Shunumun / Dumuzi

This is the 4th month, which begins New Moon May thru New Moon June. On the Standard Mespotamian Calendar, it is called Du'uzu; named for Dumuzi. In Nippur, a much older calendar, with names that are more Sumerian than they are Babylonian, the month is called Shunumun. This is the month of seed sowing, when the fields are prepared by removing stones and clods from the furrows, weeding, and hoeing. The barely fields have just been sown, and now the fields must be prepared for the fruits and vines. Wine will be part of the main harvest in the fall. The "S" in shunumun has a little v over it, indicating that it is pronounced with an "sh" sound. Since I can't make that mark here, I'm adding the "h". Just remember to add the "h" if I don't write it. If you know the Hebrew letters 'shin' and 'sin,' use the Hebrew pronounciations. Or Arabic, if you know any Arabic.

Please DON'T combine all this information into one ritual! They are very different things, and should be kept separate. Pick what you want to do, don't combine them.

Each month, at New Moon, or first quarter for modern times, Nanna is welcomed back to the heavens. He's been in the underworld for a week or so, helping to judge the dead. New Moon is the main monthly rite.

The main agricultural festival of the month, the ezem-ma-sunumunka, occurred in the middle of the month, which was full moon. This is so the people had Nanna's complete attention. In the light of the full moon, there could be no shadow, no bad things were allowed in Nanna's gaze. The festival would take place in a garden that was being prepared, and there would be offerings for Sin, the (full) moon. Nanna and Sin are the same god at different moon phases. Sin is full moon, Nanna is new moon. Since New moon was the beginning of the month, most people refer to Nanna. His name is often seen as Nanna-Sin or Nanna-Suen.

Part of the offerings would go to the Sacred Mound, the du-ku. The du-ku was an entrance to the underworld; offerings went to the gods of the underworld and to the ancestors.

The earlier ezem-ma-sunumunka festival was at the middle of the month, at full moon, but moved to the end of the month in later Babylonian times. The end of the month is just before dark moon. The last week of the lunar month. This festival is mentioned in the Old Testament, where the women wailing for Tammuz could be heard at the gates. This festival lasted into Midieval times where the women of Harran celebrated a rite called "the rattle" at which they wept for Tammuz, whose master cruelly ground his bones in a mill. Abstaining from milled foods was part of the festival. Doing this at full moon makes more sense because there is the protection of Nanna's gaze. Dark moon, for death, works but you'd need to add more exorcism rites to your ritual. I'd rather let Nanna do it Himself.

Dumuzi and Tammuz are the same person, Tammuz being the Babylonian version of Dumuzi.

Being Sumerian, I prefer an even older version which placed Ninurta as the bound and sacrificed farmer. Ninurta was the gods of the fields before he was turned into a storm god. Unfortunately, old Sumerian information is sketchy at best; a lot of it didn't get written down until very late in their history.

A main aspect of the ritual involved burning the barley and casting it upon the bound body of Dumuzi. The story of Inanna's Descent, and the later addition of Dumuzi's Dreams, must be understood for this ritual. This ritual is for the sowing of the barley fields.

After Inanna/Ishtar escapes from the underworld, she must find a replacement. The underworld must be status quo; no one leaves. Demons follow Inanna out, telling her to find a replacement or they will take her back. After going from town to town, and finding the kinds in mourning for her, she allowed them to live. When she got to her own temple, she discovered her husband, Dumuzi, had shown no tears for her, so she sent the demons to take him to the underworld in her place. He runs, the demons follow, and they eventually catch him in a stall. He is killed and taken away. An interesting part of this story, which calls to mind something very primal, shows Dumuzi changing forms into various animals with the help of his brother-in-law, Utu the sun, Inanna's brother. The demons see through this, though, and finally catch him in the sheep stall on Dumuzi's own property. This part of the story is so out of place with the rest, that there is obviously an older story that got mixed in with this one. Another blog. Remind me.

For the ritual, a wooden figure to represent him would be lying on biers, dead, and roasted barley would be thrown on him. Remember that these are agricultural festivals; the dead god is the harvested grain.

The kalu-priest takes the figure from the bier and casts it to the ground outside the main entrance. He whispers prayers into both ears, attempting to revive the dead god. But Dumuzi is dead until the next harvest. It's his turn in the underworld, remember? His sister, Geshtinanna, is above ground, at the moment, as the vines. This is also a later addition, so it would make sense to replace Dumuzi and Geshtinanna with Ninurta and Inanna in your rites. I do. They both started as grain and fruit gods before moving up the god-lists and becoming war gods. The Sumerians referred to battle as "the dance of Inanna."

Ninurta and Inanna are older gods, from a time when the gods were nature personified, instead of becoming politicized. Inanna was originally the numen of the date storehouse and married to Amaushumgalanna (his name means "the one great souce of the date clusters") at the date harvest at the time the harvest was stored. From there, her range extended to the storehouse generally, including wool, meat, and grain. This may reflect the process of gradual unification of the fertility cults. Inanna's name was Ninanna in earlier times, which means "lady of the date clusters." The prefix "nin" was an honorific which meant lord or lady. Sumerians didn't genderize their words. It was later changed to just the feminine. Since Ninurta is male, and has the "nin" prefix, it shows that he is an older god.

Don't get caught up in the entire Lord/Lady thing that is going on. The temples didn't work that way. It's ok to use one or the other. A temple was dedicated to one god who had a council of gods; one was usually a consort of the temple god/dess. Very few temples were dedicated to 'All Gods.'

The solstices were not as popular as the equinoxes, so there isn't much in the history vaults for them. Solstices were death festivals; mid-summer and mid-winter were extremes in the seasons, and times of death. Ancestors and the gods of death needed to be appeased during these times. Nanna is beginning to win the battle for supremacy of the sky from Utu, the sun. They are equal in their battle at this time but Nanna will begin to win just after the solstice. Since Nanna is the main deity, it is important for the nights to lengthen. The land is dying from the heat of Utu; Nanna's cooler temperatures are needed. This type of rite continues for the next few months.

Rites for modern Pagans during Shunumun are:
- The monthly rite which is the welcome of Nanna back from the underworld. First quarter, which is New Moon. Never at Dark Moon. Nanna is still in the underworld at Dark Moon.
- The prepration of the fields and offerings to the ancestors. This would be appropriate at full moon, in Nanna's full gaze, allowing no bad spirits to escape from the underworld.
- The death of Dumuzi/Tammuz/Ninurta. Rites of death should always be at the end of the month, just as the moon is turning dark.
- Solstice, imbalance corrections. A mock-battle would be appropriate.