Many, many years ago, when the great Enlil built the city of Nippur on earth and peopled it with the Anunnaki gods, life was meager and poor. People did not know grain, did not have domestic animals, and did not know how to make fabric. They ate grass and roots, drank water from ditches, and walked naked.
And so the gods decided to improve life on earth. The great god An gathered them all on the mountain of heaven and earth, and there the goddess of grain Ashnan and the goddess of sheep husbandry Lahar were created. They had to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the Anunnaki. But the gods eat bread, drink milk and cannot stop. Then the wise Enki suggested that Enlil bring the goddesses down to earth to people.
Enlil agreed and, by his sacred command, Lahar and Ashnan settled among people. The hearts of the great gods were filled with joy when they saw that abundance and wealth filled the Country.
One day, after drinking wine, the hardworking and diligent goddesses started a dispute about which of them is more important and needed - Ashnan and her agriculture or Lahar with her sheep, milk and wool. They argued among themselves for a long time until the wise Enki pronounced his verdict. He declared that agriculture and cattle breeding should be closely connected, but Ashnan gave primacy. For only bread can you be satisfied; it strengthens the body, and wine gladdens the heart. Bread and wine are more important to life than milk and wool. Ashnan, who nourishes gods and men, should take first place, and her sister Lahar should honor her and recognize her seniority.
On the Mountain of Heaven and Earth,
When An created the Anunnaki,
At that time the name Ashnan-Zerna had not yet been born.
Was not created.
Uttu-Weavers did not create threads in the Country.
The wefts and warp for Uttu were not outlined.
There were no sheep, the lambs did not multiply.
There were no goats, the kids did not multiply.
The ewe did not give birth to twins.
The goat did not give birth to triplets.
Named Ashnan, Emerald Sparkling, Lahar-Sheep
The Anunnaki and the great gods did not know.
There was no thirty-day grain supply then.
There was no forty-day grain then.
There was no fifty-day grain at that time.
Small grains, mountain grains, selected grains
There was no sacred thing.
There was no clothing - what one covers with - there was no clothing.
Uttu the Weaver is not born - the headband of royalty
Not ascended.
Lord Messenger, the illustrious Lord was not born.
God Shakkan did not come to the waterless lands.
Humanity of those distant days
There was no bread to eat,
I didn’t know how to wrap myself in clothes.
They wandered around the Country naked.
Like sheep, they grazed the grass with their mouths.
They quenched their thirst with the water from the ditches.
Then on the Earth of God's Primordial Creation,
In that house, on the Sacred Hill,
Lahar-Sheep and Grain-Ashnan were created.
And gathered in God's refectory
Abundance of Sheep and Grain,
Anunnaki of the Sacred Hill
They eat and are not filled.
The milk of the sacred pens - this sweetness -
Anunnaki of the Sacred Hill
They drink and don't fill up.
This sweetness of sacred paddocks -
To humanity to maintain the power of life.
It was then that Enki said to Enlil:
"Father Enlil, Grain and Sheep,
Created on the Sacred Hill,
Let them be brought down from the Sacred Hill!"
And, according to the bright words of Enki and Enlil,
The Sheep and Grain from the Sacred Hill were brought down.
They fenced the sheep in a pen,
Rich herbs grew for her.
They made a field for the grain,
They gave her a plow, a yoke and a harness.
A Sheep stands in its fold -
Shepherd of the fold, abundance of delights.
The grain stands in its furrow -
Stately maiden, radiant charm,
Raising my holy head from the fields,
Filled with the grace of heaven.
The Sheep and the Grain rise in radiance,
For the people they are prosperity,
For the Country - maintaining the power of life.
The essence of God is fulfilled righteously.
The country's granaries were filled with them,
The country's bins are swollen from them.
And when the houses of the poor, lying in the dust,
They enter and bestow abundance.
Where do they both direct their feet?
Generosity, their burden, adds something to the house.
Where they stand is multiplication,
Where they sit is a decoration.
The hearts of An and Enlil rejoice.
They drank wine that was so sweet.
They drank beer, which was so delicious.
When they drank the wine, which is so sweet,
When they drank beer, which is so tasty,
A quarrel started among the irrigated fields.
They got into an argument in the refectory
.
The Grain says to the Sheep:
“Sister, I am in charge, I am superior to you!
Among the decorations of the Country, I am more brilliant than you!
To the hero of heroes I give my strength,
So that he fills the palace with glory,
In the Country he extended his name limitlessly.
I am the gift of the Anunnaki,
I am the guts of thrones.
When I give my power to a hero,
He goes to battle.
He doesn't feel his body
When he walks across the field while playing.
I am the support of neighborhood and friendship,
I reconcile neighbors in a quarrel.
And when I go to my captive husband,
I decide his fate:
He forgets his broken heart,
I break his chains and bonds.
I am Ashnan-Grain, Emerald Sparkling,
I am truly a child of Enlil! In the sheep pen
A shepherd's hut, under the desert sky,
I am everywhere! What can you say to this?
What to answer? Speak!" In response, the Sheep to the Grain says:
“Sister, what did you say?
An, lord of all gods,
From sacred land, from precious land
Truly let me go down!
Threads of Weaving, the formidable glow of the kingdom,
He truly trusted me!
Shakkan, lord of the mountains,
He colorfully decorated his Essence-signs!
He runs his farm properly.
From the mighty ridges to the mountain ranges of a hostile country
He twists the threads
He directs the sling, the great bow.
I am the guard of selected troops.
I am in the fields of my husbands for food.
I am a bag of leather with cool water,
I am leather sandals.
I am sweet oil, incense to the gods,
I am in pounded oil, in crushed oil, in cedar oil,
In constant sacrifices!
In my robe of shining white wool
The king is having fun on his throne.
My appearance is a joy to the great gods,
The radiance and joy of their flesh.
I am with the cleansing priest,
With the exorcist priest,
The priest who washes
When they dress for holy rites,
I direct my steps with them
To the holy bright feast!
And the harrow, and the ploughshare, and the reins -
Weapons of the all-consuming swamp!
What can you say to this? What to answer? Speak!"
Then the Grain answers the Sheep:
"When the beer bread is fried in the oven,
When the wort is boiled in the oven,
Ninkasi herself will mix them for me!
And all your goats, all your sheep
They will end their lives at my feast!
How they are placed on the table depends on my gifts!
To my gifts under the desert sky
Your shepherd lifts his eyes!
And when I stand in a furrow in the middle of a field,
My farmer is driving out your shepherd with a club!
They send you from the fields to deserted places,
And you won't get out of there -
Scorpions, snakes, robber people -
Everything that is in the desert is
Your sentence under the desert sky!
Your every day is counted there,
And a stick with notches stuck into the ground!
And no matter how much your shepherd repeats:
"How many sheep, how many lambs,
There are so many goats, so many kids,
When the breeze flies by, playing,
When a hurricane rushes by, knocking down -
You're building yourself a reed hut!
But when the breeze flies by, playing,
But when a hurricane rushes by, knocking down,
I rise, I am equal to Ishkur-thunder!
I, Grain, am reborn as a hero
I remain, I stand without bowing!
And the churn, the cauldron on legs -
Decorations of the shepherd, your heritage!
What can you say to this? What to answer? Speak!"
In response, the Sheep to the Grain says:
"You! Like Inanna of heaven,
You are the lover of horses!
When the enemy's captive is together with the mountain slave
And with that husband who left his poor wife and children,
Tied with a rope at the elbow,
Rising to the threshing floor,
Coming down from the threshing floor,
Your eyes strike with sticks, your lips strike,
When your ears are crushed in a mortar,
And you are tossed by the south and north winds,
And millstones walk over you,
And your face is rubbed with hand stones,
And then you fill the bowl with yourself,
The baker chops you and throws you,
The baker rolls out the dough.
And then they put you in the oven
And they take you out of the oven.
And when they put you on the table,
I am in front of you, you are behind me!
Grain, think about it better yourself -
You, like me, are for eating!
So, having looked at your essence,
Why would I follow you?
Miller, isn't this evil?
What can you say to this?
How will you answer me?"
Then the heart of Ashnan-Zerna was filled with bitterness,
She turned her head towards the quarrel.
The Grain says to the Sheep:
"You! Grom-Ishkur is your lord, Shakkan is your shepherd,
Your bed is a waterless desert!
Like a fire consuming a house and a field,
Like a sparrow flying into a house and gate,
You enter the poor and weak of the Country.
Well, I’ll bow my neck to the ground!
But when in wooden measures
Your entrails are being carried to market
When your own throat is wrapped
With your own loincloth,
Then one says to the other: “Give me a measure of grain.”
For my sheep!"
Then Enki said to Enlil:
"Father Enlil, Sheep and Grain,
Let them both walk together.
Let three shares of silver strengthen their union and let it not be interrupted,
But two of them are due to Zern.
Let them kneel before the Grain,
To kiss her feet.
From sunrise to sunset
May the name of Zern be glorified,
Let your necks bend under the yoke of the grain.
And let the one who owns silver
Owns expensive stones,
He has bulls, he has sheep,
Let him stand at the gate of the one who owns the grain,
This is how you will spend your day!"
Dispute between Sheep and Grain.
The sheep remained. The grain is out.
Father Enki, praise be to you!"
Translation by V. K. Afanasyeva
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru