Lament and ritual weeping in the "negative confession" of the Babylonian Akītu festival

Mirelman, Sam

Abstract

This study seeks to contextualise the king’s “negative confession,” which took place in the spring Akītu Festival of Babylon, within the established norms of Mesopotamian ritual practice. The king’s humiliation is situated within the contexts of status reversal, lament and ritual weeping. The study includes a comparative almanac of the Akkadian prayer and/or exclamation known as šigû.

Citation

Mirelman, S. (2021). Lament and ritual weeping in the "negative confession" of the Babylonian Akītu festival. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 21, 42-74. https://doi.org/10.1163/15692124-12341318

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 23, 2020
• Publication Date: Sep 6, 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 25, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 25, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions
• Print ISSN: 1569-2116
• Electronic ISSN: 1569-2124
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Pages: 42-74
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15692124-12341318
• Keywords: Akītu; Babylon; lament; tears; šigû