The Sumerian Zame Hymns from Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ

About this book

M. Krebernik and J.J.W. Lisman offer the first comprehensive score edition of and the first attempt at an integral translation of the Early Dynastic Sumerian hymns, known in the literature as the Zame Hymns (zà-mì), published by R.D. Biggs in 1974 in his Inscriptions from Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh (IAS). Most of the deities featuring in the collection of the short Zame Hymns also occur in the god lists from Abū Ṣalābīkh and Fara. The hymns are embedded in a narrative which relates to the institution of the cult places for the great gods by the supreme god Enlil in Nippur. The last hymn is dedicated to Lisin and her cult place GES.GI, which is most probably to be identified with Abū Ṣalābīkh, where Lisin is installed as city goddess. If one considers these facts, it becomes very likely that the Zame Hymns were performed when the temple of Lisin was inaugurated and/or when the foundation of her temple and her installation there were re-enacted in the course of a cyclic (annual?) festival. The score edition and translation are supplemented by a detailed commentary on various cultural, historical, grammatical and orthographic aspects. An appendix is devoted to the colophons of contemporary texts from Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh, Fara and Ebla. The additional Synopsis of the Cuneiform Manuscripts of the Zame Hymns will enable an easy verification of the transcription.