“Martu” in the Sumerian language denoted the name of the Semitic nomadic people; perhaps these same tribes later became known as the Amorites. In the myth, Martu is the patron god of the city of Ninab, whose location is unknown, probably somewhere southwest of Sumer.
The myth begins with the fact that the god Martu decided to get married. He asks his mother to find him a wife, but she advises her son to start searching himself to choose a girl to his liking.
One day, a big festival took place in Ninab, to which Numushda, the patron god of the city of Kazallu, located northeast of Sumer, was invited. He came with his wife and daughter.
During the feast, Martu performs some heroic act, apparently in honor of Numushda, because he offers Martu silver and lapis lazuli as a reward. But he refuses all precious gifts and asks only for the hand of Numushda’s daughter. He agrees, although his daughter’s friends are trying to dissuade her from this marriage. They say that Martu is a barbarian, lives in a portable tent, eats raw meat and will not be buried after death.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru