Clay mask of the demon Huwawa From Sippar, southern Iraq, about 1800-1600 BC For use in divination One

method for predicting the future in ancient esopotamia !as the stud" of the shape and co#our of the interna# organs of a sacrificed anima#$ %&perts compi#ed records of these signs or omens together !ith the e'ents the" !ere be#ie'ed to predict$ ( cuneiform inscription on the bac) of this c#a" mas) suggests that the intestines might be found in the shape of *u!a!a+s face in this mas)$ *u!a!a ,a#so ca##ed *umbaba in some te&ts!as a monster !ho appears in the %pic of .i#gamesh$ *e !as guardian of the Cedar Forest ,probab#" referring to the /ebanon in the #ate 'ersion of the ta#e- but !as defeated b" .i#gamesh and %n)idu$ 0he mas) is formed of coi#ed intestines represented b" one continuous #ine$ Such an omen !ou#d mean +re'o#ution+$ 0he di'ination e&pert !ho made the mas) is named in the inscription as 1arad- ardu)$ It !as found at Sippar, the cu#t centre for the sun-god Shamash, !ho !as responsib#e for omens$ ( god of nature, *umbaba+s forests stretched man" #eagues$ 2ot necessari#" an e'i# deit", he !as described in The Epic of Gilgamesh as being able to roar above the elements, breathe fire and having the visage of death. Early representations suggest that his features were inspired by the convoluted tract of the human intestine. In The Epic of Gllgamesh the King of Uruk, llgamesh, befriended Enkldu, a wild man. !lthough Enkidu and many others tried to dissuade ilgamesh from setting out to do combat with Humbaba, Enkidu gave in and accompanied him on the "ourney. #he two companions pushed open the gates which guarded Humbaba$s forest. Enkidu ominously felt the strength leave him as he touched them. He and llgamesh summoned Humbaba by felling some of his cedars and, with the aid of the gods, Humbaba was defeated. llgamesh wished to spare his life, but Enkidu urged his destruction. llgamesh slew Humbaba, angering Enlil, god of all Elements. /ater, .i#gamesh )i##ed the Bu## of *ea'en sent b" #shtar to punish him for spurning her$ In re'enge, and for destro"ing *umbaba, the gods decided that %n)#du shou#d die$ 0he #ocation of *umbaba3s fabu#ous forest of cedars is not e&act#" )no!n$ It !as probab#e the Bab"#onians #ac)ed !ood for bui#ding materia#s and )ings #i)e .##gamesh, !ho !as famous for his bui#ding feats, !ou#d ha'e needed to search #ong distances a!a" for it$ %n tropical &ones and sometimes well beyond them, humans link to the animal world is most commonly made with the most powerful predators of the "ungle' the lion and its close relations. (etails iconographic similarities among these figures that revolve around transformations of the image of the lion, and he constructs a possibile hisory of these leonine apotropaic figures in reece, )orth !frica, and *! and *E!, taking note of Kirtimukha ,a witchlike visage is the giant, monstrous face that guards the entrance of the 11th hermitage cave, feminine from the style of jewelry in

her oversized ears, the witchs head has usurped irtimukhas place as protector and it is !angdas familiar, "ugged-out eyes, flared nostrils, and unruly hair that are featured in the icon along with an enormous, fanged maw that is e#tended to form the entryway itself-, 2arasimha, the Barong 4et and 5angda herse#f, as !e## as *umbaba of the ancient Bab"#on, and a host of figures from archaic .reece$ (dditiona# to the #ist a si6ab#e bestiar" of fantastic figures that can be #in)ed to the 4irtimu)ha tradition and its Buddhist 'ariants7 the shi-shi of 8apan, the Sno! /ion of 2epa# and 0ibet, and the #ions and dragons of China and 4orea, as !e## as such far-f#ung icons as the 8aguar figures of eso-(merica and the monstrous, fanged and pop-e"ed xwexwe and swaihwe masks that show their distended tongues in the +acific )orthwest. ,ost intriguing are gorgons and gorgoneion of archaic reece who appear around the -th century .C on *yracusan reliefs, as apotropaic figures on !thenian warriors/ shields, and as leonine masks in #yrens. ,edusa, of course, is the most famous gorgon, and her mas)-#i)e se'ered and sna)e-!reathed head cou#d turn those !ho #oo)ed upon her to stone$ Some of the gorgons pictured on archaic 'ases and re#iefs are smooth-faced and hag-#i)e, in the manner of edusa, !hi#e others are bearded, !ith definite #eonine features, and sti## others seem a h"brid of #ion and !itch, !ith bro!s that sho! definite traces of the anci##ar" tufts of hair t"pica# of the #ioness$ $f he is right in his admittedly conjectural history, the model for these icons with glaring eyes, flared nostrils, gnashing fangs, wild hair, and thrustout tongues came to Greece from $ndia via the %hoenician sea trade &or from $ndia or $ndus 'ivilizations, then (esopotamia, then )ear East, then Greece* It might be remembered in this regard that 9urga, in particu#ar, has the #ion as her 'ehic#e and constant companion: as noted be#o!, she a#so shares stories, iconographic detai#s, and ritua# functions !ith the man-#ion, 2arasimha$ 5angda and her man" cousins around the !or#d share these odd#" proportioned features$ If these demonic and demon-#i)e figures ha'e an ;archet"pa#< appea#, then that appea# ma" #ie not so much in the genetic transmission of uni'ersa# and cu#tura# archet"pes, but in an intuiti'e pro=ection of the somatosensor" structures themse#'es, as re'ea#ed to us through our constant, hierarchi6ed monitoring of our o!n bodies as the" mo'e and encounter the !or#d be"ond the se#f$ 5angda and her man" re#ati'es, then, ma" be first and foremost images of ra! sensation ,sub=ect to cu#tura##" constructed 'a#ues and associations-$ .aliness and 0rissan connection

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