I basically have accepted at this point that my practice is going to be its own weird singular thing and that my personal 'versions' or conceptions of the gods will be different from anyone else's, since I'm so heavily focused on syncretisms that are historically uncertain and/or fully upg-based. and while that may be a little bit isolating at times it doesn't prevent me from enjoying & finding value in engaging with others in the community, partaking in group rituals, etc.
having said that, I've since come across a couple others who are independently doing some of the exact same weird syncretic things as me in a way that's pretty eerie. like ohhhhh okay so there is actually something here, I'm not just making this up whole cloth if we're arriving at the same extremely specific conclusions - if nothing else there's enough evidence for multiple people to have identical interpretations, which alone is a sort of confirmation I think.
(also not the first time something similar has happened, so maybe one day I will learn to simply trust myself & accept what I'm told!)
Purification is everywhere in Mesopotamia, there is even a priest who focuses solely on purification rites. A person, a temple, ritual items, offerings and anything belonging to a Diĝir must be pure. So far I have always simply asked Enki to bless the water on my altar, but I wanted to find a more historical way, and utilized the CDLI to find one.
Incantation
Have water in container
Have empty bowl in sacred space
This is an incantation of letting cleansed water fall into the bowl.
Hold up water container
Heaven is King, Earth is Queen
Enki, Lord of the Abzu, his cleansed water purifies heaven, pure water and cleansed water he created.
When Asalluhi, princely son, let the jug of cleansed water fall into the bowl in the pure place; it is purified and brightened.
Pour water from a container into a bowl located in the sacred space.
The being with evil tongue has truly stepped out.
Hover your dominant hand over the water
Hold your other arm up, bent at the elbow, and palm facing outwards.
The water is purified and brightened.
Evil has stepped out.
The fallen water is purified and brightened.
Evil has stepped out.
The water on this altar is purified and brightened.
Evil has stepped out.
Enki's water is purified and brightened.
Praise The Abzu!
Sources, Notes, & Annotation
Post for the original incantation in Sumerian and original English translation Link
CDLI Link
This is a modern incantation adapted from an ancient one, with as little change as I could manage but still making it "usable"
This incantation is in Sumerian but from the Old Babylonian period ca 1900-1600bce.
Many changes were for the grammar to flow more naturally in English
The bowl is described as a crescent, I don't have one but if you do you may want to use that
Altar in line 10 to shrine, sacred space or other similar term.
Which hand is the pure hand in Mesopotamia depends on a dizzying amount of factors so I chose the individual's dominant hand. More information can be found in "Science and Superstition: Interpretation of Signs in the Ancient World" link
Arm up and palm facing out is a worship position, if you no longer need to keep the empty cup in your hand it seems more respectful to hold your empty hand in a reverent position rather than hanging down by your side.
Annotated Version
All modern changes are marked with brackets, original can be found in the post link above.
[[This] is an incantation of letting cleansed water fall into the bowl.]
This line is at the end of the original incantation, however I feel it best suits the beginning as stating intentions. Original is "it" not "this."
Heaven is King, Earth is Queen.
No change
[...]
Original: "An is King and Mami is Queen." Mami is a Babylonian Goddess and I do not worship her in the Sumerian pantheons (at least not under this name) nor conceive of her as The Mother Goddess. So I removed the line.
Enki, [Lord] of the Abzu, [his] cleansed water purifies heaven, pure water and cleansed water he created.
Original is "King" but I refer to him as "Lord" in my practice so I changed it. Original is "whose" not "his."
When [Asalluhi], princely son, let the jug of cleansed water [fall] [into] the bowl in the pure place; [it is] purified and brightened.
"Asal" is the Diĝir in the original translation, I cannot find reference to them in any dictionary of ANE gods. I have found Lugal-asal but that does not appear to be the same Diĝir.
Even searching the EDSDE for the Sumerian "dumu" epithet I could not find him. However, according to transliteration in this tablet he does have the divine determiner. Being called a princely son after a mention of Enki I assume it is referring to Asalluhi, Enki's son. (Also spelled Asarluhi / Asarluhe) — Oracc Link
Original line is "cleansed water and the crescent-shaped bowl in the pure place fall" changed mostly for grammar.
The [being with] evil tongue [has] [truly] stepped out.
Grammar changed from original "evil tongue being". Translating Emehulgal, I found this word as "evil language" here link but couldn't find any entity/spirit name so I kept "the being". Interestingly the Akkadian in that text column translates to "evil eye" le-mu-ut-tum link. I hate the word "verily" so I changed it to "truly." Original was "is" not "has"
I have also seen the translation "May Evil Speech Stand Aside" but with the word "imin" instead of "eme" as was used in this text.
*All subsequent lines
They are my own writing, three repetitions is common in Mesopotamian literature.
I wanted to combine the concept of sunlight and his role in justice.
So I came up with "Shining Light of Justice" ..... then I had to figure out what that would be in Sumerian. Took some work but I like how it came out.
...I hope I got all this Sumerian right
ĝ = ng sound , š = sh
🔹The Noun
Light = Ĝešnu 𒄑𒉢 (Link)
Judge / Verdict = Dikud 𒁲𒋻 (Link)
The ePSD entry of "Ĝešnu = light" shows clear connections to Utu/Suen, so I went with that over "Si = Light 𒋛"
I could not find "Justice." Thus a word that can mean "a verdict"—the final decision of the court—seems like a good translation for justice.
Genitive Case (aka "of") = .ak 𒀝(Link)
The K is usually dropped if there is no case particles attached.
Light of Justice = Ĝešnudikuda 𒄑𒉢𒁲𒋻
🔹The Verb
To Shine = Zalag 𒌓 (Link)
Indefinite Verb - Marû Verb = "e" 𒂊 or a repetition of the word. (Link)
I went with suffix e instead of zalagzalag.
Shining = Zalage 𒌓𒂊
🔹The Phrase
Sumerian is SOV so verbs go at the end.
Shining Light of Justice (literal: a verdict)
Ĝešnudikuda Zalage 𒄑𒉢𒁲𒋻𒌓𒂊
🔹Utu
Utu = 𒀭𒌓
So if we want to use the phrase as a tacked on epithet, kind of like Greek epithets, we would just put Utu in front.
Alternatively we could say "Utu is The Shining Light of Justice."
The Copula is a particle that takes the place of "to be" in a sentence. (Link)
Conjugating the copula to mean "[he/she/it] is" is "-am" 𒀀𒀭
Thus Utuam. I tend to use an apostrophe between the name and the suffix so that the Diĝir's name clearly stands out. It is not an actual thing when normalizing Sumerian cuneiform.
I think which I use would just depend on context.
🔹The Epithet
Utu Shining Light of Justice
Utu Ĝešnudikuda Zalage
𒀭𒌓 𒄑𒉢𒁲𒋻𒌓𒂊
-
Utu is The Shining Light of Justice
Ĝešnudikuda Zalage Utu'am
𒄑𒉢𒁲𒋻𒌓𒂊 𒀭𒌓𒀀𒀭
🔹Addendum
Utu does have a historical epithet. Found in Line 28 of Dumuzid and Ĝeštinana ETCSL 1.4.1.1
Utu Diku Niĝsisa = Utu Judge of Justice / Just Judge
I'm still annoyed with Temple of Sumer's the "Sumerian Religion is the ancestor to the Abrahamic Faiths" claim.
Their argument goes: Abraham was born in "the Sumerian City of Ur" therefore he and his family practiced Sumerian religion, and when Abraham's God tells him to leave and go to Canaan it was obviously a Sumerian God who said to do so therefore Abraham's God (Yahweh/Trinity/Allah) is a Sumerian God!
This. Is. Nonsense.
While we are a Pagan religion, we also intersect the religions of the book, and that is something that puts us in a rather unique space, as we walk a path that lies in between, and in many ways we can act as the bridge between both worlds. Too many Christian academics seem too focused on Israel, and trying to trace their God from there, and not from where the Biblical patriarch actually began his journey. We always found that strange to look to Ugaritic sources for answers when Abraham was Sumerian in origin. Why focus on where Abraham’s people ended up on their travels, and not where they began the journey to look for answers? It is a deeply flawed mind-set of trying to understand the culture of the city where Abraham’s great great grandchildren were born in order to find the origins of their God, and not the city and civilization where the Biblical Patriarch was born into himself. — Website
First, no we don't have a unique position at all— you imagined that please unimagine it. Stay out of inter-religious conversations if you're going to try and claim the Jewish-Christian-Islamic, patriarch/ancestor/prophet actually practiced your religion uwu.
Second, I could be wrong but this seems deeply anti-Jewish. (I'd say antisemitic but "semitic" is an important distinguisher in this post and includes non-Jews)
Third, it is clear from academics that Ancient Israelite Religion pre-monotheism (sometimes called "Yahwism") is almost entirely Canaanite in nature, Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic Canaanite language, and the only question mark is where did YHWH come from—with the only real contender being the southern most parts of the Levant between Canaan and Egypt. The earliest plausible mention of YHWH is an Egyptian Stele from approx 1390 BCE found in Sudan that mentions "YHWH of Shasu" which Shasu is referring to a southern Levant tribe.
The website straight out says "Abraham was a Sumerian" ..... do you not understand dates?
Third Dynasty of Ur is usually considered the last of "Sumerian Civilization" and it took place after an incursion of the Eastern Semitic Akkadians from Upper Mesopotamia that had ruled southern Mesopotamia for a time. UR III ended in 2004 BCE (Middle Chronology). From that point on the land and society was absorbed into the Eastern Semitic world, via the Babylonians, with Sumerian language being a literary and liturgical usage— but society was squarely Akkadian/Babylonian; in the same vein that Latin still exists in Roman Catholic Christian usage but we do not live in Roman civilization.
The Hebrew Bible says Abraham was born in Ur Kašdim aka Ur of the Chaldeans (the Greek rendering of the name). The Chaldeans were a Western Semitic speaking nomadic people who moved into southern Mesopotamia sometime between 900-800 BCE but originated in the Levant. The founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire may or may not have been of Chaldean origin in 626 BCE.
Notice how 900 BCE and 2000 BCE are two very different years? Ya know, 1,100 years apart.
Sumer as a civilization and distinct culture was LONG GONE by the time the Chaldeans arrived. The Sumerian City State of Ur, and the city of Ur under Babylonian rule are not the same. It would be like saying Rome under the Government of Italy and Rome under the Roman Empire are the same city with the same exact language, culture, religion, and ethnicity; which is absolutely bonkers. Even when it comes to Christianity it would be bonkers; Christianity of Rome, Roman Empire 312 CE (reign of first Christian Emperor) and the Christianity of Rome, Italy 2025 CE are very fucking different (the 1st of the 7 founding Ecumenical Councils didn't happen until 325). These two distinct cultures of Rome are 1,712 years apart.
So. Saying Abraham was a Sumerian living in the Sumerian City State of Ur practicing Sumerian Polytheism (note: specifically not Akkadian/Babylonian which is Semitic). Is akin to saying a random Italian guy on the streets in Rome is a Roman Citizen living in the Roman Empire practicing pre-Ecumenical Christianity.
Do you see how tremendously stupid that is?
EVEN if we believe in a historical Abraham he is said to have lived during the second millennium BCE, Sumerian civilization had extremely long lasting effects and presence all the way up to The Common Era in the ANE (seriously my post on Mesopotamian months showcases it well). BUT as a civilization, a spoken language, a distinct Sumerian identity, it was contained to the Third (and probably Fourth) Millennium BCE. Even under the rule of the Akkadian Empire there was still a distinct Sumerian-ness ... one that was gone by the time any historical Abraham existed. Especially if the High Chronology Mesopotamian time is the more accurate dating system (most academics still use Middle Chronology).
So no. Temple of Sumer. We are 100% not practicing the ancestral religion of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Even if a (nonexistent) Sumerian Polytheism of Abraham was the ancestor to those religions our modern Sumerian Polytheism absolutely is not. The four thousand year discontinuity erases any claim to us practicing an ancestor religion especially one that holds a "rather unique space."
Abraham was literally never Sumerian. Nor was Canaanite El, Israelite YHWH, or Arabian Allah. Why the fuck is this dumb, ahistorical, willfully ignorant, disinformation the front page of your website.
Gods left to right: Nanše; Gaia & Uraš (globe); Hygeia; Asklepios; {Beads on Asklepios not visible in photo: Epione, Akeso, Iaso, Panakeia, Aigle}; Ninisina-Gula; Damu; Gugal-ana; Ĝeštinana (white beads); Ninĝu Ereškigal'am; Ninazu (pendant on Ereškigal); Nanna (moon disc on wall); Hestia; Small white statues: Apollo Argyieus, Hekate, Hera Oikos, Hermes, Zeus Herkeios; Zeus Ktesios (jar); Athena Ergane; Ninĝirsu (dagger on wall); Enki (on wall); Ares; Enlil; Inana; Damuzid (black beads); Nanaya (white & black figures); Nisaba; Nirah (snake); Gibil (red candle with handle); Ningirima (bell).
Wow this has me thinking so much.
I have not created a "daily altar" in so long, I didn't have a single one in 2024 (one of the worst years disability wise). This was a hell of a challenge for me because well it's been so damn long. I've had altars and shrines but never what I've loved as my focal point the "daily altar." The grey bowl and glass cup are for the monthly libations observations I've outlined for myself.
One reason for the challenge is because I don't have a separate Education Shrine or Oikos Shrine which I always have in the past meaning a lot of the theoi and diĝirene on this altar would usually not be. So it's incredibly crowded and I even bought shelf thingies specifically to make it fit idols/reps better but I completely forgot. I only have this altar, my Kamidana, and Apollo Proopsios representation with divination tools.
There is a lot of work to be done to get use to the daily altar centered religion I had for so long but had ripped from me thanks to disability ...... starting with remembering that I got the shelves and remaking this. But I'm surprised I managed to make this at all it doesn't feel artistic to me but getting it up at all is an accomplishment.
"Hymns and prayers have provided us with a window into the religious beliefs of the ancient Mesopotamians.
Individual prayers followed a fixed pattern:
(1) at the beginning there was an invocation praising the deity;
(2) the middle section, which varied in length, was devoted to the complaints or petitions of the worshiper; and
(3) the end included anticipatory expressions of appreciation and praised the god again.
The style of these prayers was not very interesting. They used stock phrases, epithets, and hymnal quotations. Many examples of liturgical poems have been found; they expressed feelings of respect, fear, and spirituality.
These liturgical poems were addressed to a particular god, before whom the worshiper bowed and appealed for mercy, sometimes through flattery.
Only poems composed outside the cult showed more sincere feelings and poetic style-personal requests referring to a specific and very personal experience.
Prayer was used for a variety of purposes, such as imparting magical effectiveness to sacred paraphernalia and warding off the evil effects of eclipses and bad dreams.
Special prayers expressed laments or complaints; others conveyed blessings. Thus, when man enjoyed economic prosperity and spiritual peace, he attributed his situation to the presence of supernatural powers that either filled his body or guarded him. Conversely, a man blamed his misfortunes, illnesses, and failures on the absence of such protection."
— From Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat p 189
In Mesopotamia there were two seasons Summer (Emesh) and Winter (Enten). In the climate of Mesopotamia winter was the wet seasons that brought life giving water to dikes and canals and allowed for the planting and growing season culminating in a harvest at the beginning of Summer — March.
...a search was undertaken of references to barley harvest dates in the ‘literature’ (clay tablets) of ancient Babylonia comprising two periods: 1800-1650 B.C. (Late Old Babylonian Period = L.O.B.P.) and 600-400 B.C. (Neo-Babylonian Period = N.B.P.). It turns out that in the former, the harvest began late in March or early in April, while in the latter, it began late in April or in May, amounting to a difference of about a month or slightly more. [1]
Dumuzid was believed to die as the harvest arrived because his job of helping things grow ends; his death marked the end of rainy planting/growing season of winter and transitioned into the harvest before the dry hot scorching summer set in fully. For this reason Enlil awards winter the 'better season', because its the one that brings water. [2]
In the region I live in—Massachusetts— spring is the wettest season; our growing season is very small due to frost dates. Planting takes place in spring to early summer, and harvesting happens in later summer and fall [3]. Leaving winter as the primary barren period. In a modern world there is basically planting and harvesting all year round since we have access to global seeds year round and indoor planting but I easily recognize which stuff is "in season" even if it's still available year round for me. Simply because stuff tastes so much better during its local harvesting period.
For my diet technically corn and rice are the two main important staples. In MA planting for rice is around April with harvest around October [4]. Corn is planted April-ish and harvested around July to October [5] (July & August have the best corn IMO). Most of the products I eat don't come locally because almost all gluten free substitutes use corn or rice thus it is in most products I eat regardless of growing location and climate. But knowing the local times is informative & meaningful at least.
If Dumuzid lives specifically for planting and dies specifically for harvesting, it would make a bit more sense to have him live at Spring/Early Summer and die in Late Summer/Fall in my Massachusetts living area.
I would basically have to switch which season Dumuzid lives in, in my area he lives in "Summer" Emesh (Spring & Early Summer) for planting and dies in "Winter" Enten (Late Summer & Fall) for harvesting. A 180° from his usual worship in ancient times and the climate he was worshipped in.
But I think localizing this practice makes more sense as a revivalist— it fits the meaning of his worship rather than just reconstructing the timing based on a climate I don't live in.
I'll also be using just the equinox dates for this modern timing/modern festival ("modern festival" since I don't know enough about ancient Dumuzid festivals to incorporate anything yet), rather than the lunisolar dates, since those dates match up with the Akiti festivals.
-Dyslexic not audio proof read & written during migraine-
🔹Sources
[1] Harvest dates in ancient mesopotamia as possible indicators of climatic variations by Neumann & Sigrist LINK
[2] Debate Between Winter & Summer Myth ETCSL LINK
[3] Massachusetts Planting/Harvesting Vegetables LINK, LINK
