A curious Nazi cult...

In Sumeria the Goddess Nazi or Nanse whose name derived from her curing the throat of Enki were 'zi' was the Sumerian for throat was a wonderful Goddess in that she was the Lady of the Storehouse and therefore could dish out all manner of good things if she saw fit, Nazi was the original Fairy Godmother.

There is an amusing summary here of a Hymn to Nanse which does bring out how she was perceived;

There's a city that's pretty tight called Lagash. Nanshe went to that city, and when she did, food and water just started popping up everywhere. Like magic!

Nanshe's pretty cool too. She cares for orphans, widows, refugees, etc. Just by hanging out with them, they're suddenly overwhelmed with food, money, houses, you name it! She also made Gudea the king of Lagash. She granted him badass powers, and he had a festival held in her honor.

Since she was a total badass goddess, there were rules that had to be abided by to keep her apeased. If people didn't follow those rules, the most horrible of punishments were exacted upon them. Like getting FIRED. Or NOT getting BONUSES! It was pretty strict...

There was also this dude, Hendursaja, who takes care of a lot of the heavy lifting. He fights for justice, and carries out punishment against those who do not fight for justice. But really, he's not that important. It's mostly about Nanshe. She's awesome. She's tops. In fact, she can even SEE INTO YOUR HEART. She knows if you're good or bad just by LOOKING at you. She's SO POWERFUL. As powerful as Enlil for sure.

No. NO. She's MORE powerful than Enlil. OR ANYONE.

NANSHE FOR PRESIDENT SUPREME RULER

Holy Bibble Hymn to Nanshe

They also run the original text there. Nanse was also in charge of the Persian gulf as a daughter of Enki and Ninhursag, water and Earth, and thus also marshes and birds and fishes, things ran much better when Nanse was in charge. As a guarantor of boundaries this can also extend into the boundary between sleeping and waking, and life and death, Nanse regulated these also.

Nanshe had the ability to give oracular messages and determine the future through dream interpretation (Oneiromancy). Her priests were also granted these abilities after conducting a ritual that represented death and resurrection.

Nanshe has two major symbols, both of which are also seen in Christian folklore. The fish represents her original role as a water and fishing goddess. The pelican, said in folklore to rip open its own chest to feed its young, represents her role as a protector and caregiver.

Nanse then not only had the capacity to interpret dream but also held the keys to making them come true in the worldly sense if she deemed to open the storehouse, her husband was Nindara who turned his hand to tax gathering and thus ensured her storeroom remained filled with plenty.

In terms of comparative religion the closest comparison to Nanse found in the bible is that of Joseph in Egypt, with regards to his dream interpretations and his office of High steward of the storerooms, this continuing a time honored tradition of the Semites replacing earlier Sumerian Feminine Divine roles with Masculine counterparts, which began with the Akkadians, but go tell that to the birds...

Nanse and the Birds


So anyway whenever i see the term Nazi this is who i think of...

Kantz.youre too much....Sinatra indeed!
great thread....
funny how we forget where our stuff comes from over time.....

a reply to: stirling

It is interesting how old long forgotten archetypes resurface as was the case with the Goddess Nazi and social welfare, it's unlikely the National Socialists ever considered this when naming their party or those who created the popular derivation of 'Nazi', but i would suggest not really a coincidence.

The Goddess Nazi was concerned with social justice and balance within society, in some ways equivalent to the Egyptian Ma'at, she also had the scales as symbol in her overseeing of fair weights and measures, if there was inbalance and inequality she would be expected to restore it, in this sense a saviour of sorts.



Of course if the National Socialists had elected some woman named Nancy as their party leader rather than Hitler things would probably have gone better for them...

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Thats pretty interesting stuff there, somehow when I saw the title of the thread I knew it was one of yours lol. You know of any other original fairy god mother stories, because thats how you described it in the first paragraph and I think that is a very interesting way of looking at that. THX for the good read!

a reply to: Brotherman

There are plenty of variations from it but it was Nanse who had it nailed, restoring inbalance and justice, even finding suitable husbands for any unfortunate Cinderella's.

She is concerned for the orphan and concerned for the widow. She does not forget the man who helps others, she is a mother for the orphan; Nance, a carer for the widow, who always finds advice for the debt-slave; the lady who gives protection for refugees. She seeks out a place for the weak. She swells his collecting basket for him; she makes his collecting vessel profitable for him. For the righteous maiden who has taken her path, Nance chooses a young man of means. Nance raises a secure house like a roof over the widow who could not remarry

The Egyptian Ma'at like i mentioned comes closest to this principle of Universal balance and harmony, but she didn't wear a dress made of fishes and have birds fluttering around her head so she sort of loses out on the glamour. Nanse in representing the boundary between water and land, emerging from the foaming waves pure and radiant as Aphrodite later would, was something of a soft and gentle touch in looking to restore this balance in everything, but she had her First Minister come enforcer who was Hendursaja, as represented by the King of her City state of Sirara

Hymn to Hendursaja

His role of constable even extends into the Underworld thus passing judgement upon the dead, as was the case with Ma'at within the Egyptian Hall of Judgement, so very important principles were bound up with Nanse and the cult of righteousness and social cohesion, in many ways the Sumerians would have understood the Christian message as relating to Nanse, and that of Jesus to Hendursaja, putting the world to rights.

You are the accountant of the black-headed. You are the chief constable of the dead people who are brought to the underworld. Chief herald

So as to integrate securely into the cattle-pen the bull that has been bought, so as to make the sheep that have been bought multiply in the sheepfold, so as to make the slave that has been bought behave submissively in the house of his master, so as to test the liquid capacity of a one-litre pot; so that, when the Herald signals with his horn to the troops before the mêlée of battle and the warriors go forth to the high plain, the Herald will force the dragons back from the roads, so that the Herald Hendursaja will make them very frightened -- praise be to the youthful Utu, who has kindly supported the excellent power of the Herald, and praise be to Father Enki, who has kindly supported the excellent power of Hendursaja!

a reply to: Kantzveldt

I think it is interesting because I don't fully understand the need for human nature to classify one thing right or wrong, good or evil. There can be right and wrong and good and evil but it is only used to describe human action why does this description not apply to the 99.9998% of everything else on the planet that lives? The Nanshe seems to be the first crusader of hearts and minds, I suppose I don't have to understand it completely to appreciate it.

a reply to: Brotherman


The concern is always with the cohesive functioning of society and relates to the individual as to whether they impact upon that in a negative or positive manner, thus it relates to individual desires and actions only as they impact upon others and calls for social responsibility, judgement is against the self serving and negligent.

These were obviously important principles within the City States were everyone had their place and function and neglect and corruption would weaken the greater whole, thus a natural punishment would be exclusion. I don't think these questions of choice with regards to an individual accepting responsibilities within greater society carry through into the natural world.

Nanse does though also care for the individual who finds themselves on the margins of that society and look to reintergrate them within the greater whole, thus also restoring harmony within the greater good.

a reply to: Kantzveldt

I agree especially with the last part about not applying to the natural world, I find it confusing as these older cultures were so much closer to nature and yet philosophically and ideology in terms of how they functioned as a culture does not model the natural world, then again maybe it does and this adopted model is just in human nature, but even still if it is in our nature then it cannot be right or wrong and philosophically pulling it apart would not have a purpose so to speak. It is really interesting stuff.

a reply to: Kantzveldt There is a point before i wake up where someone whistles at me to get my attention. I have not been able to stay in that point since i was 12 but there is much to learn there.

a reply to: Brotherman


Sumerian religion did develop the religious framework that facilitated the progression from living close to nature into adapting as a functionary of a Civic State, the cult of Nanse is a critical component of that in the same sense that she marks the progression from water onto dry land, it's about making transition and this can even extend to making the transition into the afterlife as a righteous person.

When one considers her cult it is also clear that the role of the daughter of Enki was a major facet of the Christian message in conjunction with that of the shepherd King son of Enki, theologians have long noticed the essential pairing of a God of the pastoralists and the fisherman cult, when this is seen in conjunction with being a friend to tax collectors, fornicators, orphans and widows and helping the poor and needy on the margins of society it is clear that is the cult of Nanse who first stepped out of the warm waters of the Persian gulf four thousand years previous, and it is a good cult, but i can see no good reason to eradicate the female role and merge the two, as i'm sure Enki loved his daughter as much as his son.

Enki placed his daughter Nanse in charge of the shrine Sirara because it sat over the wide extent of the marsh and she had influence over the high flood of subterranean waters. Nanse was known as 'she who sets sail', and 'she who induces sexual intercourse'. She was her father's daughter.

a reply to: deadeyedick


You are within the world when you begin to notice that things somehow aren't quite right and the realization hits you that you are in fact dreaming, and have become conscious within such, a lucid dreamer, at that point you perhaps become startled and awake, or remain calm and continue to explore the dream world...

Interestingly the records for the Household of Nanse when she resided in her place at Sirara have been recovered, and also it is recorded in the Lament for Sumer the destruction of her household and the taking away of her En priests into captivity by the Elamites.



It generally seems to be the case that the neighbours of Sumer looked upon their culture with envy and plundered it, the taking into captivity of En Priests and Priestesses one of the main objectives, the aquisition of knowledge and hopefully Divine privilege,

This is what Enlil, the one who determines destinies, did: Enlil brought down the Elamites, the enemy, from the highlands. Nanše, the noble daughter, was settled outside the city. The province of Lagaš was handed over to Elam. And then the queen also reached the end of her time.

The city of Nanše, Niĝin, was delivered to the foreigners. Sirara, her beloved dwelling, was handed over to the evil ones. "Alas, the destroyed city, my destroyed house," she cried bitterly. Its sacred Ĝipar of en priesthood was defiled. Its en priest was snatched from the Ĝipar and carried off to enemy territory.