Lament for Nippur

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Remains of the Ekur (mountain temple) in Nippur: the Lament reads, The brickwork of E-kur gave you only tears and lamentation -- it sings a bitter song of the proper cleansing-rites that are forgotten! It weeps bitter tears over the splendid rites and most precious plans which are desecrated -- its most sacred food rations neglected and ...... into funeral offerings, it cries "Alas!". The temple despairs of its divine powers, utterly cleansed, pure, hallowed, which are now defiled![1]

The Lament for Nippur, or the Lament for Nibru, is a Sumerian lament, also known by its incipit tur3 me nun-e ("After the cattle pen...").[2] It is dated to the Old Babylonian Empire (c. 1900–1600 BCE).[3] It is preserved in Penn Museum on tablet CBS13856.[4]

It is one of five known Mesopotamian "city laments"—dirges for ruined cities in the voice of the city's tutelary goddess.[5]

Statuette of the storm god Enlil from Nippur, c. 1800–1600 BCE.
Map of Mesopotamia around the time of the writing of the Lament for Nippur

The Lament is composed of 9 kirugu (sections, songs) and 8 gišgigal (antiphons) followed by 3 more kirugu.

Numbered by kirugu, the lament is structured as follows:

  1. storm of Enlil; Enlil destroys Nippur
  2. weeping goddess; Nippur addresses Enlil
  3. storm of Enlil; Enlil destroys Nippur
  4. weeping goddess; the poet addresses Nippur
  5. storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur
  6. weeping goddess; the poet addresses Nippur
  7. storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur
  8. storm of Enlil; Enlil recreates Nippur
  9. storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur
  10. storm of Enlil; Enlil recreates Nippur
  11. storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur
  12. storm of Enlil; Enlil recreates Nippur[6]

It includes passages in the emesal, a sociolect used by high-status women, showing the importance of women's voices in city laments; emesal is also found in the Lament for Ur.[7]

See also

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