Asushunamir was created by Enki to rescue Inanna from the "Land of No Return."
Inanna,
Queen of Heaven, was given great
gifts by Enki the Wise. Wisdom, justice, love, the sacred women, and the
fruit of the vine. The gift that
saved her from death Enki fashioned from the dirt beneath his fingernails.
A
being of light called, Asushunamir.
(S)he whose face is radiant, beautiful in countenance; Asushunamir
(S)he, clothed in the stars, male & female, companion to Inanna; Asushunamir
The spell of Ereshkigal, Queen
of the Dead, could not possess this luminescent being. Yet she was charmed
by Asushunamir's beauty, moved
by (he)r voice, amused by (he)r dance. Ereshkigal called for a great feast
to
be held in (he)r honor; the best
wine, the finest meats, the most sumptuous of fruit. Ereshkigal dreamed
of
taking this beautiful being to
her bed, and of keeping her forever with her in the Land of the Dead.
But Asushunamir was careful to
pour the wine upon the floor and to eat no food prepared by the servants
of
Ereshkigal. When the Queen of
the Dead grew careless from the wine, Asushunamir asked if (s)he might
taste
the water of life, kept locked
in the cellar. This was the water of which Enki had spoken when Asushunamir
came into the world, the water
with which one must be sprinkled to pass through the seven gates of Irkalla,
the water to renew one's life
on earth. Ereshkigal cried out, "Namtar, bring the jug with the water of
life.
I shall grant the wish of this
charming creature."
Later, when Ereshkigal fell into
a deep sleep, Asushunamir made (he)r way to the lampless cell where Inanna,
captive, lay dying. (S)he sprinkled
Inanna with the water of life and, as the drops fell on her inert body,
Innana breathed easily as a child
might breathe and then awakened.
Beautiful and once more flowing
with the energy of life, Innana quickly made her way through the seven
gates
of Irkalla, ascending to earth,
causing the flowers to grow and restoring the trees to green. People returned
to
their planting, their weaving,
their making of wine, their love making, and a great feast was held in
honor of the
return of Inanna.
Asushunamir was not as fortunate.
Ereshkigal awoke as (s)he was approaching the seventh gate, and neither
(he)r beauty, nor (he)r charm,
nor (he)r dancing or songs, could extinguish the passion that had turned
to hate.
``The food of the gutter shall
thou eat,'' cried Ereshkigal, her every word a curse.``The water of the
sewer shall be your drink. In
the shadows you shall abide, despised and hated by even your own
kind.'' Having pronounced the
curse, Ereshkigal banished Asushunamir.
When Inanna learned of the curse
placed upon Asushunamir, she wept and spoke softly that no one might
hear. ``The power of Ereshkigal
is great. No one dares to defy her. Yet I may soften her curse upon
you, as spring arrives to banish
winter. Those who are like you, my assinnu and kalum and kugarru
and kalaturru, lovers of men,
kin to my sacred women, shall be strangers in their own homes. Their
families will keep them in the
shadows and will leave them nothing. The drunken shall smite them,
and the mighty shall imprison
them. But if you remember me, how you were born from the light of
the stars to save me, and through
me the earth, from darkness and death, then I shall harbor you
and your kind. You shall be my
favored children, and I shall make you my priestesses. I shall grant
you the gift of prophecy, the
wisdom of the earth and the moon and all that they govern, and you
shall banish illness from my children,
even as you have stolen me from the clutches of Ereshkigal.''
``And when you dress in my robes,
I shall dance in your feet and sing in your throats. No man shall
be able to resist your enchantments.''
``When the earthen jug is brought
from Irkalla, lions shall leap in the deserts, and you shall be
freed from the spell of Ereshkigal.
Once more you will be called Asushunamir, a being clothed in
light. Your kind shall be called
Those Whose Faces Are Brilliant, Those Who Have Come to Renew
the Light, The Blessed of Inanna.''