Enki and Ninmah
Also known as: Enki and Ninhursag (variant attribution), Enki and the Creation of Humans, Enki and Nintu (Akkadian assimilation)
A Sumerian myth in which the god Enki, prompted by the mother goddess, fashions humans from clay to relieve the lesser gods of toil; a later drinking contest with Ninmah produces imperfect beings whose destinies Enki nonetheless assigns.
Description
This Sumerian narrative recounts how the mother goddess appeals to Enki to create humankind so the junior gods may be freed from labor. Enki designs the plan and, with the birth-goddess aspect Ninmah, shapes humans from clay drawn from the subterranean waters of the Abzu. In a later convivial contest, Ninmah crafts malformed persons to test Enki; he responds by decreeing dignified roles or protections for each, asserting divine order over contingency. The piece articulates a theology of pragmatic mercy and social function, explaining human origins and the fate of those born with impairments while elevating Enki’s inventive wisdom.
Historiography
Known primarily from Old Babylonian Sumerian tablets, the text survives in fragmentary copies from scribal centers such as Nippur. Its composition is probably earlier, with themes echoed in later Mesopotamian traditions. Modern editions rely on collated tablet fragments, especially those catalogued in the ETCSL, with restorations guided by parallels in Sumerian disputations and creation passages. Scholarly debate concerns the precise identification of the birth-goddess (Ninmah/Ninhursag/Nintu) and the original extent of the contest section.
Date Notes
Sumerian composition likely earlier than Old Babylonian copies; preserved on Old Babylonian tablets, with later scholarly citation/awareness in first millennium BCE
Major Characters
- Enki
- Ninmah
- Nammu
- Isimud
Myths
- The Fashioning of Humankind
- The Contest over Imperfect Creatures
Facts
- The text is in Sumerian and survives mainly in Old Babylonian copies.
- Humans are created from clay mixed with the waters of the Abzu under Enki’s direction.
- Ninmah functions as a birth-goddess, collaborating and then competing with Enki.
- A convivial contest produces impaired individuals whose roles are affirmed by divine decree.
- The myth justifies human labor as a transfer from the overburdened lesser gods.
- Enki’s response emphasizes order, accommodation, and social placement over rejection.
- The goddess name varies across manuscripts and later traditions (Ninmah/Ninhursag/Nintu).
- The work is distinct from but thematically related to "Enki and Ninhursag" and "Enki and the World Order".