The Human Origins and His Role in Sumerian Akkandian and Egyptian Texts

Introduction

Without a sense of the past there is no memory, no conscience, and no responsibility If we seek to understand the cognitive environment of the ancient world, we must endeavor to comprehend how people thought about the past. How people understand the past provides a key for action in the present. This research topic is divided into two sections: the first deals with the origin s and the human being and the second deals with the role of human being in the cosmos (world).

The bone of my contention is the issue of evolution theory (man develop from simple animal to complex) Ethics which in the 20th Century, EE was Upheld by J. Huxley, C Waddington (Britain), E. Holt R. Gerard (USA) teilhard de Chardin (France) and others. E.E regards man’s moral behaviors’ as the functions of his adaptation to the environment. The criterion of morality is the process of development embracing the whole living world. Everything that promoted it is good; everything that hampers it is evil. Man process moral ideas and concepts to have his bearings in natural and social phenomena. Society is but the highest form of the natural association of living beings of the same species. In this regard the researcher will want to disproof the evolution theory by profile the facts about human origin according to historical point of view.

Accounts of or allusions to Human Origins are Found in Sumerian Akkandian, and Egyptian texts. Most of the accounts are brief (a couples of lines) with the longest ones (Enki and Ninmah and Atrahasis) extending for several dozen lines.

1. Song of the Hoe
2. Hymn to E-engura
3. Enki and Ninmah Akkadian
4. Atrahasis
5. Enuma Fish
6. Egyptian
7. Pyramid Texts 445, 522 (Khnum on Potter’s Wheel)
8. Coffin Texts
9. Coffin Texts Spell 1130
10. Instruction of Merikare

Neither Egyptian nor Sumerian accounts put human origins in the Context of conflict among the gods as the Akkadian accounts do, though two of the Sumerian accounts indicate that people are taking over the work of the gods. The accounts typically focus on the process and materials of creation, and the rules or functions of humankind. The Ancient Near Eastern texts typically speak of human origins in collective terms (polygenesis). There is no indication of an original human pair that became the progenitors of the entire human race (monogenesis) this is one of the distinctive of the Genesis account.

The only extent text that has been suspected of depicting on original human pair is KAR4. This idiosyncratic text has both Akkadian and Sumerian versions, with the main Example from Ashur dated about 1100BC the most important line (19-49) describe all the intended function of the human beings that the gods are planning to creates line 39 says, “they will be named Ullegarra and Annegarra” the problem is that these names, which seem like they could be the names of the first human in the context, are preceded by the divine determinative, which suggests that they belong to divine realm. This text still has many uncertainties connected to its reading and interpretation.

The next then sees people multiplying and anticipates that “learned person after learned person unlearned after unlearned will spring up like the grain, springing up not being born. This is still far from the Israelites’ view of Adam (or Noah for that matter) as the progenitor of the race. These has little knowledge about human origin but fail to have a broader understanding about who the creator is because they mentioned gods instead of God the creator of heaven and the earth and all the living creative including man (Human beings).

What are Humans made of? Though there are numerous common motifs, there is no consciousness in the Ancient Near East Concerning what humans are made of. Two Sumerian accounts portray people breaking out from the ground (song of the Hoe, Hymn to E-engura). Clay alone is used in the Egyptian Pyramid Text (Using a potter’s wheel) and in one Sumerian account (Enki and Ninmah)’s Some Egyptian accounts use a product from the living creator deity, whereas Akkadian accounts products from a slain rebel deity. In Atrahasis both flesh and blood are used, whereas in Enuma Elish and KAR4 only the blood is mentioned. Only in Atrahasis is there a combination of common and divine materials. Divine infusion may be represented by means of the mother goddess giving birth to humans (Enki and Ninmah) or by the divine breath (coffin Texts instruction of merikare). Thus in the coffin Texts deity states: “I will lead them and enliven them, through my mouth which is life in their nostrils. I will lead my breath into their threats” (refers to all creatures not just human).

In the Israelite account the elements are dust and the breath of Deity; these have a ring of familiarity about them but which some important distinction. Like the number of the Ancient Near Eastern account there is no physical element provided by the Deity (tears, blood or flesh) the breath, as in the Egyptian accounts is not a part of Deity, though it indicates that Deity is the source of life. In both Egypt and Israel, this indicates that breath of the Deity characterizes all sentient life, not Jesus humans. The ingredients used in human creation offers and archetypal analysis of what was belief about the nature of humanity by those who preserved these account. The difference between polyganism and monoganism points, among other things to a basis difference in the role the archetype plays and how humanity is subsequently viewed. Archetypal humanity is represented in Mesopotamian texts in at least two identifiable ways.

First and most common is in its corporate and collective representation. This corporate identity make clear that the account of human origins, featuring discussions of role and ingredients, extend brought to all humanity.

Second Representation is in the Enki and Ninma, in which the mother goddess, Ninmah, undertakes the challenge of creating archetypes of certain handicapped or defective classes of humans for which Enki the god of wisdom, has to find a role Archetypal discussion by definition focuses on connectedness and relationship because archetypal offer a paradigm or an example.

The archetypes establish a pattern and stand as a representative of a specified class. Connective and relationship are vital in trying to understand the ancient sense of personal and corporate identity. One aspect of this can be seen in an Akkadian wordplay that connects the term form “man” (awilu) with the term for god (ilu). Hebrew also offer word play connection of the archetypal nature be indicating the term ‘Adam is appropriate since he is drawn from adamah (ground) and Issah (woman) is taking from is (man) by offering an understanding of how things fit together these wordplay reflected a sense of order, several association of archetypal relationship are addressed in the ancient world:

1. Humans to Deity
2. Male to Female
3. Humans to Created world
4. Human to Previous and future generations.

Even the modern theologians argue whether the human person is best understood by trichotomy body soul and spirit: dichotomy body and soul/spirit. The Ancient world shared some of the concern for understanding the human person, but it view the person quite differently than we does. Egyptian and Israelite literatures portray the deity giving the breath of life to mundane materials invigorating than to serve in the role of divine images. In Egyptian thinking human nature was composed of the body (djer-body as well as the ha’ll-body) the akh, the Ka and the ba and designations such as hear, belle, shadow and name the terms ka and are impossible to terms late adequately into English (or Greek or Lati) because they do not have equivalent ideas in western culture. In note shell “Ka” translate as body or whole being “Ba” is translated as soul while “Akri” is translated as spirit or ghost best on my carefully observation and critical thinking about the three words. Hebrews terminology does not corresponds with Egyptian or Mesopotamian terminology and better than it corresponds with modern English.

The Israelite concepts of basar (flesh) nephesh (often translated “soul” of life) and ruah (usually translated “spirit best on the above definition am strongly belief that man is trichotomy body soul and spirit. Unlike some people believed man to be dichotomy body and soul. What is the Human Role in the Cosmos (World)? According to John H. Walton stated, that the roles as assigned to human bind them to the gods in servitude. Egyptian sources offer no Explanation for the creation of the humans. Sumerian and Akkadian sources consistently portray people as living being created to do the work of the gods, and work that they are tired of doing for themselves. Enki and Ninmah: Servants for the gods the convey of the gods will be their convee: they will fix the boundaries of the fields once and for all and take in their hand hoes and basket, to benefit the house of the great gods Atrakasis: let him bear the yoke, the task of Enlil, let man assume the drudgery of god. Enuma Elish: To bear the gods burden that those may rest. Serve God. The difference was that they saw humanity as having been given a priestly role in sacred space rather than as slave labor to meet the need of deity, God planted Garden to provide food for people rather than people providing food for gods.

The explanation offered in KAR4 shows that the priestly role of people was included in the profile, but still in terms of providing sustenance for gods. The shared cognitive environment is evident in that all across the ancient world there was interest in exploring the divine component of human kind and ontological relationship between the human and the divine. In Mesopotamia the cosmos functions for the gods and in relationship to them, while in Israel the cosmos functions for people and in relationship to them. In the note shell the role of human being in the cosmos is to serve and worship God throughout his life and to depend on God for sustainer.

Conclusion

Without a sense of the past there is no memory, no conscience no responsibility. Hausa people will say “waiwaya maganin mantuwa” Meaning “looking (back) will help you not to forget the past and have a sense of direction in life”. Having looking at the human origins and his role we made to understand that we humans were created by God of heaven and the earth, unlike the scientific view on evolution theory that man developed from simple animal to the complex, this theory confused many people and even confuse themselves. The role of humanity is to serve, and worship the living creator God and to live for him now and forever.