Talk:Nammu

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Nammu was the primal waters - the waters of birth. An is supposed to have been her mate to make Ki.

However, in other texts Ki and Nammu join to make An at the same time that An and Nammu join to make Ki. This paradox is best taken (in my opinion) as a pointer to a more ancient god - an air God that exists in so many other cultures and soon fades into a memory because it is completely unknowable by human standards. This Air God dissemminated itself into the male, female and neuter parts that are An, Ki, and Nammu. An is the male aspect of God made knowable to man and Ki is the female aspect or Goddess made knowable to man while Nammu is the ever present energy of creation - the sea of life and energy of all that is unseen around us.

References: Ninhursag (Ki, Ninmah, Nintu) Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name more often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth). (Kramer 1963 p. 122) She was born, possibly as a unified cosmic mountain with An, from Nammu and shortly thereafter, their union produced Enlil. (Kramer 1961 p. 74) In the early days, as Ki, she was separated from heaven (An) and carried off by Enlil. (Kramer 1961 pp. 37-41) It seems likely that she and An were the progenitors of most of the gods. She later unites with Enlil and with the assistance of Enki they produce the world's plant and animal life. (Kramer 1961 p. 75)

Question: What would the pictogram for Nammu look like?