| Humbaba | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Other Names |
Ḫuwawa |
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First Appearance |
Mesopotamian Myth |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Humbaba, originally known as Ḫuwawa in Sumerian, was a figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The origin and meaning of his name are unknown. He was portrayed as an anthropomorphic figure comparable to an ogre or giant. He is best known from Sumerian and Akkadian narratives focused on the hero Gilgamesh, including short compositions belonging to the curriculum of scribal schools, various versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and several Hurrian and Hittite adaptations. He is invariably portrayed as the inhabitant or guardian of the cedar forest, to which Gilgamesh ventures with his companion Enkidu. The subsequent encounter leads to the death of Humbaba, which provokes the anger of the gods. Humbaba is also attested in other works of Mesopotamian literature. Multiple depictions of him have also been identified, including combat scenes and apotropaic clay heads.
It has been suggested that the iconography of Humbaba influenced depictions of the gorgons in Greece, in particular scenes of Perseus slaying Medusa with the help of Athena. A late derivative of Humbaba also seems to be found in both Jewish and Manichaean versions of the Book of Giants, where one of the eponymous beings is referred to as Ḥôbabiš, Ḥôbabis or Ḥōbāīš. While it is agreed the name is derived from his own, the context in which it appears shows no similarity to known myths involving him. Traces of Ḥôbabiš have also been identified in a number of later works belonging to Islamic tradition, such as religious polemics. A number of connections have also been proposed between Humbaba and figures such as Kombabos from the works of Lucian or biblical Hobab, but they are not regarded as plausible.
Humbaba appears in multiple works of Mesopotamian literature focused on the hero Gilgamesh, in which he invariably acts as his adversary during a quest to obtain cedar wood from a distant forest.
The oldest composition describing the confrontation between Gilgamesh and Humbaba has two versions, the Sumerian Gilgamesh and Huwawa A and Gilgamesh and Huwawa B (Gilgamesh was previously read as Bilgames A and Bilgames and Ḫuwawa B). Copies of version A are more common.
In version A, Gilgamesh encounters Humbaba after realizing the impermanence of life prompts him to embark on a quest to bring cedar wood to his city to acquire lasting fame. When Humbaba notices Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu cut down one of the trees, he uses one of his auras to stun them. After awakening Gilgamesh vows that he will not go back before he finds out whether the attacker is human or divine. Enkidu doubts if they can defeat him, but he is eventually convinced by Gilgamesh’s bravado. Due to the powers the auras grant to Humbaba, he cannot be defeated through conventional means, and Enkidu suggests tricking him into willfully casting them off. Gilgamesh accomplishes that by offering him various bribes, including goods not available in the remote forest such as fine flour, water in leather containers, small and big sandals, gemstones and other similar gifts, as well as a promise that he will be able to marry his sisters.
The scene is presumed to be humorous, and seems to portray Humbaba as lonely and gullible. Humbaba accepts Gilgamesh’s proposal, and offers him his auras, which are described as cedar-like and possible to cut into logs for transport. As soon as he gives up on the last of the auras and loses his invulnerability, Gilgamesh strikes him. After being punched in the face, he pleads to be let go. He first addresses Utu, lamenting that he never knew his parents and was instead raised by the sun god himself and by the mountains, and then Gilgamesh, who at first takes pity on him. He asks Enkidu if he agrees to let Humbaba go, but he rejects this proposal. Humbaba turns towards him, and complains that he has no place to advise on such matters because he is only a servant.
In response, Enkidu cuts his throat. This constitutes a reversal, as through the earlier sections of the story he was meant to act as a voice of reason, advising Gilgamesh to act cautiously. He then cuts off his head and places it in a leather bag. The protagonists take their trophy to the god Enlil, angering him, possibly because he finds the abuse of Humbaba’s trust unacceptable. He states that Gilgamesh should have treated him with respect, and that they both deserved to be similarly honored. However, neither Gilgamesh or Enkidu are punished for their actions in the end. Enlil subsequently redistributes Humbaba’s auras:
- "He gave Ḫuwawa’s first aura to the fields"
- "He gave his second aura to the rivers"
- "He gave his third aura to the reed-beds"
- "He gave his fourth aura to the lions"
- "He gave his fifth aura to the palace"
- "He gave his sixth aura to the forests"
- "He gave his seventh aura to Nungal"
The plot of version B is largely analogous. It is substantially shorter than version A, and it is often proposed that it is more archaic, though the available copies of both are contemporaneous with each other. A difference between the plots of the two versions occurs after the heroes wake up after being stunned by Humbaba’s aura: in version B Gilgamesh doubts his ability, and invokes the god Enki to help him, which the latter does by apparently providing the instructions for tricking Humbaba through Enkidu, enabling the rest of the events to unfold similarly. However, only the footwear is mentioned among the offered gifts. The ending of version B is not preserved, but it is sometimes argued that Humbaba was spared in it.
The defeat of Humbaba is also mentioned as one of the great deeds of Gilgamesh in Bilgames’ Death, another of the early standalone Gilgamesh narratives.
A number of the early compositions about Gilgamesh were eventually adapted into the form of a singular epic, possibly either during the reign of Rim-Sîn I of Larsa or Hammurabi and Samsu-iluna of Babylon. The Humbaba narrative was among them, though the version known from the Epic of Gilgamesh is not a direct translation of the Sumerian texts, but rather an original composition influenced by them.
In the Old Babylonian version of the Epic, Humbaba is first mentioned when Gilgamesh proposes an expedition to his forest to brighten the mood of Enkidu. In contrast with older narratives, he is apparently well known to the inhabitants of Uruk, rather than an unexpected encountered in the forest without prior notice. He is described as a fearsome figure with a strange face by the elders of Uruk, while Enkidu states that “everything is altered” about his appearance. However, there is no indication that he was necessarily larger than a human, and his power similarly as in earlier texts derives from his auras, here designated by the Akkadian words melammū. In contrast with the Sumerian narratives, they do not render him invulnerable, but the Akkadian version provides him with a new power instead: his voice has supernatural properties, with the copy of the epic presently in the Yale Babylonian Collection stating that "his voice is the Deluge, his mouth is fire, his breath is death" and a fragment from Tell Ishchali attributing the formation of Sirion and Lebanon to his roar. Another new addition is a reference to the possibility of defeating him with the help of divine forces of Shamash and Lugalbanda. He is also explicitly identified as a guardian of the forest, and his presence requires specific precautions. Enkidu also already encountered him in the past, and tells Gilgamesh that he familiarized himself with him while still roaming the wilderness. He highlights that he is a dangerous adversary, and additionally states that the cedar forest where he resides is also guarded by the god Wer.
The elders of Uruk also warn Gilgamesh about Humbaba, but he rejects the pleas and embarks on the journey to the cedar forest alongside Enkidu. The surviving copy of this section on the Yale tablet breaks off before the confrontation with Humbaba occurs. However, further details are provided by other, shorter fragments, which indicate that during the journey Gilgamesh had a number of dreams foretelling his confrontation with Humbaba, in which the guardian of the cedar forest appears in various symbolic non-anthropomorphic guises meant to highlight his power: as an avalanche, a thunderstorm, an Anzû bird and a wild bull. The dreams differ slightly between known copies. They might either originate in an earlier textual source which has yet to be discovered or oral tradition, or constitute an invention of the compilers of the epic. While no known sources describe the battle between Humbaba and Gilgamesh, a fragment from Tell Harmal seemingly does detail his submission, and might indicate that in this version he knew about his incoming defeat due to a dream vision sent by Shamash. A reference to his death occurs on a tablet from Tell Ishchali, and possibly on an unprovenanced one presently held in Baghdad, though the accounts differ and the latter might instead describe the fate of an unidentified figure belonging to his household. The former indicates that his demise was accompanied by an earthquake. # In the Standard Babylonian edition, Humbaba is first mentioned when Gilgamesh proposes a journey to the cedar forest to Enkidu, similarly as in older narratives. Enkidu is initially reluctant, and describes Humbaba as a fearsome being assigned to his position by Enlil.
However, eventually the two heroes decide to embark together. While leaving, Gilgamesh mentions Humbaba announcing his plans to the inhabitants of Uruk.
After a long journey Gilgamesh and Enkidu reach the cedar forest. After entering it, they hear Humbaba’s roar, which compared to the voice of Adad, the Mesopotamian weather god. A detailed description of his dwelling is preserved on the Sulaymaniyah copy, and constitutes one of the only known passages in Mesopotamian literature focused on landscape. It highlights the beauty of the entangled trees and states that the entire area was scented with cedar resin.
In a broken passage, Humbaba learns about the arrival of intruders in his forest, seemingly guesses that one of them must be Enkidu, who he already met in the past, and possibly expresses joy about their reunion. After a lacuna, the story resumes after the confrontation between the protagonists and Humbaba has already begun. The latter criticizes Gilgamesh for coming to his forest, declaring that he was following the “advice of an idiot fellow”. He also insults Enkidu, calling him “spawn of a fish, who knew no father, hatchling of terrapin and turtle”, highlights that he “sucked no mother's milk”, referencing the unusual circumstances of his birth and early life; the second insult clarifies the purpose of the first, as the animals mentioned are not mammals and do not consume milk in infancy. He once again remarks that he already met Enkidu in the past, insinuates that bringing Gilgamesh to his forest constitutes treachery, and promises to kill the latter and feed him to carrion birds.
After Humbaba's speech, Gilgamesh loses his bravado and doubts if he can succeed, but Enkidu encourages him to not give up and the battle begins, with the ferocity of the three participants splitting the mountain apart. It continues until Shamash sends thirteen winds to tilt the scales in favor of Gilgamesh. He earlier prepared them at the request of Gilgamesh's mother, Ninsun. Humbaba is immobilized and blinded, and starts to beg for his life. He praises Gilgamesh, highlighting his descent from Ninsun, and offers that if kept alive, he will guard the forest on his behalf. However, Enkidu urges him to ignore his pleas. Wasserman argues that while he did not respond to Humbaba's insults in the earlier section of the text, it can be assumed that his choice in this passage was likely triggered by them. Humbaba tries to ask him to change his mind, but he is ignored once again. Enkidu instead urges Gilgamesh to kill him quickly to avoid the anger of the gods who might hear about their actions, singling out Enlil and Shamash in particular. Humbaba's reaction is not fully preserved, but it apparently angers Enkidu, who once again tells Gilgamesh to kill him. Humbaba curses his captors in response.
This prompts Enkidu to urge Gilgamesh to act yet again, this time successfully. Gilgamesh pulls out a dagger and stabs Humbaba in the neck. Enkidu then eviscerates him and pulls out his teeth; it has been suggested that the passage draws inspiration from imagery associated with elephant hunts, historically performed in Syria by both Mesopotamian and Egyptian rulers, and that the teeth might specifically be elephant-like tusks.
The same tablet indicates that afterwards the heroes decide to get rid of the only witnesses of the battle, the seven sons of Humbaba, apparently an otherwise unattested personification of his auras, partially tree-like and partially comparable to demons.
This scene seemingly reflects the perception of Humbaba as an evil force who had to be vanquished, present elsewhere in the epic, rather than the speech directly preceding it, which the translators compare to the actions a murderer rapidly coming up with a justification for the act by blaming the victim, which according to their judgment adds “to the poem’s reputation for insight into the human condition” and marks the poet behind it as a “shrewd observer of the human mind”.
Subsequently Enkidu suggests to Gilgamesh that they should fashion a great door from the cedars to offer it to Enlil to avoid his wrath. They decide to transport it to Nippur to present it to this god in his temple Ekur. They also take the head of Humbaba with them. Frans Wiggermann suggests that it was affixed somewhere in the Ekur as a trophy.
It plays no further role in the narrative. Humbaba is nonetheless mentioned again when Enkidu relays the dream he had in which the gods judged his actions and despite the pleas of Shamash declared he has to die because of the role he played in the deaths of the guardian of the cedar forest and the Bull of Heaven, apparently with nearly immediate effect. Humbaba’s curse thus comes true. His demise is also mentioned by Gilgamesh when he introduces himself to the alewife Siduri.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Humbaba from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Gilgamesh and Huwawa
- Epic of Gilgamesh