The Sumerian Creation of Humankind
The Sumerian Creation of Humankind is an ancient myth that explores the origins of humanity through the actions of the Sumerian gods, particularly focusing on Enki, the god of water and wisdom. Faced with challenges in securing their sustenance, the gods turn to Enki, who, after being awakened by his mother, decides to create beings from primordial clay to ease their burdens. The process involves the earth goddess Ninmah, who shapes these creations, binding their fates to the gods. However, the resulting beings are flawed; one is mute and incapable of basic functions, leading to a significant debate between Enki and Ninmah about the quality of their creations.
This myth highlights the Sumerians' understanding of humanity's place in the universe, suggesting a perception of humans as imperfect and inherently tasked with serving the divine. Despite the myth's fragmentary preservation, it offers insights into early theological views and resonates with similar narratives from other cultures in the region, like Babylonian and Jewish creation myths. The Sumerian account differs in its portrayal of humanity's purpose, emphasizing labor for the gods rather than stewardship of the earth, illustrating a complex relationship between deities and humans in ancient Mesopotamian belief systems.
The Sumerian Creation of Humankind
Author: Traditional Sumerian
Time Period: 2499 BCE–1000 BCE
Country or Culture: Mesopotamia
Genre: Myth
PLOT SUMMARY
The Sumerian gods experience difficulty in procuring their own sustenance, particularly bread, in the wake of the creation of several female deities. They appeal to Enki, the god of water and wisdom. Their complaints initially go unheard, as Enki is asleep when they voice their displeasure. Enki’s mother eventually brings the gods’ dissatisfaction to her son’s attention.
To solve this problem, Enki summons assistants and tasks them with molding new beings from primordial clay. The clay is first thickened under the watchful eye of the earth goddess Ninmah and then fashioned by Enki’s assistants into limbs. Ninmah binds the fate of the new creature to the gods, and humankind is born.
Enki arranges a feast for the gods to celebrate the creation of humankind. At the feast, Enki and Ninmah indulge in copious amounts of wine. In her exuberance, Ninmah decides to fashion six individuals from the primordial clay. Among these individuals are a woman who cannot bear children and a sexless person.
Enki too opts to create beings from the clay but is less successful. The clay human forged by Enki is weak in both body and mind, and Enki asks Ninmah’s assistance in helping the pathetic creature. Ninmah attempts to talk to Enki’s creation and offers it bread to eat. However, the goddess’s efforts are in vain. The creature does not answer her, nor does it eat the bread. It is also unable to sit, stand, or walk. After a long debate with Enki, Ninmah curses him for creating such a feeble creature, a fate that Enki accepts.
SIGNIFICANCE
This Sumerian myth illustrates the ancient Sumerian interpretation of the genesis of and place of humankind on earth. The ancient clay tablets on which the myth was transcribed have suffered the deteriorating effects of time, long-distance travel across centuries, and poor preservation. As a result, the narrative of the myth is incomplete; for example, only two of Ninmah’s six creations are described, as the tablet itself exists only in fragmentary form. Some scholars have speculated that the goddess’s other four creations were as maladjusted as the two known beings, while others have suggested that perhaps they were bestowed with gifts as opposed to flaws. Regardless, the two known creations of Ninmah do not seem to have been cursed with a fate as severe as Enki’s mute, functionless man. Despite the scholarly disputes arising from such missing or unclear sections of the narrative, there is widespread scholarly agreement regarding the myth’s basic framework.
Scholars frequently compare and contrast the Sumerian myth of the creation of humanity with the creation myths of other cultures that developed in Mesopotamia and the Levant. The myth significantly predates these creation narratives yet shares a number of similarities with them; for instance, in the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Jewish myths, humanity is formed out of preexisting material. The differences between the Sumerian myth and these later narratives likewise shed light on the ways in which these cultures perceived the gods and the place of humans in the world. While the Sumerian myth states that humanity was created to free the gods from their laborious duties, the account found in the Hebrew Bible (corresponding to the Christian Old Testament) explains that one of humankind's responsibilities was to look after the animal kingdom. The Babylonian version describes the birth of humanity as resulting from the spilled blood of a mischievous god after a war among the deities.
The Sumerian myth illustrating the creation of humanity follows a succession of elaborate myths that describe the creation of the natural world, elements, and surrounding universe from the sea. That the creation of humanity follows such an elaborate formation of the natural world—and that it results in flawed and imperfect individuals—may shed some light on not only the ancient Sumerians’ extreme reverence for the natural world but also their perception of humanity as flawed in both body and spirit and as eternally charged with doing the bidding of their deities.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Black, Jeremy, and Anthony Green. Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary. Austin: U of Texas P, 1992. Print.
Elwell, Walter A., and Philip Wesley Comfort, eds. Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Carol Stream: Tyndale, 2001. Print.
Kramer, Samuel Noah. Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium BC. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1961. Print.
Leeming, David. Jealous Gods and Chosen People: The Mythology of the Middle East. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Penglase, Charles. Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.