Lil’ snippets of my new book Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore, and Fairy tale
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We’ve seen Kerridwen, Brigid, Medea, and the cauldrons in myth and legend. There are some more goddesses here but also - many real women standing at their cauldrons…
The oldest known beer recipe in the world sits on a clay tablet in cuneiform writing. It is called, in translation, "A hymn to Ninkasi" it is a glimpse into beer's ancient history, a beautiful ode etched into clay, we know it was women, most likely priestesses; who were thought to have sacred connections to the deities, who made this beer, and they made it both for, and with the help of, the goddess Ninkasi.
Ancient Sumerian settlements, located in Mesopotamia, is credited with both the invention of farming, written language, and of beer. It was a patriarchal society, and Sumerian women held significantly fewer rights than men. But in brewing beer, they had an opportunity to make a living and hold a position of respect as priestesses and creators; the Hymn to Ninkasi represents recognition of that. And the brewing craft was considered under divine protection from the goddess. Beer was used for religious ritual, medicine, and a day-to-day beverage and nourishment.
Along with the beer hymn the oldest known written culinary recipes also come from ancient Mesopotamia on tablets featuring recipes for lamb stew and soup with leek and garlic, they are kept in the archives of Yale University.
Ninkasi was the goddess who gifted women with instructions on beer-brewing, she was the patron of beer, but she was also the beer itself. Her spirit and essence infused the beer; her name means "the lady who fills the mouth." Spices and herbs were added to the beer that were also found in ancient medical remedies. Ninkasi was also associated with healing and fertility, nourishing and nurturing going hand in hand. Sumerian women brewed beer in, and as ceremony. And the image of the woman as brewer persisted well into the Middle Ages. In the following translation of the Hymn to Ninkasi; woven between the hypnotic words are detailed instructions for brewing beer, a sacred, feminine, life-sustaining craft. You get a sense of the song, movements and rhythm that would have been part of making this drink for their goddess.
In the hymn, Ninhursag is an earth goddess figure and 'Lady of the Mountain'. Ninkasis father is mentioned; Enki; God of Creation (Nidimmud), Fertility, Magic and Mischief. And Bappir is a barley bread that was primarily used in beer brewing. This translation is drawn from several academic versions.
Hymn to Ninkasi
Borne of the flowing water,
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,
Borne of the flowing water,
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,
Having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished its great walls for you,
Ninkasi, having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished its walls for you,
Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.
Ninkasi, your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.
You are the one who handles the dough and a big ladle,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with sweet aromatics,
Ninkasi, you are the one who handles the dough with a big ladle,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with dates and honey,
You are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,
Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,
You are the one who waters the malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the kings,
Ninkasi, you are the one who waters the malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the kings,
You are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.
Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.
You are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes,
Ninkasi, you are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes,
You are the one who holds with both hands the great sweet wort,
Brewing it with honey and wine
You the sweet wort to the vessel
Ninkasi, You the sweet wort to the vessel
The filtering barrel, which makes a pleasant sound,
You place well on top of a great barrel.
Ninkasi, the filtering, barrel which makes a pleasant sound,
You place well on top of a great barrel.
When you pour out the filtered beer from the cask,
Like the flow of Tigris and Euphrates.
Ninkasi, you are the one who pours out the filtered beer from the cask,
Like the flow of Tigris and Euphrates.
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