Duttur

Duttur(Sumerian language:𒀭𒁍𒁺,^dBU-du) was aMesopotamian goddessbest known as the mother ofDumuzid.She frequently appears in texts mourning his death, either on her own or alongsideGeshtinannaandInanna.It is often assumed that she was associated with sheep.

Name

The name of Dumuzid's mother was usually written as^dBU-du.The possible readings of thecuneiformsign BU includesíranddur₇.Duttur is the commonly accepted reading of the name in modern scholarship,though the variant Durtur is also in use.Other attested writings include theEmesalforms Zertu and Zertur andAkkadianDutturru.A rare spelling only known from theOld Babylonian periodis Turtur.However,^dTUR.TUR is also attested as a name of an unrelated deity worshiped in theUr III period,sometimes written with the plural morpheme -neand as a result interpreted as either "the small gods" (Dingir-TUR.TUR-ne) or "the divine children" (^ddumu-dumu-ne).

Duttur's name could also be representedlogographicallyby the cuneiform sign U₈,"ewe."The same logogram could also be used to represent the name of the unrelated deity Ga'um, the shepherd ofSin,whose gender varies between sources.In at least one case, in anAssyriangod list fragment, U₈is used to write the names of them both without equating them.

The etymology of Duttur's name is not known, but it has been pointed out that it might have originally been a name with a reduplicated syllable, similar to various well attested Mesopotamianhypocorismsas well as to the name of another member of Dumuzi's family, his sisterBelili.

Character

Thorkild Jacobsenproposed that Duttur should be understood as a deification of the ewe (adult femalesheep).This proposal has been subsequently accepted by other researchers, such as Bendt Alster,but according to Manfred Krebernik the evidence is not clear, as Duttur's name shows no etymological affinity with any attested terms related to sheep.He also notes that Duttur could be associated withNinsun,who was connected with wild cows instead.On this basis he proposes that while she was definitely a goddess associated with livestock and pastoralism, she was not necessarily exclusively connected with sheep.

In Mesopotamian literature, Duttur was usually characterised as a mourning mother.She commonly appears in laments detailing her son Dumuzid's capture by thegalla,in which she is one of the three goddesses who can be described as mourning him, the other two being his wifeInannaand his sisterGeshtinanna.

A commentary on one of the Dumuzid laments states that Duttur was born inKu'ara.

Associations with other deities

Duttur was the mother of the dying godDumuzid,as well as his well attested sisterGeshtinanna.According to Old Babylonian incantations,Eawas the father of Dumuzid,but he plays no role in narrative texts about him, unlike his female relatives like Duttur.A further member of the family attested in known sources is the goddess Belili, who also appears to be Dumuzid's sister.The relation between her and the primordial deity Belili associated withAlalais presently uncertain.

Frans Wiggermann argues that Dumuzid's relationship with Duttur was ultimately less significant than his marriage to Inanna, even though his name's conventional translation, "good son," would point at a close connection with the former.

Ninsun,the goddess of wild cows, could be identified with Duttur.It is possible that this equation was the result of the network of associations between Dumuzid,Damu,and kings of theThird Dynasty of Ur,who referred to Ninsun as their divine mother.Dina Katz proposes that the tradition in which Ninsun, rather than Duttur, was the mother of Dumuzid was inspired by king lists, in whichDumuzid the Fisherman(a figure distinct from the god Dumuzid) is listed betweenLugalbanda,the husband of Ninsun, andGilgamesh,her son, though without being labeled as a son of the former.In at least one case, Dumuzid is called the son of both Ninsun and Lugalbanda.

In theWeidner god list,Duttur is placed nearEreshkigal,rather than with Dumuzi in the circle of Inanna.Dina Katz proposes that this placement was a nod to a tradition in which Ereshkigal was herself depicted as a mourning mother ofNinazu,and as such had traits similar to Duttur.Oneeršemmacomposition dedicated to Duttur and Dumuzid, most likely dating to the Old Babylonian period, indicates that the traditions about various dying gods (Damu, Dumuzid,Ningishzida) and their mourning relatives could intersect or merge.

References

Bibliography

• Alster, Bendt (2013),"Tammuz(/Dumuzi)",Reallexikon der Assyriologie,retrieved2022-05-12
• Delnero, Paul (2020).How To Do Things With Tears: Ritual Lamenting in Ancient Mesopotamia.Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records (SANER). De Gruyter.ISBN978-1-5015-1294-0.Retrieved2022-05-12.
• Edzard, Dietz-Otto (1971),"Geštinanna",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in German),retrieved2022-05-12
• Katz, Dina (2003).The Image of the Netherworld in the Sumerian Sources.Bethesda, MD: CDL Press.ISBN1-883053-77-3.OCLC51770219.
• Krebernik, Manfred (2003)."Drachenmutter und Himmelsrebe? Zur Frühgeschichte Dumuzis und seiner Familie"(PDF).In Sallaberger, Walther; Volk, Konrad; Zgoll, Annette (eds.).Literatur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien: Festschrift für Claus Wilcke(in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.ISBN3-447-04659-7.OCLC51728225.
• Krebernik, Manfred (2014),"^dTUR.TUR ",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in German),retrieved2022-05-12
• Lambert, Wilfred G. (2013).Babylonian creation myths.Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns.ISBN978-1-57506-861-9.OCLC861537250.
• Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2010)."The image of Dumuzi. A diachronic analysis".Gazing on the deep: ancient Near Eastern and other studies in honor of Tzvi Abusch.Bethesda: CDL Press.ISBN978-1-934309-26-1.OCLC495996749.

External links

• Head of an Ewein sandstone (c. 3200 BC). Purchased by Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, 1979.