Sumerian lament
Remains of theEkur (mountain temple) in Nippur: the Lament reads,The brickwork of E-kur gave you only tears and lamentation -- it sings a bitter song of the proper cleansing-rites that are forgotten! It weeps bitter tears over the splendid rites and most precious plans which are desecrated -- its most sacred food rations neglected and ...... into funeral offerings, it cries "Alas!". The temple despairs of its divine powers, utterly cleansed, pure, hallowed, which are now defiled! [ 1] TheLament for Nippur , or theLament for Nibru , is aSumerian lament , also known by itsincipit tur3 me nun-e ("After the cattle pen...").[ 2] Old Babylonian Empire (c. 1900–1600 BCE ).[ 3] Penn Museum on tabletCBS13856 .[ 4]
It is one of five knownMesopotamian "city laments" —dirges for ruined cities in the voice of the city'stutelary goddess .[ 5]
Statuette of thestorm god Enlil from Nippur,c. 1800–1600 BCE . Map of Mesopotamia around the time of the writing of the Lament for Nippur The Lament is composed of 9kirugu (sections, songs) and 8gišgigal (antiphons) followed by 3 morekirugu .
Numbered bykirugu , the lament is structured as follows:
storm ofEnlil ; Enlil destroys Nippur weeping goddess; Nippur addresses Enlil storm of Enlil; Enlil destroys Nippur weeping goddess; the poet addresses Nippur storm of Enlil;Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur weeping goddess; the poet addresses Nippur storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur storm of Enlil; Enlil recreates Nippur storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur storm of Enlil; Enlil recreates Nippur storm of Enlil; Ishme-Dagan recreates Nippur storm of Enlil; Enlil recreates Nippur[ 6] It includes passages in theemesal , asociolect used by high-status women, showing the importance of women's voices in city laments;emesal is also found in theLament for Ur .[ 7]
^ "Lamentation for Nippur" .www.gatewaystobabylon.com .^ Jacobs, John (January 1, 2016)."The city lament genre in the ancient Near East (in The fall of cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in literature, folk-song, and liturgy, ed. Mary Bachvarova, Dorota Dutsch, and Ann Suter, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 13–35)" – via www.academia.edu. {{cite journal }}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help ) ^ "CDLI-Archival View" .cdli.ucla.edu .^ "Tablet - CBS13856 | Collections - Penn Museum" .www.penn.museum .^ Hirsch, Edward (April 4, 2017).The Essential Poet's Glossary ISBN 9780544932098 ^ Jacobs, John (September 20, 2016). Suter, Ann; Dutsch, Dorota; Bachvarova, Mary R. (eds.).The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song, and Liturgy 13– 35. ^ Boyadjian, Tamar M. (December 15, 2018).The City Lament: Jerusalem across the Medieval Mediterranean ISBN 9781501730863 
