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The Babylonian Ritual for the Consecration and Induction of a Divine Statue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Extract
Attention has recently been called by Dr. Blackman to an important ritual text of Babylonian origin, of which the only versions hitherto known, from Ashurbanipal's library, were published by Professor Zimmern. The editor of these texts has pointed out their possible affinities, not only with the Egyptian ritual of “ Opening the Mouth ”, but also with Mandaitic ritual. Since the ritual appears to be of considerable importance for the study of comparative religion, attention must be called to another version in the British Museum, which serves to complete and explain what is already known to some extent. I am indebted to the Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities for permission to publish this document.
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References
page 37 note 1 J.E.A., x, 47–59.
page 37 note 2 Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Babylonischen Religion, Ritualtafeln, 31–8.
page 37 note 3 Orientalische Studien Theodor Nöldeke gewidmet, 959 ff.
page 37 note 4 mašmašu.
page 37 note 5 ašipu.
page 37 note 6 piṭir. For paṭaru ii, 1, in the sense “ to interpret”, see e.g. Ashurbanipal, L. 4, i, 16.
page 38 note 1 See notes on lines 2, 15, 46, 53, 63.
page 38 note 2 B.B.R. 139a.
page 38 note 3 That the statue is of wood may be inferred from the incantation in 1. 5 ; possibly the wooden core was cased in metal, and the technique resembled that of Dr. Hall's bulls from the temple of NIN.HAR.SAG at Tall al‘Ubaid. That metal might be used in the construction of a divine statue is clear from the gold sheath of Adad's lightning-fork from Ashur, and is implied by the mention in the ritual of NIN.A.GAL., the god of the metal-workers, just as the mention of NIN.ILDU, NIN.ZA.DIM., and GUŠKIN.BAN.DA implies that carpenters, jewellers, and gold-workers had been at work on the statue.
page 39 note 1 uknu, lapis lazuli, or simply blue frit, would be especially suitable for beards, see my Babylonian Historical Texts, 93. The red stone, samtu (whether carnelian, cinnabar, or otherwise) would be used to represent the iris of the eye, to judge from the animal eyes from Tall al ‘Ubaid. (abnu) UD.AŠ was the ordinary material for the eyes, see Legrain, Historical Fragments, No. 80, Obv. 18–19. Gold and silver quartz may have been inlaid on the dress.
page 39 note 2 See 1. 49.
page 39 note 3 Mars is classed with a constellation and a fixed star, 1. 31.
page 39 note 4 1. 49.
page 39 note 5 See note on 1. 53.
page 39 note 6 1. 56.
page 39 note 7 The fact is celebrated by the incantations in 1. 54.
page 39 note 8 So I interpret the incantation in 1. 56.
page 40 note 1 1. 4.
page 41 note 1 1. 7.
page 41 note 2 1. 13.
page 41 note 3 1. 37.
page 41 note 4 Stück, ii, 7, 19.
page 41 note 5 Of linguistic evidence the only word of importance seems to be šeam, spelt phonetically in 1. 41. This seems to me rather in accordance with the practice of the First Dynasty than of later scribes, but proof of such a point would depend on an exhaustive study of all the documents.
page 42 note 1 In the translation words placed in square brackets have been inserted in translating ; words in round brackets are restorations in the text. In the notes Zimmern's Stück i–iv, of Nos. 31–7, Ritualtafeln, and No. 38 are quoted as Nos. 1–5.