by Jim Plautz
There is a saying in sports made famous by Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams; “build it and they will come.” Well, our job was done and they would come. I had done my part. We finished our work on schedule and Babylon was ready to be reintroduced to the world. What better time than Akitu, the traditional New Year’s festival. The eleven-day festival was expected to draw millions including fourteen heads of states and numerous dignitaries.
In ancient Babylon, Akitu was celebrated at the time of vernal equinox, the beginning of spring and the time of hope. Akitu was a ritual enactment of a battle between the new god Marduk and the old goddess Tiamat. The myth was the story of creation, and the ritual enactment of this battle between the gods was for the purposes of bringing heaven and earth, macrocosm and microcosm, back into proper relationship and synchronization. Putting it more simply, it was a yearly ritual performed for the purposes of starting over fresh with a clean slate.
New Year's is the oldest of all holidays and was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago. The Babylonian New Year began with the first visible crescent of the first New Moon after the first day of spring, the vernal equinox. It made perfect sense to celebrate in spring when new crops are planted and everything starts growing again. Viewed as the season of rebirth, Akitu is a time of hope and optimism. Many ancient cultures celebrated the New Year twice, in the spring during planting and in the autumn during harvesting. Babylonians and Assyrians placed greater importance on the spring festival.
Planning for the 11-day festival was undertaken by a blue-ribbon committee of politicians and tribal leaders. Our job was to make sure that the committee’s wish list was fulfilled. Four days before the festival Marco and I met with the Akitu committee for the last time. We were ready; the basic elements were in place.
There were two main temples framed by lush gardens and ponds. Regularly spaced trees and shrubs and on either side were majestic porticoes inlaid with decorative friezes, an unusual feature in Mesopotamian temples. The "cella", the inner chamber of the temple, would serve as a huge, banquet hall for the Akitu ceremony. The temples were surrounded by elaborate, carefully watered gardens designed to remind the people that the god, Marduk, was not merely a conqueror of Chaos, but also the personification of the life in nature. The Bit Akitu, the place where the Creator’s victory over Tiamat, the god of chaos, was celebrated and was located two hundred meters outside the city walls. Inside the Bit Akitu was the main temple or ‘House of Akitu’, the focal point of the religious celebration.
“Let’s go through the schedule one day at a time,” the committee chairman requested, “but before we start, I must say that the temples and grounds look wonderful; my compliments to you and your team.”
“Thank you. I thought the landscaping turned out well,” I concurred. “We should be able to create an authentic celebration.”
“How many people do you expect?”
“Three million, maybe more; we don’t know for sure. Keep in mind this is a celebration of the people and in ancient Babylon, everyone was expected to attend.”
Marco interrupted. “You realize the Akitu grounds won’t handle more than a couple million people. Where are you planning to house them?”
“The first five days of the celebration are individual prayer days and we have scheduled the different cities to come on specified days.”
“If they all show up at one time, I’m not sure that Marduk will be able to defeat Tiamat this time,” Ken added in his dry-humor tone. I didn’t get it until I remembered that Tiamat was the god of chaos. I wanted to laugh, but thought better of it.
“Ken,” I admonished, knowing the Iraqis might not think this was funny.
“On day six, the gods arrive by barge at Babylon, among them Nabu, the son and avenger, who takes up residence in Ezida, his private chapel in the temple of Marduk. Is the waterway ready?”
He spoke of gods, but was obviously referring to the 37 dignitaries that would be sailing up the Euphrates River, duplicating the path taken by the gods 6,000 years earlier. “Marco, are we ready?” I asked, already knowing the answer. We had done a complete walkthrough of the entire project yesterday and everything looked good.
“There are fifty barges available and the water is fifteen feet deep and clear. Security will be handled by the Iraqi army with air support provided by the air force. Luxury suites have been reserved for heads of state in the Nebuchadnezzar Palace in Old Babylon. If they needed more space, we got them hotel rooms on the hill,” Marco explained, referring to The Sadamm Marriott.
“Excellent. By the way, I recommend that you find a good spot to view the parade of barges. It will be something special. The committee is installing temporary grandstands along the route.
“I’ll be there. We have already staked out a good spot,” I replied.
“Day seven, Nabu, with help from other gods, liberates Marduk by force from the mountain of the Netherworld, and on day eight all powers are conferred to the liberated god who then is ready to lead the battle against the powers of darkness, death and chaos that might affect Babylon in the coming year,” the committee chairman continued. “After Marduk´s liberation, the statues of the gods are brought together in the Chamber of Destinies to foretell the future.”
“Jim, does your team have any responsibilities on these days?”
“This will be the first live test of the four restaurants and lounges in the palace. The service staff has been adequately trained. Marco, anything to add?”
“No, other than the liquor situation - it’s there if they want it.”
The committee ignored Marco’s remark, knowing that despite traditional Islam teachings, liquor would be flowing freely in most restaurants and suites.
“Day nine is the triumphal procession to the Bit Akitu under the king´s guidance. This represents the participation of the community in the victory taking place in nature and Marduk´s destruction of Tiamat, the god of chaos. Any questions?”
“Just a general question,” Ken replied. “Who is going to play the king?” Good question, I thought. The king represents the people during the Akitu Festival and is a key player in the celebration. The political implications of this designation were huge.
“You will need to wait to find out, Ken” the chairman said politely, “but you are correct. The king’s participation is fundamental to the celebration as is the participation of the people. Remember that the king in Mesopotamia was a trained initiate, not perfect, but a model of wholeness the subjects should emulate. As such, the king represents the people in Akitu.” I resisted my urge to press Ken’s point.
“On day 10, Marduk celebrates his victory with the gods of the Upper and Under Worlds at a banquet in the Bit Akitu and returns to Babylon for the Sacred Marriage Rite. The king was then made the Divine Bridegroom, and the High Priestess as his Divine Consort, the Goddess incarnate. Are there any questions?”
“Who is playing the High Priestess?” Ken asked, obviously bored with the slow pace of the meeting
“Actually, Ken, there will be a group marriage outside the Marduk´s temple, Esagila, where the original sacred marriage probably took place. We are expecting over a thousand couples.”
“Regarding the feast,” I interrupted; “might I suggest you have a feast for the people on the Bit Akitu grounds, but have a second feast for the heads of state in Nebuchadnezzar’s castle. That would make your security people happy.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk it over with my superiors, but I think they will agree.”
“Day 11 is the Second Determination of Destiny. The gods assemble once more in the Chamber of Destinies to determine the destiny of society in the ensuing year. This is the last act of deities, bringing auguries and omens for the prosperity of the land. We are going to have a ‘head of state’ business conference that morning and try to take advantage of so many key people being together in the same hotel.”
“Let’s hope they have been talking one-on-one throughout the week,” I added.
“Day 12 - The visiting gods return to their temples, and life returned to its everyday normalcy, and the business of plowing and sowing and trading for the new crops is taken at hand.”
“Transportation has been arranged,” Marco responded before the question was asked.
“Any other questions before we break up?” the chairman asked.
“How are the Kurds reacting to all of this?” Ken inquired. “Don’t some of them still believe that the Akitu celebration is Kurdish in origin and traces back to 612 BC when Kawa led them in an attack on the king’s palace which effectively brought an end to the Assyrian Empire.” I was about to chastise Ken, but stopped when I saw that the committee took this question seriously. The Kurds were a real concern to the Iraqis.
“You are correct, Mr. Reed. A sizeable group of Kurds still make that claim even though historians trace the Akitu ceremony back to 2,000 BC. We are keeping a close watch on them.”
“If that’s all, I thank you gentlemen and I look forward to seeing you at the Akitu Festival.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Marco will stay to keep an eye on things, but Ken and I are headed to China tonight to do a little sightseeing with the wives and watch a friend play basketball. We’ll be back in time for the procession of gods.”
Chapter 17 - Beijing, China