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Unfortunately, too, the elements composing her name are not clear, and it must be borne in mind that the reading is purely provisional. So much, at least, seems certain: that Bau and Ga-tum-dug are two forms under which one and the same natural element was personified. Bau is called in the incantation texts, the mother of Ea.
A goddess who can hardly be distinguished from Bau is Ga-tum-dug. Indeed, from the fact that she is also the 'mother of Lagash, it might seem that this is but another name for Bau. For Gudea, Ga-tum-dug is the mother who produced him. He is her servant and she is his mistress. Lagash is her beloved city, and there he prepares for her a dwelling-place, which later rulers, like Entena, embellish.
Again, at the beginning of one of his inscriptions, he appeals to Nin-girsu, En-lil, Ninâ, Bau, Ga-tum-dug, Gal-alim, and Dun-shagga. He recounts what he has done to promote the cults of these deities, and upon his conduct he grounds his hope that they will aid him in his undertakings. The lists, as will be observed, vary in the number and in the order of the gods enumerated.
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