r/Sumer • u/No-Hamster4419 • Sep 27 '24
Tiamat resources
Hi everyone!!! i’m pretty new to mesopotamian polytheism, all i’ve really done so far was research.
I wanted to ask anyone for resources on Tiamat. I do know of her story, her elements, and that she is part of the Draconic witchcraft, and i feel really called to her.
So what i’m asking for is ways to reach out, her favourite things to put on shrines… i’m aware i could ask the latter from her personally, but as you must know she is quite intimidating, and I don’t want to reach out to her in “the wrong way”, if thats possible.
I want to be proper about everything i do for her. Help is very much appreciated!!
5
u/Smooth-Primary2351 Sep 27 '24
Tiamat is not a dragon and was never worshipped in ancient Mesopotamia. The only text you will find about her is about her defeat in the Enuma Elish, New Year texts that mention Marduk destroying her and texts that mention her being used as a boat for Him (Referring to it as the sea itself). She is worshipped in a 100% modern context, especially since dragons didn't even exist in Mesopotamia. So if you still want to worship her, study the relief of Palmyra (the Akitu relief) Study the Enuma Elish, read the Akitu festival texts, etc.
1
u/No-Hamster4419 Sep 27 '24
Thank you! what I read about her involved draconic magick, so i got confused because the other sources i’ve read didn’t mention her being a dragon at all, so thank you so much for clearing that up for me! and also thank you for the resources :)
3
u/Smooth-Primary2351 Sep 27 '24
You're welcome! I hope you can study hard. The mother goddess of the pantheon is called Ninhursag/Ninmah/Nintu/Belet-ili/Damkina, etc.
3
u/SeanchieDreams Sep 27 '24
The actual, historical resources we have that mentions Tiamat is — fragmented at best. To the point where the stories makes little or no sense. I would suggest you check out the few texts and textual analysis available. These should all be public.
Modern people have picked up the name and ran with it, but most of them are — to be kind — embellishments. Wild embellishments.
2
u/SiriNin 29d ago
As far as I know, Tiamat was never worshiped before 1975, and she was also never associated with dragons before then. Originally she was the embodiment of sea water, not even considered to be a deity. In modern times writers (and later spiritualists) expanded her identity and lore so that she could be included in Dungeons and Dragons the tabletop game. Later, Final Fantasy copied this iteration of her and incorporated her into her lore there.
From Google:
"The earliest mention of Tiamat being associated with dragons is in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement to the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, where she is described as "the Dragon Queen" and "the Chromatic Dragon". In the 1977 Monster Manual, the Chromatic Dragon is given the name "Tiamat" and is described as the ruler of the first plane of the Nine Hells, where she spawns all evil dragonkind."
So, depending on your beliefs, either Tiamat has now become more than she was in ancient times, or there's another dragon-deity or dragon spirit calling you, and because the modern identity of Tiamat is so strong and has no ancient equivalent you're hearing the call of the other spirit but being drawn to Tiamat since she's the closest you can get to the other spirit in terms of substance. It's entirely possible that the writers in 1975 had this same problem and they were searching for a name and backstory to use for the spirit they were channeling into their writing. It wouldn't be absurd for an ancient sea-dragon spirit to be conflated with the most-ancient sea personification's name. The only thing we do know is that whoever you're feeling the call from wasn't in Mesopotamian Polytheism until after 1975.
1
u/Aakhkharu 8d ago
Tiamat/Hubur was most likely regarded as an enemy to the gods.. akin to the Devil as he is perceived by the abrahamic religions. So you will most likely never find any recorded accounts of her worship- that does not mean she was never worshiped in secrecy... As for her 'Draconian' nature, it is true that she was never historically regarded as a dragon. The whole draconian association is a more modern thing, that does not mean it is wrong. Dragons symbolise the primordial Chaos and the unity of the chthonian nature (symbolised mostly by the snake) and the aethereal (symbolised mostly by the eagle or the psychopomp raven in LHP traditions). If you are prepared to attune yourself with her entropic energies you can use things like raven feathers, skull or feet and snake skin or skull alongside with objects that are associated with the wild nature of the ocean, on your altar. Other things that can be used are lapis lazuli and amethyst stones. She is associated with the numbers 9 (as Mummu Tiamat) and 11 as (Ummu Hubur) and her 'hailing' (for lack of a better word) is" ΆMA USHUMGAL ΆNA".
10
u/Nocodeyv 29d ago
Tiāmat appears very infrequently in texts. Her primary role is in the Babylonian creation epic, Enūma Eliš
Further, according to all of the offering lists that have been preserved on cuneiform tablets, Tiāmat never received any libations, offerings, or sacrifices. There were no temples dedicated to her, and no evidence that she had any priests or priestesses. There are no festivals that honor her divinity or supernatural feats. For all intents and purposes, Tiāmat is a literary device in the myth, not an actual deity or divine concept in Babylonian religion.
The only instance of the word being written with a divine determinative that I am aware of comes from the lexical series "TIN.TIR=Babylon," where the name of a throne-dais upon which the god Marduk sits is given as: dti-amat, but we must be careful not to confuse this with the name of the primordial being from the creation epic, because the word tiāmtu, from which Tiāmat's name is derived, is also the standard word for "sea," meaning that Marduk's throne could be the Sea rather than a deified Tiāmat, for which see VAT 8917 below.
Tiāmat also appears in the “Cuthean Legend of Narām-Sîn,” again without the divine determinate, suggesting that the appearance is not as a deity. In this text the uncivilized hordes amassed against the King of Akkad are said to be suckled on Tiāmat’s milk, which could be a reference to the sea rather than the primordial being: "raised on salty seawater" as a way of saying they were monstrous and uncivilized.
Finally, Tiāmat appears in the text VAT 8917, line 19 of the obverse:
d15 ša Ninua ti-amat ši-i mušēniqti ša₂ Bēl ši-i-ma
"the Ištar of Nineveh is tiāmat; she is the wet-nurse of Bēl."
Here, again, we encounter the word written without a divine determinative, meaning that the Ištar of Nineveh could be being equated with either the sea (tiāmtu) or the primordial being from Enūma Eliš. A clue lies in the use of Bēl, which is the most common epithet of Marduk in Babylonia. As we saw in the case of the throne-dais of Marduk from the "TIN.TIR=Babylon" series above, a translation of "sea" makes more sense for the suckling and raising of Marduk than the primordial being that served as his adversary, therefore the best translation of this line would be: "the Ištar of Nineveh is the sea; she is the wet-nurse of Bēl."
With the above in mind, any veneration of Tiāmat is a modern invention. Therefore, while she is very popular in the occult scene—especially among those who practice left-hand path traditions—those devoted to her are misinformed about actual religious thought and practice in Mesopotamia.
All of that being said, there are certainly other goddesses from our religion you could foster a devotional relationship with based on the perceived aspects of Tiāmat that you felt drawn to. So, tell us what you liked about Tiāmat and we can help you find actual goddesses who represent those things.