further sacrifices of one ram each to various deities, male and female. On the next day
( 28 th) she proceeded to the èsˇ-gal-sanctuary. There offerings of male livestock were
dedicated to other deities and localities, including the ‘gate of the gˆipar’, her future
residence. The festivities concluded with sacrifices for ‘the house of the mother of the
en’s, the goddess Ninsumuna’. On the 29 th, repetition of some of the sacrifices of the
previous day preceded the next ceremonial stage of the enthronement of the en-
priestess.
The ordination would then occur in the Ekisˇnugal, the temple of Nanna. We have
only one literary text containing a hymnal discourse that alludes to the actual
ordination and naming ceremony of Enh
̆eduana.^23 The ceremony begins outside the
temple where Enh
̆eduana recites a hymn of praise declaring her faithfulness and fealty
and undergoes purification rites in preparation for entering the temple. She is declared
worthy of being brought into the temple. Upon her entrance, she extols Nanna. At that
stage, she undergoes the purification rites of the en-ship and is endowed with her cultic
name En-h
̆é-du 7 – an-na‘En, Ornament of the heavens’. A name, encapsulating
identity, can through its ritual adoption change the identity, and thus the nature and
innate powers of its owner. Enh
̆
eduana is named four times in this text and each
passage seems to refer to a different aspect of her role. In line 121 (ETCSL A 15 ), she is
named during her elevation to the en-ship. In line 142 (ETCSL A 36 ), she is named as
the embodiment of the goddess Ningal. In line 147 (ETCSL A 41 ), she is called by
name possibly in relation to her sacred marriage rite with Nanna. In line 163 (ETCSL
B 14 ), she is named regarding her cultic functions.
The final stage of the installation of the en-priestess is her ceremonial enthronement
as the manifestation of the divine spouse Ningal in the temple of Nanna. The hymn
cited above concludes: ‘O Ningal, my Enh
̆
eduana, may she (Enh
̆eduana) restore your
(Ningal’s) [heart] to its place, O [Spouse?] of Nanna, let me praise you. O [en?] of
Nanna your name I will glorify’ (lines 163 – 166 = ETCSL B 14 – 17 ). Images of a banquet
scene in which the participants are a human priestess seated beside a god give a visual
rendering of this enthronement (e.g. the so-called ‘Adam and Eve’ seal BM 89326 ,
Figure 12. 3 ). Priestesses are indeed the only humans depicted banqueting with a deity.
At this stage, the en-priestess probably assumed the title ‘spouse of Nanna’ and the role
of Ningal and was endowed with the paraphernalia of the goddess. A seal from Ur (U.
7956 , UE II no. 188 ) may render in double register the enthronement of the en-priestess
and her ceremonial presentation to the goddess Ningal (Figure 12. 4 ). In the lower
register, the en-priestess is shown in her ordinary pre-ordination robes seated on her
throne, and in the upper register, she is pouring a libation in the presence of Ningal.
Another possible interpretation of the upper register is that the enthroned deity is the
en-priestess as the incarnation of Ningal.
From Nanna’s temple, the en-priestess proceeded to take up her residence in the gˆipar.
Until her death, she was supposed to dwell in relative isolation and be surrounded by
ritual sacraethat were associated with her cultic obligations. The incorporation rites, the
last rites of passage of the en-priestess, were carried out on the liminal threshold of the
ˆiparg. Upon entering the gˆipar, her august residence, she carries out ablutions. The actual
ceremony of ordination might also have involved the first wearing of specific clothing
or an ornament or emblem that set the ritual specialist apart.^24
As to the rituals she performed while in office, she was responsible for building,
refurbishing, and maintaining the temples, fashioning and installing statues of the
–– The ministering clergy ––