NAMMU
ETYMOLOGY
Mesopotamian / Sumerian
Normalized forms: Nammu, Namma
Other Written forms: Nammu Lammu Namma Na-am-na-am-mi Na-am-ma Na-na-ma-ke
Her name is written with the pictograph for the primeval sea, subterranean (cosmic) waters (Engur)
Native explanation based on the pictograph Engur is “the totality of the secrets of the gods”
During different periods, Engur has been explained as “heaven”
Root of Her name is etymologically related to root “banû” (Akkadian) meaning “to create” therefore, Nammu/Namma can be understood as Creatrix
Spelling and incarnation variants, as well as later cosmogony, merged and / or replaced Her with Tiamat. Namma is then described as a “watery body” and “female genitals” and Her relation to reed, water and vessels appear in magic.
HERSTORY
Nammu belongs to the oldest generation of Mesopotamian deities. She is the Goddess of the Primeval Ocean, the ultimate Creatrix. As old as time and ever-existent, Nammu is the entity from which all else sprang – the cosmos, the gods, the heavens, the earth. She is both the seed and the womb; both the 1 and the 0. She is the self-procreating womb of the universe. Nammu has no consort and is therefore asexual in Her role as Creatrix, yet still very much recognized as female… confirming that creation ultimately stems from the Divine Feminine.
As the world moved on, Nammu was either replaced or merged with Tiamat and Nammu’s mythology was no longer Her own. Her original name and position being all but forgotten, Nammu was given a male counterpart, became part of the general mythology, and was eventually vilified.
When it comes to trying to devise a family tree, the various Mesopotamian mythologies (Sumerian/Akkadian/Babylonian) get pretty muddled. In the some of the older (Sumerian) versions, Nammu is the mother of Enki (god of magic, crafts, and wisdom – associated with water and sometimes a trickster god) and Ereshkigal (goddess of the underworld). In other versions, Nammu began by giving birth to An (sky god) and Ki (earth goddess). Nonetheless, in most pre-Babylonian versions, Nammu is credited with either the creation of humankind or the idea to create humankind, which was further facilitated by Enki (Promethean-like god) who fashioned humans out of clay. However, as time moved on – and patriarchy grew – most of Nammu’s power and creation credit was given to Enki.
Furthermore, when patriarchal Babylon took over Sumeria, Nammu was turned into Tiamat (sometimes described as a dragon of chaos) who was murdered by the sky god Marduk, in order to create the universe, the heavens, and the earth from her body.
While Nammu is mainly known for Her role in cosmogony, She also figures prominently in Sumerian texts associated with magic. References such as “mistress of the holy water basin”, “bending reed, reed of Nammu” and the “Chamber of Nammu” suggest Her magical workings related to womb, vessel, and water energies. Given the scale of Nammu’s energies, magical workings relating to the Creatrix womb/vessel and Her waters would be most appropriate, but sympathetic workings at smaller scales would be fitting as well.
Vilification of the divine feminine and power transfer to the divine masculine is a very common theme for supremely powerful goddesses such as Nammu… but energy can never be destroyed. We know her story now and her power is still very much here. Connect with Nammu and go beyond the veil. Feel the Goddess in her primordial state and be her creation.