1^2 Lutz, Viticulture and Brewing. 



how important a role water and irrigation played in Baby- 

 lonia i. 



A Vinegod appears by the name ^'"S'''Pa-gestin-dug 2, "the 

 good vinestalk", whose consort was '^'"S'rNin-kasi, "the lady of 

 the inebriating fruit", also called ^'"^'''Sa-bil, i. e., "she who 

 causes burning". She is also mentioned by the name '^''^s'"^ Kas- 

 tin-nam, "the intoxicating beverage, which decreed life". As 

 her mother appears the goddess ^ingirNin-til, "the lady of life", 

 ciingirga-bil is the mother of nine children ^, who seem all to 

 have some connection with intoxicating drinks, or describing 

 an effect of the use of alcohoHc- beverages. In the list 

 dingirgij-}g js mentioned first. Her name refers to "beer" or 

 any intoxicant not prepared from grape-vine. This goddess 

 is followed by '^'"s'^'SIM + KAS. a certain kind of beer prepared 

 of barley and an addition of spices, and '^'"g'''SIM-|-KAS-gig, pro- 

 bably a dark kind of beer. The names, which follow, describe 

 the effects of beer or wine. Here we meet with ''"g'''Me-hus, who 

 may perhaps best be translated by "the brawler", literally, 

 "he of frightening speech". The fifth child is called dingi.jyje. 

 azag, i. e., "he of a clear speech"; the sixth, '''"S'^Eme-te, i. e., 

 "he of an eloquent tongue"; the seventh '^'"g'^'Ki-dur-ka-zal, 

 i. e., "he of the abode of mirth"; the eighth, di"&'''Nu-silig-ga, 

 i. e., "the braggart", or, "the boaster", and the last, dingirNin- 

 ma-da, i. e., "the lord of the land". Ninkasi lives on Mount 

 Sabu, which, of course, is not a geographical designation, but 

 means either "the mount of the taverner", or, "the mount of 

 retailing (scil. beer or "wine)"'*. The god Ninurta, at least 

 in one instance (see Meissner, Altorient. Texte nnd Untersuchun- 



i) For wine in the incantation literature see Ebeling, KART, II, No. 62, 

 lines 10 13. karanti n-pat-ra qable-ka lis-sa-pah sepe-ka dan-ntt ki-ri-mu-ka 

 li-i?'-mn-ka. 



2) See CT XXIV, 10. 22 ff. 



3)' They are sailed ilimmu-dnt diimii-ines dingirJSfin-ka-si-gc vius-lah-lah- 

 e-ne an-na-ge, i. e., "they aie the nine children of Ninkasi, the "snake-drivers" 

 of "heaven". 



4) Ninkasi is called in CT, XV, 41, 24: geme-tug-tug dagar-ra me-te- 

 gar ^ sinnistu itpistu ummti sa ana simati saknat , i. e. , "the clever woman, 

 who tends to the giving of drinks". Sim&ti seems to be etyraologically con- 

 nected with sibu, and sabhi^.l). 



