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  • Sample
 

Erishkegal: Goddess of Thankless Tasks
by Elizabeth Barrette

Picture
By  now,  most of you have heard "The  Descent  of  Inanna."  This ancient Sumerian myth appears in many forms; you  may  have heard  someone tell it, through oral tradition, or you  may  have read  it in a book.  I honor Inanna and I love to listen  when  a storyteller  recites her journey.  But have you  ever considered the  other  side  of the story?  Have  you  ever  wondered  about Inanna's  sister-Goddess, Erishkegal?  Listen, then, to Her  side of the story ...

In  the  Before  Time,  soon  after  the  world  was   made, Erishkegal ran naked with the animals, queen of the weeds and the wilds.  The rest of the gods divided up the world and all  within it  amongst  themselves; then they went to Erishkegal  and  said, "You  take the Underworld.  We don't want it."  And so She  did.  In  the Underworld She found a palace of lapis, but it  was  cold and empty and She had no clothes.  She had only clay to eat,  and only dirty water to drink.

After a time, the gods above found Gugalanna, the Great Bull of  Heaven, guilty of rape and other violence, so  they  banished him to the Underworld.  There Erishkegal took him in, taught  him the  ways of women, and made him Her husband.  Gugalanna  learned from his mistakes, and his love for Her helped him change.

As  humankind  multiplied and spread,  the  numberless  dead poured down into the realm of Erishkegal.  She  swallowed  them, and mourned, for they were Her children.  Her belly grew great as She gorged unwillingly on the dead, and She cried out Her  misery to the uncaring stones. 

One  year, Gugalanna died.  Erishkegal, Queen of  the  Dead, swallowed  Her husband with the others.  Then She wept,  for  now She was truly alone.  When Her sister Inanna, Queen of Earth  and Heaven,  proposed to use Gugalanna's death as a pretext to  enter the Underworld, Erishkegal flew into a rage.

She  commanded Her chief gatekeeper, Neti, to challenge  Her sister  at each of the seven gates, and to strip Inanna  of  her symbols  of  power.  Though Inanna submitted to  this  indignity, when  she  came  before  Erishkegal, she did not  bow  down  to acknowledge   her  sister's  sovereignty  here.   She   did   not sympathize with Erishkegal's pain, nor even offer condolences for Gugalanna's death.   Angered still  further,  Erishkegal  struck Inanna  down,  and she fell dead to the floor.   Then  Erishkegal ordered  the  corpse  to be hung from a hook on  the  wall.   She wanted  Her proud sister to learn what it feels like to  be left out,  to  be  ignored  and  taken  for  granted  and  treated  as worthless. 

Yet soon after, two strange creatures appeared at the  lapis palace.  They were neither man nor woman, but neuter.  When  they heard  Erishkegal's  cries, they ran to Her at  once  and  wailed along  with Her lament.  Startled by their sympathy,  Erishkegal ceased Her complaint.  She asked the two asexual beings if  there was  anything  they  wanted,  because they  had  shown  Her  such compassion.   Humble before Her, they asked only for  the  corpse hanging  on the hook.  Erishkegal knew that Her sister would  now understand Her situation, and so She granted their request.   The two creatures gave Inanna the Food of Life and the Water of Life. 

Then they took Inanna back to the surface world.  Erishkegal felt  better knowing that someone understood Her and knew of  Her service  below.  Indeed, Inanna counseled peace  in  the  world above,  so  as  to  lessen the flood of dead  that  swelled  her sister's belly.

The  story  sounds quite different  told  from  Erishkegal's point  of view, doesn't it?  She didn't get to choose Her  sphere of  influence.   The  gods decided without Her, and  gave  Her  a nasty,  messy, miserable job that no one wanted.  They  left  Her alone in the dark, without comfort or company.  Then they  exiled a  rapist  into Her realm, someone they deemed  unfit  for  their exalted  presence.   Yet  even in Her  own  distress,  Erishkegal reached  out to Gugalanna, and when he grew into a better  person She  made  him Her husband.  When he died, no  one  really  cared about  Her  sorrow; Inanna saw the funeral only as an  excuse  to venture  into Erishkegal's realm.  She was proud, but worse,  she showed no compassion for her sister's plight.  Erishkegal, tired of  being ignored and mistreated, finally lost Her  temper.   She took  Her retribution, but She did so in a way that  would  teach Inanna  an  important lesson  about  understanding.   Afterwards, Erishkegal allowed Herself to be swayed by the compassion of  the two asexual beings; She forgave Inanna and let her go.

Erishkegal's  actions show us the strange dichotomy  of  Her nature.   She is at once the Goddess of Thankless Tasks  and  She Who   Complains.   She can  be  cruel,  but  She  can  also   be compassionate,  and  She always responds well to  sympathy.   She offers the hope of change -- but She also forces change on  those who  enter  Her domain with arrogance.  She holds  the power  of death, yet groans at all the death in the world.

First,  as the Goddess of Thankless Tasks, Erishkegal  looks out  for women who hold similar positions: jobs  with  miserable working  conditions, unfair terms, lousy wages; jobs that  nobody wants  to do but which nevertheless must be done; jobs  that  are taken  for  granted  by those who don't have  to  do them.   She watches  over  the women who clean toilets, wrap bloody  meat  in neat  plastic, and slave over greasy machines in  hot  factories.  Because  of this, a good way to gain Her favor is  to  volunteer: stay  to  clean  up  after an event,  pick  up  litter,  or  fold newsletters.

As She Who Complains, Erishkegal reminds us that  sometimes, "Enough  is  enough!"   It's  okay  to  lose  your  temper  under intolerable  conditions, especially when someone barges  in  when you're working but doesn't offer to help.  It's okay to say, "No! This is too much."  By thinking of Erishkegal, we remember to set limits, to speak up when we aren't happy.  She breaks the silence with her howls.

Erishkegal  also  teaches  us how  to  make  our  complaints effective.   Pure vengeance doesn't improve the  situation;  only understanding can do that.  When rowdy teenagers carelessly track mud all over a clean floor, Erishkegal is the one who tells  them to go get some toothbrushes and start scrubbing!  When you have a legitimate  complaint, turn to Erishkegal for support.  She  will help you get your point across.

Sympathy  always  attracts Her attention.  If  you  want  to include Erishkegal in a ritual, let Her know that you have  heard Her  side of the story.  Show Her what you have learned:  when  a claims that no one ever listens, commiserate.  Lend an ear, and a shoulder  if  need  be.  Volunteers who work crisis  lines  (for suicide  prevention,  rape  crisis support,  or  other  emergency services)   draw   her  especial  care,  because   they   combine understanding with actions which can save lives.

Call  on  Erishkegal  if  you need  to  explore  your  inner shadows,  if you crave change but feel stuck.  Don't ask for  Her assistance unless you truly mean it, though; She doesn't pull Her punches.  She'll get you unstuck, all right, but you won't  enjoy the process.  Be prepared to have your nose rubbed in everything you've  been hiding, or hiding from.  On the other hand,  if  you believe  in  playing hardball when people seriously  abuse  their power,  invoke Erishkegal.   She's good at giving  big  shots  a lesson in compassion.  When it comes to change, Erishkegal  plays rough.

Still,  She does everything in Her power to lessen death  in this world, because it causes so much pain.  She understands pain very,  very  well.  Although an  Underworld  goddess,  Erishkegal champions  the  cause of peace.  Thus, another excellent  way  to please  Her  is  to  help reduce war  and  death: write  letters protesting  dangerous  weaponry, participate in a  march  against violence,  or  join  a  peace-oriented  group  such  as   Amnesty International.   If you  don't  have  the  time  or  skills   to volunteer,  perhaps you could send a small donation to a  charity or other organization.  Even telling the story helps.

The  story of Erishkegal and Inanna comes from what  is  now the  Middle  East and the surrounding area,  near  the  Euphrates river.  Once, ancient Sumer supported a lush agriculture and vast green  wilds; now, most of the land has fallen into desert.   You may  hear  different names: Irkalla for  Erishkegal, Nergal  for Gugalanna.  Still the story survives, changing with the needs  of the changing times. 

Now  I  tell  the story of Erishkegal because  we  need  the Goddess of Thankless Tasks, She Who Complains.  We need to  learn how to balance "Is there anything I can do to help?" with "Enough is enough!"  We need to remember to listen to each other, to give thanks,  to appreciate work done and service given.   Erishkegal, Queen of the Dead, can teach us much if only we listen to Her.


                                    *                                   *                                   *

>>>  Bibliography  <<<

The  Book of Goddesses and Heroines by  Patricia  Monaghan.  Llewellyn Publications, 1993.

The Dark Goddess: Dancing with the Shadow by Marcia  Starck and Gynne Stern.  The Crossing Press, 1993.

"The Descent of Inanna" Part 1 & Part 2 translated by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer.  Soul Rebels.  No publication date listed.

"Erishkegal" Wikipedia entry

"Erishkegal, Lady of Shadows" by BellaDonna.  White Moon Gallery.  No publication date listed.

"From the Great Above to the Great Below" by Dan Sewell Ward.  Library of Halexandria, 2003.

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer.  Harper & Row, 1983.

Truth  or  Dare:  Encounters  with  Power,  Authority,   and Mystery by Starhawk.  Harper & Row Publishers, 1987.

The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker.  HarperSanFrancisco, 1983.


I would also like to acknowledge the inspiration of  various storytellers  who keep "The Descent of Inanna" alive,  especially John White, who first introduced me to Inanna and Erishkegal.


This poem was originally published in SageWoman magazine Vol. 31, Autumn 1995. 

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