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take her place as a prisoner in the Underworld, thus freeing her to return above ground.
Inanna still loves Dumuzi passionately, but she is the goddess of light and life, and Dumuzi’s
sacrifice, at least for half the year, is necessary to maintain the natural order.^55
Inanna and Dumuzi’s sacred marriage is a celebration of human sexuality and the har-
vest, in the same tradition as the biblical Song of Songs (discussed later in the chapter). It
begins with Inanna’s brother, the sun- god Utu, subtly hinting at her readiness for marriage
by commenting on the ripened grain and flax in the fields, metaphors for her sexual matu-
rity. Through a series of symbolic questions, he brings her to the choice of a bridegroom
and announces that he has already chosen Dumuzi the shepherd to be her husband. Inanna
objects strongly, expressing her preference for a farmer who will fill her storehouse with
grain. Inanna’s initial preference for a farmer shows that she is closely identified with agri-
culture. However, Utu argues that shepherds have their advantages as well; finally Dumuzi,
himself, chimes in, boasting that he can provide her with anything that the farmer can
provide. Eventually, Inanna yields and accepts Dumuzi as her bridegroom.
When Dumuzi calls on her at her house, Inanna “bathed and anointed herself with
scented oil,” and “covered her body with the royal white robe.” She allows him into her
house and they embrace passionately. The use of sexually explicit metaphors in the follow-
ing exchange reveals the symbolic nature of their romance as an agricultural fertility ritual:Inanna: My vulva, the horn,
The Boat of Heaven,
Is full of eagerness, like the young moon.
My untilled land lies fallow.
... Who will plow my vulva?
Who will plow my high field?
Who will plow my wet ground?Dumuzi: Great Lady, the king will plow your vulva
I, Dumuzi the King, will plow your vulva.Inanna: Then plow my vulva, man of my heart!
Plow my vulva!Narrator: At the king’s lap stood the rising cedar
Plants grew high by their side.
Grains grew high by their side.
Gardens flourished luxuriantly.Inanna: He has sprouted; he has burgeoned;
He is lettuce planted by the water.
He is the one my womb loves best.
My well- stocked garden of the plain,
My barley growing high in the furrow,
My apple tree which bears fruit up to its crown,
He is lettuce planted by the water.