RT info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart
T1 Gods, Temples, and Music in Ancient Mesopotamia: An Exploratiomn of their Relationships according to Sumerian Ceremonial Temple Names (for full PDF, write to daniel.sanchez.munoz@uva.es)
A1 Sánchez Muñoz, Daniel
K1 Mesopotamia
K1 Sumerian
K1 Temples
K1 Inana/Ishtar
K1 Ninurta
K1 Drums
K1 Songs
K1 Onomastics
K1 Ceremonial Onomastics
K1 Inana/Ištar
K1 Sumerian Language
K1 Šul-šagana
K1 Temple
K1 5504.01 Historia Antigua
K1 5101.04 Etnomusicología
K1 6203.06 Música, Musicología
K1 5505.10 Filología
K1 5505.03 Epigrafía
K1 5505.01 Arqueología
K1 5505.07 Onomástica
K1 5101.10 Religión
K1 5506.21 Historia de las Religiones
AB Mesopotamian cultic structures had Sumerian names that referred to an aspect of the building itself or the god(dess) that inhabited it. Nevertheless, the meaning of a particular Sumerian “temple” name must be determined on a case-by-case basis. At least two of these names include words related to singing techniques and musical instruments. The first, e2-i-lu-zi-u3-li (“house of the calming i-lu and u3-li(-li/la)”), was the name of a temple dedicated to the hypostasis of Inana/Ištar in the Sealand region. The second, a2-la2-gu3-de2 (“thundering drum”), referred to a hallway in the Ešarra temple of Aššur, the seat of the god Šul-šagana. Since scholars specializing in both Mesopotamian “temple onomastics” and music have never studied these names, the aspects they celebrated have remained uncovered. Through philological analysis, this paper argues that i-lu and u3-li(-li/la) refer to Inana/ Ištar as a regular performer of these vocal techniques. The name A2-la2-gu3-de2 would compare the magnificence of Šul-šagana’s seat at the Ešarra temple to the sound (gu3-de2) and perhaps the physical appearance of a giant drum (a2-la2).
PB Fabrizio Serra editore
SN 978-88-8147-551-3
YR 2026
FD 2026-03-23
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83879
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83879
LA eng
NO Bellia, Angela (ed.). Architectural Structures for Music, Sonic Events, and Dance in the Ancient World. Pisa/Rome, 2026, p. 57-68
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 03-abr-2026