Enki and Ereshkigal

Translation

Enki mourns the loss of Ereshkigal

In the days after Ereshkigal, the daughter of Nammu, the sea, and the sky father An, disappeared from the middle world, Enki, her twin brother, could hardly bear the pain of being separated from his sister and friend.

"Stop thinking about Ereshkigal, Enki."

Enlil, the lord of the air, repeated it for the hundredth time that day.

"Ereshkigal's loss weighed heavily on you, but she had gone beyond all we knew. Perhaps one day she will return to us. Who knows?"

This time Enki looked up at Enlil, whose face darkened with grief. He asked:

"Is there nothing you can do to bring Ereshkigal back?"

Enlil asked back:

"Do what, brother?"

Enki said:

"Whatever you have to do! You could separate mother Ki from our heavenly father An. Your word, Enlil, has the power to create things. Please, brother, let us create whatever we need to save Ereshkigal!"

Enlil thought about the request for a long moment and then looked anxiously at the distant line beyond the horizon where Ereshkigal had disappeared. He said:

"I can't. She is unreachable. I am the guardian of the earth, I watch over mother Ki, so I cannot leave the middle world unattended. That is my duty, the responsibility I took on my shoulders after I caused mother Ki's separation from skylord An. But you can save Ereshkigal, Enki. If anyone can bring her back to us, it's you. The bond between you and her as perfect twins is too strong. Only you can track her down, wherever she is."

Enki asked thoughtfully:

"But how can I bring her back?"

Enlil replied:

"You'll find out. The world is still so young."

At least he hoped that Enki would find a way to do so. Enki made a decision:

"Then I must learn what it takes to bring my sister back. I just wish I had some idea where to start!"

Enlil suppressed a sigh of profound relief. He had been so afraid of losing Enki to the bottomless depths of despair and hopelessness. But his fears might be unfounded. Enki's curiosity had been awakened, he was back in touch with life!

Enlil's question about life and being

Enlil continued:

"While you are learning what you need to learn, I could really use your help, little brother. It is true that through my word I have called the Anunnaki, the great gods, out of the form of creation, but that is not enough. There is more to life and being than mere existence. Who knows, maybe life should be organized in meaningful patterns. I definitely need help. Would you be by my side to organize the middle world so that it is safe for everyone?"

Enki asked, puzzled:

"What do you mean, Enlil?"

His old eagerness to learn and grow resurfaced. Enlil smiled inwardly.

"You'll have to find out for yourself, Enki, just like I did!"

Enki straightened up and looked at Enlil's request and the trust the young lord of the air was showing him. A wave of contradictory feelings, awe and astonishment, overcame Enki. If Enlil thought him capable, he would do his best to help. Enlil added:

"From mother Nammu, the sea, the watery deep, we all emerged. Water, my nature, can also be molded into countless forms depending on the vessel that holds it, and yet it never loses its essence. So perhaps life should be a kind of molding and shaping, always evolving and changing to allow for countless possibilities. Not as a preconceived plan, but as a process and a goal as life unfolds."

Enki added:

"Just as I myself must learn, evolve and grow if I am to one day be able to save Ereshkigal."

In true joy, Enlil exclaimed:

"Life and being as one process and one goal! Yes, Enki, you could very well be right!"

As always, he never ceased to marvel at Enki's ability to understand all realities and visualize all possibilities. What Enlil named with the power of his word gave form and meaning to Enki's craft. Enki, the son of Nammu, the primordial mother of the sea, and the sky father An, became Nudimmud, the image maker, the lord of archetypal forms, the patron of all crafts and skills, and all life-giving waters and the subterranean springs called Apsu were assigned to him.

Enki builds his boat

When many of the arts of civilization had emerged and the Anunnaki had developed the craft of boat building, Enki retreated to the southwestern edge of the land between the rivers, where he had found a lagoon of deepest jade and calmest blue, fringed with palm trees. A settlement was being built nearby. But Enki did not spend much time overseeing the laborious construction of reed huts, fences and the first temple, and he named the place Eridu.

At this time, Enki sought the precious, quiet company of the lagoon and the marshes. He took long walks across the land and deep dives into the deep blue waters, contemplating how he could fulfill the promise he had made to himself to rescue Ereshkigal from the place she had been taken to. He would go to the ends of the earth for her, wherever that might be. On his long walks, he stopped only at the great reed belts to see the tireless work of her mistress, a young Anunnaki goddess named Ningikuga. It was she who taught the people the art of tying and weaving reeds, and it was her craft that was used to build the huts for living and worship. And when he saw Ningikuga weaving the long reeds in a pattern, he felt that he had found what he needed to pursue Ereshkigal. Enki said as a greeting and a request in one:

"Sister Ningikuga, mistress of the reeds, mistress of this place, I ask your permission to cut some of the strongest reeds under your protection to build a structure that will carry me through the harshest waters and seas so I can try to save Ereshkigal."

Ningikuga looked at the expanse of the great reeds, contemplated her work with pride and then turned to Enki. As a craftswoman, she understood Enki and his request with her mind, her body, her heart and her soul. She smiled at the water god:

"So you haven't given up on getting our older sister back? Everything I own, from the smallest to the largest reed in the land, is yours for this mighty task. Cut the strongest in my reeds to build the structure that will float on the surface of everything that flows. Take also sacred cedar wood to build it safe and strong, and you will have my blessing wherever you go."

Enki's voice sounded full of wonder:

"Sister, I can already see the shape this new structure will take! Yes, I can see it completely. I will call it a boat and endow it with the gift of floating on anything that flows. Propelled by long spears called paddles, it will cross the roughest seas and return to where it belongs. In fact, I can already see it ready to sail anywhere. My boat, the Magurian boat, shall be long, its bow shall rise and curve like the head of a swan, its stem shall twist and writhe like the neck of a crane. Sister, I have found what I need to begin my search for my sister and friend, the very best."

Ningikuga laughed at the water god's infectious enthusiasm:

"And when you are ready, when you have built the boat you need, I will call upon our brothers and sisters, the Anunnaki and the Igigi, to bring you their gifts and send you on your journey to the afterlife with our blessing."

With all his skill, Enki built a boat, a Magur boat made of reeds and cedar wood. With its elegantly curved and planked sides and imposing mast, it was the strongest ship ever built. As he worked diligently and determinedly, many of the Anunnaki brothers and sisters came to help him. Enki, however, kept the work to himself to finish the ship. In a way, it wasn't just the Magurian ship that was being built: Enki was also preparing himself, gathering strength to face Kur and the netherworld for the love of his twin sister and best friend.

Then, one day, the boat was finally ready to set sail, and Enki was too. True to her promise, Ningikuga had come with the Igigi and the Anunnaki, who brought Enki gifts for the journey. So he was wrapped in chain mail to protect his body, a helmet to guide his reason and decisions, a sacred horn so that he would never run out of food and drink, and a spear to focus his will and pierce the heart of the fiercest enemy.

Enki's journey to the netherworld

With a graceful leap, Enki climbed into the boat. He stood there for a while, gazed at the sea and lost himself in Ningikuga's eyes. This last greeting was for her... for now. Then he took his place and began to row.

Onwards, past the sterile shores of the desert, still waiting for the sun's kiss. Onwards, past the palm trees on the beaches of the south seas. Out into the deep blue of the open ocean, where the Magur boat plunged down on the back of the still rising waves. Further, beyond the frozen seas. Further and further Enki rowed. The cold roar of the salt water sounded strangely encouraging to Enki, however. These were the waters of mother Nammu, he felt safe, though there was no sun to mark the day, no moon to light the night, no stars to guide him. Enki thought:

"It doesn't matter where I go. In all directions, the world must end somewhere, and wherever it is, I will find my way to the netherworld."

As if he had summoned the powers of the unknown with his determination to find the entrance to the netherworld, the wind suddenly began to blow violently, followed by stones falling from the sky. Enki clung desperately to the bow of the Magur boat to protect his head from the force of the storm. He felt the stones hitting the keel of the Magur boat, but it withstood the attack. The waves rose up and devoured the bow of the boat like a hungry wolf, the waves beat against the stern of the ship like a raging lion. All this was not enough to turn the ship upside down.

All the while, Enki commanded his mind and his racing heart to be still. He had to take control of the physical discomfort and fear that threatened to paralyze his mind, his body and his searching soul. Above all, he had to get his emotions under control and forget the numbness that threatened to paralyze his body.

Enki enters the netherworld

Then, when he had almost capitulated to the power of the elements outside, silence and darkness fell over him and the water. As the Magur boat slowed, Enki lifted his head, struggled to keep his balance and stood up, blinking once, then twice. The water was so dark and still. The ship had stopped moving, and his breath caught as he saw the pure blackness become a pillar-like shape of blazing fire towering over him.

A powerful challenge had been issued. Fire was the counterforce to his own watery essence, the force that could prevent him from getting anywhere. Actually, the water could also put out the fire, but he didn't want to extinguish this strange fire or be killed in the process. Enki thought desperately:

"What do water and fire have in common? How can opposition become cooperation so that I can move on?"

Then he delved into the essence of his own being to find out where water could meet fire without being consumed by it. He then pushed the Magur boat forward and intoned a verse that came like a mantra from the depths of his searching mind, body and soul:

"I am the fountain of truth that brings enlightenment.
I am the dispeller of the darkness of the mind.
I am the form that transforms.
Brightness is my gift to all kinds of beings!"

It worked! As if of its own accord, the Magur boat began to move, and Enki saw himself pass through the blazing pillar without being hurt. But he couldn't rejoice for long, because a voice rang out in the darkness.

"Welcome to my realm, son of Nammu!"

The booming voice could only belong to Kur. Enki gathered all the courage he could muster and asked:

"Where is my sister? Where have you taken Ereshkigal? I have come to rescue her to the upper worlds."

The answer seemed to be right in front of him.

"Ereshkigal is the ruler here, and those who worship her must never leave her. Would you go back now, little lord?"

Enki replied:

"I will not return without Ereshkigal. I will fight to my last breath, but I will not return to the middle world alone, not as a loser, not without her."

Deep down, however, Enki's heart was heavy with terror. For the first time, he thought about the extent of Ereshkigal's loss to him and the upper realms. What if Kur was right and she had found a kingdom in the netherworld? Then Ereshkigal would be lost to him and the upper realms forever. Never before had the lord of freshwater, the master of magic and all the arts, felt so powerless to change what perhaps could not be changed. With deep sadness, he faced the stark truth: his power was to create things and give them form, not to change what was already there. After a while, he admitted to himself:

"No, I can't go back. Not now that I've gone this far. I will have to find out where Ereshkigal is. I descended into the netherworld of my own free will, and I want to know why Ereshkigal has chosen to remain in the land of the netherworld. Even though I may not be happy about the truth, I will find out."

He accepted the decision he had made to continue his descent. Enki straightened his back with a valiant attempt at dignity. Kur should know where Ereshkigal was. Kur, who was also his half-brother, sired like him by the sky god An. As both a command and a request, Enki said to Kur:

"Take me to Ereshkigal."

A mocking laugh met him:

"Where else? All who come here must come to her."

Enki felt the boat head for the dark shore and come to a halt with a loud jerk as it reached the land of the netherworld. Enki pulled his robe tightly around him and reached for his spear. All the while, he was watched by Kur and some ghostly creatures who began to recognize his eyes as he adjusted to the enveloping darkness.

"Not like this! Leave all weapons and shields behind!"

Enki looked down at himself and turned his desperate gaze to Kur.

"You must enter the netherworld as you were born into the upper world: naked, without weapons and with a task to fulfill."

Enki tried to walk on, but the paralysis took hold of his body, even though he tried to continue walking.

"Is there another way?"

Kur replied:

"No. Decide to go on or return. Now!"

In the worlds above, he had shared his first breath and his first consciousness with Ereshkigal, his beloved twin. For Ereshkigal he had built his Magur boat, for Ereshkigal he had come this far. For Ereshkigal, Enki now laid down his shield, his chainmail and his spear, hoping to fulfill his promise to save Ereshkigal to the higher worlds.

"For you, sister, I have come. If it is the rule of this great place that all come naked and carry no weapons, then I bow to their plans. So be it also the highest will in me."

As naked as a newborn, Enki stepped onto the shore of the netherworld. As soon as his feet touched the coarse, dark sand, Enki was overcome by a strong feeling of disorientation, as if every aspect and fragment of his being was being turned upside down, reviewed and scrutinized. He felt very vulnerable because everything he had considered valuable was being turned upside down, questioned and turned inside out. The feeling was completely overwhelming: thresholds to a much deeper consciousness were being opened for him. Enki tensed and only hoped that he could withstand the increasing pressure from within.

Enki meets Ereshkigal

Enki heard a deep voice that sounded strangely soothing in the darkness:

"Don't fight the feeling. You will get used to the vision of the netherworld over time. Remember, however, that if your soul is pure, your contacts here will be harmonious and will make you whole. But if you come with fear, anger and anything negative or unbalanced, you will have to deal with the shadows in your heart, mind and soul before you find regeneration and healing."

A few more minutes, or perhaps an eternity later, Enki was able to lift his head without feeling dizzy. He let his eyes take in the new surroundings. Beneath his feet, the dark, coarse sand glistened here and there. Above him, the sky held the mystery of twilight. Enki could not recognize the source of this muted brightness. There were no stars, sun or moon in the netherworld. Instead, the light seemed to come from within the land itself. In front of him, he could make out the outline of a huge lapis lazuli building, a palace or temple under construction. As for the creatures, there were strange ghostly figures of all shapes and sizes everywhere, fleshless but mobile and, if he could use the term, seemingly alive. Finally, Enki turned in the direction of the voice. Before him stood a silent figure clad in a shimmering black robe and wearing a hood. The figure's face was hidden. Tall, slender and very imposing, the figure left Enki speechless. Never before had he seen such an aura of authority and seriousness. The lord of freshwater swallowed hard before he spoke:

"Perhaps I should first introduce myself to the Presence that welcomes me to this great place."

'Presence' was an ambiguous but more appropriate term for this fleshless, frame-like figure that stood before him. The voice said:

"I already know who you are. And also why you've come. You have said loud and clear that you want to bring your sister Ereshkigal back to the upper worlds. But how can you be so sure that she wants to return with you? Time has passed, perhaps she has recognized the depths as her home, not the heights above."

The cool objectivity of the presence shook and impressed Enki at the same time. Enki replied:

"I knew Ereshkigal as my own soul."

He paused for a moment before speaking his true thought. The voice added:

"And since you know your soul, you wouldn't want to live in the netherworld, would you, Mr. Enki?"

The voice spoke the words that Enki had been thinking but was afraid to say.

Discussion about the netherworld

The voice continued:

"But all who live come to this sphere at the end of their life cycles in the upper worlds. All of them, without exception."

With a sweeping gesture, the presence pointed to the strange ghostly, frame-like creatures of all kinds that Enki saw roaming the netherworld. Enki repeated thoughtfully:

"All who live come to this realm at the end of their life cycles. So all these presences are all dead?"

He knew this was a rhetorical question as soon as the words came out of his mouth. The presence remained silent, but somehow Enki didn't find it threatening. Enki said:

"I didn't think about death until now. I knew it was something that happens to the living, to humans, plants and animals alike, but not to the Anunnaki."

The presence asked softly:

"What did you experience when you arrived in the netherworld, my lord?"

Enki replied:

"Disorientation, challenge, intense questioning of everything I was, believed or did. But wait! Are you saying that I also died when I entered this land?"

Enki felt the soft smile of the presence. The presence said:

"You too were reborn here. The netherworld is the inner reality that nurtures everything that was, is and will be. It is the realm of essence, where life and death meet and merge. Here life and death are both, rhythm and transformation between energy and form, so that healing and regeneration can take place. You, my lord, who through your craft impart to all men the knowledge of what they can become, must know that this knowledge is rarely realized in the middle earth. That is why all the living come to the netherworld at the end of their life cycle to find justice and balance. Remember, my lord, that out of life comes death and out of death comes life, out of the young come the old and out of the old come the young, out of wakefulness comes sleep and out of sleep comes wakefulness. In this way we are connected in the depths below with the worlds above as part of the stream of creation and dissolution that never ends.

And how does this come about? What was form becomes the energy of what it was, while essence rebuilds itself in the power of what it can and surely will be."

The tone of the presence became gentle and positive at the same time::

"Existence is both a process and a goal that finds its justification in its own evolution and self-transcendence. As such, it is not a predetermined plan, but a seed of becoming that contains within itself all the possibilities that could [not] be realized without it."

Silence followed, and Enki was seized by a deep emotion. A hot, lonely tear streamed down his face as he consciously shifted his consciousness, transforming the energy of what and who he saw into the forms of what they were and would be. The land of no return then became the image of paradise restored, the original land that also contains the stars.

Enki recognizes Ereshkigal

He turned to the presence with deep respect and recognized who she really was.

"Sister, Ereshkigal, beloved twin, I lend you graces, and I ask you to forgive me for not recognizing you!"

Indeed, the person smiling at him was not the bony, skeletal figure and projection of his deepest fears, but a tall, slender, young and serious woman with long dark hair, dressed all in black and silver, whom Enki knew as well as his own soul. Ereshkigal said softly:

"Do you understand now, Enki? Why my place is here, why I cannot return with you? I have now become one of the great guardians, and I have chosen to be. Father An for the sky, Ninhursag for the earth, Enlil for the air, you for the sweet, life-giving waters and I for the netherworld. There was a great need for a presence here. So many come to this realm with pain and suffering and miss so much that they never experienced or achieved in the worlds above. They need to learn about balance and healing. I am here to ensure that all who seek the essence beyond appearances will seek it and find it, if only they are willing to bare and reshape their souls to achieve this. For so many will never see the netherworld as the land of balance. As you did when you arrived, who saw this land and its beings as spirits and life here as labor and tears."

Enki asked, stunned at the sheer amount of responsibility Ereshkigal had willingly placed on her frail yet strong shoulders:

"Oh, sister, isn't it too much for you to balance all the pain for the upper worlds before healing and regeneration can take place?"

Ereshkigal replied:

"You faced the netherworld initiation upon your arrival, brother. I can say that deep down you have changed and grown through this experience. Gone is your arrogant attitude, your desire to take me back for your sake, without asking if this was my wish too. And because you know me as you know yourself, I believe you have realized that while I miss the worlds up there, that I do not know the play of the other girls and the company of my brothers and sisters in the heights above, that there are hidden treasures in the land of no return and that I have become their most important guardian. Many cannot see what and where these treasures are. I can. I am needed here. Just as your magic, brother, is needed in the higher worlds."

Enki let the tears flow freely. He had painfully come to terms with the fact that Ereshkigal was lost for the upper worlds, even for himself. Enki asked:

"May I ask you something about Kur? I've always wanted to know why you left us."

He had finally asked the question that had been burning on his mind since Ereshkigal had disappeared from the heights.

"Kur is now a guardian of this realm. He was a friend who helped me understand things I needed to know and learn. But that's not what you really want to know, Enki. Say it, brother, to me, loud and clear. Leave the past behind you once and for all, all you find yourself guilty for and never were."

Enki took a deep breath before finally baring his soul:

"Did you leave me and the upper worlds for Kur? Have we... Have I failed you in any way?"

Ereshkigal's voice became so soft, and yet there was a tenderness of steel in it:

"I did not leave the upper worlds for Kur. I came to the netherworld because this was the highest will within me, the fulfillment and realization of my self to be shared in all worlds. Kur was a friend, a companion on my path, and now he is bound to me in freedom because he has chosen to remain as one of the guardians of the netherworld. Never again, I beg you, brother of my soul, best companion of my early days, think you would have failed me. Perhaps I have failed you and Enlil instead? But somehow I don't think all sides have failed. We have all made our choices, we have all become guardians in our own way. In this way, I am connected to you, Enlil and all the Anunnaki."

Ereshkigal's words were followed by an emotionally charged silence. Enki felt that a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, his mind, his heart and his soul. Ereshkigal continued:

"Do not regret your decision to descend for me, Enki. Indeed, I knew you would come and have been expecting you all along. Our bond was and will always be strong, and whenever you look for me, you will find me, if only you know how and where to look. But until you understood my mission in life, I couldn't say a word. Somehow you belong to the heights above us and I belong to the depths below us. By coming into my realm, I sincerely hope that you have learned to see all that is as form and essence. If the above is the realm of form, where the essence is within, the netherworld is the domain of essence, which encompasses form only for those whose insights are true to go beyond appearances. This way we are also forever linked to the worlds above, for the netherworld is the inner structure that gives sustenance to the realms above it. All that is without is the same to all there is within to reveal the secrets of the one and the many."

Enki drank in her words, her deep silent wisdom with his mind, his body, his heart and his soul.

Enki receives the Huluppu tree

With a swift, graceful movement, Ereshkigal knelt on the ground, her hands plunging into the solid foundation of the worlds beneath her.

"Before you go, brother, take this."

Her hand pulled a small, pale, oval shape from the ground and placed it in his palm. A seed! Enki gave her a puzzled look. Ereshkigal said:

"Plant it and watch what comes out. If this seed grows into fullness, it will be the gateway to this and many other worlds. And by Nammu, the mother who gave birth to me, and the skyfather An, I now declare a most auspicious fate: The one who finds my fully grown seed and cares for it will be the one who will keep the door to the netherworld and above wide open. And as I will it, so shall it be!"

Enki knew that the seed she gave him was a parting gift. He asked:

"Will I ever see you again, Ereshkigal? Or are you lost forever to the worlds above?"

Ereshkigal's lovely laughter filled the air:

"I don't think you and the worlds above are lost to me, Enki. Am I lost to you forever, brother?"

Enki's heart wanted to scream "Never!" but the words his soul formed could not be uttered by his mouth. Ereshkigal added:

"Seek me and you will find me. Forever! Now, brother, companion and best friend, I bid you farewell."

The next thing Enki saw was himself all alone at the Magur boat. Hot tears streamed down his face. He bowed with deep respect to the great mistress of the netherworld, and for a brief moment he envied Kur for being allowed to stay with her. But he couldn't stay. Nevertheless, he felt stronger than ever, very moved, as if he could embrace the universe with an expanded consciousness. Something was growing inside him, and although he couldn't put a name to it yet, he knew it was important. At the same time, the seed of Ereshkigal seemed to grow warmer in his hand. As the Magur boat left the land of no return, Enki held it high in his hand to bid Ereshkigal a silent and loving farewell. Enki said goodbye:

"May the light of the netherworld of regeneration and growth that shone upon me today crown all who come to you with their hearts, minds, bodies and souls open to all mysteries, sister and best friend! And may you be remembered for the beauties and trials you have imposed on all those who, guided by the truth, come to the netherworld!"

Enki's return journey

Then Enki turned his back on the netherworld, determined to re-enter the upper worlds and return to Eridu. He really did return home! To Ningikuga, perhaps? Enki smiled to himself, his old confidence resurfacing: I'm sure of it, and to be more than just a friend this time! With this thought, Enki began to row with renewed energy. Eridu was certainly a harbor, a refuge and a home.

The Huluppu tree thrives

Months later, Enki took the Magur boat and sailed to the spot on the riverbank where he had planted Ereshkigal's seed. Would the seed of the netherworld take root and be reborn in the middle world? Enki had his doubts, but after experiencing the power of Ereshkigal, he knew that life and healing, growth and regeneration for all could be found in the land of no return.

Anxiously, Enki stretched his neck to look ahead. It took a few minutes, but when he finally saw what he had been looking for, a delighted laugh erupted from the depths of his being. Not far from the shore, a leafy head broke through the ground. Enki rowed to the shore, stepped out of the Magur boat and knelt down reverently to admire the growing plant at the edge of the swamp:

"Life does indeed come from within. Seed of growth, I welcome you to the middle world, you who carry the gifts of the netherworld. May your roots stay firm in the ground in all kingdoms, may your trunk grow strong and true, may your branches, leaves and fruits empower with knowledge to share, showing us the ways of becoming in all worlds and spheres. May all those who find you climb to the highest heights and descend to the lowest depths for healing and fruition. I call you the most sacred, the most precious of all trees, the Huluppu tree."

Interpretation

Still missing.