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William Henry Drummond - "The Voyageur and Other Poems"

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Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

M >> Morris Jastrow >> The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria




Leaving the comparison aside and coming back for a moment to the Adapa
story, it is interesting to observe that as we have two tales, both
intended to explain the position of Marduk at the head of the pantheon,
the one by making him the conqueror of Tiamat and forcing from Kingu the
tablets of fate, the other by representing him as recovering from Zu the
tablets which En-lil, who originally held them, could not protect
against the storm-bird, so we have two solutions offered for the problem
of immortality. The one in the Gilgamesh epic, where the hero is told of
the plant of life, succeeds in finding it, but as he is about to eat the
'food' loses his grasp upon it. The exertions of man are in vain. True,
there is Parnapishtim, a mortal who with his wife has obtained immortal
life. He is the exception that proves the rule. Moreover, it is Bel, and
not Ea, who places Parnapishtim 'at the confluence of streams,' there to
live forever, and Bel does this as a proof of his pacification, a kind
of indemnity offered to Ea for having destroyed the offspring of the god
of humanity. The Adapa legend attacks the problem more seriously. Ea,
the same god who has created man, endowed him with wisdom, bestowed all
manner of benefits upon him, Ea, who protects humanity against Anu,
against Bel, and other gods, Ea himself deceives man. Evidently the
lesson that the Babylonian theologians intended to teach through the
Adapa legend was, that it was not good for man to 'live forever.' Ea
himself prevents it. That is the point of the story. Anu and the other
gods are satisfied, but Ea does not desire it, and Ea's decision cannot
be to the disadvantage of mankind, so dearly beloved by him. With this
conclusion humanity must be content--and be resigned to the inevitable.

Of the various legends that we have been considering, the story of Adapa
is perhaps the most significant, and none the less so for the manner in
which a philosophical problem has been grafted on to a nature-myth.
Adapa is made to play the role of Marduk, and it is nothing short of
remarkable that at so early a period as the one to which the existence
of the story can be traced back, a nature-myth should have been diverted
from its original purpose and adapted to the end that the Adapa story
serves in its present form. The process involved in this adaptation is a
complicated one. The story serves as an evidence of the intellectual
activity displayed in the schools of theological thought that must have
flourished for many centuries before a story like that of Adapa could
have been produced out of a nature-myth. Hardly less remarkable is it
that the theologians and scribes of later times no longer understood the
story, for otherwise they would not have identified Adapa with Marduk
through the superficial circumstance that he is introduced into the
story instead of Marduk, or some other solar deity allied to Marduk.

The Adapa legend takes us back to the beginning of man's career--to the
time when, as in the early chapters of Genesis, man stood closer to the
gods than at a later time, the time when there was a constant
intercourse between man and the gods, and more especially between man
and his protector, Ea. The story forms part of a stock of traditions of
which we have another specimen in the Eabani-Ukhat episode, incorporated
in the Gilgamesh epic.[1111] No doubt when the treasures still existing
in the British Museum shall have been thoroughly examined and as
additional remains of the religious literature of the Babylonians will
be brought to light, we will find further traces of these early
traditions as well as of other myths. Those that we have discussed in
this and in the preceding chapters illustrate the system adopted by the
priests in elaborating these traditions and myths and in adapting them
to serve as illustrations of certain doctrines and beliefs. We may also
feel tolerably confident that the religious ideas conveyed through these
various epics and legends and myths fairly represent both the popular
and the advanced thought, as it unfolded itself in the course of time.
By the aid of these specimens of the religious literature, we have been
enabled to analyze the views of the Babylonians regarding the creation
of the world, its structure, and government. We have obtained an insight
into the problems of life and death which engaged the Babylonian
thinkers, and we have noted some of the solutions offered for these
problems. In a consideration of the views held by the Babylonians and
Assyrians of the life after death, to which we now turn, it will again
be a specimen of the religious literature that will serve as our main
guide.

FOOTNOTES:

[1011] Some of these were already indicated (but only indicated) by
George Smith in his _Chaldaeische Genesis_ (German translation), pp.
136-142. It is the merit of Dr. E. J. Harper to have prepared an
excellent publication of the material contained in Smith's work, pp.
103-120, under the title "Die Babylonischen Legenden von Etana, Zu,
Adapa und Dibbarra" (Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beitraege zur Assyriologie_,
ii. 390-521). Additional material is furnished by two publications of
mine: (_a_) a monograph, "A Fragment of the Dibbarra Epic" (Boston,
1891), and (_b_) "A New Fragment of the Babylonian Etana Legend"
(Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beitraege zur Assyriologie_, iii. 363-381). See
also Friedrich Jeremias in Chantepie de la Saussaye's _Lehrbuch der
Religionsgeschichte_ (2nd edition), i. 218-221.

[1012] See above, p. 511.

[1013] See my remarks in Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beitraege zur
Assyriologie_, iii. 376.

[1014] I Kings, v. 11.

[1015] Harper in Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beitraege zur Assyriologie_, ii.
391-408.

[1016] _Ib._ pp. 405 _seq._

[1017] Lit., 'the Inquirers,' a designation of the priests in their
capacity of oracle-seekers.

[1018] The matter is not certain because of the sad condition of the
fragments.

[1019] K. 2606, Harper, _ib._ pp. 399, 400.

[1020] Only a part of the name, _I-si_, is preserved.

[1021] See pp. 108, 163.

[1022] _I.e._, an army's march of two hours.

[1023] The dwelling of Ea. See Meissner, _Alexander and Gilgamos_, p.
17.

[1024] _I.e._, still smaller.

[1025] See above, p. 458.

[1026] See p. 460.

[1027] See p. 511.

[1028] Harper, _ib._. p. 404, note.

[1029] See Harper, _ib._. pp. 406, 407.

[1030] See above, p. 469.

[1031] Harper, pp. 392-394.

[1032] _I.e._, one cannot escape from Shamash, since he traverses all
space.

[1033] A personification of the storm. See below, pp. 537 _seq._ The
line is very obscure owing to the break in the tablet.

[1034] So Harper, but see pp. 541, 542.

[1035] _I.e._, he will dig his beak into the juicy part of the meat.

[1036] Of the carcass.

[1037] As shown by the colophon of K. 2606, and also by the fact that K.
1547, which contains on the obverse the tale, contains on the reverse
Etana's prayer to Shamash.

[1038] De la Saussaye's _Lehrbuch der Religionsgeschichte_ (2nd
edition), i. 218.

[1039] See above, p. 195.

[1040] Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Sardinia, Phoenicia,
Judea, Syria, and Asia Minor_, ii. 176.

[1041] Pinches, _Babylonian and Assyrian Cylinders, etc., of Sir Henry
Peak_, no. 18. _Cf._ Harper, _ib._ p. 408.

[1042] A lexicographical tablet, IIR. 56, col. iii. 22-35, mentions four
dogs of Marduk.

[1043] See p. 232.

[1044] See Harper, _ib._ p. 426.

[1045] The _ra_ is either a phonetic complement to the ideograph or is
perhaps added to suggest to the reader the identification with Gir-ra.

[1046] Namely, the connection with Hebrew _deber_, 'pestilence.' _Cf._
Harper, _ib._ p. 426.

[1047] Babylon.

[1048] Text obscure. "Sharpen badly" seems to be the idiomatic phrase
used.

[1049] See above, p. 154.

[1050] See p. 475.

[1051] A solar deity. See p. 99.

[1052] Ishum.

[1053] See above, p. 501.

[1054] _I.e._, seven. A collective personification of the seven evil
spirits.

[1055] Ishum.

[1056] IIR. 51, 19c and 4a. Khashur is also used as a name for the
cedar. See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwoerterbuch_, p. 295a.

[1057] The one published by the writer.

[1058] Hammurabi is the conqueror of Palestine mentioned in Gen. xlv.
under the name Amraphel. See, _e.g._, Hommel, _Altisraelitische
Ueberlieferung_, p. 106.

[1059] Num. xxi. 14. The 'song of Deborah' (Judges, v.) belongs to this
collection. For further specimens of Babylonian war-songs, see Hommel,
_ib._ pp. 180-190,--all dealing with the memorable Hammurabi period.

[1060] K. 1282, Harper, _ib._, pp. 432 _seq._, and King's fragment,
_Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, xl. 60, 61.

[1061] The gods of vegetation are mentioned.

[1062] _I.e._, give wisdom to the one who honors me.

[1063] Text 'Dibbarra.'

[1064] See above, p. 114.

[1065] As Mr. King has shown (_Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, xi. 53).
See above, p. 269.

[1066] Deut. vi. 9.

[1067] See p. 483.

[1068] See p. 263.

[1069] See p. 525.

[1070] See p. 420, 428.

[1071] See pp. 439 _seq._

[1072] _I.e._, En-lil's.

[1073] _I.e._, 'the bond of heaven and earth,' the name probably of a
temple-tower in Nippur, sacred to En-lil.

[1074] Zu's heart. These two lines are repeated.

[1075] The word _Kissu_ applies more especially to the dwelling places
of the gods. Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwoerterbuch_, p. 349b.

[1076] Zu.

[1077] See _e.g._, Ward, _Seal Cylinders of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art_, p. 12.

[1078] Ramman.

[1079] These two lines are repeated.

[1080] The thunderbolt.

[1081] Cities sacred to thee.

[1082] _I.e._, the sacred edifices in these cities.

[1083] The lofty dwelling of the gods is here meant. See chapter xxvii.

[1084] Ideographic reading--the ideograph signifies 'shrine.' The verbal
stem _bararu_ means 'to shine.'

[1085] See p. 414.

[1086] See p. 525.

[1087] See p. 400.

[1088] It is quite possible that the line in question declares that Zu
is in collusion with the eagle, against whom the serpent seeks the
assistance of Shamash.

[1089] See p. 417.

[1090] It is hardly possible that the illustration on seal cylinders
mentioned by Ward, _ib._ pp. 13, 14, represents the Zu bird brought
before a deity for punishment; and certainly not before Shamash, who
only enters into the story in so far as Marduk is a solar deity.

[1091] Published by Winckler and Abel, _Der Thontafelfund von
El-Amarna_, iii. 166a, b; translated also by Harper, _ib._ pp. 420, 421.

[1092] See above, p. 63.

[1093] My rendering is given in continuous lines. The legend is in
narrative, not in poetic form.

[1094] Adapa.

[1095] Lit., 'house.'

[1096] Neither Delitzsch's suggestion 'god of dwellings' nor Harper's
'god thou art strong' is acceptable.

[1097] See p. 99.

[1098] See p. 462.

[1099] See the following chapter.

[1100] See pp. 139 _seq._

[1101] First suggested by Zimmern.

[1102] Of the eighth century. See Harper, _ib._ p. 424.

[1103] To Ea.

[1104] Anu, it will be recalled, utters the same cry. See p. 546.

[1105] Referring to his garments of mourning.

[1106] _I.e._, Ea.

[1107] I follow Zimmern's rendition of the line.

[1108] _Schoepfung und Chaos_, pp. 168 _seq._

[1109] Adapa.

[1110] The phrase 'knowledge of good and evil' (Gen. ii. 17) is simply
an expression equivalent to our 'everything,' or to the Babylonian
'secrets of heaven and earth.'

[1111] See pp. 476 _seq._ Sayce has even gone so far as to suggest an
identification of Adapa (by reading Adawa) with the Biblical Adam, but
this conjecture is untenable.




CHAPTER XXV.

THE VIEWS OF LIFE AFTER DEATH.


The problem of immortality, we have seen, engaged the serious attention
of the Babylonian theologians. While the solutions they had to offer
could hardly have been satisfactory either to themselves or to the
masses, it must not be supposed that the denial of immortality to man
involved the total extinction of conscious vitality. Neither the people
nor the leaders of religious thought ever faced the possibility of the
total annihilation of what once was called into existence. Death was a
passage to another kind of life, and the denial of immortality merely
emphasized the impossibility of escaping the change in existence brought
about by death. The gods alone do not pass from one phase of existence
to the other. Death was mysterious, but not more mysterious than life.
The Babylonian religion does not transcend the stage of belief,
characteristic of primitive culture everywhere, which cannot conceive of
the possibility of life coming to an absolute end. Life of some kind and
in some form was always presupposed. So far as man was concerned,
created by some god,--Bel, Ea, Aruru, or Ishtar, according to the
various traditions that were current,[1112]--no divine fiat could wipe
out what was endowed with life and the power of reproduction.

No doubt, the impossibility for the individual to conceive of himself as
forever deprived of consciousness, was at the bottom of the primitive
theory of the perpetuity of existence in some form. Among ancient
religions, Buddhism alone frees itself from this theory and unfolds a
bold doctrine of the possibility of a complete annihilation. The
question, however, whether the continuity of existence was a blessing or
a curse was raised by many ancient nations. The Babylonians are among
these who are inclined to take a gloomy view of the passage from this
world to the existence in store for humanity after death, and the
religious leaders were either powerless or disinclined to controvert
this view.


Location and Names of the Gathering Place of the Dead.

We have already had occasion[1113] to refer to the great cave underneath
the earth in which the dead were supposed to dwell, and since the earth
itself was regarded as a mountain, the cave is pictured as a hollow
within, or rather underneath, a mountain. A conception of this kind must
have arisen among a people that was once familiar with a mountainous
district. The settlers of the Euphrates Valley brought the belief with
them from an earlier mountain home. The cave, moreover, points to
cave-dwelling and to cave-burial as conditions that prevailed at one
time among the populace, precisely as the imitation of the mountain with
its caves in the case of the Egyptian pyramids, is due to similar
influences. To this cave various names are assigned in the literature of
the Babylonians,--some of popular origin, others reflecting scholastic
views. The most common name is Aralu.[1114] We also find the term 'house
of Aralu.'[1115] The etymology of the term is obscure. Aralu was
pictured as a vast place, dark and gloomy. It is sometimes called a
land, sometimes a great house. The approach to it was difficult. It lay
in the lowest part of the mountain that represented the earth, not far
from the hollow underneath the mountain into which the 'Apsu' flowed.
Surrounded by seven walls and strongly guarded, it was a place to which
no living person could go and from which no mortal could ever depart
after once entering it. To Aralu all went whose existence in this world
had come to an end. Another name which specifies the relationship of
Aralu to the world is Ekur or 'mountain house' of the dead. Ekur is one
of the names for the earth,[1116] but is applied more particularly to
that part of the mountain, also known as Kharsag[1117]-kurkura, _i.e._,
'the mountain of all lands' where the gods were born. Before the later
speculative view was developed, according to which the gods, or most of
them, have their seats in heaven,[1118] it was on this mountain also
that the gods were supposed to dwell. Hence Ekur became also one of the
names for temple,[1119] as the seat of a god. The dwelling of the dead
was regarded as a part of the 'great mountain.' It belonged to Ekur, and
the fact that it was designated simply as Ekur,[1120] is a valuable
indication that the dead were brought into close association with the
gods. This association is also indicated by the later use of Aralu as
the designation of the mountain within which the district of the dead,
Aralu proper, lay[1121]--synonymous, therefore, with Ekur. We shall see
in the course of this chapter that the dead are placed even more than
the living under the direct supervision of the gods.

A third name for the nether world which conveys an important addition to
the views held regarding the dead, was Shualu. Jensen, it is true,
following Bertin, questions the existence of this term in
Babylonian,[1122] but one does not see how the evidence of the passages
in the lexicographical tablets can be set aside in the way that he
proposes. Zimmern[1123] does not appear to be convinced by Jensen's
arguments and regards the question as an open one. Jensen's method of
disposing of Shualu, besides being open to serious objections, fails to
account for the fact that Shualu is brought into association with
various Babylonian terms and ideographs for the grave.[1124] This cannot
be accidental. That the term has hitherto been found only in
lexicographical tablets need not surprise us. Aralu, too, is of rare
occurrence in the religious texts. The priests appear to avoid the names
for the nether world, which were of ill omen, and preferred to describe
the place by some epithet, as 'land without return,' or 'dark dwelling,'
or 'great city,' and the like. Of such descriptive terms we have a large
number.[1125] The stem underlying Shualu signifies 'to ask.' Shualu is a
place of inquiry,[1126] and the inquiry meant is of the nature of a
religious oracle. The name, accordingly, is an indication of the power
accorded to the dead, to aid the living by furnishing them with answers
to questions, just as the gods furnish oracles through the mediation of
the priests.[1127] The Old Testament supplies us with an admirable
illustration of the method of obtaining oracles through the dead. Saul,
when he desires to know what the outcome of a battle is to be, seeks out
a sorceress, and through her calls up the dead Samuel[1128] and puts the
question to him. Similarly, in the Gilgamesh epic, the hero, with the
aid of Nergal, obtains a sight of Eabani[1129] and plies him with
questions. The belief, therefore, in this power of the dead was common
to Babylonians and Hebrews, and, no doubt, was shared by other branches
of the Semites. It is natural, therefore, to find the Babylonian term
Shualu paralleled by the Hebrew Sheol, which is the common designation
in the Old Testament for the dwelling-place of the dead.[1130] How
widespread the custom was among Babylonians of inquiring 'through the
living of the dead'[1131] it is difficult, in default of satisfactory
evidence, to say. The growing power of the priests as mediators between
men and gods must have acted as a check to such practices. The priests,
as the inquirers,[1132] naturally proceeded direct to the particular god
whose representative they claimed to be, and the development of an
elaborate ceremonial in the temples in connection with the oracles[1133]
was a further factor that must have influenced the gradual abandonment
of the custom, at least as an element of the _official_ cult. Moreover,
the belief itself belongs in the domain of ancestor worship, and in
historical times we find but little trace of such worship among the
Babylonians. We may, therefore, associate the custom with the earliest
period of the Babylonian religion. This view carries with it the
antiquity of the term Shualu. Like Aralu and the designation Ekur, it
embodies the close association of the dead with the gods. The dead not
only dwell near the gods, but, like the gods, they can direct the
affairs of mankind. Their answers to questions put to them have divine
justification. From this view of the dead to the deification of the
latter is but a short step. It does not, of course, follow, from the
fact that Shualu or Sheol is the place of 'oracles,' that all the dead
have the power to furnish oracles or can be invoked for this purpose.
Correspondingly, if we find that the Babylonians did deify their dead,
it does not mean that at one time all the dead were regarded as gods.
Popular legends are concerned only with the heroes, with the popular
favorites--not with the great masses. Eabani, who appears to Gilgamesh,
is a hero, and so is Samuel. As a matter of fact, we have so far only
found evidence that the ancient rulers whose memory lingered in the
minds of the people were regarded by later generations as gods. So the
names of Dungi and Gudea[1134] are written on tablets that belong to the
centuries immediately following their reign, with the determinative that
is placed before the names of gods. Festivals were celebrated in honor
of these kings, sacrifices were offered to them, and their images were
placed in temples.[1135] Again, Gimil-Sin (c. 2500 B.C.), of the second
dynasty of Ur, appears to have been deified during his lifetime, and
there was a temple in Lagash which was named after him.[1136] No doubt
other kings will be found who were similarly honored. We may expect to
come across a god Hammurabi some day. Gilgamesh is, as we have seen, a
historical personage whose career has been so thoroughly amalgamated
with nature-myths that he ends by becoming a solar deity who is invoked
in incantations.

The tendency to connect legendary and mythical incidents with ancient
rulers is part and parcel of this process of deification. Of an ancient
king, Sargon,[1137] a story was related how he was exposed in a boat,
and, 'knowing neither father nor mother,' was found by a ferryman. The
exploits of this king and of his successor, Naram-Sin, were incorporated
in an omen text[1138]--a circumstance that again illustrates how the
popular fancy connected the heroes of the past with its religious
interests. Still, there is no more reason to question the historical
reality of Sargon[1139] than to question the existence of Moses, because
a story of his early youth is narrated in Exodus[1140] which forms a
curious parallel to the Sargon legend, or to question the existence of a
personage by the name of Abraham, because an Abrahamitic cult arose that
continues to the present day.[1141]

This close association of the dead with the gods, upon which the
deification of the dead rests, may be regarded as a legacy of the
earliest period of the Babylonian religion, of the time when the
intercourse between the gods and the living was also direct. The belief
and rites connected with the dead constitute the most conservative
elements in the religion of a people. The organized cult affects the
living chiefly. So far as the latter are concerned, the rise of a
priesthood to whom the religious needs of the people are entrusted,
removes the living from that immediate contact with the gods which we
note in the traditions of every people regarding the beginnings of
mankind. The priests have no power over the dead. The dead require no
'mediator.' Hence, those who dwell in Aralu return to the early state of
mankind when gods and mankind 'walked together.'

Another name that is of frequent occurrence in religious texts is
Kigallu, which describes the nether world as a district of great extent,
situated within the earth.[1142] The chief goddess of the nether world
is commonly known as the 'queen of Kigallu.' Furthermore, Irkalla, which
was interpreted by the Babylonian theologians as 'great city' (or
'district'), is used both as a designation for the dwelling-place of the
dead and for the consort of the queen of Aralu.[1143]

Beside the names for the nether world above discussed, a large number of
epithets and metaphors are found in the religious texts. The place to
which the dead go is called the 'dark dwelling,' 'the land from which
there is no return,' 'house of death,' 'the great city,' 'the deep
land,' and, since Nergal, the ruler of the lower world, was the patron
of the city Cuthah[1144] (or Kutu), the name Cuthah was also used as a
designation for Aralu. Lastly, it is interesting to note that in
poetical usage the words for 'grave'[1145] were also employed to
describe the nether world. The question raised by this metaphor as to
the relationship between the grave and the lower world can best be
discussed when we come to consider the funeral rites.[1146]


The Condition of the Dead and the Impossibility of an Escape from Aralu.

Among the remains of Babylonian literature there is a remarkable
production, which furnishes us with an admirable view of the fate in
store for those who have left this world.[1147] The composition is based
upon a nature-myth, symbolizing the change of seasons. Ishtar, the great
mother goddess, the goddess of fertility who produces vegetation, is, as
we saw in the Gilgamesh epic,[1148] also the one who brings about the
decline of vegetation. The change in nature that takes place after the
summer solstice is passed and the crops have ripened was variously
interpreted. According to one, and, as it would seem, the favorite,
tradition, the goddess is represented as herself destroying the solar
deity, Tammuz, whom she had chosen as a consort. Repentant and weeping,
Ishtar passes to the lower world in search of her youthful husband,--the
symbol of the sun on its approach to the summer solstice. While Ishtar
is in the lower world, all fertility ceases, in the fields, as well as
in the animal kingdom. At last Ishtar reappears, and nature is joyous
once more. In the Semitic Orient there are only two seasons:[1149]
winter, or the rainy season, and summer, or the dry season. The myth
was, therefore, a symbol of the great contrast that the two seasons
presented to one another. Under various forms and numerous disguises, we
find the myth among several branches of the Semites, as well as in Egypt
and among Aryans who came into contact with Semitic ideas.[1150] A
festival celebrated in honor of Tammuz by the Babylonians is one
expression of many that the myth received. The designation of the sixth
month as "the mission of Ishtar"[1151] is another. This myth was adapted
by the theologians to illustrate the doctrines that were developed
regarding the kind of existence led by the dead. The literary method
adopted is the same that characterizes the elaboration of the Adapa myth
and of the myths incorporated into the Gilgamesh epic. The story forms
the point of departure, but its original purport is set aside to a
greater or less degree, necessary modifications are introduced, and the
moral or lesson is distinctly indicated. In the case of the production
that we are about to consider, the story of Ishtar's visit to the nether
world is told--perhaps by a priest--to a person who seeks consolation. A
dear relative has departed this life, and a survivor,--a brother,
apparently,--is anxious to know whether the dead will ever come back
again. The situation reminds one of Gilgamesh seeking out Eabani,[1152]
with this difference: that, whereas Gilgamesh, aided by Nergal, is
accorded a sight of his friend, the ordinary mourner must content
himself with the answer given to him. But what Gilgamesh is not
permitted to hear,[1153] the mourner is told. A description is given him
of how the dead fare in Aralu.

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