Ningizibara (Igizibara, Ningizippara) is a Mesopotamian goddess associated with the balaĝ musical instrument. She can manifest as the physical instrument or a separate deity. A type of lyre, the balaĝ is used in rituals. Balaĝ or balag also refers to the prayers sung with accompaniment of the instrument.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
See also:
Ninigizibara's name is akin to Sumerian "well regarded lady" or "lady with a noble gaze". In Umma (Tell Jokha) today's south central Iraq, the goddess is called Igizibara, "well regarded". In texts from Mari, eastern Syria, the usual spelling is Ningizippara.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
In Mesopotamia, balag (balaĝ) describes both the Sumerian religious literary genre, music and related musical instrument. Integral to religion, the balag itself is also the object of ritual rites and prayers.
See also:
The Queen's lyre (left, golden bull's head) and the silver lyre (right) come from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, southern Mesopotamia. The instruments date to the early dynastic period c. 2500 BCE. The sound box may be hollow or solid depending on the resonance desired.
The city lament is a predecessor to the balag rituals. Another type of prayer, the lament is recited when temples are destroyed and rebuilt. The balag instrument accompanies the city lament.
See also:
Over time, city laments become associated with scribal schools. Hymns and epic stories such as that of Gilgamesh are often copied by student scribes. Many ancient writings survive due to scribe schools.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
The eduba or scribe school trains and educates young scribes in ancient Mesopotamia during the late third or early second millennium BCE. Most information known about edubas is from cuneiform texts dating to the Old Babylonian period (c. 2000 - 1600 BCE).
See also:
While literacy is often seen as a privilege of elite men, there are exceptions as female scribes are known in mythology and history. Belet Seri, for example, is the scribe of Underworld Goddess Ereshkigal.
The early goddess of writing, Nisaba, is replaced by the later scribe god Nabu. Evidence of female scribes in history goes back to the Akkadian Period (2334 - 2218 BCE). The most famous is Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad aka the Great, r. 2334 - 2279 BCE.
See also:
The balag is adapted to various ritual uses. When the city lament becomes more secular in orientation (c. 2000 BCE), the balag emerges as a distinct religious literary genre.
The balag ritual prayer and instrument are used to pacify the local deity with pleasing sounds. At the same time, the prayer laments what horrors may happen to the city should the god abandon it. Other types of lyres include the African bowl lyre below.
See also:
Gala priests, the priests of Inanna, sing the balag prayers. Every balag instrument has a proper name, such as two commissioned by King Gudea, called ‘Great Dragon of the Land' and 'Lady as Exalted as Heaven'. The instrument may be worshipped as a deity.
Use of the balag instrument is depicted at funerals as well as entertainment for the wealthy. Balag later refers also to lilissu a form of kettledrum also used in the ritual, pictured below.
See also:
While the goddess Ninigizibara may be revered as a lyre and connected to the balag rituals she is not revered as the drum. Ninigizibara's position in the court of Inanna appears in cuneiform as GU4.BALAG, which can be literally translated from Sumerian as "balaĝ-bull".
This can refer to the physical bull or cow figure forming the sound box of many balag instruments, or to the spiritual virtues of bovines. The Bull is among the most sacred of animals, symbolizing power and vitality.
See also:
The Cow represents nourishment and abundance. Cattle are a sign of wealth. The term can also mean counsellor or advisor.
As a literary genre, the balag is written in cuneiform script and sung by the Gala priest in the Sumerian dialect Emesal, translated as 'fine tongue' or 'high-pitched voice'. Each balag is composed to a specific god.
See also:
Balaĝ prayers and instruments appear from the Old Babylonian period (c. 1894 - 1595 BCE) to the Seleucid Empire (c. 312 - 64 BCE). At that point mention of the ritual and the goddess is less prominent.
Although often considered a member of the entourage of Inanna, Ninigizibara also takes a role as a medicine goddess associated with the court of Gula. A medicinal plant bu'šānu is also called "Ninigizibarra's dog".
See also:
Mesopotamian medical texts mention a disease known as bu’šānu. The disease exhibits symptoms similar to herpes, with sores appearing around the mouth and throat. It could also be diptheria.
The major worship centers of Ninigizibarra are Uruk and Umma, today's Iraq. She's worshipped in other Mesopotamian cities too. She might be paired with goddess Ninme (Lady of Battle or Lady of Divine Power), possibly Inanna. The prefix 'Nin' means 'Lady'.
See also:
Both of them are described as Inanna's advisors. Ninmeurur is Sumerian for "lady who collects all the me". The me (pl. mes) refers to divine powers.
She might also appear paired with Nanaya, goddess of erotic love; or Nindagalzu, another musician goddess in the entourage of Ningal (Ninhursag). Ninigizibarra appears in the balaĝ song Uru-Ama'irabi.
See also:
The song is performed on the instrument sharing her name in Mari, Syria, during a ritual dedicated to Ishtar (Inanna). Its lyrics describe how Inanna learns of a sacrilege committed in her bed in her absence.
It has been suggested that even though known from a site in the west, it most likely reflects the cultic journey of Inanna and Ninigizibara attested in texts from Umma. In the song Ninigizibara appears alongside Ninmeurur.
See also:
In the Isin god list, Ninigizibara also appears next to Ninmeurur, and yet another minor goddess from Inanna's entourage called Ninḫinuna, a goddess of the harp. Other medicine goddesses of Mesopotamia include Ninisina, Gula, Bau, Nintinugga, Lisin and Ninkarrak.
See also: