ebook img

Gods$oftheNight$ - Anunnaki PDF

16 Pages·2009·0.4 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Gods$oftheNight$ - Anunnaki

The  Anunnaki  Project   presents     Gods  of  the  Night     A  theatrical,  aerial  exploration   of  ancient  Mesopotamian  mythology   Inanna and Ereshkigal, ca. 3,500 B.C.     July  25-­‐26,  2008 I  want  to  extend  a  warm  welcome  and  sincere  thanks  to  each  of  you  for   joining  us  for  this  adventure  we  call  Gods  of  the  Night.     The  title  of  our  show  comes  from  a  second  millennium  BCE  prayer  which   appears  on  the  following  page.  The  prayer  highlights  the  integration  of   the  divine  into  the  lives  of  those  in  the  ancient  near  east.  In  our  present   era  of  vast  technological  accomplishment,  it  is  impossible  to  consider   the  value  belief  systems  of  the  ancient  world  without  wondering  if   perhaps  we  have  lost  something  precious  and  irreplaceable.  Giants  were   in  the  earth  in  those  days…     This  production  will  perhaps  be  the  most  intimate  look  we  have  taken  at   the  mythology  of  the  Sumerian  people.  This  is  an  extremely  important   phase  in  our  progression  as  an  organization  as  it  was  the  Sumerian   cosmogonical  psyche  that  initiated   many  of  The  Anunnaki  Project’s   concepts  of  performative  mythology.     The   first   half   our   production   explores   the   interaction   between   the   Sumerian  people  and  the  planetary  deities  who  ruled  the  world  at  the   time.  The  attributes  and  traits  ascribed  to  these  deities  by  the  ancient   people  have  survived  the  centuries  and  still  occupy  our  minds  today.   This  is  a  testament  to  the  powerful  magic  of  the  Sumerian  imagination.     The  second  half  of  the  show  depicts  the  descent  of  Inanna  to  the   Underworld.  I  consider  Inanna’s  tale  to  be  the  sequel  to  the  genesis  of   Ereshkigal  (Queen  of  the  Underworld).  Ereshkigal’s  story  is  included  in  a   Sumerian  creation  myth  and  tells  how  Ereshkigal,  once  a  solar  deity,  was   lured  into  the  underworld  by  Kur,  a  dragon  that  filled  minds  with  anger,   fear  and  insecurity.  Enki  descended  to  save  his  sister  Ereshkigal  from   Kur,  but  by  the  time  he  reached  her,  she  had  transformed  into  a  rotting   goddess  of  decay  and  death.  In  tonight’s  tale  of  the  descent  of  Inanna,   the  plot  centers  around  Enki  and  how  he  initiates  Inanna’s  journey  to   encounter  aspects  of  the  world  she  had  not  ever  fathomed.  In  a  sense,   this  story  is  also  a  redemption  tale,  as  it  is  here  that  Ereshkigal  finally   seems  to  rest  at  peace  in  her  cosmogonical  role  as  a  cthonic  goddess.     I  ask  you  to  open  your  imagination,  reach  back  in  time  and  relate   yourself  to  these  dead  gods  as  we  might  imagine  the  temple  priestess   watched  the  setting  sun  across  the  Euphrates  Valley  5,000  years  ago.   Make  these  gods  live  again  in  your  hearts  and  minds.  Join  us  now,  as  we   bring  back  the  gods  of  night!  Audi  ignis  vocem!     John  S.  Murphy   Artistic  Director  and  Founder,  The  Anunnaki  Project Introduction  and  Welcome:  Ray  Irvin     Part  I:   Prayer  to  the  Gods  of  Night     Haruspex  (Priest):  Amy  Worline   They  are  lying  down,  the  Great  Ones   The  bars  have  fallen,  the  bolts  are  shot,   The  crowds  and  all  the  people  rest,   The  open  gates  are  locked.   The  gods  of  the  land,  the  goddesses,   Šamaš,  Sin,  Adad,  Ištar,   Sun,  Moon,  turmoil,  love   Lie  down  to  sleep  in  heaven.   The  judgment  seat  is  empty  now,   For  no  god  now  is  still  at  work.   Night  has  drawn  down  the  curtain,   The  temples  and  sanctuaries  are  silent,  dark.   Now  the  traveler  calls  to  his  god,   Defendant  and  plaintiff  sleep  in  peace,   For  the  judge  of  truth,  the  father  of  the  fatherless,   Šamaš,  has  gone  to  his  chamber.   ‘O  Great  Ones,  Princes  of  the  Night,   Bright  Ones,  Gibil  the  furnace,   Irra  war-­‐lord  of  the  Underworld,   Bow-­‐star  and  Yoke,  Orion,  Pleiades,  Dragon,   The  Wild  Bull,  the  Goat,  and  the  Great  Bear,   Stand  by  me  in  my  divination.   By  this  lamb  that  I  am  offering,   May  truth  appear!   -­‐Mesopotamian  Prayer,  ca.  3,000  B.C.E. Part  II:   Planets   In  the  temple  of  Anu  at  Uruk  in  a  nocturnal  ceremony  offerings   are  made  on  the  16th  to  the  heavenly  manifestations  of  the   temple’s  main  deities:  to  “Anu  of  the  sky”  and  “Antu  of  the  sky”   as  well  as  to  the  seven  planets,  now  named  in  the  sequence  of   Jupiter,  Venus,  Mercury,  Saturn,  Mars,  the  rising  of  the  Sun,  and   the  sighting  of  the  Moon.   -­‐Astral  Magic  in  Babylonia,  Erica  Reiner         Marduk  (Jupiter)   John  Murphy     The  Heroic,  holy  god,  foremost  of  the  gods,     more  majestic  than  the  stars  in  the  sky.     Accompaniment   It  Is  Accomplished   Peter  Gabriel     Choreography   John  Murphy     Choreographer’s  Statement   An  homage  to  one  of  my  mentors,  Robert  Davidson,  in  this  piece  I   depict  the  hero  archetype  in  a  different   light;  not  as  a  great   warrior  conquering,  but  as  the  soul  who  is  confronted  with  a   force  that  inspires  fear,  horror,  and  anguish  within  him.    Despite   the  urge  to  turn  away,  the  hero  chooses  to  walk  straight  into  the   gaping  maw  that  confronts  him. Ištar  (Venus)   Tanya  Brno  and  Charly  McCreary     Resplendent  Ištar,  morning  star,     evening  star,  luminary  of  heaven,     goddess  of  love,  goddess  of  war.     Accompaniment   Sailing  to  Byzantium,   Lisa  Gerrard  and  Patrick  Cassidy     Choreography   Charly  McCreary  with   Elsie  Smith,  New  England  Center  for  Circus  Arts     Choreographer’s  Statement   The  stark  simplicity  of  the  double  lyra  apparatus,  invented  specifically   for  this  piece,  and  the  powerful,  elegant  movements  of  the  dancers   depict  this  beloved  Goddess  in  Her  dualistic  nature.       Gudud  (Mercury)   Bridget  Gunning  and  Nicole  Sasala  with   Katrina  Alston,  Leah  Leslie,     Rachel  Severson,  and  Amy  Shuster     The  Leaping  One,  star  of  sunrise  and  sunset.     Accompaniment   Of  These,  Hope,  Peter  Gabriel     Choreography   Nicole  Sasala     Choreographer’s  Statement   The  dualistic  energy  of  Mercury  spins  and  swirls  through  the  night  sky  as   the  fastest  of  all  planets,  influencing  those  on  the  earth  and  sometimes   bringing  them  along  for  the  ride. Saguš  (Saturn)    Mary  Cutrera   The  Steady  One.     Accompaniment     Salem’s  Lot,  Dead  Can  Dance     Choreography   Mary  Cutrera     Choreographer’s  Statement   "Within  the  crowded  rings,  particles  constantly  jostle  their  neighbors,   bumping    each  other  into  wider  or  narrower  orbits  by  the  exchange  of   energy  and  momentum."  Dava  Sobel       Nergal  (Mars)   John  S.  Murphy  with   Katrina  Alston,  Mary  Cutrera,  Amanda  Frank,     Bridget  Gunning,  Leah  Leslie,  Jon  McClintock,     Charly  McCreary,  Nicole  Sasala,  Rachel  Severson,     Amy  Shuster,  and  Amy  Worline     The  Enemy,  red  planet,     presides  over  destruction,  pestilence,  and  plague.     Nergal’s  presence  portends  the  death  of  the  herds.     Accompaniment   Total  Decay,  In  Slaughter  Natives     Choreography   Nicole  Sasala     Choreographer’s  Statement   Mars  was  believed  to  cast  powerful  energies  upon  living  things,  resulting   in  plagues,  drought,  and  death.  Thus  in  this  piece  Nergal  reaps  his  chaos   upon  the  earth. Šamaš  (Sun)   Tanya  Brno   Omnipresent  and  omniscient,  patron  deity  of  the  haruspex,   Šamaš  may  be  invoked  to  ward  off  ghosts  and  evil.     Accompaniment     Vedes  Amigo,  Qntal     Choreography   Tanya  Brno     with  Kari  Podgorski     Choreographer’s  Statement   The  Sun  both  gives  and  takes  life,  controls  the  tides,  violently  erupts  yet   stays  constant  in  its  galactic  orbit,  graceful  and  assured  as  the  planets   revolve  around  it.  I  translated  this  energy  into  strong  and  controlled  yet   sometimes  rapidly  changing  movements  that  begin,  end,  and  emanate   from  the  center  of  the  body.  The  body's  curved  lines  become  elongated   as  rays  emanating  from  this  center.         Sin  (Moon)    John  S.  Murphy  with   Mary  Cutrera,  Amanda  Frank,  Bridget  Gunning,     Charly  McCreary  and  Nicole  Sasala     Crescent  of  the  great  heavens,  father  of  Šamaš  and  Ištar,     Sin  has  an  affinity  with  sorceresses     who  are  able  to  draw  down  the  moon.     Accompaniment   Requiem  de  Sol,  Vishnu’s  Secret     Choreography   John  Murphy  (lyra  solo),   Charly  McCreary,  and  Nicole  Sasala     Choreographer  Statement     By   the   light   of   the   full   moon,   female   sorceresses   draw   down   the   moonlight  into  themselves.  It  is  an  entrancing  combination  of  ecstasy   and  chaos.   -­‐-­‐  Intermission  (20  minutes)  -­‐-­‐ Part  III:   The  Descent  of  Inanna     Cast     (In  Order  of  Appearance)   Inanna:  Charly  McCreary     Dumuzi  (husband  of  Inanna):  John  Murphy     Enki  (brother  of  Ereshkigal):  Andy  Demetre     Ninshubur  (royal  attendant):  Tanya  Brno     Neti  (Gatekeeper):  John  Murphy     Gate  Demons:  Amanda  Frank  and  Nicole  Sasala     Gate  Bodies:     Tanya  Brno,  Bridget  Gunning,                             Jon  McClintock     7  Anunnaki:     Katrina  Alston,  Monica  Cavagnaro,     Heidi  Leisholmn,  Leah  Leslie,  Rachel     Severson,  Amy  Shuster,  Amy  Worline     Lost  Souls:     Ashley  Bates,  Carolyn  Shaw  Busby,     Dona  Cutsogeorge,  Christine  Denker,  Steena  Fullmer-­‐ Anderson,  Joanna  Guyette,  Jane  Hemmen,  Adrienne   Kreiger,  Angela  Langmann,  Lisa  Larson,  Vicki  Lomnicky,   Rachel  Su,  Nicole  Vela,  Katerina  Wen,  Kairo  Yates     Ereshkigal  (Queen  of  the  Underworld):  Mary  Cutrera     Enlil:  Jon  McClintock     Nanna:  Ray  Irvin     Galatur:  Nicole  Sasala     Kurgarru:  Bridget  Gunning     Galla  Demons:  Amanda  Frank  and  Rachel  Severson Scene  I:  Inanna  and  the  Huluppu  Tree     In  the  royal  palace,  Inanna’s  beloved  Huluppu  tree  dies.   Indignant  and  distraught,  she  turns  her  ear  to  the  Great   Below  and,  despite  faithful  Ninshubur’s  pleas,  decides   to   confront   Death.   Enki   bestows   the   7   me   (magical   attributes)   upon   her   in   preparation   for   her   journey.   Inanna  instructs  Ninshubur  on  what  to  do  should  she   not  return  from  the  Underworld.     Accompaniment   The  Moribund  Tree  and  The  Toad  and     The  Fairy  and  The  Labyrinth,  Javier  Navarrete         Scene  II:  Descent  of  Inanna     Inanna  arrives  at  the  Gate  to  the  Underworld  and  is   examined  by  Neti,  the   Gatekeeper.  Ereshkigal  orders   the  Anunnaki  to  strip  Inanna  of  the  7  me  and  bring  her   forth,  naked  and  vulnerable.  Ereshkigal  initiates  Inanna   into  the  mystery  of  Death  and  leaves  her  to  hang  on  a   hook  to  rot  for  three  days  and  three  nights.     Accompaniment   The  Narrow  Gate,  Raison  d’Être Scene  III:  Ninshubur’s  Plea     Three   days   and   three   nights   have   passed,   and   Ninshubur  is  desperate  for  Inanna’s  return.  Ninshubur   begs  Enlil  and  Nanna,  father  Gods,  for  help  but  they   deny  her.       At   last   Enki,   brother   of   Ereshkigal,   agrees   to   help   Ninshubur   rescue   Inanna.   From   the   dirt   under   his   fingernails,   Enki   creates   the   galatur   and   kurgarru,   elemental   beings   who   will   enter   the   Underworld   bearing   the   grass   and   water   of   life   in   hopes   of   resurrecting  Inanna  and  bringing  her  home.     Accompaniment   Vivo,  Anchorage     Scene  IV:  The  Rise  of  Inanna     The  galatur  and  kurgarru  surreptitiously  weave  their   way  through  the  Great  Below  and  arrive  at  the  foot  of   Ereshkigal’s   throne.   Ereshkigal   lays   upon   her   throne   suffering   the   pains   of   death   and   childbirth   as   her   shadow  self  (Inanna)  rots  and  prepares  to  be  reborn.  At   the  offering  of  sympathy,  Ereshkigal  agrees  to  release   Inanna’s  corpse  to  the  galatur  and  the  kurgarru  and   Inanna  is  revivified.     Inanna  attempts  to  depart  from  the  Underworld,  and  is   stopped  by  Ereshkigal,  who  says  she  may  only  leave  if   she  finds  a  replacement  for  herself.  To  ensure  that  her   charge   is   carried   out,   Ereshkigal   attaches   two   galla   demons  to  Inanna.     Accompaniment   24th  Moment,  The  Nefilim   Towards  the  Tower,  Lisa  Gerrard

Description:
The$Anunnaki$Project$ presents$ $ Gods$oftheNight$ $ Atheatrical,$aerial$exploration$ of$ancient$Mesopotamian$mythology$ Inanna and Ereshkigal, ca. 3,500 B.C.
See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.