Click here to listen to Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld, episode 3 in a 4-part series in the season 2 archives on buzzsprout
The ancient Sumerian story of Inanna’s descent to the underworld is an iconic myth about a psychological and spiritual journey of great significance. There’s loss and suffering in this story. And there’s a return to new life. Feels like a fitting end to 2020, and this season of Myth Matters
A belated happy solstice and hurrah to the dawning age of Aquarius! Wishing you a safe and happy holiday. See you in 2021.
Transcript of Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld (episode 3 in 4-part series)
Hello, and welcome to Myth Matters, storytelling and conversation about mythology and why myth matters to your life today. I’m your host and personal mythologist Dr. Catherine Svehla. Wherever you may be in this wide, beautiful, crazy world of ours, you are part of this story circle.
This is Dec 24th and a happy National EggNog day and Christmas Eve to you. We celebrated the solstice and a major conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter on the 21st. This time of the year reverberates with themes of necessary darkness before the dawn, planting seeds for the future, the possibility of rebirth and hope for renewal. After the events of 2020, I feel deeply connected to the energy of rebirth and the fact that, honestly, the process is a bitch. Right? It’s hard. So, this is a good time, a fruitful time, to reflect on today’s story, the Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld. Inanna’s story has a lot to offer in our quest for new metaphors, for new images that we can use to dream our myths forward, as C.G. Jung said, and so our lives.
This is the third in a four-part series on Inanna, the goddess who was called Queen of Heaven and Earth. It seems fitting that we will have crossed the threshold into 2021 when I share the fourth and final episode in this series. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
To briefly recap: in the first podcast, I told you the myths of Inanna and the Huluppu tree, how she tended the tree and then made her bed and her throne from it with the aid of the hero Gilgamesh. Inanna then went to visit Enki, the God of Waters and Wisdom. They got drunk together and Enki gave Inanna all of the mé, that is the powers and ordering principles of the civilization. So, Inanna established the symbols of her two sources of power, and acquired real power behind those symbols.
In the last podcast, I told you the myth about the courtship of Inanna and shepherd Dumuzi. Inanna’s brother the Sun god Utu urges her to accept Dumuzi and the two lovers come together in a beautiful and playful fashion that feels familiar and contemporary. It could be rom-com streaming on netflix right now, or perhaps a few pages from your own love life history. The language of love, sexuality, and fertility, and the many images of an abundant earth and the cycle of life, communicate an all-encompassing sacredness that stands in stark contrast to the dominant myth and viewpoint in Western culture.
The good news is that once you see an idea, like the idea of a soulless planet earth, for example, as a construct, then you realize that it’s not a fixed part of your reality. You can begin the process of deconstructing it and changing your thinking, and so your experience, awareness, and behavior. You got to go to your own roots, which is a good segue to Inanna and the myth of her descent to the underworld, to visit her sister Erishkigal, the Queen of the Great Below. Once again, my primary source is Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer.
I invite you to sit back and relax and let the story take you where you need to go right now. Note the moments or details that catch your attention. Whatever it is, this is an opening into the meaning this story holds for you right now.
The Descent of Inanna
From the Great Above, Inanna opened her ear to the Great Below. She turned her ear to the ground. “Ear” and “mind” are the same word in Sumerian They both mean receptor of wisdom. Inanna walked to her great cities and to her temples. She decided to leave them all for a time and descend to the Underworld. Inanna knew that the husband of her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Great Below, had recently died. She decided to go down to attend the funeral rites.
Inanna assembled the seven symbols of her power: her crown, her string of small lapis beads, her double strand of beads, her breastplate, her gold ring, her white robe, and the lapis rod and line used to weigh and measure. She carefully adjusted her dark hair and put on her makeup She put on her jewelry and the royal robes and picked up the lapis measuring rod. She was in her power. There was no mistaking. She was the goddess of Heaven and Earth, the goddess of love, the royal priestess, and the protector of the great city of Uruk. She was ready. Inanna set out. Her faithful advisor and friend, the warrior and goddess of the East, Ninshubur, walked with her.
Only the dead went to the underworld. Who can imagine the journey? As they walked, Inanna told Ninshubur of her plans. “I am going into the underworld,” she said. “If I do not return in three days, go to the gods for help. Set up a great lamentation. Beat the drums and tear at your hair.” “Go first to Father Enlil, God of the Air,” Inanna instructed, “and cry out that he must not let his daughter be put to death in the underworld. If Enlil will not help you, go to my father Nanna, God of the Moon. If Nanna will not help you, go to Enki, God of Wisdom and of the Waters. Enki possesses the water and food of life. Surely, he won’t let me die.” Ninshubur agreed to do all of this. They parted ways.
When Inanna arrived at the outer gates of the underworld she called out and knocked on the gates to rouse Neti, the gatekeeper. “Let me in Neti” she demanded. But he shrugged and asked, “Who are you?” “I’m Inanna, Queen of Heaven, ” she said. “If you’re really Inanna, “said Neti,’ then what are you doing down here?” “Because of my older sister, ” Inanna replied, “I know that her husband, Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, has just died. I’ve come to witness the funeral rites.”
Unimpressed, Neti kept Inanna waiting outside the gate while he went to his queen Ereshkigal to see what she wanted to do. “Your sister is here at the gate” he reported, “dressed up very fine and anxious to comfort you.” Ereshkigal bit her lip and thought about this. “Bolt each of my seven gates” she finally said, “but let her in. Open each gate only a crack and strip her of her finery, piece by piece, at each of my gates.”
Neti obeyed the words of his queen. He bolted each of the seven gates. Then he opened the outer gate and said to Inanna, Enter.” When she stepped inside, the crown of the steppe was removed from her head. “What is this?” asked Inanna. “Be quiet Inanna,” said the underworld guards, “the ways of the underworld are perfect and may not be questioned.” When Inanna entered the second gate, her string of small lapis beads was removed. Again she objected, questioned. Again, she was told, “Be quiet Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect and may not be questioned.”
Her double strand of beads was taken from her. Her breastplate, her gold ring, the lapis rod and line used to weigh and measure, all were removed one by one. At the seventh gate, Inanna’s holy robe was taken. She entered Ereshkigal’s throne room naked and bowed low.
The judges of the underworld murmured and passed judgment upon her. Ereshkigal looked at her with the eye of death. She uttered the cry of guilt and Ereshkigal struck her. Inanna was turned into a corpse. She was hung like a piece of rotting meat on a hook on the wall.
Three days and three nights passed and Inanna did not return. Ninshubur set up a great lamentation. She beat the drums and tore at her hair. Dressed like a beggar, she went to the house of Enlil, the God of the Air and father to all, as Inanna had instructed. When she entered she cried out “O Father Enlil, your daughter Inanna is trapped in the Underworld. Surely you will not let your bright silver be covered with dust. Surely you will not let your lapis be broken into small pieces for the stonecutter. Surely you will not let your fragrant boxwood be cut up for use by the woodworker. Do not let Inanna, the goddess of Heaven and Earth, be put to death in the underworld.”
Enlil listened to Ninshubur. Then he angrily replied. “My daughter Inanna craved the power of heaven and earth, and she got it. Now Inanna has decided to go to the underworld. Well, there are rules in the underworld. She who goes to the Dark City stays there.”
Enlil would not help. Ninshubur went next to the house of Nanna, the Moon god. He was Inanna’s father. Ninshubur entreated Nanna. She said, “O father Nanna, your daughter Inanna is trapped in the Underworld. Surely you will not let your bright silver be covered with dust. Surely you will not let your lapis be broken into small pieces for the stonecutter. Surely you will not let your fragrant boxwood be cut up for use by the woodworker. Do not let Inanna, the goddess of Heaven and Earth, be put to death in the underworld.”
Nanna listened to Ninshubur. When she finished he replied angrily. “My daughter Inanna craved the power of heaven and earth, and she got it. Now Inanna has decided to go to the underworld. Well, there are rules in the underworld. She who goes to the Dark City stays there.”
Nanna would not help. Now Ninshubur went to the house of Enki, the god of Wisdom and the Waters. Enki was Inanna’s maternal grandfather. When Ninshubur saw Enki she cried out, “O father Enki, your daughter Inanna is trapped in the Underworld. Surely you will not let your bright silver be covered with dust. Surely you will not let your lapis be broken into small pieces for the stonecutter. Surely you will not let your fragrant boxwood be cut up for use by the woodworker. Do not let Inanna, the goddess of Heaven and Earth, be put to death in the underworld.”
Father Enki said, “What has happened? What has my daughter done? Inanna is trapped in the Underworld? I am grieved. Inanna, the Goddess of Heaven and Earth cannot be left to die in the Underworld.”
Enki had the ability to make many creatures. He knew something about the Underworld. He had attempted to go there himself a long, long time ago. Enki scraped some dirt out from under his fingernails. He took the dirt and he molded two very small creatures, a kurgarra and a galatur (I think of these as androgynous fairies of some sort). As the pair flitted around before him, Enki gave them these instructions:
“Go down to the Underworld, buzz like flies through the cracks in the gates. Look for Ereshkigal in her throne room. When you find her, she will be moaning like a woman giving birth, her clothes will be in disarray, her hair will be matted. When she cries out, ‘Oh my insides, my insides!’ you will fly close and say ‘Oh your insides, your insides!’ When she cries out ‘Oh my outsides, my outsides!’ you will also cry ‘Oh your outsides, your outsides!’ Erishkigal will be pleased with you and offer you a gift, but don’t take anything she offers. Just ask for Inanna.”
Then Enki gave the kurgurra and the galatur the water of life and the food of life. “When she gives you Inanna,” he told them, “sprinkle her with these and she will rise. Then bring her back.”
The kurgurra and the galatur set out for the underworld. Like flies, they slipped through the cracks in the gates and made their way to Ereshkigal in her throne room. She was moaning like a woman giving birth. Her clothes were in disarray and her was hair matted.
Ereshkigal cried out “Oh my insides, my insides!”
The kurgurra and the galatur cried out “Oh your insides, your insides!”
Ereshkigal cried out “Oh my outsides, my outsides!”
They also cried out “Oh your outsides, your outsides!”
Ereshkigal moaned “Oh my back, my back!” “Oh your back, your back!” they moaned.
“Oh my liver, my liver!” Ereshkigal groaned. “Oh your liver, your liver!” they groaned.
The queen of the Great Below stopped. She looked at them “Who are you?” she demands, “and why do you comfort me? If you are gods, I thank you, and if you are not, I will give you a great gift. I will give you the water of life.” “That’s not what we want,” they said. “No?” said Ereshkigal. “Well then, how about the power to grow grain, the staff of life?” “No,” they said, “we do not wish it.”
“What do you want then,” asked Ereshkigal. “We would like the corpse that hang on the wall,” they said. Ereshkigal pursed her lips. “I don’t know about that,” she replied. “The corpse belongs to Inanna.” The kurgurraand the galatur insist. “Whoever, whatever, the corpse is what we want.”
Ereshkigal signaled her servants to take Inanna down from the hook. The kurgurra and the galatur sprinkled the corpse with the water and food of life. Inanna came back to life.
But as Inanna was making her way back through the seven gates, and reclaiming her powers one by one, the judges and demons of the underworld gathered around their queen. “No one leaves the underworld unmarked!” they said. “If Inanna wishes to return, she must send someone to take her place.” The galla, that is the demons of the underworld, swarmed around Inanna. The galla have no feeling and no family. They care for nothing that matters to the living. Big and small, the galla walked with Inanna.
The first person they met was Ninshubur. Ninshubur, dressed in dirty sackcloth, ran to greet Inanna. She saw the galla and threw herself in the dust at Inanna’s feet. The demons swirled around them. “Walk on Inanna. We’ll take Ninshubur,” they said. “No,” said Inanna, “Ninshubur is my loyal friend and trusted adviser. Because of her my life was saved. You cannot take Ninshubur.” “Very well,” the galla said, “we’ll walk on further with you.”
Now Inanna walked past one of her holy shrines. Her son Shara was there praying for her safe return. Shara, dressed in dirty sackcloth, ran to greet Inanna. He saw the galla and threw himself in the dust at Inanna’s feet. The demons swirled around them. “Walk on Inanna” they said, “We’ll take Shara.” “No,” said Inanna, “Shara is my son who sings to me and combs my hair. You cannot take Shara.” “Very well,” the galla said, “we’ll walk on further with you.”
Now Inanna walked past another of her holy shrines. Her son Lulal was there praying for her safe return. Lulal, dressed in dirty sackcloth, ran to greet Inanna. He saw the galla and threw himself in the dust at Inanna’s feet. The demons swirled around them. “Walk on Inanna” they said, “We’ll take Lulal.” “No,” said Inanna, “Lulal is my son and my leader among men. You cannot take Lulal.” “Very well,” the galla said, “we’ll walk on further with you. We will go to the big apple tree in Uruk.”
Inanna and the flock of underworld demons walked on. Outside the walls of the great city of Uruk, they found King Dumuzi, Inanna’s husband, by the big apple tree. Dumuzi was sitting on his magnificent throne, wearing his crown. When he saw Inanna, he didn’t move.
The galla grabbed Dumuzi by the arms and by the thighs. Inanna fixed her husband with the eye of death and said, “Take him. Take Dumuzi away.”
The galla started to beat Dumuzi. He cried out to Utu, the Sun god. “Utu,” he said, “I am your brother-in-law, the husband that you choose for Inanna. You are a merciful god. Please let me escape. Turn my hands and feet into the hands and feet of a snake and help me slip away.” Utu heard Dumuzi’s prayer and the galla could not hold him.
And that’s the end of the Sumerian myth of the descent of Inanna. Clearly there’s more! We’ll pick back up with Dumuzi and his adventure in the next podcast, which will be the first in 2021.
Now, this is an iconic myth, perhaps the oldest one that we have, that describes a psychological and spiritual journey that you may be called or forced to make. We often refer to the dark night of the soul or the times of our deepest struggles, as an underworld journey. I may make some summarizing observations about the myth after we find out what happens to Dumuzi. For now, I encourage you to reflect on your moment in the story, to meditate on the detail that got your attention over the coming week and let it be part of your process of bringing 2020 to a close.
The part of the story that resonates most deeply with me right now is the opening lines. Inanna turns her ear to the ground. She has a sense that there is something that she needs, “down there,” however ill-informed she may be about the rules of the Great Below. She knows that it might be dangerous and makes a plan with Ninshubur. But she goes. And she submits at each of the seven gates. At every challenge, Inaanna invests more. She gives more up. She allows herself to be stripped bare. That’s very powerful.
That’s an image of transformation that combines surrender with strength. In my meditation on this moment, on what it might mean to turn your ear to the ground, I run into this paradox: if you are grounded in your own value, if you know and treasure yourself, you can seek to be more. You can be open to the sacrifice of that precious self in order to discover what else you can become. You can transform
What else can you become. What else can we become, together, in the days ahead?
Enough right, it’s Christmas Eve and the eggnog is waiting. It seems fitting to end 2020 with an open question.
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And that’s it for me, Catherine Svehla and Myth Matters. Thank you so much for listening. I wish you a happy and safe holiday season. See you on the other side of 2020 my friend, and until then, happy myth-making and keep the mystery in your life alive.
