Preparation for a Journey. The Prerequisites.

Proerosia: Pre Ploughing Rites.

Late August to early September bring the first anticipation of rain. In central Mediterranean it is these first rains that quench the parched earth that herald the new season's harvests. It is these first rains that renew the vegetation that feeds both animals and man himself. But for that to happen the gods demand supplication.

The oldest known sources of the journey in myth, appear in Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets. The story takes the name of "Inanna's Descent into the Netherworld". It is a metaphorical representation of the sowing of the cereals. It represents the first phase of the biological cycle in cereal cultivation, and starts with the sowing of the seed grain behind a plough. But there were certain prerequisites before the journey starts. In the Sumerian farmer's Almanak the cycle starts with the flooding of the fields. In Mesopotamia, the land between the two rivers, irrigation had been established. The Sumerian farmer prayed to Ninkilim, goddess of field mice, that she then kept mice away from the growing grain.

The Proerosia, as in Greek folklore, appears to have had a different meaning. The pre-ploughing rites were directed to one lesser goddess, Daeira. Recent research indicates that the name seems to mean "Lady of the Waters". A S Nikolaev says that "the goddess' association with water is original". The goddess Daeira was associated with wetness, and had control on 'moisture'. It is apparent that since this rite preceded the ploughing and sowing it had a connection to the early autumn rains. It is also evident that now grain growth relied on rain for a viable harvest.

There is a curious phonetic similarity between the name Daeira or Daira and the Semitic word "tira" which means humidity (in Maltese agriculture tira refers to soil humidity). However that word and in the context of 'humidity' is to be found in an Ugaritic saying. It is translated from cuneiform by Cyrus Gordon as: "dew of heavens, fat of earth".

TL.XMM.XMN.arS

tl smm smn ars

(dew of heavens, fat of earth)

Voiced in Maltese (with l > to r; final s=ts) as

" tira semma simna art "

It is appropriate then, that in countries that rely on rainfall for their harvest, and thus protection from famines, that some 'rain goddess', like Daeira, be remembered and duly propitiated. Prayer for rain does go back to remote history.

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