The Sumerian Zame Hymns from Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ

M. Krebernik and J.J.W. Lisman offer the first comprehensive score edition of and the first attempt at an integral translation of the Early Dynastic Sumerian hymns, known in the literature as the Zame Hymns (zà-mì), published by R.D. Biggs in 1974 in his ‘Inscriptions from Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh’ (IAS). Most of the deities featuring in the collection of the short Zame Hymns also occur in the god lists from Abū Ṣalābīḫ and Fāra. The hymns are embedded in a narrative which relates to the institution of the cult places for the great gods by the supreme god Enlil in Nippur. The last hymn is dedicated to Lisin and her cult place ĜEŠ.GI, which is most probably to be identified with Abū Ṣalābīḫ, where Lisin is installed as city goddess. If one considers these facts, it becomes very likely that the Zame Hymns were performed when the temple of Lisin was inaugurated and/or when the foundation of her temple and her installation there were re-enacted in the course of a cyclic (annual?) festival. The score edition and translation are supplemented by a detailed commentary on various cultural, historical, grammatical and orthographic aspects. An appendix is devoted to the colophons of contemporary texts from Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ, Fāra and Ebla. The additional ‘Synopsis of the Cuneiform Manuscripts of the Zame Hymns’ will enable an easy verification of the transcription.

Preface

1. Introduction

     1.1 History of research

     1.2 The manuscripts

     1.3 Orthography

     1.4 The structure of the Zame Hymns

     1.5 The gods of the Zame Hymns and their cities

     1.6 The Zame Hymns in the context of early cuneiform literature

     1.7 The ‘Sitz im Leben’ of the Zame Hymns

2. Survey of Toponyms and Theonyms

3. List of Manuscripts of the Zame Hymns

4. Transliteration and Translation 

5. Score 

6. Commentary 

7. Indices 

8. Appendix: Colophons and Scribes

     8.1 Some general remarks on the colophons and the scribes

     8.2 The colophons from Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ

     8.3 The colophons from Fāra and other Early Dynastic cities

     8.4 The colophons from Ebla

9. Abbreviations 

10. Bibliography 

11. Maps of Sumer and Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ 

12. Synopsis of the Cuneiform Manuscripts of the Zame Hymns