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Annunaki and the Cultivation of Opium

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posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 03:32 PM
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There is something of a mystery in Sumerology with early medicinal tablets seemingly relating to Opium cultivation in terms of hul gil — the “plant of joy” — explaining how to cultivate it, harvest the sap, and prepare it as a drink.


The most ancient testimony concerning the opium poppy found to date was inscribed in cuneiform script on a small white clay tablet at the end of the third millennium BC. This tablet was discovered in 1954 during excavations at Nippur, and is currently kept at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Deciphered by Samuel Noah Kramer and Martin Leve, it is considered to be the most ancient pharmacopoeia in existence.

Some Sumerian tablets of this era have an ideogram inscribed upon them, "hul gil", which translates to "plant of joy", believed by some authors to refer to opium


A mystery because after those early records there is supposedly nothing, no illustrations or descriptions, indeed they aren't considered to have ever illustrated the plant, but that is clearly wrong as i came across this seal today which confirmed my suspicions that a plant the Goddess Ninshubur is sometimes seen harvesting is the opium plant.



It was the little circular crown on top that seems conclusive, i was aware of other examples of harvesting such a plant but the evidence was somewhat inconclusive with regards to variety.




These are very early period seals of a type that also quickly dissapear into the Dynastic Period, so the concern is seen with the cultivation and harvesting and also here the production in terms of the mixing bowl and grinder.



Also seen in conjunction with the pony tailed Goddess Ninshubur are many cups and bowls, the prepared sacred drink, she was a one woman strength through Joy movement, we see often a pouring bowl and two cups;



As i've pointed out previously this Goddess was also the representation of the Orion constellation and seen in conjunction with either the Bull Taurus or the spider constellation Canis Major, so we see below the Goddess in association with the spider Goddess Uttu;



What is also seen is that the seated woman herself can transform as it were into a pouring jar and cup thus suggesting an almost total identification of her with the sacred drink, Ninshubur rode high in joy;


Servant, as you took your seat on the lofty dais, Ninšubur, as you took your seat, as you took your seat on the dais like Father Enlil, as you took your seat like Enlil and Ninlil, (you said ) "I, like my mother, I, Ka-ka, will ride high in joy like my mother! I, Ninšubur I, Ka-ka, will ride high in joy like my mother."




Uttu was a plant Goddess as well as a spider, her relationship to the sacred drink would have had that basic association, but also in terms of webs of spun fate as might be expected and as the brightest star Sirius is of that constellation also inner illumination.

The role of Ninshubur as i pointed out in The Sumerian Orion Mystery was as mediator between Heaven and Earth, between the Bull Anu and also Inanna as the Pleiades, she followed on from them in astrological terms, as Orion. In this capacity she was the First Minister of the Universe.


My faithful minister of the E-ana, my Ninšubur of the E-ana, (you said ) "I, the august minister of the universe, I, Ninšubur of the universe, the faithful minister of the Anuna gods, Ninšubur of the Anuna gods, the faithful minister, Ninšubur, the personal god of the Land, the faithful minister, Ninšubur, the mother of the Land, I will ride high in joy."




I noted in the Orion thread that the role of Ninshubur as Orion ended with the conquest of the Akkadians, who sacked her and replaced with a male First Minister of some war God named Zababa, Pap-Sukkal, who from then on went on to become confused with Ninshubur, and also Uttu the spider as the constellation Canis Major is sacked and replaced with the bow and arrow motif, so the evidence suggests that the Akkadians suppressed not only the iconography but also the cultivation of Opium and production of the sacred drink, as from that period onward evidence ceases.



Perhaps Ninshubur had taken a little too literally the notion of religion as the opiate of the masses and this as the means to regulate the Universe in a harmonious manner, going off the percentage of early period seals relating to her cult she'd been the most popular of the Annunaki


..the servant, who is acquainted with the secrets of An, Ninsubura the chief servant, the shining crown of heaven, the messenger of good tidings, the goddess who turns what affects me into something good, who loves the directions of An and with­ out whom Enlil does not give orders to the great gods

I will soothe hearts, I will soothe spirits. I will appease the Anuna gods, I who am to serve -- I, the tutelary deity, who am to serve, I will make the young lady, Inana, born in the shining mountains, rejoice. I, the lady, will make her rejoice.


Of course as in the Vedic and Avestan tradition of Soma the preperation of the sacred drink was also for the Gods and so a cup was prepared for the Bull of Heaven, Anu;



So there we are then, abundant evidence from the early dynastic period that she who controlled Hul Gil also controlled the Universe...

edit on Kpm1130325vAmerica/ChicagoSaturday2230 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 03:41 PM
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a reply to: Kantzveldt

Woah... a whole lot of contemporary parallels can be made here.

Great content, thank you.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 03:52 PM
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a reply to: Cuervo

Pretty amazing nobody has ever realized what's being cultivated and harvested in those seals, the secret of why Ninshubur rode high in joy...something of a conspiracy i guess.




posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 03:56 PM
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it became smack right.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 03:57 PM
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originally posted by: Kantzveldt
a reply to: Cuervo

Pretty amazing nobody has ever realized what's being cultivated and harvested in those seals, the secret of why Ninshubur rode high in joy...something of a conspiracy i guess.






Now I see Uttu like this:



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 04:08 PM
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a reply to: Cuervo

Possibly, i tend to relate Uttu to eight splayed fronds of the date palm, the summit of the Celestial axis that terminated at Sirius. Given her relationship to eight plants in the Enki and Ninhursag myth i tried to establish if Hul Gil could have been one of those, curiously in a text that seems pretty much complete were the plants are listed on two occasions each time the seventh is left out;



She grew the 'tree' plant, she grew the 'honey' plant, she grew the 'vegetable' plant, she grew the esparto grass (?), she grew the atutu plant, she grew the aštaltal plant, she grew the …… plant, she grew the amḫaru plant.


"My master, the atutu plant," he said to him, cut it off for him and Enki ate it. "My master, the aštaltal plant," he said to him, pulled it up for him and Enki ate it. "My master, the …… plant," he said to him, cut it off for him and Enki ate it. "My master, the amḫaru plant," he said to him, pulled it up for him and Enki ate it. Enki determined the destiny of the plants, had them know it in their hearts.









edit on Kpm1130325vAmerica/ChicagoSaturday2230 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 04:08 PM
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a reply to: Kantzveldt
Well poppy seeds are a healthy food. The sap probably has health benefits as well. If only it wasnt addictive.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 04:43 PM
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a reply to: Tucket

Sure, i was always curious how Ninshubur could be referred to as the 'good seed of the land', perhaps that also relates to close identification with the poppy plant, Opiates are always going to be addictive which would explain why the Akkadians chose to suppress cultivation and associated cults.


Lady, good seed of the Land, minister of An! mother Ninsubur! From the interior of heaven, An bestowed upon you , and Enlil destined as your fate, that you should take a lapis-lazuli sceptre in your hand and proceed in front of An.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 04:52 PM
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Wonderful Kantzveldt

I would offer up an alternative. That growing the plant may have ceased but the product was still used but now came into Mesopotamia from what is now central and eastern Turkey. So the poppy would no longer be seen but just the finished product, perhaps as a syrup or paste.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 06:24 PM
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a reply to: Hanslune

There's a good UNODC article here on it's symbolic prevalence in the Greek eastern Mediterranean and India but from Mesopotamia symbolic representation dissapeared, as you suggest it was probably still making it's way there for medicinal usage but there was no cultic practise centred upon it.

I had wondered why the Akkadians changed the Orion and Canis Major representations and why all the related cultic iconography of those seals stopped being produced, suppression of an opiate based cult seems the most likely answer, but hopefully it will be properly recognized as an important aspect of early Dynastic period culture, it's all there in the seal record.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 06:34 PM
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a reply to: Kantzveldt

You need to write a paper on the subject - the link below is an easy place to do so.

www.academia.edu...
edit on 22/11/14 by Hanslune because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 06:43 PM
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a reply to: Kantzveldt

Really cool thread. Those seals do seem to depict poppies. I'm curious though, your sources seem to mention that this plant of joy was cultivated for a drink. Is it even possible to derive any sort of intoxication from opium if it's in a drink or if it's eaten?



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 06:48 PM
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a reply to: Hanslune

Yes i'm sure you're right, if you want something doing best do it yourself, and after all it is all my own research and ideas.



a reply to: DeadSeraph

I'm no expert but i think so, it would produce a sense of euphoria and joy if used as a drink, like i mentioned probably the basis for Soma.
edit on Kpm1130325vAmerica/ChicagoSaturday2230 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 06:52 PM
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originally posted by: Kantzveldt
a reply to: Hanslune

Yes i'm sure you're right, if you want something doing best do it yourself, and after all it is all my own research and ideas.



if YOU don't do it the information will probably be lost. When people have good ideas it's always worth the effort to put it into the pool of knowledge.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 06:53 PM
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originally posted by: Tucket
a reply to: Kantzveldt
Well poppy seeds are a healthy food. The sap probably has health benefits as well. If only it wasnt addictive.



Morphine is a gift of nature for people who are dying and those who are so severely in pain they require the strongest painkillers.

I have never yet been in need of morphine, but I know plenty of people who have.

I really think opiates are a gift of nature, but one that is also used recreationally and as we know abused with sometimes grave consequences.

It would not be surprising if the OP has identified a sacred reverence among ancient people.

Lots of well known artists have used it recreationally and millions around the world have and do. Many people will have to use it during or at the end of their lives as morphine. Wine was revered as we know with the worship of gods like Dionysus and Bacchus.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 07:00 PM
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Good stuff Kantz....keep it coming...



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 07:06 PM
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originally posted by: DeadSeraph
a reply to: Kantzveldt

Really cool thread. Those seals do seem to depict poppies. I'm curious though, your sources seem to mention that this plant of joy was cultivated for a drink. Is it even possible to derive any sort of intoxication from opium if it's in a drink or if it's eaten?


Yes absolutely. In Iran and Afghanistan a popular method is making a tea out of the dried flower heads. Eating the raw sap also will work(its technically a raw, unrefined opium in that form,the more refined md purified it is the stronger the product) its just a different sensation compared to inhaling the smoke, takes a little longer to kick in and lasts a little longer.



posted on Nov, 22 2014 @ 07:08 PM
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originally posted by: peter vlar

originally posted by: DeadSeraph
a reply to: Kantzveldt

Really cool thread. Those seals do seem to depict poppies. I'm curious though, your sources seem to mention that this plant of joy was cultivated for a drink. Is it even possible to derive any sort of intoxication from opium if it's in a drink or if it's eaten?


Yes absolutely. In Iran and Afghanistan a popular method is making a tea out of the dried flower heads. Eating the raw sap also will work(its technically a raw, unrefined opium in that form,the more refined md purified it is the stronger the product) its just a different sensation compared to inhaling the smoke, takes a little longer to kick in and lasts a little longer.


Interesting. Thanks for the clarification



posted on Nov, 23 2014 @ 06:00 AM
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a reply to: Kantzveldt

I read recently that the 'drink' Soma referred to in the ancient Indian Scriptures was thought to be made up of cannabis and several other ingredients from Afganistan.

Herbalism for medicine and obviously relaxation is something that has been stamped out by TPTB. I suspect that all ancient peoples used the shamanic means of travelling in their minds with a good dose of whatever was to hand where they were living.



posted on Nov, 23 2014 @ 06:21 AM
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Interesting theory, I always kind of thought that the Sumerian people were depicting marijuana in this picture. I'm sure someone had already said it, but I'll say it to, everything in moderation can be good, and many things of this nature have some medical or social benefit, I'm fairly certain that back in ancient times these things were considered medicines because that was the best they had in those times.




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