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| Eunuch priest of Cybele |
On this Day of Remembrance, Laeviss sees fit to draw attention to those who move unseen throughout the worlds, those Invisible Beings of No-Man's Land, the ones who slip through the cracks of history like Sleipnir through the Nine Realms and wind up tossed by the winds of time, forgotten, gone, returned back to the Pieces of Dirt they were created from, and with barely a footnote to mark their passage.
Now largely ignored by historians, writers and scholars, who move most comfortably within the current world of duality, where everything is orderly and everyone fits into neat little profiles of either this or that, the third gendered eunuch priests of the Goddess once flourished. Created by the gods in order to work specific magic in the material plane, the various cultures in which these beings functioned all agreed on one thing: they were made of the Earth. They sprang from the ground, whereupon sacred blood flowed. They were pinched from pieces of clay. They were formed from the dirt found underneath a deity's fingernails.
Laeviss once wrote: "The eunuch priests (galli or gallae, depending on which gender one assigned them) of the goddess Cybele impressed observers with their fine raiment and elaborate hairstyles and jewelry. They were nicknamed “the long-haired ones” and reserved their hair for Cybele’s honour, occasionally sacrificing a lock on Her altar. They believed that Cybele would only accept offerings of blond hair, so they dyed their hair if it wasn’t already that colour. They served as diviners, healers, counselors and ritual leaders, offering prayers, songs, poetry and dance to the Goddess and Her lover, Attis. They were artists, musicians and dramatists, and were considered to exist between the world of the Sacred and the Mundane realm that most people inhabit. They exhibited qualities of both male and female genders. Being eunuchs, they were neither male nor female, but could encompass all possibilities. A touch or a blessing from them was considered extremely fortunate for the recipient."
Fortunate. A blessing, created by the gods, for the Earth.
And now, largely forgotten. Even in books. Even in books on topics that closely, very closely, concern them. If they are mentioned by the author at all, it is as an aside. "Oh, yes. They existed, these No-Men. But they're boring, or have no relevance. Nobody would be interested in eunuchs. There are no eunuchs anymore, anyway. Nobody can relate to them, so I shan't write about them."
Laeviss hereby says, "Well, I shall. Eunuchs can be very, very interesting, especially since they were created by the gods specifically to bring "fortunate" aspects into material existence for their clients. I've said this before, but it bears repeating.
Way back, in the beginnings of civilization, the cultures into which the eunuchs brought their fortune were pretty much oral cultures. Most common people didn't need to be taught to read or write. They were told the stories. Which meant that the cultures were largely aural cultures. They heard, and understood.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, this oral/aural connection was noticed by Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, who wrote, "A Note on an Overlooked Wordplay in the Akkadian Gilgamesh." Scholars had argued for ages over whether Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the main characters in the story, were lovers or just unusually close, but platonic, companions. What Kilmer noticed was that some of the written words used in the epic would have sounded when spoken almost exactly like certain other words, words that had curiously applicable meanings to the discussion when considered.
The words in question seemed to without a doubt indicate that Gilgamesh and Enkidu were lovers. They also, however, seem to indicate that Enkidu was, in fact, not a man, but a eunuch priest of the Goddess.
The words stem from Gilgamesh's prophetic dreams, which he takes to his mother (who is a priestess in the Temple of Inanna) for interpretation. He tells her that he has dreamt of an object (usually translated as a "meteorite" or "falling star," but could be a ball, circle or cluster. Whatever it is, it's round or circular, like a crown or a globe.) This is named in the epic as a "kisru." What is terribly interesting is that this *sounds* just like the word "kezru," which is literally interpreted as "man with a woman's hairstyle" but actually meant "male prostitute."
Gilgamesh has dreamt that he will embrace this symbol "as a wife." His mother, the priestess, confirms this and tells him further that this object represents a being who he is fated to meet, and who will be loyal to him forever and repeatedly save him.
But wait, there's more! Gilgamesh has had more symbolic stuff in his dreams. He also saw a "hassinnu" (interpreted as a sacred axe) that he similarly embraced as a wife, and loved. Will it surprise anyone to hear that the almost identically-sounding word "assinnu" actually means "sacred eunuch prostitute in the service of the Goddess" (in this case, Inanna.) That's even more explicit in information than kisru/kezru is. Again, Gilgamesh's mother confirms that the axe is a man who is going to play a huge role in Gilgamesh's life, and who will always be loyal to him.
And the fun never ends. Stephanie Dalley pointed out yet another amazing bit of wordplay in the epic. This one occurs when Enkidu is being created. When told to create Enkidu, the goddess Aruru the potter receives the instruction "zikru" which means "word, speech." Aruru was told, via the creative magic of speech, to create what was "spoken." But "zikru" also means "double" or "equal" and also means "man." Aruru was told to create Gilgamesh's "equal/double/man." Someone just like him, in most respects. Except there can be only one king.
And then, Dalley found there existed a similar-sounding word to "zikru." This word was "sekru." This word meant, "eunuch/transvestite associated with the cult of the Goddess."
By now, anyone still thinking that Enkidu was meant as a manly male buddy for Gilgamesh had surely better be saying to himself, "Damn! We might have had it wrong all along."
Enkidu's purpose was to serve the goddess by serving Gilgamesh, and the way he did this was to ensure Gilgamesh's fame. He brought fortunate luck to Gilgamesh, as do eunuch priests of the goddess to their clients. He also died for Gilgamesh, in his stead. Fortunate indeed for the crown to have such a servant guarding his household.
