Though the tone and weight of the book of esther and the song of. The scene where dumuzi knocks on the door of inanna s house for the first time feels like it could have come straight from a modern teenagers diary. Sacred marriage, revised edition christian book distributors. Hieros gamos divine unionsacred marriage posts facebook.
Gugalanna bull of heaven preface by samuel noah kramer this book is a. Lee inanna, lady of heaven and earth history of a sumerian goddess por henriette broekema disponible en rakuten kobo. Her husband was the shepherdking dumuzi akkadian tammuz, who became a god at some point, possibly through his marriage to inanna. The song of solomon, also known as the song of songs or the canticle of canticles, is based on the sacred marriage love poetry of dumuzi and inanna. And so we have the union of the goddess and the godking. In the sumerian king list, dumuzid is listed as an antediluvian king of the city of. Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that dumuzid will spend half the year in the underworld, but the other half of the year with her, while his sister.
The flexibility of inannas fertility aspect extends to the sacred marriage, an annual event in which a high priestess and the king or high priest if the king isnt up to it would perform a marriage and consummation ceremony between inanna and dumuzi. Inanna sumerian goddess of fertility, love, sex and war. Dumuzi tried to escape his fate, but a fly told inanna and the demons where he was. Samuel kramer wrote a book in 1963 entitled the sacred marriage rite. Inanna, displeased, decrees that the demons shall take him and herself uses the same look of death etc. It is a story of love between the gods although some argue that dumuzi was a real person, who rose to power, and so attained mythical divine status. If her installation necessitated the sacred marriage, she might also have incarnated inanna.
Canaanite quotes of anat from zecharia sitchin book. Far more extroverted than aphrodite, inanna celebrated her vulva and the sex act and below is one of the most quoted hymns of the bridal songs, where inanna calls out to her lover the shepherd king dumuzi. A far cry from adam and eve, shamed by their naked bodies. The heart of this book will speak to every person who wants to see god alive and. In sumer this annual rebirth of dumuzi and his subsequent marriage to inanna was celebrated every year at the spring equinox in the sacred marriage ritual the hieros gamos. In sumerian mythology, dumuzids sister was geshtinanna, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and dream interpretation. The ritual of sacred marriage involved the reenactment of the union of two deities, usually inanna ishtar and dumuzi tammuz. Goddess inanna resurrecting sexual freedom the goddess of.
In sumer, then, practically all the love songs recovered to dateand no doubt many more like them are still lying in the ancient ruinsrelate in one way or another to the dumuziinanna cult and its joyous sacred marriage rites. While in the underworld, she was struck dead for sitting on the throne of the queen of the underworld. Goes with lifted head to the holy lap of inanna, dumuzi beds with her, he delights in her pure lap. May 28, 2017 the poems of inanna, such as the descent of inanna, carry her qualities through to the ritual and ceremonies in her honor. Inanna is the sumerian astral deity representing the planet venus, known throughout the mesopotamian world. Diane wolkstein has been teaching, performing, and writing for over thirtyfive years. Dumuzi and inanna have sex against an apple tree in a garden, mirroring the sexual overtones in the eden story. In this act, the high priestess of inanna would have intercourse with either the high priest or the king of the city. According to the myth, inanna went down to the underworld. In their intercourse she fecundates the growth cycle of spring, and this came to be ritualized in an annual ceremony in which the king representing dumuzi tammuz entered into a hieros gamos or sacred marriage with a temple prostitute, representing inanna ishtar, and thus sympathetically brought regeneration to the land. The divine lovers, however, had a rocky relationship, culminating in the scorned goddess condemning her husband to the underworld when he failed to mourn her death.
Dumuzi goes with lifted head to the holy loins of inanna. Many cultures enacted or emulate sexual rites between god and goddess, or between the gods and a human who impersonated or energetically acted out the role of a deity. However, dumuzi s sister, out of love for him, begged to be allowed to take his place. The mesopotamians clearly understood inanna to be closely connected with fecundity. Originally, then, the ritual might have been a fertility rite, a possibility supported by wakemans suggestion that the sacred marriage was central to an early urukian harvest festival. Inanna was the great goddess of the sumerians, a people who lived 5000 year ago in the place we know today as iraq where.
Thus, the priestess represented inanna, the goddess of fertility and sexual love, while the king represented dumuzi, on the eve of their union. Public domain another important part of the myth regarding tammuz is his death at the hands of his lover, the goddess of love, inanna. Abo blood types is the anunnaki prince dumuzi the god of. For both she was the principal goddess in their respective pantheons. Inannaishtars closest counterparts to the west are the canaanite astarte and the later goddesses of greece and rome. The 4,000yearold sumerian love poem and the sacred ritual of. She was the goddess of war and equally passionately, the goddess of sexual love.
It does contain practical tools, but what married christians most need is help in becoming holier husbands and wives. May millions more in generations to come embrace this lifegiving message. Having disapproved of the dumuzi inanna love match from the beginning, marduk no doubt was even more opposed to the union after the pyramid wars. This part of inannas story appears to share something in common with that of hades and persephone. Goddess inanna resurrecting sexual freedom the goddess.
The sacred marriage of inanna and dumuzi was celebrated at the autumn equinox, in order to bring fertility to the lands. Dumuzi, inannas consort in the sacred marriage, the shepherd and king, was the only person who did not mourn for her while she was undergoing her underworld initiation. Abo blood types is the anunnaki prince dumuzi the god. Inanna quotes from zecharia sitchins books mesopotamian. Also known as dumuzid, dumuzi was a god of fertility.
The title beloved spouse of inanna had been claimed by the kings of sumer since king eannatum of presargonic lagash. Her temple priestesses, reichard says, participated in sacred sexual acts to ensure the fertility of the crops when they engaged in ritualistic lovemaking with the chosen men. Cover image for the sumerian sacred marriage in the light of comparative evidence by pirjo. Dumuzid, later known by the alternative form tammuz, is an ancient mesopotamian god associated with shepherds, who was also the primary consort of the goddess inanna later known as ishtar. In the sacred marriage rite, a priestess representing inanna the goddess was symbolically married to the king in an elaborate rite that lasted seven days.
The sacred marriage was a state occasion, a royal ritual, in which the king played the male role, and in which he figures as the god dumuzi, the spouse of inanna. In sumer and later in babylon, religious rituals involved sacred sexuality in the form of the sacred marriage or hieros gamos, an act simulating marriage between the fertility goddess inannaishtar and the shepherd god, dumuzi. Mar 26, 2019 the flexibility of inannas fertility aspect extends to the sacred marriage, an annual event in which a high priestess and the king or high priest if the king isnt up to it would perform a marriage and consummation ceremony between inanna and dumuzi. Aug 09, 2014 according to the sumerian belief, it was a sacred duty for the king to marry a priestess every year in order to make the soil and women fertile. References at the end of the book pages 520523 is a. Inanna was the sumerian goddess of love, fertility, and war, known in akkadian as ishtar. He who was conceived on the sacred marriage throne dumuzi, the shepherd. Inannathe quintessential femme fatale, tikva frymer. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Sacred marriage doesnt just offer techniques to make a marriage happier. Cosmic equinox and sacred marriage part ii ishtar e tammuz sun and moon iconography can be found on the impressive standing pillars of gobeklitepe, the neolithic temples that are among the most important archaeological sites of our time. Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person.
In inannas descent into the underworld, dumuzid fails to. After the marriage is consummated, dumuzi curtly informs inanna that hes going to be very busy being king nowdont wait up, hon. In sumer and later in babylon, religious rituals involved sacred sexuality in the form of the sacred marriage or hieros gamos, an act simulating marriage between the fertility goddess inanna ishtar and the shepherd god, dumuzi. In the courtship of inanna and dumuzi, she chooses the shepherd dumuzi. She is the author of numerous awardwinning books of folklore, including the magic orange tree, and other haitian folktales and inanna, queen of heaven and earth. The couple acts out the words told by the narrator narrator. The timing of the sacred marriage of inanna and dumuzi. According to the sumerian belief, it was a sacred duty for the king to marry a priestess every year in order to make the soil and women fertile.
Sacred marriage has inspired many to consider that marriage is more about holiness than happiness. Known for her meticulous research as well as her great range as a performer, ms. Inanna, the queen of heaven in ancient mesopotamia new. The huluppu tree, inanna and the god of wisdom,the courtship of inanna and dumuzi, and the extended epic the descent of inanna. At the start of the rite, the idol of the god dumuzi was taken away together with the king and hidden for seven days. The sacred marriage of inanna and dumuzi was central to the fertility of the land and was reenacted at important festivals such as the akitu festival at babylon by the king and a priestess having sexual intercourse or, perhaps, only symbolically mating in a kind of pantomime. About the author 1983 diane wolkstein has been teaching, performing, and writing for over thirtyfive years. Dumuzi, inanna s consort in the sacred marriage, the shepherd and king, was the only person who did not mourn for her while she was undergoing her underworld initiation. The actual literary compositions all concern the marriage of inanna and dumuzi. Inanna whose symbol is the reed bundle is the representation of the power of the storehouse. The principle of the life force on which everything depends, along with fertility, love and procreation were just a few of the principles that inanna, one of the oldest sumerian goddesses, represents. Ancient mesopotamian gods and goddesses inanaistar goddess. Sacred marriage offers that help with insights from scripture, church history, time tested wisdom from christian classics, and examples from todays marriages.
Oct 15, 2010 the sacred marriage of inanna and dumuzi was central to the fertility of the land and was reenacted at important festivals such as the akitu festival at babylon by the king and a priestess having sexual intercourse or, perhaps, only symbolically mating in a kind of pantomime. The sacred marriage rite 107 vii commentaries sumerian. The descent of inanna, then, about one of the gods behaving badly and other gods and mortals having to suffer for that behavior, would have given to an ancient listener the same basic understanding anyone today would take from an account of a tragic accident caused by someones negligence or poor judgment. The 4,000yearold sumerian love poem and the sacred. Goddess of love gods hand heaven and earth holy priestess holy shrine huluppu hulupputree husband hymns to inanna inanna and dumuzi inannas descent isimud king kurgarra land lapis lilith lines mesopotamia millennium b. The judgement of the kingdoms destiny could only occur after the hieros gamos reenactment of sacred marriage the courtship of inanna and dumuzi between king and goddess, as in, after heaven and earth have undergone recalibration via the interlocutor venuss grace.
Her name means lady of heaven and she was associated with the planet venus, the morning and evening star. Gary thomass sacred marriage has attained the rank of a contemporary classic. The book of esther and purim secrecy and hiding god. The 4,000yearold sumerian love poem and the sacred ritual. Sep 19, 2017 the judgement of the kingdoms destiny could only occur after the hieros gamos reenactment of sacred marriage the courtship of inanna and dumuzi between king and goddess, as in, after heaven and earth have undergone recalibration via the interlocutor venuss grace. Yet it is she that makes the sacred marriage with her husband dumuzi in a fertility rite. Its unique and inspiring perspectives on marriage as a spiritual discipline have. This book was published in 1983, and included material unknown to the general public at the time. The sacred marriage rites hermeneutics of new modernism. The sacred marriage rite, aspects of faith, myth, and ritual in. This love story forms the basis of the sacred marriage the heiros gamos tradition which derives from these lands. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know god better, trust him more fully, and love him more dearly.
Inanna and the sacred marriage by johanna stuckey matrifocus. Sacred marriage and sacred prostitution in ancient. The concept of the sacred marriage or sacred love ceremony originated with the ancients, who typically enacted annual ceremonies to bring fertility and prosperity. The courtship of inanna and dumuzi is one of the oldest love poems from the ancient world. He was ritually mourned at the jerusalem temple by the women of the city. According to thorkild jacobsen in treasures of darkness, dumuzi was the personification of the spark of life within all living plants and animals. The sacred marriage between them was the coming together of the fertile spark of nature with human.
In inanna s descent into the underworld, dumuzid fails to mourn inanna s. Dec 28, 2015 the principle of the life force on which everything depends, along with fertility, love and procreation were just a few of the principles that inanna, one of the oldest sumerian goddesses, represents. Her stories and hymns from sumer see other formats. There are four main parts of her story the huluppa tree which explores creation and inanna becoming queen, inanna and the god of wisdom which shows how she brought the gifts of civilization to her people, the courtship of inanna and dumuzi, a sacred marriage and the descent and return of inanna, the story of death and rebirth. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read.
Iconography of the sacred marriage rites from mesopotamia on display at the. The ritual of sacred marriage involved the reenactment of the union of two deities, usually inannaishtar and dumuzitammuz. The sumerian sacred marriage in the light of comparative. The land and the people cried for the lady, but dumuzi did not notice her absence at all. Read inanna, lady of heaven and earth history of a sumerian goddess by henriette broekema available from rakuten kobo. The dumuziinanna cult and the sacred marriage ceremony which was. This marriage of the king to inanna had ancient roots. In the sumerian poem inanna prefers the farmer, dumuzid competes against the farmer enkimdu for inannas hand in marriage. Juli slattery, clinical psychologist and president of authentic intimacy. In sumer, then, practically all the love songs recovered to dateand no doubt many more like them are still lying in the ancient ruinsrelate in one way or another to.
In inannas descent into the underworld, dumuzid fails to mourn inannas death and, when she returns from the underworld, she allows the galla demons to drag him down to the underworld as her replacement. Apr 07, 2020 in the sumerian poem inanna prefers the farmer, dumuzid competes against the farmer enkimdu for inanna s hand in marriage. The kings of mesopotamia may have practiced the sacred marriage rite from earlier times on. Inanna and dumuzi, sumerian gods and goddesses the secret of gobekli tepe.
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