Inannas Descent Into The Underworld Ch 04 1

Despite the fact that I mostly try to use Sumerian naming, I found that certain Babylonian or Akkadian equivalents were more evocative than the Sumerian versions. So, any such inconsistencies in my story are intentional.

The repetition seems to be a feature of the Sumerian texts in the original language - possibly the words were lyrics that were meant to be sung, accompanied by music.

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"From the great heaven, my mistress set her mind on the world below.

From the great heaven, mighty Inanna set her mind on the world below.

My mistress abandoned the heaven, abandoned the earth, and descended to the underworld."

~ Cuneiform on clay tablets, attributed as the words of Ninshubur, "her minister who speaks fair words, her escort who speaks trustworthy words"

Neti the gatekeeper and the Judges had returned to their domain, with Pazuzu's departure. They were greatly displeased, and spoke with great anger, even as Inanna stood at the gates and demanded egress.

"Who has ever ascended from the underworld? Who has ever risen unscathed from the underworld? Who has ever escaped with life and body from the underworld? Only appointed messengers may pass freely, as Ninshubur may. But if Inanna is to ascend from the underworld, let her provide a substitute!"

For a moment Ninshubur was afraid, but Inanna had placed a calming hand on the small of her back and addressed Neti, saying, "Your mistress has left her throne, which now sits empty. Your dark mistress has abandoned her throne, which now sits empty. Your mistress has broken the laws of the underworld, which you call perfect - for she has departed from her throne, which now sits empty. How shall you judges enforce these laws upon me, a visitor and guest to this place?"

"Visitor and guest? Say rather intruder and quarrel-maker," came the cold reply. "Ereshkigal, praised be her royal name, placed you atop that hook, as her rightful prize of war. If you are to come off that hook and leave this place, if you are to pass through this gate and leave this place, if you are to turn your back and leave this place, then offer a substitute!"

Inanna stood for some moments with head bowed. She was the Strong Mother - it was not what she wanted, to have anyone suffer in her stead.

Around the pair gathered the gallu: the demons, the chittering netherlings, the loathsome denizens of this place who were not the souls of the dead. Ninshubur grimaced.

They were the ones who knew no food, knew no drink, ate no flour offering and drank no libation. They were the ones who accepted no pleasant gifts. They never enjoyed the pleasures of the marital embrace, and never had any sweet children to kiss. They tore away a woman from her lover's embrace. They took away the child hanging from a wet-nurse's breasts. They snatched the son from a man's knee. They made the bride leave the house of the father-in-law. They crushed no bitter garlic, ate no fish or leeks.

They were the antithesis of life itself - for when the gods had created Life, in that same moment they also had to create un-Life, which the gallu embodied.

To deal with them was no humiliation, for these were part of the universal law. Inanna raised her head. Her need for haste was great - a sacrifice would have to be offered in her stead.

"Who will you accept?"

The gallu pointed as one at Ninshubur. "Inanna, proceed to the sunlit realm, for we will take this one," they intoned.

"No!" Inanna's voice rang out sharply, and she curled a protective arm around her handmaiden. "This is my beloved sukkal, my minister of fair words, my escort of trustworthy words. She bore my appeal to the gods - she did not neglect me, she did not abandon me, she did not betray me. She brought me back to life - how could I turn her over to you? Choose another."

Ninshubur turned and clasped her arms around Inanna's waist tightly. "Mistress, if there is no other choice, let me suffer in your place so that you may go," she wept.

"Never, my beloved handmaiden," Inanna told her tenderly. "Do not be worried. They will find another."

And they did. Puabana's naked form suddenly appeared before them, and fell onto her knees. The gallu pointed as one at the defeated warrior woman, whose spirit still glowed brightly with strength, and sang, "Inanna, proceed to the sunlit realm, for we will take this one."

Even as Inanna's eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth to give a sharp refusal, Puabana raised her head. There was anguish in her eyes, but the love and courage were undimmed. The brave, loyal woman said, "Divine Mistress, my blood empowered your foe against you; my life force strengthened your foe against you; my energy aided your fie against you. Allow me to expiate my shame - let me suffer in your place so that you may go."

"Never!" Inanna cried, distressed. "No shame accrues to you, my brave priestess warrior! You who fought with all your heart and will and might, you who followed my dictates unwavering and unswerving, you who stood steadfast into death and beyond - how could I turn you over to them? They must choose another! Depart, into peace!"

Puabana's spirit form dissipated, as she was released once again into the tranquillity beyond the veil. The demons chittered and chattered, muttered and murmured.

And suddenly, Dumuzid's wretched form appeared before them.

The plump, overfed consort-king had, in death, become as a gaunt skeleton. And, unlike Puabana whose strength had been apparent in the outward form of her spirit, Dumuzid was a dim flickering wraith. Even now, he cowered in fear.

"Mistress!" he cried, weeping to see Inanna. "My goddess... my beloved queen... save me... save me!"

"So they have slain you," Inanna said to him, her voice thick with grief.

The gallu pointed to him as one and demanded, "Inanna, proceed to the sunlit realm, for we will take this one."

"He was the Shepherd King of my city! He was my lover in a marital bed. He was the caretaker of my people. How could I surrender him to you? How can I turn him over to you?"

But Ninshubur tugged at her mistress's arm and whispered urgently into Inanna's ear.

"All know he was craven and indolent in life, a monarch most fatuous. All know he spent much on his fine silks and magnificent palace and savory sweetmeats from faraway lands. All know he failed to oversee flood relief for the farmers, to secure safe trade routes for the merchants, to lighten the burden of tax for the poor. And after your defeat, and without your high priestess Puabana, he failed to defend your city."

"But still, he does not deserve to sit upon that spike! He was kindly, in his way. He may not have been Enmerkar or Gilgamesh, but he was not an evil king," Inanna insisted. "Dumuzid... my poor shepherd king... I have failed you. Tell me, how is it that you came to be here? How is it that you died? Tell me truth, for I command it!"

Dumuzid quailed, and he opened his mouth, but he could not speak - for he had meant to lie, but as a mortal soul in the underworld, when Inanna commanded truth, he had to obey.

So he told her, of his cowardice as his soldiers died in the streets and the palace, for he was no warrior himself. He told her of his abject degradation at Ereshkigal's hands, of how he had spurted his seed onto Ereshkigal's belly before she even touched him, of how Ereshkigal's beautifully muscled body and descriptions of her victory over Inanna had caused him to give up not only his seed, but eventually his life force, meager as it was.

As he related all this, Inanna's face clouded over. Ninshubur looked upon him with contempt and disgust. "Mistress, this is a fitting substitute! He was a weak king, disloyal to you. His affections were easily stolen, his will was easily broken, his body was easily crushed like a ripe fruit for its juice, which dripped into the mouth of your sister-goddess. He is unworthy of you!"

But Inanna slowly shook her head, and looked upon the trembling Dumuzid with pity.

"Is every man as strong as his forefathers? Is every woman as strong as her foremothers? Where is the man who could stand against Ereshkigal and not shrivel in fear; where among these pitiable mortal men who are not like my priestesses, chosen from birth and raised to greatness? Where is the man who could resist the will of either my sister or myself - we who were Courtesans together in the courts of the High Heavens, who pleasured our fellow gods and wrung from their throats the cries of delight, the moans of pleasure, the groans of joy? No, Ninshubur, I shall not offer him in my place. He bears no blame for having been placed in too exalted a station. Now let him rest forever, free of his burdens. They must choose another."

And, weeping with regret, the ghost of Dumuzid faded away.

The gallu surrounded them. They were at an impasse; then Ninshubur stepped forward, her eyes flashing.

"For shame!" cried the fierce Queen of the East. "Shameful are the ways of the underworld. Have you no murderers, no robbers? Have you no rapists, no deceivers? Have you no blasphemers, no braggarts? Bring to us one deserving of condemnation, and delay us no longer!"

And lo, there appeared a man, a person whose soul was foul to even look upon. His lips were plump and loose; his porcine eyes were small and mean; he reeked of rotten grapes; about him was the stench of a dead mongoose.

"Behold," the gallu declared as one, "this man was from your divine city of Uruk, Inanna. His name is Engar-dug, called by all a fool - a child raised in wealth, but as a man disgraced; croaker among singers; devoid of good judgment; a braggart without shame...

"Like unto a slippery place that men avoid; like unto a mud-spattered pig; like unto a warrior called for duty but holding back; loving crosstalk and deceit; loving constant quarrels and chirping insults; whose unruly speech is vomit; whose tail is stuck in his mouth; whose instructions are given without wisdom...

"A well that provides no water whatsoever; always shifty in his ways; changing his opinion like a rag in the wind; he who kicked limping cripples in the broad streets; he who daily spread evil talk among his clan; he who tore down the houses of the poor and sold their land for coins; a self-smitten man, blocked at the rump! Such is Engar-dug!

"What say you, O Queen of the East? What say you, O Supreme Goddess of the Sky? What say the both of you, to such a one? Shall he serve? Shall we take him as your substitute, divine Inanna? Shall he sit upon that spike in your place?"

Together, with great satisfaction, Inanna and Ninshubur nodded their assent, and the gallu were satisfied. Together they left the screams of unending torment behind, and walked through the seven gates, each step lighter than the last, and Neti the gatekeeper was satisfied. Together, they ascended from the depths of Irkalla, and the Anunnaki were satisfied.

But now they had to make haste - for the holy abode of Ningal, Mother of Reeds, was under attack. If Ereshkigal could slay both Ninurta and Ningal in such a place, and take their strength as she had taken Inanna's... no soothsayer would be able to say if Inanna or any other could subdue her.

Just outside the entrance to Irkalla, Inanna's golden chariot waited, with her lions at the ready. Ninshubur had ridden it here - now, her mistress took the reins once more, as of old.

The chariot soared through the air, the golden lions of Inanna pulling it along. Ninshubur had her arms wrapped around her mistress's midriff, and her chin was on the mighty goddess's shoulder, in the crook of her neck.

Inanna stood naked and proud in the light of the sun. She had no further need of the trappings of power which she had brought with her to the underworld - she had left all with Neti, the gatekeeper. She had no need for the shurgarra, her Crown of the Steppes; her necklace of lapis lazuli; her double strand of breast beads; her breast plate, divinely forged and moulded to her perfect bosom, called by mortals "Come, man, come"; her bracelets which had conferred strength upon her arms; the rod of judgement; the shimmering pala robes she had worn, the garment of ladyship.

She was Inanna, but not as before; she was the Warlike Goddess of the Sky, the Strong Mother, Queen of Love, but not as before. She had tasted Pain; she had tasted Death; she had tasted Suffering. She had known Despair.

And in her was the seed of an ancient darkness from the time before time, and not even she knew what would come of letting it return to the mortal sunlit realm. But it was her only chance to defeat her mad sister, Ereshkigal, who had become crazed with hatred and loneliness, and now sought only to bring destruction upon all their kin, and on all the sunlit world.

As they neared the riverside abode of Ningal, Goddess of Reeds, and mother to both Inanna and Ereshkigal, the sky itself seemed to darken, even though it was the middle of the day. Then, as they approached, fear found a home in Ninshubur's heart, and even Inanna's.

The temple home of Ningal lay in ruins. The roof had collapsed, and the stone columns were shattered. And in front of the steps lay the hitherto invincible warrior Ninurta, Slayer of Heroes, Lord of the Deluge, Master of Lagash. Ninurta's armour was battered, dented in places. His head was bare, for his helm was lying off to one side, almost unrecognizably crushed and bent out of shape.

By his side was the mace Sharur, the Smasher of Thousands - the head and haft separated. Sharur, the weapon that spoke with the roar of a lion, slayer of Asag the Hideous, now lay broken.

Inanna felt a great wave of grief sweep through her, and she felt Ninshubur's arms tighten around her waist with the same emotion. As soon as the chariot's wheels touched the ground, they stepped off, and ran to Ninurta's side.

"Thanks be to Enki," Ninshubur gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "He yet lives!"

He did - but barely. His eyes opened at their approach.

"Within," he croaked hoarsely, spitting blood. "Hurry.."

"Help him!" Inanna commanded.

Ninshubur crouched by his side, summoning the remnants of the Food and Water of Life that still remained in her - only a very small portion remained, but it would have to suffice. Perhaps it could sustain Ninurta and lessen his agony until help could arrive. But his survival was glad tidings - his essence had not yet been stolen by Ereshkigal.

"I shall ease his pain, and join you within soon," Ninshubur assured her mistress. "I shall be swift!"

With Ninshubur ministering to the fallen guardian god, Inanna gathered her resolve, and entered the vestibule.

She remembered only too well how, when the world was young and the gods even younger, she and Ereshkigal had roamed the halls of Ningal's home, laughing and playing, throwing sticks of cornel-wood, playing with the wooden ball and mallet set made from the halub tree, listening in the luxuriant garden to the singing of the Anzud bird.

But the Anzud bird had taken up its young and flown away into the mountains. The ball and mallet had been taken by Inanna's former lover Gilgamesh and fallen deep into the underworld. And the cornel-wood sticks were long since broken.

And now, from deep within the inner sanctum, in Ningal's Holy of Holies, there came to Inanna's attentive ears the sounds of great exertion. They were not, however, the grunts and yells of combat. They were the desperate moans of a goddess in distress.

Inanna lunged forward into a sprint, running through the swirls of sandalwood incense, and reached the inner sanctum.

Ningal lay defeated, her limbs splayed wide open, her head lolling to one side, saliva trickling out of her mouth and pooling beneath her face. Great Lady Ningal lay in complete and total defeat, while Ereshkigal towered over her, proud and cruel and disdainful, holding up her legs by the ankles and grinding her heel into Ningal's genitals.

From Ningal's open mouth issued a long, deep, shuddering groan of agony, but she could only twitch her limbs spasmodically. She could no longer fight.

Ereshkigal's face showed utter astonishment and furious dismay at Inanna's appearance. She released Ningal's legs - the thick, lush limbs of the Mother of Reeds flopped uselessly onto the floor with a loud slap of flesh upon stone.

"How is this possible?" Ereshkigal cried, with real fear in her voice. She backed away, even as Inanna advanced further into the sanctum.

Inanna was heartened - Ereshkigal had managed to take the strength of neither Ninurta nor Ningal! Indeed, it seemed as though Ningal had resisted with all her might, though their divine mother was not the equal of the younger goddesses in strength. Inanna's arrival was most timely, though - from all the signs, Ningal had been on the very verge of being broken completely.

Silently, Inanna prayed her praise to Ningal's indomitable strength - the Mother of Reeds, though outmatched, had endured to the last, and had not been overcome!

But now, it was time to face her nemesis at last.

Ereshkigal's eyes widened, then narrowed, as the distance between them closed. "So, sister, you have penetrated the veils of my secret," she spat. "And I see, sanctimonious hypocrite that you are, that you have struck the same bargain!"

"Only to stop you, my dark sister, from destroying all under the sky, and all above the ground!" Inanna grimly replied. "You will not make a great sacrifice to yourself of all our fellow gods and goddesses; you will not bring back the primordial darkness; you will not shatter the day and the night!"

Ereshkigal laughed harshly. "You, who have writhed between my legs in defeat as I conquered you, you will stop me? Lamashtu favored me first - I have the greater portion of her dark power, and I still have yours that I took from you, when I vanquished you in our Trial!" So saying, she twisted her hips, arched her chest, raised her arms, and struck up her pose of dark sensual magnificence - the same pose that she had struck before the Trial in Irkalla, the same pose that had caused Dumuzid to spurt his seed without touch. The muscles stood out all over her body, hardening under her pale skin, bulging with manifest power, contouring her frame with the curves of a courtesan. Her gaze became lidded with sultry appeal.

"You are mistaken, Ereshkigal. My bargain was not with the Mother of Beasts. See if you can discern the strength that has been added to my restored essence!" She, too, struck up her own pose, just as she had in Irkalla on that dais. Her hair had been darkened, her frame had been thickened - but still she stood as she had before, divinely proud and supremely confident.

For long moments they stood in confrontation, each woman a visage of feminine strength and power. Dark-green veins began to appear on their skin, as their muscles were flexed ever harder and tauter.

Then Ereshkigal's gaze hardened, and a fine tremor, almost imperceptible, ran through her body. Her composure did not break, but it was shaken.

"Your compact..." she hissed through her teeth. "It was with..."

"When you released the one, you also unleashed the other, sister mine," Inanna told her. She took no pleasure from Ereshkigal's discomfiture, for even now she bore deep misgivings about her own choice. "Now it is time for you to return to your vacant throne, which out of kindness and mercy I gave to you long ago."

But Ereshkigal only laughed, bitterly.

"If Lamashtu violated my body in ways even I shudder to recollect, then I have some notion of how it was for you, when you allowed Pazuzu to make you his gate. To think of it..." she licked her lips, "you, great Queen of the Skies, Strong Mother of War... debased and ashamed, drinking from the same fountain. You wish to chastise me? You should turn your face to the ground in shame."

Inanna knew that her foe spoke truth. From the very moment she re-entered the sunlit realm, she could sense that the consciousness of Pazuzu was spreading, like a hundred million invisible flies, throughout the world. By both their actions, the two Elder Ones could once again exert their wills on the mortal plane, for good or ill. They had both contravened the laws of Enki, Enlil and Anu.