United States or Israel ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The names of many of them, as utukku, shedu, alu, gallu, point to 'strength' and 'greatness' as their main attribute; other names, as lilu, 'night-spirit, and the feminine form lilitu, are indicative of the moment chosen by them for their work; while again, names like ekimmu, the 'seizer, akhkhazu, the 'capturer, rabisu, 'the one that lies in wait, labartu, 'the oppressor, and labasu, 'the overthrower, show the aim that the demons have in view.
These colossal statues were actually known by the name shedu, which we have seen is one of the general terms for 'demon. But as a general thing, this personal phase of the demon's existence is lost sight of.
Immediately following the incantation comes one directed against the demons: I raise the torch, their images I burn, Of the utukku, the shedu, the rabisu, the ekimmu, The labartu, the labasi, the akhkhasu, Of lilu and lilitu and ardat lili, And every evil that seizes hold of men. Tremble, melt away, and disappear! The witch who has caused the evil may be unknown.
O merciful one among the gods! O merciful one who loveth to give life to the dead! Marduk, king of heaven and earth, King of Babylon, lord of E-sagila, King of E-zida, lord of E-makh-tila, Heaven and earth are thine. Thou art the shedu, thou art the lamassu. O merciful one among the gods! One scarcely detects any difference between such a hymn and those to Sin and Nebo.
Glittering water, pure water, Holy water, resplendent water, The water twice seven times may he bring, May he make pure, may he make resplendent. May the evil rabisu depart, May he betake himself outside, May the protecting shedu, the protecting lamassu, Settle upon his body. Spirit of heaven, be thou invoked! Spirit of earth, be thou invoked!
As appears from the extracts above translated, the utukku, shedu, alu, and ekimmu were grouped together, and hardly regarded as anything more than descriptive epithets of a general class of demons. At the same time it appears likely that at one time they were differentiated with a greater degree of preciseness.
The utukku of the field and the utukku of the mountain, The utukku of the sea and the one that lurks in graves, The evil shedu, the shining alu. The evil wind, the terrible wind, That sets one's hair on end. Against these the spirits of heaven and earth are invoked.
Utukku becomes a general name for demon, and gallu, alu, and shedu are either used synonymously with utukku or thrown together with the latter in a manner that clearly shows the general identity of the conceptions ultimately connected with them. The same is the case with the rabisu and gallu, with the labartu, akhkhazu, and ekimmu.