Subject:
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Re: The Nam-shub of Enki (was Re: One of my issues with the god of the old testament)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 15 Nov 2001 01:15:00 GMT
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Viewed:
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480 times
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Oooo... Well done!
You really like 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson? If you haven't read it, you
should. The entire book is about Nam-Shubs and 'neurolinguistic hacking'.
Very cyber..
"richard marchetti" <blueofnoon@aol.com> wrote in message
news:GMsL3s.8GM@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek writes:
> > Please! What sort of god thwarts his people out of spite? Not my sort.
>
> Maybe a god who loves his people does these things, in the same manner • that
> you would stop your children from stepping in front of a moving train --
> even if you had to use force to stop them.
>
> You've come to the right place to ask your question, certainly a better
> place than consulting the priest down the street. Pagan that I am, I will
> make no further mention of the "interpreted" version of this story found • in
> the bible. The Babel myth has antecedents, one of which is from Sumerian
> mythology. This would be the story of the Nam-shub of Enki...
>
> Two things first:
> 1. a Nam-shub is a kind of magical spell.
> 2. The "Me" mentioned in Sumerian myths are universal decrees of divine
> authority -- invocations that spread arts, crafts, and civilization.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> The Nam-shub of Enki
>
> Once upon a time, there was no snake, there was no scorpion,
> There was no hyena, there was no lion,
> There was no wild dog, no wolf,
> There was no fear, no terror,
> Man had no rival.
> In those days, the land Shubur-Hamazi,
>
> Harmony-tongued Sumer, the great land of the Me of princeship,
> Uri, the land having all that is appropriate,
> The land Martu, resting in security,
> The whole universe, the people well cared for,
> To Enlil in one tongue gave speech.
>
> Then the lord defiant, the prince defiant, the king defiant,
> Enki, the lord of abundance, whose commands are trustworthy,
> The lord of wisdom, who scans the land,
> The leader of the gods,
> The lord of Eridu, endowed with wisdom,
> Changed the speech in their mouths, put contention into it,
> Into the speech of man that had been one.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Why did Enki confuse man's single tongue? Speculation on the subject
> abounds. Some people believe that something akin to a computer virus (this
> would be the Burroughsian "Language is a Virus" theory) was present in • man's
> speech and that by confusing language Enki was able to stop the progress • of
> the virus. Some people further believe that the purpose of this ancient
> myth is two-fold: while the story itself relates the idea of linguistic
> disintegration, the story is itself a kind of incantation which causes
> linguistic disintegration. To hear the tale is to fall victim to it's • viral
> influence -- to have one's speech confounded.
>
> That language, or the utterance of certain sounds, is dangerous is an idea
> that resonates from the ancient past to the present day. The walls of the
> city of Jericho were felled using sound. Authors as recent as Frank • Herbert
> have developed the idea that the uttering of a person's name can be a • great
> weapon -- a word that kills. Of course, in magickal traditions the naming
> of certain powers gives one temporary control over those same forces.
> Utterance is equated with power.
>
> One issue remains outstanding: what was the nature of the original • "word-virus"?
>
> Julian Jaynes, in "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the
> Bicameral Mind", argues that early man was not conscious in the modern • sense
> -- he lacked self-awareness and could not think of himself as an
> independent, self-willed, singular "I." Why? Because the two halves of • the
> brain were not connected then as they appear to be now. Instead, the right
> brain formulated ideas and plans, which were perceived by the left brain • as
> literal voices emanating from outside the self. In effect, early man
> hallucinated constantly, living his life obeying voices the origins of • which
> remained mysterious to him -- voices that actually emanated from a • different
> part of his own brain. This is where the gods came from -- each person's • god
> accompanied him constantly through life, always telling him what to do.
>
> Where did the gods go? What happened to connect the two halves of the • brain
> into a single unit? The complex conditions of the world forced human • beings
> to integrate the left and right brains and become self-aware, self-willed
> beings in order to cope with their circumstances and survive. The human
> brain adapted to it's environment that the human species might survive --
> nothing more than the theory of evolution at work.
>
> The original "word-virus" was the idea of God. The emergence of
> consciousness was the death of the idea of God -- the final Nam-shub of • Enki.
>
> Enki, whose command lines are trustworthy, wrote himself out of the story.
>
> The whole universe, the people alone.
>
> -- Hop-Frog
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