Song of the Hoe

The Song of the Hoe (also known as the Creation of the pickaxe or the praise of the pickaxe) is a Sumerian creation myth. An interesting one (especially from the perspective of an historian) as it mentions so many deities, and touches on so many topics.

In addition to using the pickaxe as a recurring theme, it gives us many details about creation in Sumerian Religion, and the roles of the various gods in creation.

Contents

1. Song of the Hoe Translation
2. Important Details
3. Analysis

The Myth

“Not only did the lord make the world appear in its correct form, the lord who never changes the destinies which he determines – Enlil – who will make the human seed of the Land come forth from the earth – and not only did he hasten to separate heaven from earth, and hasten to separate earth from heaven, but, in order to make it possible for humans to grow in “where flesh came forth” [the name of a cosmic location], he first raised the axis of the world at Dur-an-ki.” [1]

Lord Enlil, who made the world come into being in its correct form, who never changes a destiny that he has determined, who separated heaven and earth, who rose the human seed from the Earth, and made it possible for humanity to grow in the land “where flesh came forth” by raising the axis of the world at Duranki. [2]

All of this, with the help of the hoe, he brought the daylight forth.

Enlil distributed the shares of duty, established daily tasks — everything right down the wages for the pickaxe labourer and basket-carryer. Enlil gave the plan for every aspect of society.

Enlil then looked at his hoe with wonder: fashioned of pure gold, with lapis lazuli inlaid on top, and the blade tied with a cord adorned in gold and silver. [2] The edge was a plough of lapis lazuli, and blade like a battering ram that could take down a wall that was made for a king. [2] Enlil evaluated the hoe, and determined its future destiny, placing a crown on its head. [2]

“Here, in ‘Where Flesh Came Forth’, he set this very hoe to work, in Where flesh came forth … he had it place the first model of mankind in the brick mould. His Land started to break through the soild towards Enlil. He looked with favour at his black-headed people. Now the Anuna gods stepped forward to him, and did (jal) obeisance to him. They calmed Enlil with a prayer, for they wanted to demand (al-dug) the black-headed people from him. Ninmena, the lady who had given birth to the ruler, who had given birth to the king, now set (aljaja) human reproduction going.” [2]

“Lord Nunamnir, the lead of hea”The leader of heaven and earth, lord Nunamnir, named the important persons and valued (kal) persons. He …… these persons, and
recruited them to provide for the gods. Now Enki praised Enlil’s hoe (al), and the maiden Nisaba was made responsible for keeping records of
the decisions. And so people took (jal) the shining hoes (al), the holy hoes (al), into their hands.” [2, lines 27–28]

The E-kur temple of Enlil was founded by a hoe. By day the [hoe presumably] was building (aldue) the temple, while at night, the magical hoe was causing the temple to grow (almumu). [2]

In well-founded Nibru, the hero Ninurta encountered Enlil deep inside the temple. He frequently went into the innermost chambers of the Tummal, with regular food deliveries. [2]

(A tradition practiced in ancient Mesopotamia: delivering food to their gods in the inner sanctum of a temple. A role of honor, which was the duty of Sumerian ensi (who were some blend of scholars, scribes, administrators, astronomers, and priests as well).)

In the Tummal, the bread basket masterpiece (?) of mother Ninlil, Holy Ninisina entered into the presence of Enlil with black kids and fruit offerings for the lord. [2]

43-45 “Next comes the Abzu, with the lions before it, where the divine powers may not be requested (al-dug): the hoe wielder (?) (altar), the good man, lord Nudimmud was building (aldue) the Abzu, Eridug having been chosen as the construction site (altar).” [2]

46-48 “The mother of the gods, Ninhursaja, had the mighty (?) (altar) light of the lord live with her in Kec; she had Cul-pa-eda, no less, help her with the construction work (altar).” [2]

49-51 “The shrine E-ana was cleaned up by means of the hoe (al) for the lady of E-ana, the good cow (immal) (2 mss. have instead: woman). The hoe (al) deals with ruin mounds, the hoe (al) deals with weeds.” [2]

52-55 “In the city of Zabalam, the hoe (al) is Inana’s workman (?). She determined the destiny of the hoe (al), with its projecting lapis-lazuli beard (1 ms. has instead: tooth). Utu was ready to help her with her building project (altar); it is the renowned (?) building project (altar) of
youthful Utu.” [2]

56-58 “The lady with broad (dajal) intelligence, Nisaba, ordered the measuring of the E-ana for a construction project (altar), and then designed her own E-hamun for construction (altar).”

59-70 “The king who measured up the hoe (al) and who passes (zal) his time in its tracks, the hero Ninurta, has introduced working with the hoe (altar) into the rebel (bal) lands. He subdues (aljaja) any city that does not obey its lord. Towards heaven he roars (algigi) like a storm, earthwards he strikes (aljaja) like a dragon (ucumgal). Cara sat down on (1 ms. has instead: got onto) Enlil’s knees, and Enlil gave him what he had desired (al-dug): he had mentioned the mace, the club, arrows and quiver, and the hoe he desired (al-dug) the mace, the club, arrows and quiver). Dumuzid is the one who makes the upper land fertile (allumlum). Gibil made his hoe (al) raise its head towards the heavens — he caused the hoe (al), sacred indeed, to be refined with fire. The Anuna were rejoicing (alhulhuledec).” [2]

71-82 “The temple of Jectin-ana resembled an aljarsur instrument, the aljarsur of mother Jectin-ana that makes a pleasant sound. The lord [Enlil] bellowed at his hoe (al) like a bull. As for the grave (irigal): the hoe (al) buries people, but dead people are also brought up from the ground by the hoe (al) [This may allude to Enkidu’s ghost being put in contact with Gilgamec.]. With the hoe (al), the hero honoured by An, the younger brother of Nergal, the warrior Gilgamec is as powerful as a hunting net. The (1 ms. adds: sage) son of Ninsumun is pre-eminent with oars (jisal) [This may allude to Gilgamec rowing across the waters of death.]. With the hoe (al) he is the great barber (kindajal) of the watercourses. In the chamber (1 ms. has instead: place) of the shrine, with the hoe (al) he is the minister (sukkal). The wicked (huljal) …… are sons of the hoe (al); they are born in sleep from heaven.”

83-93 “In the sky there is the altirigu bird, the bird of the god. On the earth there is the hoe (al): a dog in the reed-beds, a dragon (ucumgal) in the forest. On the battlefield, there is the dur-allub battle-axe. By the city wall there is the battle-net (alluhab). On the dining-table there is the bowl (maltum). In the waggon shed, there is the sledge (mayaltum). In the donkey stable there is the cupboard (argibil). The hoe (al)! — the sound of the word is sweet: it also occurs (munjal) on the hillsides: the tree of the hillsides is the allanum oak. The fragrance of the hillsides is the arganum balm. The precious stone of the hillsides is the algamec steatite.” [2]

94-106 “The hoe (al) makes everything prosper, the hoe makes everything flourish. The hoe (al) is good barley, the hoe (al) is a hunting net (1 ms. has instead: an overseer). The hoe (al) is brick moulds, the hoe (al) has made people exist (jal). It is the hoe (al) that is the strength of
young manhood. The hoe (al) and the basket are the tools for building cities. It builds (aldue) the right kind of house, it cultivates (aljaja) the right kind of fields. It is you, hoe, that extend (dajal) the good agricultural land! The hoe (al) subdues for its owner (lugal) any agricultural
lands that have been recalcitrant (bal) against their owner (lugal), any agricultural lands that have not submitted to their owner (lugal). It chops the heads off the vile esparto grasses, yanks them out at their roots, and tears at their stalks. The hoe (al) also subdues (aljaja) the hirin weeds.” [2]

107-109 “The hoe (al), the implement whose destiny was fixed by father Enlil — the renowned hoe (al)! Nisaba be praised!” [2]

Important Details

The first few times that I read this Sumerian Myth, my initial impression was that it was almost like a joke, a satire. [I] However, the more that I read it, and tried to understand it, the more stately that it seemed to become. The more … grand, since it covers so much of what we know of Sumerian Religion from other sources.

The major themes of the Song of the the Hoe are:

• The Hoe Is Used As A Lens For The Religion — It is genuinely held in high esteem, for all that it has done for the Sumerian people. Every time something could have been done with a hoe, the praises of the hoe were sung. (And given the time, they were lucky if they had one.)
• In This Enlil Is The King —
• “Where Flesh Came Forth” —
• Duranki —

Interpreting The Myth

When I look through the lens of interpreting the myth, there are a few details that stand out offering different possibilities for historical links, in addition to interesting details on the myth.

• Location of “Where Flesh Came Forth” — My first instinct is to think of this as a land. A literal location from ancient memory, as part of a distant memory of the emergence of their species. (Since, after all, myth, legend, and history are all intwined with memory, especially in oral cultures). If we read it literally, the most obvious possibility is Africa. Specifically, North Africa.
• Duranki — My first impression, is “‘”What if Duranki” was the pyramids. I am always interested anytime there is a mention to “axis of the world” because it is such a widespread phrase — axis of the world, navel of the world, etc.

The Location of “Where Flesh Came Forth”

One way that I like to look at the Song of the Hoe, is to remember that the Sumerians were farmer people, labourers, bakers. They might have lived in the first cities but, however advanced, the word “city” does not mean the same thing in this context. They were far more agricultural people.

Therefore, when we see the phrase “Where Flesh Came Forth” my first instinct is not to imagine a fantasy, but a people only millennia away from the Neolithic (agriculturalists farming and header) and in some cases, from the Paleolithic (hunting and gathering).