Ninkasi

Ninkasi is the ancient Sumerian matron goddess of the intoxicating beverage, beer.

Her father was Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and her mother was Ninti, the queen of the Abzu. She is also one of the eight children created in order to heal one of the eight wounds that Enki receives. Furthermore, she is the goddess of alcohol. She was also borne of "sparkling fresh water." She is the goddess made to "satisfy the desire" and "sate the heart." She would prepare the beverage daily.

Hymn to Ninkasi

The Sumerian written language and the associated clay tablets are among the earliest human writings. Scholarly works from the early 1800's onward have developed some facility translating the various Sumerian documents. Among these is a poem with the English title, “A hymn to Ninkasi”. The poem is, in effect, a recipe for the making of beer. A translation from the University of Oxford describes combining bread, a source for yeast, with malted and soaked grains and keeping the liquid in a fermentation vessel until finally filtering it into a collecting vessel.

See also

• Gambrinus
• 4947 Ninkasi
• Ninkasi Award
• History of beer

External links

• The Hymn to Ninkasi
• Ninkasi, The Sumerian Goddess of Brewing and Beer - Beeradvocate.com