Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

INTRODUCTION
Formally, namburbi-prayers follow the typical outline of other incantationprayers.
119 That is, they begin with an invocation and praise of the deity or deities
involved. As noted above, Shamash, god of justice, is the god predominantly
invoked, often along with Ea and Asalluḫi, gods of wisdom and magic. 120 The
reason for this, according to Maul, is that
[e]ven if the great gods Ea, Šamaš, and Asalluhi, whom the conjuror had summoned,
were not the divinities who had sent the . . . omen, they had at the very
least allowed the person to be burdened with that fate. Only when the person
involved had convinced the gods, especially Šamaš, the god of law (kittu) and
justice (mīšaru), that the impending, evil fate would befall him unjustly, could
the sinister power of the harbinger . . . be broken. 121
After the introduction, the prayers turn to a description of the problem (lament)
and the request for its resolution (petition). The lament often includes a description
of the sign (ina/aššu lumun X, “on account of the evil of X”) and how it affected
the supplicant, typically stated as palḫāku adrāka u šutādurāku, “I am
afraid, anxious, and constantly in fear.” 122 The petition part of the namburbiprayer
is invariably concerned with requesting the deity to avert the impending
evil from the supplicant and to make the evil keep its distance. The prayers generally
conclude with a brief promise of praise.
The ritual instructions typically complement the petitions of the prayer via
the actions prescribed against the omen bearer or, as is often the case, its substitute
in the form of a figurine. 123 The evil was transferred symbolically to the
omen bearer/substitute in some way (e.g., the water used to purify the supplicant
was poured over the omen bearer) 124 and then eliminated (e.g., the omen
bearer or its substitute was tossed into the river, placed on a boat going downstream,
or carried off by a fish or bird). 125 After another rite of purification, 126
the supplicant might be told, for example, to return home, go to another place,
or to enter a tavern, being careful not to look back or to return on the same path
by which they had come. 127 Sometimes the supplicant would also be required to
wear an amulet necklace for a prescribed number of days. 128
119 In fact, Mayer (UFBG, 35) uses a namburbi-prayer, Shamash 25 (see page 421) as an example
of the typical structure of an incantation-prayer in the introduction to his study.
120 Other gods could be invoked in prayers, too (e.g., Naru, “the deified River,” and Ishtar).
121 “How the Babylonians Protected Themselves,” 125.
122 Although other incantation-prayers use these formulae, they are found very frequently in
namburbi-prayers. See Mayer, UFBG, 73–74.
123 As Maul mentions, a few namburbis require the use of a figurine of the one affected by the
omen—the supplicant themselves. This substitute then receives the evil and symbolically suffers
its affects instead of the real person. See ZB, 74–75.
124 See ibid., 72–84, with the accomplishment of the transfer via items other than water begin-
ning on 76.
125 See ibid., 85–93 for various details.
126 See ibid., 94–100.
127 See ibid., 101–6.
128 See ibid., 107–13.
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