to the large galla:

     ‘You galla, who have no mother, or father, no sister, brother, wife or child, you who flutter over heaven and earth like wardens, who cling to man’s side, who show no favour, who know not good from evil, tell us, who has ever seen the soul of a frightened man living in Peace? Let us not look for Dumuzi in the home of his friend. Let us not look for Dumuzi in the home of his brother-in-law. Let us look for Dumuzi in the home of his sister, Geshtinanna.’

      The galla clapped their hands gleefully, for those without a heart can only find satisfaction in their own cleverness.

     They went searching for Dumuzi. They came to the house of Geshtinanna.

     They cried out, ‘Show us where your brother is!’

      Geshtinanna would not speak.

      They offered her the water-gift.

     She refused it.

     They offered her the grain-gift.

     She refused it.

     Heaven was brought close. Earth was brought close.

     Geshtinanna would not speak.

      Enraged, they tore away her purple robes and beat her with paddles and stamping upon her with their feet until her blood ran freely in the gutter.

     Still, Geshtinanna would not speak.

     They confined her within a clay urn, and there she developed terrible sores and her skin became swollen and infected.

     But, still, Geshtinanna would not speak.

     They poured pitch into her vulva.

     Geshtinanna, in agony, still would not speak.

     The small galla said to the large galla:

     ‘We are wasting our time! Who since the beginning of time has ever known a sister who would reveal a brother’s hiding place? Come, let us look for Dumuzi in the house of his friend.’

      The galla went to Dumuzi’s friend.

     They offered him the water gift.

     He accepted it.

     They offered the grain gift.

     He accepted it.

     He said, ‘Dumuzi hid in the grass, but I do not know the place.’

     The galla searched for Dumuzi in the grass. They did not find him. They returned to the friend and threatened him.

     The friend said: ‘Dumuzi hid among the small plants, but I do not know the place.’

     The galla searched for Dumuzi in the small plants. They did not find him. They returned to the friend and threatened him.

     The friend said: ‘Dumuzi hid among the large plants, but I do not know the place.’

     The galla searched for Dumuzi in the large plants. They did not find him. They returned to the friend and threatened him.

     The friend said, ‘Dumuzi hid in the ditches of Arali; Dumuzi fell down in the ditches of Arali.’

     In the ditches of Arali, the galla caught Dumuzi.

     Dumuzi turned pale and wept.

     He cried out in anger at his betrayal, ‘My sister saved my life. My friend caused my death. If my sister’s child wanders in the street, let the child be protected- let the child be blessed. If my friend’s child wanders in the street, let the child be lost- let the child be cursed.’

     The galla surrounded Dumuzi. They bound his hands to the wood. They bound his neck to the wood. They beat the husband of Inanna.

     Dumuzi raised his arms to heaven, to Utu, the God of Justice. and cried out, ‘O, Utu, you are my brother-in-law. I am the husband of your sister. I brought I brought cream to your mother’s house, I brought milk to Ningal’s house. I am the one who carried food to the holy shrine. I am the one who brought wedding gifts to Uruk. I am the one who danced on the holy knees, the holy knees of Inanna.’

     ‘Utu, you who are a just god, a merciful god, change my hands into the hands of a gazelle. Change my feet into the feet of a gazelle. Let me escape from my demons. Let me flee to Kubiresh!’

     The merciful Utu accepted Dumuzi’s tears. He changed the hands of Dumuzi into gazelle’s hands. He changed the feet of Dumuzi into gazelle’s feet. Dumuzi escaped from his demons. He leaped free from their grasp. They could not hold him.

     He fled to Kubiresh.

     The galla said, ‘Let us go to Kubiresh!’

     The galla arrived at Kubiresh.

     Dumuzi escaped his demons again.

     He fled to Old Belili.

      The galla said:

     ‘Let us go to Old Belili!’

     When Dumuzi entered the house of Old Belili, he said to her, ‘Old woman, I am not a mere mortal. I am the husband of the goddess Inanna. Pour water for me to drink. Sprinkle flour for me to eat.’

      After the old woman poured water and sprinkled flour for Dumuzi, she left the house for she could sense the coming of the galla.

     When the galla saw her leave, they entered the house through the windows. Dumuzi escaped from his demons through the door. He fled to the sheepfold of his sister, Geshtinanna.

     When Geshtinanna saw Dumuzi, she wept. She brought her mouth close to heaven. She brought her mouth close to earth. Her grief covered the horizon like a garment. She tore at her eyes. She tore at her mouth. She tore at her thighs, for she knew she could not save him.

     The galla climbed the reed fence. The first galla struck Dumuzi on the cheek with a piercing nail. The second galla struck Dumuzi on the other cheek with the shepherd’s crook. The third galla smashed the bottom of the churn. The fourth galla threw the drinking cup down from its peg. The fifth galla shattered the churn. The sixth galla shattered the cup.

     The seventh galla cried: ‘Rise, Dumuzi! Husband of Inanna, son of Sirtur, brother of Geshtinanna! Rise from your false sleep! Your ewes are seized! Your lambs are seized! Your goats are seized! your kids are seized! Take off your holy crown from your head! Take off your mei-garment from your body! Let your royal sceptre fall to the ground! Take off your holy sandals from your feet! Naked, you go with us!’

     The galla seized Dumuzi. They surrounded him. They bound his hands to the wood. They bound his neck to the wood. Naked, they led him, bound, through the cities of Sumer. The galla opened wounds in his side. They placed a crown of thorns upon his head. They scourged him mercilessly, and mocked him.

     ‘Great King of Uruk, where is your pride? Will you rise up now and destroy us? Where is your mighty axe? Not even your father Lugalbanda can save you! Your friend has betrayed you! Your bride holds you in contempt! Now, you will suffer for the sins against your people!’

     All hope abandoned the Great Above as he was dragged to the Great Below. In Badtibira he was led, naked past the temple to descend to the Great Below. In Zabalam he was led, naked past the temple to descend to the Great Below. In Adab he was led, naked past the temple to descend to the Great Below. In Nippur he was led, naked past the temple to descend to the Great Below. In Kish he was led, naked past the temple to descend to the Great Below. In Akkad he was led, naked past the temple to descend to the Great Below.

     The churn was silent. No milk was poured. The cup was shattered. Dumuzi was no more. The sheepfold was given to the winds.

     Such was the suffering of the great Lord Dumuzi, that even Inanna was moved to tears. She set up a lament for him by the ruins. She beat the drum for him at the synagogues. She circled thrice the houses of the gods. She tore at her eyes, at her mouth, at her thighs. She dressed herself in a single garment like a beggar.

     A lament was raised in the city, ‘My lady weeps bitterly for her young husband. Inanna weeps bitterly for her young husband. Woe for her husband! Woe for her young love! Woe for her house! Woe for her city!’

     ‘Dumuzi was taken captive in Uruk. He will no longer bathe in Eridu. He will no longer bathe himself at the holy shrine. He will no longer treat the mother of Inanna as his mother. He will no longer perform his sweet task among the maidens in the city. He will no longer compete with the young men of the city. He will no longer raise his sword higher than the kurgurra priests. Great is the grief for those who mourn for Dumuzi.’

      Inanna wept for Dumuzi.

     ‘Gone is my husband, my sweet husband. Gone is my love, my sweet love! My beloved has been taken from the city. O, you flies of the steppe, my beloved bridegroom has been taken from me before I could wrap him in a proper shroud. The wild bull lives no more. Dumuzi, the wild bull, lives no more.’

     ‘I ask the hills and the valleys, ‘Where is my husband?’’

     ‘I say to them, ‘I can no longer bring him food. I can no longer bring him drink.’’

     ‘The jackal lies down in his bed. The raven dwells in his sheepfold. You ask me about his reed pipe? The wind must play it for him. You ask me about his sweet songs? The wind must sing them for him.’

     Sitar the mother of Dumuzi, wept for her son.

     ‘My heart plays the reed pipe of mourning. Once my boy wandered so freely on the steppe. Now he is captive. Once Dumuzi wandered so freely on the plains. Now he is bound fast. The ewe gives up her lamb. The goat gives up her kid. My heart plays the reed pipe of mourning. O treacherous steppe! In the place where he once said, ‘My mother will ask for me.’ Now he cannot move his hands. He cannot move his feet.

     My heart plays the reed pipe of mourning.

     I would go to him.

     I would see my child.’

     His mother walked to the desolate place. Sirtur walked to where Dumuzi lay. She looked at the slain wild bull. She looked into his face.

     She said, ‘My child, the face is yours. The Spirit has fled. There is mourning in my house. There is grief in my inner chambers.’

     The sister wandered about the city, weeping for her brother. Geshtinanna wandered about the city, weeping for Dumuzi, ‘O my brother! Who is your sister?

     I am your sister.

     O Dumuzi! Who is your mother?

     I am your mother.

     That the day that dawns for me would also dawn for you. The day that I now see I would you will also see. I would find my brother! I would comfort him! I would share his fate!’

      When she saw her sister’s grief, When Inanna saw the grief of Geshtinanna, She spoke to her gently, ‘Your brother’s house is no more. Dumuzi has been carried away by the galla. I would send you to him, but I do not know the place.’

     Then a fly appeared. The holy fly of Erishkigal circled the air above Inanna’s head and spoke, ‘Mistress, if I tell you where Dumuzi is, what will you give me?’

     Inanna said, ‘If you tell me, I will let you frequent the beer houses and taverns. I will let you dwell among the talk of the wise ones. I will let you dwell among the songs of the minstrels. No longer will you need to eat offal. No longer should you eat rotting meat only!’

     The fly spoke:

     ‘Lift your eyes to the edges of the steppe. Lift your eyes to Arali where nothing grows. Lift your eyes to the ends of the earth. There, hanging upon a cross made of the wood that binds the neck and the wood that binds the hands, you will find Geshtinanna’s brother. There you will find the shepherd Dumuzi.’

     Inanna and Geshtinanna went to the edges of the steppe.

     There, hanging upon a cross made of the wood that binds the neck and the wood that binds the hands, they found Dumuzi weeping.

     ‘Inanna, I beg your forgiveness! My sins against you are great! I chopped down the sacred willow tree to carve your throne. I split the trunk to build your bridal bed. I struck the snake that cannot be harmed to get at the roots for the dais for your sacred feet!’

     ‘Dumuzi, what you have done, you did for love of me! You were not to know the tree was the sacred willow tree! Had you forgotten that all plants belong to me? Had you forgotten that all animals belong to me? Had you forgotten these are not yours for the taking? There is no need to answer! Erishkigal has restored the world tree. Soon it will be as strong and as beautiful as ever. I, Inanna will tend it by my own hands as I have done in the past. There is nothing to forgive!’

     ‘But Inanna, I killed your lover Cainanna so that I could lie with you!’

     Inanna took Dumuzi by the hand and said:

     ‘What is done cannot be undone! For your part in his death, for the murder of the farmer Cainanna, you must serve in the Great Below. But for only half the Year. Your sister, since she has asked, will go the other half. On the days you are called, that day she will be taken. On the day that Geshtinanna is called, that day you will be taken.’

     ‘No!’ cried out Dumuzi, ‘My fair sister, my faithful sister Geshtinanna, please do not send her to such agony! Do not let the galla bite into her sides! Do not send her to the realm of Erishkigal! She does not belong within the Kur of the Dead!’

     ‘Do not fear, Dumuzi, for your sister will be brought to the bosom of the Queen of the Underworld. She will not suffer as you do, for she is free from the blood guilt!

     But you! You are to die here on the cross of wood! Your blood will be spilled out onto the fields to lift the blood curse of the murder of Cainanna. Life will be restored to the fields of Inanna. Your death, your blood, will bring the fields back to life each year, and when the seeds are ploughed under the soil, your sister Geshtinanna shall return from the Underworld to tend my fields. ’

     Erishkigal appeared on the edge of the steppe. The Queen of the Underworld came for the soul of Dumuzi.

     ‘Holy Erishkigal!’ Dumuzi cried, ‘Great is your renown! Holy Erishkigal! I sing your praises! Holy Erishkigal, I am ready to die!’

     Thus did Inanna pass Dumuzi into the eternal. Thus did Inanna commit the soul of her lover, Dumuzi to the care of her sister Erishkigal. Thus will Dumuzi ever die! Thus will Dumuzi always rise again!”

     Miri’s eyes had long closed and she had passed for some time in the land of Sumer, and the story was now as a real memory within her, yet she remained aware of the women watching from the circle.

     “Holy Erishkigal! Great is your renown!” sang Naomi

     “Holy Erishkigal! We sing your praises!” came the echoing chant from the women.

     “Holy Inanna! Great is your renown!” Naomi sang.

     “Holy Inanna! We sing your praises!” came the reply.

     “Holy Sisters! Great is your renown!”

     “Holy Sisters! We sing your praises!” came the chorus.

     “Holy Ishtar! Great is your renown!” Naomi sang.

     “Holy Ishtar! We sing your praises!” came the reply.

     Miri drifted off, lulled to sleep to Naomi and the others reciting the prayer to Ishtar, the poem of call and answer she would soon know by heart:

          “Holy Mother, full of Grace,

          Hallowed art thou amongst all women.”

          “Blessed are your children

          For we are the fruit of thy womb.”

          “Holy Mother, Queen of Heaven,

          Hallowed art thou amongst all women.

          I beseech thy blessing in this, my hour of need.”

          “Holy Mother, First Daughter of the Moon,

          Hallowed art thou amongst all women!”

          “Give me this day

          The milk of thy Breast and the warmth of thy lap.”

          “And protect us from evil until we return to thy womb.”