The Pursuit of
Shugat-Nergal
A story about Ancient Sumer
by James W. Bell © 2002 - 2004
22
Denisha thought her first glimpse of greenery was a mirage caused by the bright morning sunlight. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked again. The verdant stretch still lay ahead. As she neared it, she made out date palms with fuzzy chameadoreas underneath. “Hey!” she exclaimed, “what is that?”
“It’s one of Inanna’s parks,” Nanay explained. “She had this one built to please and beautify. It’s one of her gifts to mortals. There’s a commemorative stele on the canal side with her name and title inscribed: Inanna, Queen of Heaven.”
“Beauty and pleasure between a desert and a canal?”
“Where’s a better location? A wasteland on one side and a busy waterway on the other. The park provides drink for the thirsty donkey train and its drivers as well as shade for the tired tow-donkey and his master. It pleases everyone and earns gratitude. Don’t underestimate Inanna, Denisha. She’s a smart goddess, one who plans ahead.”
“What for? Her Eanna Temple is already the biggest in the Land.”
“My dear, you’ve overlooked foreign lands. Dilmun … Magan … Meluhha … Ægypt. Inanna wants temples in all of them.”
“I don’t understand. How will this park help her achieve her goal?”
“Think, my dear. It fronts on the Iturungal Canal, the principal waterway of Sumer with foreign ships going up and down. They moor at the park for fresh water and shade. They lounge, look around and see Inanna’s stele. In their hearts, they carry home the name of their benefactor, the Sumerian goddess who turned the desert into a paradise—Inanna.”
Denisha sighed. Wearied by the growing morning heat and anxious to rest, she plodded on towards the park. Nanay was right. It was inviting. The shade beneath the palms beckoned.
As she entered, she had to use both hands to push aside the thick, luxuriant foliage. She waded through bushy chameadoreas till she came to a set of ruined steps—a footed construct broken off at top, its steps leading nowhere.
Denisha knelt beside the masonry and examined the construction. She ran her finger over the fire-baked bricks mortised in bitumen. “This must be ancient.”
Nanay shook her head. “It looks old, but it’s really quite new. Inanna designed it to look like a ruin. She thinks it imbues the park with an aura of mystery.”
“If the goddess is so all-powerful, why would she resort to trickery like this?”
“My dear, she operates within the Laws of the Mes. The Me of Respect says, ‘Human mortals respect most things mysterious.’ So Inanna set about developing a mystique. That’s why she ordered the steps to nowhere. Also, her use of the law might possibly explain her fascination with Shugat-Nergal who is a superb trickster in his own right.”
“The steps are interesting,” Denisha said. She circled them and made her way towards the canal. She added, “Shugat is interesting too.”
When she emerged from the bushes, Denisha found herself in a clearing by the water’s edge and almost stumbled over a bare-chested man dressed in leather pants and sandals, lying stretched out on the grass. “Oh!”
“I heard you coming,” the man told Denisha without opening his eyes.
Nanay came up beside Denisha. She studied the man. “You’re a tow-master?”
The man nodded but still didn’t open his eyes. “Towing up from Ur. Quite a distance. I’m worn out and have only a few minutes to rest.” He motioned with his hand. “Donkey’s tethered over there, grazing. He’s tired too. Don’t bother him.”
“We wouldn’t think of it,” Nanay said. “You have a boat?”
The man gestured towards the canal, his eyes still closed. “Moored over there.”
“We need a ride.”
“I’m bound upwater for Zabalam. I could use help so I’d welcome your company.”
“Sorry, we’re going to Kutallu.”
“Hah,” he snorted. “That’s in Chaldea—just on the other side of the canal.”
“Yes, we know. We have to be ferried across.”
“That would require paddling. I’m a tow master, not a paddler. If I ferried you, I’d have to leave my donkey behind, so let me rest.”
Nanay bent down over the man. “Please," she whispered in his ear.
Wearily, he opened his eyes, looked up and saw the goddess.
She flashed him a smile and said, “I’m Nanay, the Goddess of Love.”
“Oh!” the man responded and sat up hastily. “My lady, my name is Gigattalu.”
Nanay knelt on one knee beside him and spoke softly. “This young lady and I were left stranded in the desert. Abandoned by a calloused man. We had to walk out.”
“My lady, any man who would treat you like that should be whipped. Who was it?”
“Shugat-Nergal - a no-good - sometimes called the Thief of Uruk.”
“I’ll remember him,” the tow-man promised. “And try to help.”
“Then, you’ll take us across?” Nanay flashed him another smile.
Gigattalu tried to resist but gave in. “Why not?”
Nanay rose. “Where did you say your boat was?”
“Over there,” Gigattalu said and stood up. “Come, follow me.”
23
Gigattalu detoured by his donkey to feed the animal a handful of greenery and pat its rump. Then he led them to the canal bank where his boat was moored.
It was slender, a Kaldee craft constructed of bundled reeds, tied off at both ends. The stern was loaded with bales of woolen cloth, dyed in different colors. He noticed the women eyeing the fabrics. “For my master,” Gigattalu said. “Adanlu-Enlil of Zabalam. I promised him delivery by the fifteenth.”
“This is the first quarter moon, the seventh,” Nanay said.
“I know. I’ll have to keep moving.” Gigattalu turned to them. “Get in. I’ll ferry you across.”
When he put his foot on the boat to stabilize it, the surface of the canal erupted sixty feet from them. A broad snout with flared nostrils and sharp teeth atop a huge green body came shooting up out of the water. It rose a full twenty feet in the air before it arched and fell back with a splash, causing waves to wash against the bank. Then its head reappeared as a pair of luminous eyes and smoking nostrils, like a crocodile. It began moving towards them.
“A ushumgal!” Gigattalu shouted and pulled a paddle out of the boat. “Back, ladies! Get away!”
Nanay grabbed Denisha’s arm and tried to pull her away from the bank.
“Is it really a ushumgal?” Denisha asked.
“By the gods!” the Love Goddess exclaimed. “Didn’t you see its teeth when it jumped? And look at those nostrils. They’re smoking. You can tell it’s a fire breather … a dragon.” She tugged at Denisha’s arm again. “Come on. We have to hide. That beast is dangerous.”
The ushumgal reached the shallows and started waddling ashore, the bulk of its body slowly emerging from the water, its dark green forelegs splayed as it walked. It opened its mouth and roared. Flames spurted out. It paused and swiveled its head, looking around.
Gigattalu moved downwater, distancing himself from the women. Holding the paddle up high with both hands, he started shouting at the monster. “Hie! Hie!”
The ushumgal heard Gigattalu and turned towards him to stare at him with its big eyes. Then, with jaws open wide, it lunged at the tow-man with the speed of a crocodile, catching him in its teeth, lifting him in the air with its mouth, leaving only his head and legs showing. As the beast turned to go back into the canal, Gigattalu kicked and screamed.
Denisha pulled free of Nanay’s grasp. She was furious and screamed at the dragon, “Let go of him, you bastard! You green son of a bitch!”
The monster stopped at water’s edge, and chomped, cutting off a last desperate cry. The tow-master’s head and legs splashed when they fell into the shallows by the bank.
“By the gods …” Denisha groaned and sank to the ground.
Nanay ran to her. “Get up, woman!” she growled and pulled her back up on her feet. “This is no time to faint.”
“My lady, I can’t go on.”
“The tow-master’s dead. Nothing can be done about that. You shouted and the ushumgal heard you. Look. It’s heading for us!”
24
Behind a clump of chameadoreas, Nanay stopped. She let go of Denisha and stretched her arms upwards. “Ishkur,” she called up to the sky, “come quick! Hasten to our aid!” Then, letting her arms down, she took hold of Denisha’s arm again and pulled her farther into the tangled undergrowth.
“You called the old storm god?” Denisha asked. “The one who threw the lightning bolt at Shugat’s house?”
Nanay nodded. “By the gods, yes. Ushumgals are nasty creatures. They don’t usually attack mortals or gods. Something’s gotten into this one. It’s gone berserk. I think I should have summoned Ishkur sooner.”
“Maybe we could hide,” Denisha suggested.
Nanay shook her head. “The ushumgal knows we’re here. There are not many places to hide in a park this small and he won’t stop till he finds us. We’d better hope Ishkur shows up soon.”
They heard swishing as the ushumgal started pushing its way into the bushes.
A small cloud appeared overhead. Ishkur, dressed in a bleached robe, sat on its edge, his feet dangling. “Nanay?” he called. “Are you down there somewhere? I can’t see you.”
The love goddess stood and waved her arms. “Ishkur!” she shouted through palm fronds, “we’re here under the palm tree! Can’t you see us?”
The cloud sank and moved lower till it was over the palm. “Ah, yes. Now I see you. What’s going on?”
“A ushumgal has gone mad. It’s hunting us. We need you to stop it.”
“Everything’s gone crazy along the Iturungal,” the old god called back. “Rumor has it that Inanna’s invaded the Marshlands. They say Queen Bau has mobilized the marsh creatures to fight her.”
Nanay was incredulous. “Inanna invading?”
The old man on the cloud nodded. “So they say. Her zu-birds are over Kutallu.”
“Kutallu … damn!” Denisha exclaimed. “Shugat-Nergal must already have gotten there and made up some story to save himself by blaming it on Inanna.”
Thump … thump … The noise of the ushumgal making his way towards them shook the ground.
“Ishkur,” Nanay called up, “stop talking and do something! The monster’s getting close.”
“I’m coming down,” the old god said. The cloud dropped a little farther, to within forty feet of the ground and hovered alongside the crown of the palm.
Thump … thump … thump … “Ishkur! It’s almost on us. Strike!”
The old god reached back to grab a bolt of lightning and then stood. Peering down, he hurled it at the ushumgal. The bolt struck the monster between the shoulder blades.
The beast, enraged, reared up on its hind legs, thirty feet into the air, spewing flames out of its angry mouth. It struck with its forelegs, clawing the air and took several swipes at the underside of the cloud, but almost lost its balance and dropped down on all fours again.
The old god grabbed another lightning bolt and hurled it at the beast, striking its hind leg. The ushumgal roared and tried to rear up again. But it couldn’t straighten its body, so it twisted in agony, bellowing in pain before it slumped to the ground and rolled over on one side.
For a third time, the Ishkur threw a lighting bolt at the dragon, this time at its soft underside. The bolt struck and the monster emitted an anguished cry, followed by a puff of fire from its mouth. Then it stilled and became inert. A thin curl of smoke wafted up from one nostril.
“I think that’s it,” Ishkur called down. “The beast looks dead. Everyone’s safe.”
“Not everyone,” Nanay said. “It had already killed a tow-master going upwater to Zabalam.”
“I wonder why it attacked him?” the storm god mused.
“Because, the tow-master taunted him,” Denisha said. “He deliberately distracted the ushumgal to save us.”
“It’s dangerous for human mortals to get involved in battles between monsters and gods,” Ishkur said.
“The man was brave,” Denisha said. “Heroic.”
“Mortals tend to be impulsive,” Ishkur said. “Foolhardy.”
“The man did act rashly,” Nanay said. “He was foolish.”
“So you say,” Denisha countered. “I don’t think so. You two are gods, immortals. I’m not. You can’t be killed. I can. You don’t need saving. I do. That poor man was a mortal, just like me. He gave his life to save mine.”
“Denisha, let’s not debate this. It’s over and done with.”
“No!” Denisha said. “Not for me, it’s not. Do what you will. I intend to bury the man … what’s left of him. He was on his way to deliver dyed woolens to Zabalam. By the fifteenth, he said. Well, I intend to complete that delivery. I owe him that.”
“Denisha, you’ve lost your mind,” the goddess said. “You owe him nothing, you’re not party to the contract. You’re under no obligation.’
“I think I do have an obligation. I call it duty.”
Nanay shook her head. “I can’t understand you human mortals.”
“There’s nothing that difficult about us. We’re not as powerful as you gods. With no fangs or claws, we’re not even as powerful as most animals on the Earth. We’ve had no other choice. To survive, we’ve had to stick together.”
“So, what about your pursuit of Shugat-Nergal?”
“Inanna seems to want him. Let her have him.”
“And me?” Nanay pulled herself up. “What about me? Remember, it was you who came to me for help.”
“Things have changed.”
“I summoned Ishkur to save you.”
Denisha nodded. “I thank you. Both of you. When I next visit a temple, I will make special offerings in your honor. But now, I have my duty to do.”
“I see,” Nanay said. She fidgeted a moment or two, then blurted out, “Inanna has been trying to understand you human mortals so she can better impress you. I guess a minor goddess like me going to Zabalam out of respect for one of your fellow mortals might be one way of learning, don’t you think?”
“Could be.”
“Then, would you mind if I tagged along?”
To Chapter 25
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