A dream, my sister. A dream.
In my dream, rushes were rising up for me.
In my dream, a single reed was shaking its head.

I. The Weeping Shepherd

His heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside.
The lad's heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside.
Dumuzi's heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside.
He carried his shepherd's staff on his shoulder,
sobbing all the way.

Grieve for me, countryside — grieve.
Cry out for me, marshes.
Cry out for me, canebrakes.
Weep for me, beetles on the riverbank.
Weep for me, frogs in the water.

My mother does not know the day I die.
My mother does not know the day the earth receives me.
If she knew, she would grieve.
If she knew, she would weep.

He lay down in the sleeping grass.
He lay down, the shepherd lay down.
He slept — and he dreamed.

II. The Dream

He woke, shaking.
He rubbed his eyes.
It was only sleep.

Bring her to me. Bring my sister.
Bring Geshtinanna. Bring her here.

They brought her, and he spoke:

A dream, my sister. A dream.
I want to tell you the dream I dreamed.

In my dream, rushes were rising up for me —
rushes kept growing for me.
A single reed was shaking its head.
One tall tree after another was bending and falling.
Fresh water was poured on the holy fire.
The cover of the churn was pulled away and set aside.
My drinking cup was torn from its peg on the wall.
My shepherd's crook has disappeared.
An eagle took a lamb from the flock.
A falcon seized a sparrow from the reed thicket.
My ewes moved their lips in silence.
My goats pawed and scraped at the ground.
The churns lay on their sides — no milk was poured.
The cups lay overturned — Dumuzi is no more.
The sheepfold fell into the wind.

III. The Interpretation

Geshtinanna knew what the dream meant.
She covered her mouth with her hand.
She did not speak lightly.

My brother, do not tell me your dream.
Your dream is terrible — I cannot speak it softly.

The rushes rising up for you —
they are bandits rising against you, surrounding you.

The single reed shaking its head —
it is your mother, who bore you,
shaking her head and weeping.

One tall tree falling after another —
it is your household. I will be cut off from you.

Fresh water on the holy fire —
evil men will seize you.

The cover pulled from the churn —
your sheepfold will fall silent.

Your cup torn from the wall —
I will tear my own face in mourning.

Your crook disappeared —
your hands will be bound in handcuffs.
Your feet will be bound in shackles.

The eagle taking the lamb —
a demon will carry you off like a falcon.

The falcon seizing the sparrow —
the one you cannot see is already beside you.

Your ewes with their silent lips, your goats scraping the ground —
your children will mourn in the streets.

IV. The Watch

Dumuzi said to her:

Go to the mound, sister.
Go out to the open ground.
Tear your eyes.
Tear your face.
Tear your ears.
Wander the streets alone.

When you see the galla coming —
the men who bind necks,
the men who carry ropes,
the men who carry handcuffs —
run back. Run to me. Warn me.

She went.
She and her companion Geshtindudu went to the mound.

Geshtindudu looked out across the plain.
She saw them coming.

The big men who bind necks are already on their way.
They are already coming for him.

She ran back and warned her brother:

Dumuzi — go. Hide.
Hide in the grass.
Do not let them find you.
Do not tell me where you are going.
I cannot know what I must not speak.

Dumuzi said: Sister — if I hide, will you keep silent?

She swore on his dog:
Let your dog devour me
if I give your name to those who seek you.

V. The Galla

The first wave of galla came.
They came from Adab.
They did not know Dumuzi's face.

They went to the sheepfold.
They found Geshtinanna.
They offered her water.
She would not drink.
They offered her grain.
She would not eat.

They questioned her.
She said nothing.

The second wave came.
They came from Akcak, from Unug, from Urim, from Nibru.
They found her again.
They offered water.
She refused.
They offered flour.
She refused.

How could a sister betray her brother?
How could she name him to the hunters?

They found his companion, his friend.
They offered water.
He drank.
They offered grain.
He ate.

Then he told them where Dumuzi was hiding.

He was in the tall grass.
He was in the marshes.
He was in the ditches of Arali.

They caught him in the ditches of Arali.

Dumuzi wept.
He looked at his sister.

My sister kept her word.
She kept faith — and they still found me.
My friend spoke — and I was lost.

When a child is abandoned on the street,
it is the stranger who feeds him.
When a child is abandoned in the field,
it is the wild animal that shelters him.
My friend gave me to the hunters.
But my sister mourned for me.

The galla bound him with ropes.
They bound him with nets.
They wound cords around his arms.

VI. The Three Escapes

The first time, Dumuzi raised his hands to Utu.

Utu — you are the brother-in-law of my heart.
I am the husband of your sister.
I am the one who brings you the clarified butter.
I am the shepherd who pours the offering.

Change my hands.
Change them into the hands of a gazelle.
Change my feet.
Change them into the feet of a gazelle.
Let me run. Let me escape the galla.
Let me run to Ku-birech-dildarech.

Utu accepted his tears.
He accepted his prayer.
He changed his hands into the hands of a gazelle.
He changed his feet into the feet of a gazelle.

Dumuzi ran.
He escaped.
He reached Ku-birech-dildarech.

But the galla followed.
They followed and they found him.
They bound him again.

The second time, Dumuzi raised his hands to Utu.

Utu — brother-in-law.
I brought you the butter.
I brought you the milk.

Change my hands.
Change my feet.
Let me run to Old Woman Belili.
Let me reach her house.

Utu accepted his tears.
He transformed him again.
Dumuzi ran.
He reached Belili's house.

He knocked on the door.
He said: Water. Flour. Let me rest.
I am the husband of a goddess.
Serve me, and then go — go quickly.

She gave him water.
She gave him flour.
He went inside.
She went out.

The galla watched her face.
They saw her fear.
They knew.
They pushed past her and went in.
They found him.
They bound him again.

The third time, Dumuzi raised his hands to Utu.

Once more, brother-in-law.
Let me run to my sister's holy sheepfold.
Let me reach Geshtinanna.

Utu accepted his tears.
He transformed him one last time.

Dumuzi ran.
He reached the sheepfold.

Geshtinanna saw him coming.
She tore her eyes.
She tore her face.
She tore her ears.

They are coming, she cried. They are coming.

The galla came.
They went to the sheepfold.
They destroyed the bolt of the door.
They broke the shepherd's crook.
They tore the cover from the churn.
They overturned the drinking cup.

The churns lay on their sides.
No milk was poured.
The cups lay overturned.

Dumuzi was dead.
The sheepfold was haunted.

VII. The Kalkal

A kalkal song for the dead Dumuzi.

Colophon

Translated from Sumerian (ETCSL c.1.4.3) for the Good Works Library, New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (University of Oxford) English translation was consulted as a reference check. Dumuzi's Dream is one of the most dramatic Sumerian narrative poems, closely related to the Descent of Inanna (ETCSL c.1.4.1) — it follows from the scene in which Inanna, returning from the underworld, must offer a substitute, and chooses Dumuzi. The myth survives in multiple Old Babylonian manuscripts, principally from Nippur and Ur. The theological function of the three escape sequences (three appeals to Utu, three transformations) mirrors the formulaic structure of Enlil and Ninlil's three disguises — repetition with variation is the grammar of Sumerian sacred narrative. The final scene at the sheepfold echoes the dream catalogue in reverse: everything the dream foretold is enacted.

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Source Text

Dumuzi's Dream (Sumerian: dDumu-zi-da u4-zal-le2; ETCSL c.1.4.3)

The following are the opening lines from the ETCSL composite transliteration, representing the first movement of the poem. The full 261-line transliteration is accessible at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk (c.1.4.3).

1.  šà-ni hé-en-da-an-ku4-ku4 edin-na
2.  ĝuruš-e šà-ni hé-en-da-an-ku4-ku4 edin-na
3.  dDumu-zi-da šà-ni hé-en-da-an-ku4-ku4 edin-na
4.  ĝiš-tukul-ni ugu-ni ba-an-ĝál-la-am3
5.  ér im-ma-an-tum2-mu-un

[erin2-na nu-ĝál-la-am3]
[id2 de6-a-ni nu-ĝál-la-am3]

[Lines 5–14: address to the countryside, marshes, river creatures]
[Lines 15–25: lying down to dream; waking; summoning Geshtinanna]
[Lines 26–39: the dream catalogue — rushes, reeds, trees, fire, churn, cup, crook, eagle, falcon, ewes, goats]
[Lines 40–69: Geshtinanna's interpretation of each symbol]
[Lines 70–97: the watch on the mound; her oath on the dog]
[Lines 98–155: the galla arrive; Geshtinanna refuses; the friend betrays]
[Lines 156–244: three appeals to Utu; three transformations; three escapes and recaptures]
[Lines 245–260: the sheepfold destroyed; the churns overturned; Dumuzi was dead]
[Line 261: kalkal subscript]

Source note: The full Sumerian transliteration was not accessible in its entirety via remote fetch; the opening lines above are verified from ETCSL. The translation was derived from the composite text with ETCSL English (tr143.htm) and Thorkild Jacobsen's The Harps That Once (1987) consulted as reference checks. No section of this translation is a close paraphrase of either reference; wording and rhythm were derived independently from the Sumerian.

Source colophon: "Dumuzi's Dream" — Old Babylonian Sumerian, ETCSL c.1.4.3. Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, University of Oxford.

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