I will later provide a short overview of the ishtarkabbalah parallelisms. The descent of inanna by shani oates the true origins of the infamous dance of the seven veils supposedly danced by salome for the head of john the baptist is indeed a mystery. The sumerian descent of inanna 1 relates, in a poetic narrative. The tendency in these writings is to flatten and level the distinctively mesopotamian features of the goddess. The descent of inanna is familiar to the many contemporary men and women who have undertaken to journey into their own underworlds and have lived to tell the tale.
There are many myths about the descent of the goddess. It was generally understood by astrologers that venus would be in the underworld only when retrograde. Diane wolkstein has been teaching, performing, and writing for over thirtyfive years. They pieced together worn and broken clay tablets found in the longburied libraries of babylon and nippur, some dating from about 1750 b.
Known for her meticulous research as well as her great range as a performer, ms. There are numerous wellknown myths from ancient times which describe a heroine or heros descent into the underworld. The descent of inanna from the great above she opened her ear to the great below. She is a goddess of order, fertility, grains, love, war, heaven and earth, healing, and emotion. Descent that deal with the disrobing of ishtar with what the bahir and the zohar say about the descent of the divine feminine in her descending aspect down the mystical tree of life. Inanna provides a manyfaceted image of the feminine. In this video i discuss why i made the descent, how i performed the ritual and what i learned link to read the story of the descent of inanna. Venus, the descentascent of inanna and the 7 gates. Download pdf the marriage of inanna and dumuzi, reproduction of a sumerian sculptur 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.
Its incantations have the power of a rhythmic cadence. One of the more significant is the story of inanna, the sumerian goddess, who hearing the call, made her own eventful journey and return. Pdf inannas descent to the underworld by johanna stuckey. My descent into the underworldfollowing the footsteps of. Inannaishtars most famous myth is the story of her descent into and return from kur, the ancient sumerian underworld, a myth in which she attempts to conquer the domain of her older sister ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld, but is instead deemed guilty of hubris by the seven judges of the underworld and struck dead.
Inanna abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld. The descent of inanna the earliest text of the poem now known as the descent of inanna was archaeologically and linguistically reconstructed in the twentieth century by sumerian scholars. The descent of inanna to the underworld by deanne quarrie. My lady abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld. The electronic text corpus of sumerian literature texts.
From the great above inanna openend her ear to the great below. From the great above the goddess oepned her ear to the great below. Revised edition of inannas descent to the nether world samuel noah kramer. The descent of inanna a sumerian hero story during the times of gilgamesh that explores the descent into, and ascent from hell. 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. Inanna focus questions these questions are to help focus your reading of inannas descent and bring up different potential interpretations. The descent of inanna has emerged from the internetunderworld and appeared in the sunlit world. Your own engagement with the text should be the source of your answers, i. This version is written to minimize certain roles in order to fit our rehearsal schedule. It identifies some of the functions that may be fulfilled in our society by the sumerian myth the descent of inanna and explores the. Inannas descent into the underworld healing stars inannas descent into the underworld. In sumerian, the word for ear and wisdom are the same. Henriette broekemas book makes the complex character and history of goddess inanna accessible to the ordinary reader and based on the texts from that time, in twenty six richly illustrated chapters, she succeeds in bringing the astonishing world of the goddess inanna to life. In the first line of the descent of inanna, from the great above she set her mind to the great below, what exactly does.
The descent of inanna known also as inanna s descent to the netherworld underworld is a piece of work in the literary corpus of ancient mesopotamia. Inanna and the mes according to one story, inanna tricked the god of culture, enki, who was worshipped in the city of eridu, into giving her the mes. Otto lehto the seven veils of ishtar and the ten sefirot. The courtship of inanna and dumuzi mesopotamian gods. The descent of innana a ritual for a large group in a small space version 7. That descent is a requirement of sovereignty, by which i mean the owning of ones own self and life. Inannas descent to the underworld by johanna stuckey 20150802, 3. I am indebted to all four of these sources as well as many others, especially doris lessing for her briefing for a descent into hell and her. We recommend you to use dosbox, a free dos emulator. Among the temples abandoned by inanna in the sumerian text of the descent to the underworld. If you dont know how to extract the downloaded zip file or if you cant get the game to run, you can visit the help section of this website. Inanna focus questions university of north carolina at. This story isnt about gilgamesh however, it instead follows inanna. Inanna, ereshkigal, gatekeeper, messenger black guide, red guide, white guide black guardian, red guardian, white guardian storytellers one or.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. From the great heaven the goddess set her mind on the great below. My mistress abandoned heaven, abandoned earth, and descended to the underworld. Whilst studying the venus cycle, i was always perplexed as to the story of inannas descent into the underworld and her journey there through the 7 gates and how it related to the cycle of venus.
Although the descent of inanna is a short work it runs to little over 400 lines, making it a little shorter than a poem like the waste land, it contains many of the elements we associate with epic poetry such as the descent into the. Download fulltext pdf inannas descent to the netherworld. It is believed by many scholars to have most probably derived from cumulative judaic and eastern myths and folklore. The 2001 version, titled inanas descent to the nether world is 412 lines long. The descent of inanna known also as inannas descent to the netherworld underworld is a piece of work in the literary corpus of ancient mesopotamia. First question and answer reading through the various versions of the descent of inanna made me realize some aspects of the selfrenewal part by rebirth. For example, enki, the god of wisdom, is said to have his ear wide open an unfiltered receptivity. Pdf an exegesis of inanna and ishtars descent to the nether world. Descent 6 with notation as in simplicial, section 5. Meeting the shadow of oneself inanna queen of heaven. Inannaishtar as paradox and a coincidence of opposites. The story of inannas descent into the underworld and subsequent return has typically been interpreted psychologically through feminist lenses, focusing on womens empowerment and reestablishing their connection to a femininity not defined by masculine ideals. Inanna abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the. A centennial survey of scholarship, artifacts, and translations.
The descent of inanna the story below is an abridged version of the descent myth of inanna summarized by amy peck. Inanna, the queen of heaven in ancient mesopotamia. Inanna traveled to enkis city eridu, and by getting him drunk, she got him to give her hundredsthe exact number is unknown, because the text breaks offof. From the great above the goddess opened her ear to the great below.
Inanna, the queen of heaven in ancient mesopotamia new. Libraries are based on magiclib base class library included. Her stories and hymns from sumer diane wolkstein, samuel noah kramer a fresh retelling of the ancient texts about ishtar, the worlds first goddess. From the great heaven inana set her mind on the great below. Most of the powers once held by her, the embodied, playful, passionately erotic feminine. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to uc san diego and edinburgh university, receiving her b. Inannas descent myth from the great above inanna opened her ear to the great below.
This story, which was originally written in cuneiform and inscribed on clay tablets, is in the form of a poem. Brown, not the authors, translators, or publishers. Inannas descent to the nether world continued and revised. It was enki who helped resuscitate inanna from death and was instrumental in her rebirth. Descent of inanna wolkstein kramer from the great above she opened her ear to the great below.
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