Kula'utam epesum: gender ambiguity and contempt in mesopotamia.

• Author: Peled, Ilan
• Position: Essay

THE TEXTUAL ATTESTATIONS OF KULU'U

We will begin by presenting the textual documentation of kulu'u, a term which is rarely attested in Mesopotamian sources. This limited documentation poses an obstacle for the modern scholar and limits our ability to comprehend the meaning of the term. As a result, we cannot know for certain whether kulu 'u denoted a real figure or rather stood for the general concept of effeminacy.

It is commonly accepted that kulu 'u was related to the much better attested kalu (Sumerian gala). (1) The latter was originally a professional lamenter, who joined in the course of history the cult of Istar, and eventually became one of the goddess's most notable attendants. (2) It is not clear, however, whether kulu'u stands for a different concept than kalu, or whether the two designate essentially the same figure. (3) Even though scholars are divided in this matter, the Akkadian dictionaries unanimously opt for the first option. (4) Indeed, for reasons specified below, I presume that unlike kalu, the term kulu 'u denotes the general concept of male effeminacy, and not a specific figure. It seems improbable, nonetheless, that the two terms are completely to be disassociated, given their phonetic and partial semantic similarities.

The effeminate characteristics of the kalu have been discussed quite often by scholars, (5) and these may explain why a concept expressing male effeminacy such as kulu 'u could have derived from it. In order to clarify my view of the meaning of kulu 'u, I hereby present all of its known textual attestations, (6) and briefly discuss their contexts. Though eleven cases will be examined, it will be suggested that three of them involve a different term than kulu'u.

EXAMPLE 1: "ISTAR'S DESCENT TO THE NETHERWORLD"

The first attestation of kulu'u appears in the mythological composition "listar's Descent to the Netherworld," known to us in both Sumerian and Akkadian versions. It tells of Inanna/ Istar's journey to the realm of the dead and her imprisonment there. Subsequently, the god Enki/Ea creates special beings which he sends to revive and rescue the goddess. In the Sumerian version these creatures are the galaturra ('junior gala') and kurgarra (Sumerian writing for kurgarra), while in the Akkadian versions they are replaced by kulu'u (in the Middle Assyrian version from Assur) or by assinnu (in the Neo-Assyrian version from Nineveh). Thus the text supplies an aetiological explanation for the raison d'etre of these cultic attendants in real life, and illuminates the special relationship they had with their patron goddess. In the Middle Assyrian version, the creation of the figure dubbed kulu 'u by Ea is told as follows:

6 [(de)]-'a' sarru(man) i-na em-qi lib-bi-su a[-ma-tam (ib-ta-ni)] (7)

7 [(ib-ni-m)]a as-na-me-er ku-lu- '[-u?]

6 King Ea created the w[ord] in his wise heart, 7 he created Asnamer the kulu'u. (KAR 1 rev. 6-7 (8))

It is important to note that the term kulu'u is not preceded here by the determinative lu, while in contrast, the determinative is present in the Neo-Assyrian version before the term assinnu:

11 de-a ina em-qi lib-bi-su ib-ta-ni z[i]k-ru

12 ib-ni-ma me-su-na-mir lu as-sin-nu

11 Ea created the w[o]rd in his wise heart, 12 he created Asusunamir the assinnu. (CT 15.46 rev. 11-12)

The absence of the determinative in the Middle Assyrian version may indicate that the term kulu'u did not designate a profession, in contrast with the assinnu. As we will see, nowhere is kulu'u written with this determinative.

We can only speculate why the term kulu'u was regarded by the Middle Assyrian scribes as adequate to replace the galaturra and kurgarra of the original Sumerian version. It may be suggested that by the Middle Assyrian period it was widely established that the Istar cult was comprised of, among other attendants, effeminate men, so that a general term conveying the notion of male effeminacy was considered by the Assyrian scribes of the period to be suitable for describing any member of the cult of this goddess.

This may have reflected an Assyrian understanding of gender conventions that had been formulated centuries earlier within the Babylonian culture and that were not fully grasped by the Assyrians. Later on, however, the Neo-Assyrian copyists chose the assinnu to replace kulu'u, perhaps because both shared the essence of male effeminacy--see below. However, assinnu was closer to the figures of the original version of the tale, the gala and kurgarra, as the designation of a particular attendant of Istar.

This scenario is admittedly conjectural; however, it may explain the differences between the various versions of the myth and their evolution, as well as the reasons for the different figures that appear in it. More significant to the present discussion, it illuminates the relation between kulu'u and several of Inanna/Istar's cult attendants. It is proposed that this example demonstrates that kulu'u was a cover term that could include all the others: gala, kurgarru, and assinnu, even if kulu 'u was not the designation of a specific figure.

EXAMPLE 2: THE LEXICAL LIST IGI.TUH.A

In a Neo-Assyrian manuscript of the list igi.tuh.a = tamartu (short version) (9) we find the following entries: (10)

265 lu[ur.munus] ku-lu-'

266 lu ur-munus as/i-sin-nu

265 [man-woman] kulu'u

266 man-woman assinnu/isinnu

George (2006: 175) and Gabbay (2008: 52 n. 29) believe that the kulu'u was a hermaphrodite, and its equivalence with the term ur-munus, 'man-woman', in the above excerpt is taken by them as supporting evidence for their view.

However, accepting this logic requires us to regard the assinnu as a hermaphrodite as well, because he is also paralleled by ur-munus. A more probable interpretation is that urmunus is a synonym for assinnu, (11) and that in the above excerpt from igi.tuh.a, if indeed correctly reconstructed in line 265, kulu'u and assinnu are equated. Since these two terms are obviously different from one another, it should not be taken on face value that both are exact synonyms of ur-munus. While all these terms shared semantic meaning, (12) it seems highly improbable that ur-munus and kulu 'u were exact synonyms.

EXAMPLE 3: LTBA LIST OF SYNONYMS

Further relevant lexical entries appear in the following passage from a Neo-Assyrian list of synonyms:

45'//380 a.si?.nu (13) ku-lu- '

46'//381 pil-pi-lu-u (14) min

47'/382 kur-ga-ru-u (15) min

48'//383 a-ra-ru-u min

45'//380 assinnu kulu'u

46'//381 pilpilu ditto

47'//382 kurgarru ditto

48'//383 araru ditto

(LTBA 2.1 vi 45'-48' // 2.2:380-8315 (16))

Interestingly, kulu'u serves here as a term parallel to several others: assinnu, pilpilu, kurgarru, and araru. It is clear, however, that none of these terms is a direct synonym of kulu'u, because based on other attestations of these terms, we know that each of them was different from the rest and had its own characteristics and peculiarities. Significantly, all these figures bear third-gender traits, (17) a fact which Gabbay (2008: 52 n. 29) explains as indicating that kulu 'u was "a general concept referring to the physical features which were shared by these five functionaries." As is argued in this paper, it is indeed likely that kulu'u was a general term rather than a designation of a specific figure; however, it is questionable whether this term referred to human physical attributes.

We may conclude that the evidence from the lexical lists demonstrates that the term kulu'u shared certain semantics with several designations of third-gender figures, but was not necessarily identical to any of them.

EXAMPLE 4: "THE SIEGE OF URSU"

A few references to kulu'u exist in historical texts, and these give us additional valuable insights concerning its meaning. The first to be discussed is an Old Hittite text commonly known as "The Siege of Ursu" (CTH 7), (18) which is believed to be a semi-historical/ semi-fictional composition. The story tells how the Hittite army repeatedly fails to conquer an enemy city. The Hittite king becomes enraged with his incompetent commanders, and accuses them as follows:

i-na-an-na ku-la-u-tam te-pu-us

Now you have behaved as a kulu'u!

(KBo 1.11 rev. 13)

The scornful remark reappears soon afterwards:

17 ku-li-e-es-sar mu-im-ma mTu-ut-ha-li-ia

18 i-pu-us i-na-an-na at-ta te-pu-us ku-la-u-tam

17 Last year Tudhaliya 18 behaved 17 (in the manner of) kulessar. 18 Now you have behaved as a kulu'u!

(KBo 1.11 rev. 17-18)

From the context of these quotations we may understand that the Hittite term kulessar was analogous to the Akkadian phrase kula'utam epesum, 'behave as kulu'u'. Puhvel (HED 4: 303, s.v. ku(wa)liya-) and Hoffner (2000: 75) have suggested that Hittite kulessar is a derivative from ku(wa)liya-, and interpreted it as 'be calm(ed), be passive'. This attribution of masculine incompetence on the battlefield, equated with behavior characteristic of a kulu'u, in this text constitutes an insult. The term kulu'u appears here as a derogatory phrase that stands in contrast to the conduct expected from a manly warrior, (19) a theme we encounter elsewhere, as in the following example.

EXAMPLE 5: LETTER ADDRESSED TO KING MUTAKKIL-NUSKU

Interestingly, kulu'u is used in a similar fashion in a different place and at a different time. During the twelfth century b.c.e., Mutakkil-Nusku became king of Assyria by deposing the former king, his own brother, Ninurta-tukulti-Assur. The dethroned king was subsequently forced into exile and found asylum in Babylonia. Thereafter, the Assyrian usurper and Babylonian Kassite king conducted a diplomatic correspondence concerning this political affair. A passage from one of these letters sent by the Babylonian king to his Assyrian counterpart states as follows: (20)

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