This is a modern festival celebrating arrival of Spring & Summer. I had to localize the practice/meaning of Emesh and its relationship to Dumuzid link
I was able to write my entire ritual today and create the altar but couldn't preform it. I had planned to do the first two tasks leading up to today but somehow this entire week got filled with appointments so I didn't have energy. Another post will follow with the details once I've actually preformed the ritual.
Text of the poem Inana and Bilulu: an ulila to Inana.contains series of laments for Dumuzi, husband of Inanna.The text deals with Inanna avenging the death of Dumuzi after he is betrayed by his friend as text Dumuzid's dream suggests. The revenge is directed towards woman called Bilulu and probably her son.
The text lies at the very end of Inanna - Dumuzi myth series in which Inanna descended to Netherworld, is revived, but she has to hand over someone instead of her. She picked Dumuzi, her husband, whom she found lavishly feasting instead of mourning his wife. Dumuzi escaped the demons with the help of Utu, and went hiding. Demons searching for him went first to his sister Geštinana who did not reveal his whereabouts and then to his friend, who is not named, who revealed the location. Demons surrounded Dumuzi, killed him and dragged him to the Netherworld. By avenging his death Inanna redressed giving him to demons.
"O Dumuzid of the fair-spoken mouth, of the ever kind eyes," she sobs tearfully,
"O you of the fair-spoken mouth, of the ever kind eyes," she sobs tearfully.
"Lad, husband, lord, sweet as the date,
…… O Dumuzid!" she sobs, she sobs tearfully.
2nd Lament
mu-lu nu su-ba mu-lu nu en-nu-uĝ-ba me-gub
dumu-zid mu-lu nu en-nu-uĝ-ba me-gub
ama-ušumgal-an-na mu-lu nu en-nu-uĝ-ba me-gub
utu-da gub-ba DI-ĝa en-nu-uĝ-ba me-gub
ĝi-da nu-nu DI-ĝa en-nu-uĝ-ba me-gub
O you who lie at rest, shepherd, who lie at rest, you stood guard over them!
Dumuzid, you who lie at rest, you stood guard over them!
Ama-ušumgal-ana, you who lie at rest, you stood guard over them!
Rising with the sun you stood guard over my sheep,
lying down by night only, you stood guard over my sheep!"
Let me utter the lament for you, the lament for you, the lament!
Let me utter the lament for you, the lament for you, the lament!
In the birthplace let me utter the lament for you, the lament!
In the desert, O Dumuzid, let me utter the lament for you, the lament!
In the house Arali let me utter the lament for you, the lament!
In Du-šuba let me utter the lament for you, the lament!
In Bad-tibira let me utter the lament for you, the lament!
In the shepherding country let me utter the lament for you, the lament!
*This is actually the 4th lament, but it is almost identical to the 3rd one. It did not seem necessary to me to present virtually the same lament twice and this one is a more complete one.
Please note that determinatives and sign numbers were omitted for formatting reasons.
