|
Reveal yourself to me and let me see
a favorable dream.
May the dream that I dream be
favorable,
May the dream that I dream be true,
May Mamu, the goddes of dreams,
stand at my head;
Let me enter E-Sagila, the temple of
the gods, the house of life.
-Ancient Assyrian Dream Prayer
Uit "Dreaming the Divine", door Scott Cunningham.
Little Sumerian dream information has survived. We do know that these people accepted the divine origination of at least some dreams. It is possible that the deity was thought to enter into the dreamer's consciousness through an opening in the head, for some texts state that the dream-providing deity "stood" at the dreamer's head. The first recorded divine Sumerian dream was experienced by Eannatum, the Sumerian ruler of the city-state Lagash. In about 2450 B.C.E., Eannatum recorded that his personal god, Ningirsu, "stood at his head"while he was sleeping and, in a dream, informed him that during his upcoming war with the city of Umma, the king of Kish would support neither side. Other clues can be gleaned from a religious poem that was preserved on two cylinders excavated at Lagash. These documents represent the longest known Sumerian written work in existence. Included in this narrative are accounts of the divine dreams of Gudea (who ruled Lagash from 2199-2180 BCE) In a dream, Gudea sees a tall male, figure, wearing a divine crown. Wings sprout from his shoulders and lions crouch to the figure's right and left.
The sun quickly rises in the dream. A woman appears to Gudea, holding a stylus of gold and a clay tablet bearing a sketch of the stars. She is followed by a "hero" bearing a lapis lazuli tablet. The hero draws the plans for a temple on the tablet. Nearby, a male donkey is pawing the earth.
When he awakes, Gudea is extremely puzzled by this dream, so he journeys to the temple of Nanshe, the goddes Who interprets divine dreams. Once at Her temple, Gudea makes his offerings and prays, then sleeps. In his sleep, he relates the troubling dream to Nanshe:
Something has come to me in the night watches; its meaning I know not.... May the prophetess, She Who has the knowledge of what pertains to me; may my Goddes Nanshe reveal to me its importance... O Nanshe, O Queen, O mistress of unfathomable decrees... your word is faithful and shines most brightly. You are the prophetess of the divinities... O Mother Interpretress of Dreams, in the midst of my dreams I saw...
Gudea relates his dream. Then, Nanshe interprets it for him: the large man was the god Ningirsu, Nanshe says; He commanded Gudea to build a new temple for His worship. Dawn represented Gudea's personal deity: Ningishzida. The woman with the stylus and clay tablet was Nisaba (goddess of writing); the stars appearing on Her tablet were a divine command to build the temple according to the "holy stars" (possibly a reference to astrological considerations). The "hero" bearing the lapis lazuli tablet was Nindub (an architect god), who naturally drew the plan for the new temple. Finally, the male donkey scratching at the earth was Gudea himself, represented as being impatient to do thse deities' commands. After waking, Gudea offered a sacrifice, found its omens positive, and carried out Ningirsu's instructions.
This account is invaluable, for it reveals several aspects of Sumerian dreaming.
* Dreams could be received from deities
* Several deities could appear in a dream, all connected with the dream's message
* The dreamer's personal deity was also likely to be present
* Dream symbolism could be puzzling; in this case, deities could be asked to interpret the dream; in addition, one class of Sumerian priests, the ensi, specialized in the interpretation of dreams
* Some form of dream incubation existed in Sumer; because all human actions and their futures were determined by the deities, it seems reasonable that worshippers visited temples to learn at least part of these divine plans; however, dream incubation was not necessarily an all-purpose method of receiving divine guidance; as the story of Gudea indicates, people may have gone to the temple for this pupose most often after receiving a puzzling dream elsewhere
* The dreamer herself or himself may be represented in the dream in symbolic form
* Sacrifices were made after dream incubation
Babylonian and Assyrian Divination
The peoples who inhabited early Babylon seem to have shared much in common with the Sumerians: the will of the deities was absolute, nothing but a dull existence followed death, and the deities had to be constantly propitiated to prevent disastrous calamities. The Arts of magic, prophecy, divination and dream interpretation were fully developed, complete with attendant clergy and specific rites.
The art of divination reached great heights in the Babylonian world as a means of determining the will of the goddesses and gods. The many forms used included haruspicy (examination of the livers of sacrificed animals); the observance of omens; lecanomancy (determining the signs when oil is poured into water); libanomancy (divination by smoke); and other practices. Most of these methods of divination were reserved for use by the clergy, usually for the benefit of the rulers. However, another tool of gaining acces to the will of the deities existed - the dream.
Babylonian and Assyrian Dreams
Assyrians recognized that only in sleep could humans freely communicate with the deities. Sometimes this communication took the form of a symbolic dream but dreams could also be quite clear. Save for those inspired by demons, most dreams were revelations of divine Will. Babylonian and Assyrian kings heavilyl relied on dreams to rule their country, to plan and execute the building of public works, to formulate battle plans, and even to lift their spirits. In Her guise as Goddes of War, Ishtar appeared to Asshubanipal in a dream and directed him to attack a neighboring people. Later, when the great Assyrian king was feeling disheartened, Ishtar again appeared in a dream and promised that She would march before Asshurbanipal's army and lead it to victory. Another Babylonian king, Nabonidus, saw in a dream Marduk and Sin commanding him to restore the temple at Harran. There are many other examples of such dreams. During accounts of such spontaneous divine dreams, the deities are often described as "standing at the head" of the sleeper, which may indicate that the deity was believed to enter the dreamer's body through the head. Alternately, the human soul may leave the body and be carried by the deity during sleep.
Dream Incubation
The process of sacred sleep was in more general use in ancient Babylon than it had been in Sumer. There was, however, a major difference: rather thatn the worshipper receiving the dream, a special class of the diviner clergy (the shabru) dreamed for the supplicant. A special room in the temple was reserved solely for this purpose. Within the room, the shabru entered into divine sleep upon the request of the puzzled worshipper. In the morning, the baru (diviner) interpreted the dream for the supplicant. Temple sleep (dream incubation) seems to have largely been an emergency measure. Evidenced suggests that the more traditional form of dream incubation (in which the supplicant directly received the divine dream) was also in use, but the "professional sleepers"were quite popular. At least one example of personal dream incubation has survived, which reveals that relatives or friends could dream for others. When he was in Babylon, Alexander the Great fell ill. He sent his generals to E-Sagila (the temple of Marduk) to dream a cure for him.
Ishtar has already been mentioned as visiting kings in dreams, to lend advice and to relay battle plans. Her fame in this context may be in some way related to Her lunar associations for as the moon brings light to the darkenend nighttime sky, Ishtar brings enlightenment to Her worshippers in the night.
|
Registreer
Aanmelden
FAQ
Zoek
). Na hier tijden mee geexperimenteerd te hebben werd ik voortaan wakker voor de wekker, misschien maar 1 minuut, maar in ieder geval genoeg om de dromen die ik had gehad in mijn hoofd te prenten. Je verstand is onbevattelijk sterk en kan getraind worden in allerlei vormen van perceptie. Dus wakker worden voor de wekker is geen grote opgave. Als je hierin al een beetje getraind bent kun je het proberen zonder wekker te stellen.
