Sumerian Incantations-1

1.

Dear  Friends,

I am starting this series because of the request of a number of young scholars  who want to be familiar with the original  Sumerian texts that I use in my studies especially Archaic Tamil and now the Rig Veda. As my studies of Rig progresses I become more and more convinced of the fact that it is Archaic Tamil of a kind, something however we cannot recognize unless we make references to the Sumerian words and phrases grammatical features and so forth. While I recognize the divisions Dravidian Aryan Indo-European and so forth  are dissolving and thus requiring a new classificatory system for Indian languages , I also see that considerable amount of careful studies must precede before such a change can be brought about in Indological studies.

My sincere hope is that such Sumerian texts, not that easily  available especially with commentaries linking to the Dravidian and other Indological themes, will be used by other scholars as well.

The Incantations are taken from the superb publication "Forerunners to Udug-Hul"   by Markham J. Geller , and published by Franz Steiner Verlag Wiebaden GMBH,  Stuttgart, 1985

The tablets used for reconstruction are said to belong to the Old Babylonian Period  but the compositions themselves may actually belong the period of the Third Ur Dynasty  ( 2300 B.C. -- 2000 B.C)

I shall select only a few incantations out of the hundreds available  and even at a casual glance we can see that these constitute the Siddha tradition spread all over India and particularly well developed in the South where that tradition is still alive. We see  here medicine and psychotherapy mixed very visibly with Magic but with a sophisticated understanding of the origins of diseases , how they spread and so forth.

Loga


Notes: The numbers given are as in the book above where I have omitted the references to the tablets used.

209 en e-nu-ru ( Enuru incantation)
*Ta. en en -uru

Notes: Ta. en ; utterance as a noun, to tell , narrate etc as a verb. The 'uru' is  Ta. urai: to tell etc. The Ta. uru also means,  to utter  contniously as in Ta. urupoodutal. Thus  here while 'en' can be the utterance or incantation, en-uru may actually be recitation, incantation

210 ga-e lu sanga (d) en-ki-ga me-en ( I am the priest of Enki)

*210. ngaayee aaLu saanga  ENkiizaka maan ( " )

notes: ga-e = ngaayee> njaanee ,  naanee : I myself . The sanga/ sangu seems to have become  obsolete  in Tamil unless we acn  locate in the frozen form Ta. caangkiiyam : rituals ; en-ki > Ta. eenkiiz:  the Lord ( eeN > veeN, veeL: deity) of the Earth (ki, ku, kiiz)

211. ga-e ku-ga (d)dam-gal-nun-na me-en ( I am the purifier of Damgalnunna)

*Ta. ngaayee kooka tamkaLnunna maan (  " )

Notes: ku . Ta. koo ; resplendent and hence derivatively  deity; "tamkaLnunna " means the loftiest (nunna)  and great (kaL) Woman  ( tam) and hence  the Great Mother Goddess.

212. ga-e [.........] (d) asal-lu-hi me-en ( I am the .................... of Asalluhi )

*Ta. 212 ngaayee [...........] (d) asal-lu-hi maan  (  '' )

213. ga-e lu - (d) namma me-en ( I am the man? of Namma )

*Ta. ngaayee  aaLu Namma maan ( " )

Notes: Namma may be  the same as Nanna or Nanna Su'en, the moon god. In Cangkam classics we have a personal name of Nannan. The word Ta. namban is also a term meaning god.

214. ga-e lu (d)nanse me-en ( I am the man of Nanse)

* Ta. ngaayee  aaLu Nanjci  maan ( ")

Notes: nanse > nancil(?).  This mean  the plough and the diety  Vaaliyoon or Balaraaman is supposed to wield this as his weapon. It is also a place name, the Nanjcil Naadu , the country at the borders of modern day KeraLa  and Tamilnadu.
 

The Sumerian CaGkam ?

Below  some very  historically interesting lines where both Kumari and CanGkam are mentioned. Here I venture to give some of my own interpretations as well.

215. ga-e gudu sag-gam-mah ju me-en  ( I am the anointing (gudu)-priest , the knowledgeable sangamah)

216. ga-e lu  asilal (ki) me-en ( I am the man of Asilal?)

217. ga-e ka-pirig [A-HA](ki) he-sikil-la he-ga-dadag-ga me-en ( I am the incantation priest of Ku'ar , who indeed cleansed , and also purified)

218. . gudu susbu (d)en-ki-ga me-en ( I am the anointing priest, the purification priest of Enki)

*Ta. Gaayee koodu cangkam maa: cuu maan  (  I am ritual dancer ( koodu) who knows the rules established by the Great caGkam)

*Ta.  Gaayee aacu-ilal maan ( I am the man from Asillal ( the  where there are  no impurities)

*Ta. Gaayee kaapiri Kumari  (Kauri)  ey sukilla, eyka taGtaGku maan ( I am the incantation priest of Kumari (Kauri), attained purity and also attained living long)

*Ta. koodu coobu ENkiizkka maan ( I am the brilliant dancer of ENkiiz)

gudu Ta. koodu, kuudu , kudam? kuuttu

The Su. gudu  which is given the meaning 'priest" may actually be  a ritual dancer, and hence the Ta. koodu , meaning Ta. koodiyar, the dancer. From this might have originated Ta. kuudal, the coming together , assembling as an congregation and which brings us to the Kuudal, an ancient and alternative name for Mathurai, the location of the Third CaGkam or Academy which is also a meaning of Kuudal. This may have evolved from this way : kuudu-il> kuudil> kuudal. There is also a word 'kudil" which is retained in Sk in the name Kaudil-ya, the Gotra of the famous author of Artta Sastra which is said to have been written in Tamil Nadu. This Kaudil-ya has also become KauNdiya, the gotra of ThirunjaanaSambantar and so forth.

The word 'kudam" meaning 'pot' is ruled out as it appears to be a description of a professional person here though elsewhere it does occur in this sense in some Sumerian texts.

sam-gam-mah : maa caGkam : the Great Assembly?

The identity of Su. mah with Ta/Sk maa, maha in both morphology and meaning is quite obvious.  The word "sag-gam" cannot be 'priest" ( sangu?sanga) as 'gudu' that precedes it,  already means that. Hence it should be linked with 'sa-ga =sag-a" , to conjoin, be together , be in love etc. as in the following line:

Sir.

55. mi-be dam-a-ni-ta sa-ga na- an-da-ab-be  (its woman no longer speaks of love with her husband)

*Ta. mibee tam anitta saG-a naa aanida abaiyee ( " )

The sag-a here can also be (sexually) uniting, the caGkamam. Many words such 'caki' 'cakan' meaning loved ones may be related to this.

Thus it appears to be that 'sag-gam-mah" is the Great CaGkam , here however an Assembly of priests or ritual dancers in which many issues were discussed and perhaps also refined and standardized. The author of the incantation mentions that he KNOWS ( ju, Ta. cuu, cuuz)  which also reinforces the notion that sag-gam was in fact an Academy of a kind. Perhaps the Buddhist ' caGkam" as in "CaGkam caraNam kaccaami"  was an evolute of this kind of  assembly and which in later times  became an academic institution of scholars , the Pulavar.

Ku'ar , Kumari.

This interpretation of 'sag-gam' is further reinforced by the mention of "Kumari" ( Ku'ar)  which  lends support to the historical notion that the First CaGkam  was established in Kumari.

Geller gives evidences to read the sign [A-HA] as " Kumari"  ( Ku'ar) on page  13 of the book mentioned above. I give below the whole of the relevant passage .

" The above hypothesis contradicts a theory by van Dijk, that since Ku'ar was a city known as "non-Sumerian speaking" as well  as the city of Asalluhi, "Grossexorcist von Eridu', it is tempting to identify Ku'ar as the home of the non-canonical incantation in Subarian-Elamite languages. Van Dijk's arguments, however, are partially based upon a miscopied sign in CT 16 6:239-240 ( collated) which reads :

eridu (ki) ku'ar ( A.HA)(ki)-se mu-un-na-ri he-me-e-n

Ak. sa ina eri-du u ku-ma-ri re-hu-u ana-ku

The reading ku-ma-ri ( Kuwari? Ku'ar) is supported by ku-mar ( CT 51 105:21- 22).... "

It is interesting here that in Tamil,  Kumari is also called Kauri, a parallel in meaning and morphology that is quite striking and thus pointing out also a historical continuity despite a shift in the geographical location

Su. ka-piri(g) Ta. kaaviri , kavi

The term 'ka-piri(g' literally means opening ( piri(g), Ta. piri, viri) the mouth ( ka Ta. vaay) and is retained in Ta. as kaaviri but as the name of the famous river in Tamil Nadu . Perhaps it was noticed to have a branching mouth and hence named thus.  This can also related to Sk. kavi as  in  "kavi kratuh " (Rig 1.5, Ta. kavi karaitu)
 
 

219.  ga-e e-sir-ra dib-be-da-mu-da sila-a gen-na-mu-de  (When I would pass along the street, in my going in the thoroughfare)

220. udug hul a-la hul gidim hul ( the evil Udug, evil Ala, the evil ghost)

221. gal-la hul maskim hul -dim-me (evil Galla , evil bailiff, Dimme)

222 {me} (d) dim-me-lagab lu-lil-la (Dimme- lagab Lil)

223. (rasur) ki-sikil-la ud-da-kar-ra  ( (female) lil , and maiden Lil demons)

224. nam-tar hul-gal a-sag-gig tu-ra(rasur) nu-du-ga-ni dab (the evil Namtar, the bitter asag-disease -- his serious illness being virulent --)

225. ga-e-ra nam-ba-te-ge-da-am  ( may not approach me)

 219 *Ta. Gaanee aasiira tappidu mutee saaliya kenna mutee  ( When I would go past some settlements, walk along the streets)

 220 *Ta.  otukku ol alai ol kiidam (?) ol  ( The  evil ghosts that cause withdrawal ( odukku), that evil wind   that roams around (alai), and the evil insects (kiidam))

221 *Ta. kaLLa ol maikkim ol timmee ( the  evil thieves ,  the really dark evil forces)

222. *Ta. {peey} timmee aGaappu aaLu liilla ( {ghosts} the evil winds that can swallow people )

223*Ta. kisukkil-la  (?)  oodai karai ( the maidens (nymphs?) by the river banks)

224 *Ta. tarunam olkaL anangku kaikku tuRai na tukkani  tabu ( the evil fate , the black  spirits that inhabit  the harbor  and cannot prevent miseries)

225* Ta.  GaayeenRa naam ba taakkuutam ( let them not approach me)

Notes:  There is an interesting analysis of the sources human miseries, various kinds of afflictions that include bad FATE ( nam-tar : Ta. tarnam, tarmam : the dharma)  nymphs insects  evil winds and so forth.  This kind of analysis still exists in Indian circles through the Samkhyas in terms  of : aati pautikam ( physical causes) , aati-aatmikam ( psychological causes)  and aati-teyvikam (  archetypal causes)

219 e-sir-ra >  Ta. i ceeri :  the settlement . Also eesiram>aasiram (aasramam): an institution? Note :aasiriyar : teacher. dib-ba > Ta. tappu: to escape , go past etc. mu-da Ta. mutee> mutalee : an adverb of time the sense of which is conveyed now by Ta. pootee, pozutee; sila-a > Ta. saalai-a;  the' -a' here is a case suffix,  locative in meaning here. cel> kel> ken=gen?. The 'cel' : to go;  exists also in Su. as 'sil'
 

220. udug ( Ak utukku)  - Ta. udukku, odukku ( also adakku, mudakku etc.) : to cause to withdraw, abate , stoop etc.); hul  - Ta. ol: evil . Also Ta. pul, pun: lowly, evil;  a-la` hul  - Ta. alai  : to roam around, and  hence "alai ol' perhaps the evil wind; gidim  -  Ta. kiidam : worms and insects

221. gal-la  - Ta. kaLLar: thieves and rogues;  maskim -- Ta.  macikim, maikim or maasukim : something dirty and impure? dim-me -- Ta. tiN, tim  :  stiff,  strong. Also Ta. timir:  to smear , rub etc.

222. me > Ta. peey : ghost ; dim-me-lagab> dim-me ilag-ab> Ta. timir ilaGku av : paralyzing the moving parts; timir: to become numb, suffer paralysis;  lil-la Ta. /Sk : liilai : play,  hence applied here  to the wind because it is always in motion.

223. ki-sikil  ?< si-sikil  T. cii cukkil: beautiful and pure; derivatively  'young maiden'. Also called Su. kin-ni  (> Ta.kanni)'. Here perhaps the 'cuurara makaLir' :  nymphs and angels. ud-da  (< id-da: river) Ta. oodai: stream , river. kar-ra Ta. karai: banks.

224.  nam-tar> tarnam Ta. tarmam : the given, the fate.; a-sag> Ta. aNagku? : oppressing deity. Note: Ta. atakku: to rub;  tu-ra Ta. tuRai: harbor, a place ; du-ga; Ta. tukkam: miseries; Also Ta. tukku: to talk, sing etc.

225. te-ge-da . Ta. taakkidi : to attack. -du/ idu is auxiliary verb here. Also Ta. teeykidu : to rub off.
 
 

The following concluding lines of this incantation make it quite clear that it is  an exorcism of a kind but at the same time a practice that is found throughout the history of India and which exists to-day as the Kavasa Literature - Kanta  Shasti Kavasam, Vinaayakar Kavasam etc. It is also to be noted in the practice where some mantras are given with the idea that the continuous reciation  of them will ward off the evil spirits and so forth.
 
 

226. i-re-ni-pa` sag i-re-ni-pa` ( I adjure there, first I adjured you)

227. zi an-na i-re-pa` zi ki-a i-re-pa`  (I adjured you by heaven, I adjure you by earth)

228. zi hendur-sag-ga nimgir ge i-re-pa` ( I adjure you by Hendursag, the night watchman)

229. zi dingir gal-gal-e-ne i-re-pa` (I adjour you by the great gods )

230 tu mu-un-na -ab-sum-mu-ta (When I deliver the spell)

231. [.........] x-ta si ba [x x '-ta ( ..............)

232. tu en e-nu-ru ( Enuru incantation)
 

 226 *Ta. nii-yiree  poo!  saan nii yiree poo! ( You all go away!  You all go away from people!)

227.  *Ta. jii vaanna yiree poo! jii kiiza yiiree poo! (  In the name of the celstial beings, you all go away !  In the name of the earth,  you all go away !)

228. *Ta. jii eentur saaGa nimgiir yiree poo! ( You all go away in the name   of  the good gods who live in the hilltops)

229. *Ta. jii tingir kaLkaLayinee  yiree poo ! ( In the name of  the great divine beings, you all go away!)

230. *Ta. too munna av summatu  ( When I recite the the spell )

231. ..........................

232 .*Ta. too en en-uru ( enuru incantation)

Notes:

226. i-re< e-ne :  persons. Ta. inam : a group, a collectivity.  The word 'ene' as a plural  person (divine beings)  marker occurs in line 229 above.  While in Modern Tamil '-ina' is retained as  a plural marker of non-persons ( Ta. maadukaL vantana : the cow came) , the '-ire" is retained as "aar, ar, ir,  iir " etc. but as a person plural marker ( vantaar, vantiir etc.) The Ta. inam  itself means a group,  a species, a collectivity of living things.

The Su.ni means  functions  a general pronoun meaning a person. However here we  seem to have the use of it as Ta. nii : the second person pronoun. The expression "i-re -nii" exists now as 'niiviree, niyiree" meaning "you all"

 Su. pa` : Ta. poo : to go away.

227. ...

228. nimgir > Ta. nimgiri. Su. nim means the higher grounds, the raised platform etc. We have Ta. nimir, nivar corresponding to that. Su. gir >  Ta. kiri:   the hills.  S. hendur-sag-ga> Ta. eentu-ir saaGka : the lofty and good beings

229.  dingir > Ak diwer > Ta. teyvam, teevar : celestial beings, gods. gal-gal-e-ne > Ta. kaLkaLayine. This 'kaL' which originally meant great and honorable as Ta. kaN, kaNam and which also means a multitude or herd  as in maan-kaNam : a herd of deer,  has become now the general plural marker  as in maadukaL: the cows. The 'kaL' as honorific is retained in Ta.  as ungkaL, taangkaL  which are also observed in Su. Another use still available is Ta. kaLLar, the great ones which is attested in Su. as gal-la. Unfortunately this term as in Tamil also means thieves and rogues , a situation that we find in Sumerianas well.

230. Su. tu, (also du, dug) > Ta. tuu, tuti ( Note: Arabic do'a, Sk stuti etc.)

The First Incantation Concluded.



 

ͧÁÕ ¸Åº Áó¾¢Ãõ

«ýÀ÷¸û º¢Ä÷ §Åñʦ¸¡ûÇ, ­þíÌ ­þ¾¨Éò ¾Á¢Æ¢Öõ  ¾Õ¸¢ý§Èý. ­þ¾ý ¸¡Äõ ²Èį̀È  2000 B.C ¬Ìõ. ­þ¾ý Å¢Çì¸ì ÌÈ¢ôÒì¸û ¬í¸¢Äò¾¢ø ¾ó¾¡¸¢ Å¢ð¼Ð. ¸¡ñ¸.  ÌÁâ  ¿¡Î Ó¾ü ºí¸õ  §À¡ýÈÅüÈ¢ý ÌÈ¢ôÒì¸û þ­ó¾ Áó¾¢Ãò¾¢ø ¯ûÇÉ. ¸¡ñ¸.

¯Ä¸ý

Notes: The numbers given are as in the book above where I have omitted the references to the tablets used.

209 en e-nu-ru ( Enuru incantation)

±ý ±ý ¯Õ

210 ga-e lu sanga (d) en-ki-ga me-en ( I am the priest of Enki)

¹¡§Â ¬Ù ºí¸ ²ý¸£ú¸ Á¡ý

211. ga-e ku-ga (d)dam-gal-nun-na me-en ( I am the purifier of Damgalnunna)

¹¡§Â §¸¡¸ ¾õ¸ûÑýÉ Á¡ý
 

212. ga-e [.........] (d) asal-lu-hi me-en ( I am the .................... of Asalluhi )

¹¡§Â  [..........] «ºøÖ¸¢ Á¡ý
 

213. ga-e lu - (d) namma me-en ( I am the man? of Namma )

¹¡§Â ¬Ù ¿õÁ Á¡ý
 

214. ga-e lu (d)nanse me-en ( I am the man of Nanse)

¹¡§Â ¬Ù ¿¡ïº¢ Á¡ý

215. ga-e gudu sag-gam-mah ju me-en  ( I am the anointing (gudu)-priest , the knowledgeable
sangamah)

¹¡§Â §¸¡Î ºí¸õ Á¡‹ Ý Á¡ý

216. ga-e lu  asilal (ki) me-en ( I am the man of Asilal?)

¹¡§Â ¬Ù ¬º¢øÄø Á¡ý

217. ga-e ka-pirig [A-HA](ki) he-sikil-la he-ga-dadag-ga me-en ( I am the incantation priest of Ku'ar , who indeed cleansed , and also purified)

¹¡§Â ¸¡À¢Ã¢ ÌÁâ ( ¦¸ªÃ¢) ² ͸¢øÄ ²ö¸ ¾íÌ¾í¸ Á¡ý

218. . gudu susbu (d)en-ki-ga me-en ( I am the anointing priest, the purification priest of Enki)

§¸¡Î ÍŠÒ ²ñ¸£ú¸ Á¡ý
 

219.  ga-e e-sir-ra dib-be-da-mu-da sila-a gen-na-mu-de  (When I would pass along the street, in my going in the thoroughfare)

¹¡§Â ­ §ºÃ¢Â ¾ôÀ¢Â¢¼ Ó§¾ º¡¨Ä ¦¸ýÉÓ§¾

220. udug hul a-la hul gidim hul ( the evil Udug, evil Ala, the evil ghost)

´ÎìÌ ´ø «¨Ä ´ø ¸£¼õ ´ø

221. gal-la hul maskim hul -dim-me (evil Galla , evil bailiff, Dimme)

¸ûÇ÷ ´ø Áº¢¸¢õ ´ø  ¾¢õ§Á

222 {me} (d) dim-me-lagab lu-lil-la (Dimme- lagab Lil)

{§Àö} ¾¢õ§Á ­ÄíÌ«ù ¬Ù Ä£øÄ

223. (rasur) ki-sikil-la ud-da-kar-ra  ( (female) lil , and maiden Lil demons)

    ¸£Í츢øÄ µ¨¼ ¸¨ÃÂ

224. nam-tar hul-gal a-sag-gig tu-ra(rasur) nu-du-ga-ni dab (the evil Namtar, the bitter asag-disease -- his serious illness being virulent --)

¾÷¿õ ´ø¸û «ºíÌ ¨¸ Ð¨È ¿¡ Ðí¸É¢ ¾Ò

225. ga-e-ra nam-ba-te-ge-da-am  ( may not approach me)

¹¡§ÂýÈ ¿¡«õ À¡ §¾ö̾õ

226. i-re-ni-pa` sag i-re-ni-pa` ( I adjure there, first I adjured you)

­§Ã ¿£ §À¡ º¡ý ­§Ã ¿£ §À¡

227. zi an-na i-re-pa` zi ki-a i-re-pa`  (I adjured you by heaven, I adjure you by earth)

ƒ£Â Å¡ýÉ ­§Ã §À¡! ƒ£Â ¸£Æ ­§Ã §À¡!

228. zi hendur-sag-ga nimgir ge i-re-pa` ( I adjure you by Hendursag, the night watchman)

ƒ£Â ²óÐ÷º¡í¸ ¿¢õ¸¢Ã¢ì§¸ ­§Ã §À¡!

229. zi dingir gal-gal-e-ne i-re-pa` (I adjour you by the great gods )

ƒ£Â ¾¢í¸¢÷ ¸û¸û¢§É ­§Ã §À¡!

230 tu mu-un-na -ab-sum-mu-ta (When I deliver the spell)

 à(¾¢) ÓýÉ «ý ÍõÁÐ

231. [.........] x-ta si ba [x x '-ta ( ..............)

232. tu en e-nu-ru ( Enuru incantation)

à)¾¢) ±ý ±ý ¯Õ


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