From tinuviel@sparcs.kaist.ac.kr Thu Sep 09 21:31:05 2004 Return-Path: X-Sender: tinuviel@sparcs.kaist.ac.kr X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 94396 invoked from network); 10 Sep 2004 04:31:04 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.172) by m17.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 10 Sep 2004 04:31:04 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO n4.grp.scd.yahoo.com) (66.218.66.88) by mta4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 10 Sep 2004 04:31:04 -0000 Received: from [66.218.66.143] by n4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 10 Sep 2004 04:30:14 -0000 Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 04:30:12 -0000 To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Message-ID: User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Length: 1490 X-Mailer: Yahoo Groups Message Poster X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: groups-compose X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 66.218.66.88 From: "sshiskom" X-Originating-IP: 211.104.100.115 Subject: Inana's descent to the nether world (I) X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=179208444 X-Yahoo-Profile: sshiskom X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 23017 "Inana's descent to the nether world" is a Sumerian mythological narrative, concerning goddess's descent, like Persephone's in the Greek mythology. I love the story. It is beautiful. It has repetitive rhythm, even hypnotic repetitive rhythm, repetitive rhythm which let you fall in love with it. (In the last sentence I tried to imitate such repetitive rhythm. :-) You can read English translation, with Sumerian original[!] at ETCSL: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ Without further ado, here's my try at translation: doi .enlil. po'u le patfu .i .e'o ko na curmi le nu catra le do tixnu tu'i le nitmu'e .i .e'o ko na curmi le nu naljisygau le do dirba jimcai le dertu be le nitmu'e .i .e'o ko na curmi le nu katna le do dirba jemnrlapislazuli tai tu'a le rokci gau le rokyka'apre .i .e'o ko na curmi le nu katna le do dirba tricrbuksuso tai tu'a le mudri gau le mudyka'apre .i .e'o ko na curmi le nu catra la .inanas. po'u le nolxli tu'i le nitmu'e English translation is quoted below for your convinience: Father Enlil, Don't let anyone kill your daughter in the underworld. Don't let your precious metal be alloyed there with the dirt of the underworld. Don't let your precious lapis lazuli be split there with the mason's stone. Don't let your boxwood be chopped up there with the carpenter's wood. Don't let young lady Inana be killed in the underworld. -- Inana's descent to the nether world, 41-47 mi'e sanxiyn.