The Apkallu are another term for the seven Sumerian sages, and demigods, who are said to have been created or actually “sent down” by the god Enki in order to establish culture and give civilization to mankind.
Here’s one version of what they might have looked like to the Sumerian people of that time.
Today I would like to touch on some of the meanings that we can realistically derive from the names of these Sumerian/Akkadian sky-gods. And, there is a great deal of extremely interesting information given to us by the Sumerians in their works without having to use anything other than dictionaries produced by the University of Pennsylvania and Oxford University. We can easily determine their correct word origins and meanings for all of these sky-gods. The proper translation of the characters from their epic tales represents an astounding record of the Sumerian interaction with ancient sky-gods, as we shall see below.
My sources, for you to examine and weigh, are from online dictionaries put out by the University of Pennsylvania: “http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd1/nepsd-frame.html,” and by the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford: “http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/.” I also, from time to time, consult the text corpus of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Their Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus is more extensive and yields valuable data on earlier etymologies from the Babylonian area of influence. In one or more of these three fonts of information, produced by our professional linguistic talents, you will be able to locate absolutely all of the Sumerian translations that are found in this and other reports that I have authored.
The Mespotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nepilim are the Sumerian apkallu. They are described as being “the pure puradu-fishes, the puradu – fishes of the sea, the seven of them,” and as “the seven sages, who have originated in the river, who control the plans of heaven and earth.” The term “apkallu” is Akkadian, and it is thought to derive from the Sumerian term abgal.
According to the writings of the early Sumerians, there were seven sages, or demigods, who were created by the god Enki (or the god Ea, in the Akkadian version) and sent to Earth in order to establish culture and provide mankind with the roots of civilization. From other of their sagas, we learn that these seven were saved during the Great Flood, and served as priests and advisers to the earliest kings of Sumer. They furnished mankind with a moral code, as well as knowledge of various crafts and arts. They were reported to have the lower torso of a fish, or to be dressed in a costume that represented a fish. They were reported to have first emerged from the sweet water called the “Abzu.”
From an online encyclopedia [that rhymes with Icky Media] we learn that the word Abzu comes from the literal translation of two Sumerian words, “ab,” meaning “water,” and “zu,” meaning “deep.” I would certainly love to see the source for that statement. If it even exists.
Ab does mean water of a sort, in that it actually is translated as “sea.” But zu means “to know, to learn.” The Sumerian words for “deep” are either “dul” or “pu” or perhaps “burud,” but not zu. If I were to be bold enough to offer a litteral translation for the two words ab and zu, I would say “a sea of knowledge.” In any event, there is no need to examine this as a two word segment, since “Abzu” is properly defined as a single word in the Sumerian dictionary, and it means “water, the cosmic underground water.” Another word for Abzu is their single word “engur,” and it has an identical meaning.
Now that we know about their connection to the “cosmic waters” and a “sea of knowledge”, let’s examine these Seven Sages, counterparts of those “who came down” from the Biblical texts, and the information that can be derived by simply translating their names.
The Sumerian ABGAL gives us ab and gal, which may be defined as:
ab [FATHER] = “old (person); witness; father; elder; an official”
gal [BIG] = “(to be) big, great; (to be) retired, former; (to be) mature (of male animals)”
And the Akkadian language version, or apkallu, is defined as : “sage; priest, wise man, expert”
So, something along the lines of “great elders” or “wise elders” seems fitting here. Therefore when we are told that the Apkallu (Seven Sages) were the mythological seven “wise men” who were the teachers of humankind, it seems to fit in with the meanings given.
The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible states that they were servants of Ea, [the Supreme Sky God], and were responsible for teaching mankind how to govern and start civilization. They interacted with the ancient kings, and Gilgamesh is referred to in one “cylinder” as “master of the Apkallu”. Additionally, the seven Apkallu became associated with laying the foundations of the seven ancient cities: Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Kullab, Kesh, Lagash, and Shuruppak. And no, I don’t subscribe the founding of those cities to them, but it does tell us that these pre-Flood entities were associated with the very earliest formation of civilization among the Sumerians, and thus they are not only pre-Flood but very ancient.
Now it’s time for us to examine the names of these Seven Sages, and see what information can be obtained from them. The Sumerians made specific choices when naming these wise sages, and we often find that there are important reasons behind those choices. This is no exception.
A collation of the names and “titles” of theses seven sages in order can be given as:
1 Uanna, “who finished the plans for heaven and earth”,
2 Uannedugga, “who was endowed with comprehensive intelligence”,
3 Enmedugga, “who was allotted a good fate”,
4 Enmegalamma, “who was born in a house”,
5 Enmebulugga, “who grew up on pasture land”,
6 An-Enlilda, “the conjurer of the city of Eridu”,
7 Utuabzu, “who ascended to heaven”.
The above of course are the meanings or explanations provided for the common folks in Sumeria, and only by examining the composition of their names will we arrive at the esoteric or hidden content included in their names. Enki is said to have formed the group of demigod sages known as the Abgal in order to deal with mankind while he was busy with other duties. However, just what form of mankind he was sending them to deal with is yet another question, since all of the Seven are said to have aided mankind in the period prior to the Great Flood. This mention of Enki delegating the seven to teach mankind while he was engaged in other duties seems to speak of a sub-group or management or trusted associates, and if we think of Enki as being the leader of a space station, this association will begin to make much more sense as we see below. Especially since, by splitting the word Abgal into “a, ba, gal” we have : “a” meaning “wing, horn,” and “ba” meaning “a type of vessel,” with “gal” indicating “to be big or great.” In other words, the literal meaning from one of the terms associated with the Seven is one of “a big wing vessel,” or perhaps “the great horn-shaped vessel.” But perhaps this is simply meant to inform us of the type of craft that they used to get to and from the Earth.
[1] The first was said to be Uanna, or U-Anna, whom Berossus called Oannus, in his Greek version. He is said to be one “who accomplishes the plans of heaven and earth.” Which seems to indicate some type of leadership role. How is this Uanna translated in Sumerian? We find that
“u” means “earth, world, totality,” and
“anna” means “approval, consent, or word of consent.”
Which seems to confirm the idea of “he who accomplishes the plans of heaven and earth,” or at least the one whos approval is needed for any decisions relating to the earth as a whole. Perhaps he was the strategic planning officer, although he may have been in charge of tactical planning as well.
Both positions could easily be associated with an organization of “visitors” such as that found
on a Mother Ship in orbit above the Earth.
One of Uanna’s other names in the literature, besides Oannus, was Adapa. By translating the Sumerian name for Adapa, we learn that:
“a” equals “strength, power,” and
“da” means “line, edge, side,” with
“pa” = “wing or branch.”
In other words, the “powerful wing line” or “the leading edge wing of strength.” If we can associate the Seven as being the earthly enforcement group for the sky-gods, this alternate name for Uanna translates into something awfully like the commander of an air wing, military task force, or expeditionary force of some type.
[2] The second of the Seven is Uannedugga, who is said to have been given broad understanding, or equipped with a global intelligence. From the Sumerian dictionary we learn that:
“u = crew of a ship, or a ship’s cabin” and
“an” = “sky,” with
“ne” equal to “strength, force,” and
“dug” meaning “to speak, talk, say, order, negotiate,” and
“ga” meaning “house.”
The “ships crew member from the sky force that ordered or talked to the house, or home base,” sounds awfully like a communications specialist or perhaps the global (Earth) intelligence agent for the group.
Before I continue with the rest of the members of the Seven, I would like to remind you that I am not pulling any of these translations “out of my hat.” You can very easily follow along with me by using the online dictionary, and confirm that, while these are very strange ideas for ancient Sumerians to have held, they represent accurate translations of the names that they chose to assign to these sky-gods.
[3] Third in the list comes Enmedugga, the one “to whom a good fate, or good destination was assigned.”
“en” = “lord, master, ruler”
“me” = “battle, combat, being”
“duga” = “command.”
His good fate was assured, since he was the “Lord of Battle Command,” or the military leader of the group.
[4] Next is Enmegalamma, who was said to have been “born in a house.” I believe that they were referring to someone of high birth, or perhaps someone from a wealthy family background when they indicated that he was born in a house. We learn from the Sumerian dictionary that:
“En” means “lord, master, ruler,” with
“me” equal to “divine properties enabling cosmic activities,” and
“galam” equal to “skillful, clever, to make artfully,” and
“ma” being “ship, boat, siege engine.”
Or, in other words, “the Master with divine properties that enabled their cosmic activities by being a skillful, clever, artist with the ship and its engines.” Wow, the star-trek engineer, or “Scotty,” of the group. Could it be any clearer than that?
[5] The fifth of the group was Enmebulugga, “who grew up in the pasture.”
“en” = “lord, master, ruler”
“me” = “battle, combat, being”
“bulug” = “foster child, novice, to grow up”
“ga” = “suckling”
I think this indicates someone who “came up in the ranks,” or a type of “Warrant Officer, with a Combat specialty,” and the “suckling” part indicating perhaps a Junior Officer or Officer in training. Perhaps an alternate crew member, to be used to fill in when needed..
[6] The sixth of the Seven is An-Enlilda, called “The Wizard of the city of Eridu.”
“an” = “sky, heaven”
“en” = “lord, master, ruler”
“lil” = “secret knowledge”
“da” = “writing board” and “da” = “to mix, stir into a liquid”
Apparently he was the “sky lord that was in charge of the secret written knowledge, or the secrets of alchemy” but I prefer to believe that his designation as a “Wizard,” points more clearly to his being the “ships doctor or medical officer.” He may have been their team biologist or in this case their xenobiologist.
[7] The seventh member of the team of Seven, was Utuabzu, who was said to have “ascended to heaven.” There was a broad tradition in the Babylonian textual material that the seventh figure ascended to heaven in order to receive insights into divine wisdom.
“uttu” = “count, number”
“abzu” = “cosmic underground water.”
Apparaently Utuabzu “kept count of the numbers, or members of the cosmic water team.” I think that this, plus his frequent trips back to the sky-god base, in order to receive further divine wisdom, defines a staff officer, or military administrative liaison between each of the subordinate members of the group of Seven, and the sky-god leadership back at the home ship. In this case his designation as a counter, or numbers person, might mean that he reported on the overall results of their mining operations, metric tons produced, slave labor utilized and spent, and the energy costs of their endeavors. Perhaps he represented “a combination of an accountant, an engineer, and a staff coordinator.”
Surely, there was no “accidental” assignment of these descriptive names to the seven sages, and they do not simiply represent “luck” or random meanings, because the seven of them all fit within the single theme of sky-gods who were sent down, and all of their names seem to describe the same crew member functions that we might expect to see on a craft. The fact that they are said to have taught mankind, and later we find mankind using very similar crew designations on our own naval and space craft forces, seems reasonable based upon the source.
We, perhaps unthinkingly, used very similar designations when it came time to organize our own forces as those who originally “taught” us. Nothing strange about that.
There are two good questions that come to mind when we examine these very insightful translations of the actual names of the pre-Flood sky-gods that made up the group known as the Seven. The first is, doesn’t this seem to clearly represent a team of sky-gods who were part of the earliest missions to earth, and formed a military-like team in order to accomplish their goals? And the second question is, why have no previous scholars or authors taken the time to examine the translation of their individual names, by simply searching in the dictionary of the Sumerian language that has been authored by our own scientists and professional linguists?
Doesn’t this information represent factual details that, once pieced together and presented in the form that I have given above, represent evidence, at least linguistic evidence, that there was actual paleo-alien interface with our earliest ancestors? Or, as some skeptics might attempt to assure us, did our ancestors invent these specific names, that, solely due to a huge coincidence, happen to match actual job titles and describe the duties of what appear to be an actual crew of space travelers, set on collecting the resources of our planet? I believe that seven out of seven valid descriptions represents more than simple coincidence. It’s strange to discover that we have had this evidence, written evidence, from the time in our past when Sumerian writing first began, sitting in front of us for so long.
We can use this same method to translate other names from the Sumerian epic tales as well. By way of example, from the Mesopotamian Bit Meseri tablet, we are informed that Nungalpiriggaldim was a later associate of the Abgal (“the big wing vessel”), and that he brought Ishtar from heaven (or the sky-god mother ship) into the sanctuary. Ishtar is the Akkadian counterpart to the earlier attested Sumerian goddess Inanna. What do we find when we look that name up in the Sumerian dictionary?
“Nun” = “a metal object”
“gal” = “to be great, big”
“pirig” = “bright”
“gal (with accent marks)” = “to guard, protect”
“dim” = “post, pillar, pole”
Therefore Nungalpiriggaldim was not actually the name of a person, but rather a description of the type of transport vehicle that brought Inanna from the mother ship down to earth. The full translation is one of: “A big, bright, metal object, pole shaped, a guard vehicle,” or a different style from the normal “great flying wing” that was described above. In very modern times we have had reports of UFOs that resemble both the flying wing type and the long metal pole or cigar-shaped vehicles.
Wow. I try not to repeat myself, but sometimes a certain theme will deserve a closer focus, an examination of the overall picture to take in just what we are being presented with, and I believe that this is one of those times.
If any critic, or any scientist who stands firmly, even blindly, in opposition to the evidence in this chapter, refuses to believe or understand, kindly show them the following recap. Then explain to them that they only need answer one simple question that we have for them, if they persist in disbelief of the meanings provided from a dictionary that was created by their own group of top-ranked archaeologists and linguists. And that simple question is this: how were the Sumerian people of 5,000 years before present able to easily describe, in fine detail, the crew from an extraterrestrial ship, along with the duties of each crew member, in their own terms and language, with supposedly no prior knowledge of space travel or the vehicles that could achieve it? Because here is what we have – here is that recap:
Abzu is their word to describe the “cosmic underground water” that the extraterrestrials use as a portal or that they pass through between earth and their mother ship in space.
The Seven sages, as described by Marduk, were, according to the Sumerians, “from a ritually pure water source.” They are called the Abgal by the Sumerians, and we are told that this means “the big wing vessel,” which is no doubt an explanation of their mode of transportation.
The Seven are lead by Uanna, which the Sumerians equate with “approval or consent for earth matters,” and he is also called Adapa, which they explain means “of the powerful wing line.” He was the “overall Commander of the team to earth.”
Their “Communications specialist” was Uannedugga.
The “Lord of the Battle Command,” or military leader of the group, was Enmedugga, we are assured.
The Sumerians advise us that Enmegalamma was what we would now refer to as the “Ships Engineer.”
Enmebulugga, according to the Sumerian text, was “the Warrant Officer,” of the group.
An-Enlilda was the “ships doctor, medical officer and biologist.”
And the Sumerians assure us that the seventh member of the sky-god team, a group that was specifically assigned by Lord Enki, the Supreme Commander of all Earth, according to their own epic tales, was Utuabzu, who was the team “accountant, engineer, and staff coordinator.”
And the Sumerians cap this all off by letting us know that there was another transport vehicle used by the extraterrestrials, called Nungalpiriggaldim, which in the Sumerian language means “cigar-shaped, big, bright, metallic, guard vehicle.”
That’s our question for the traditional scholars, and we await their answer. No “rockets” were involved, no “fiery ships,” since the Sumerians knew that the vehicles used by the sky-gods did not require a landing strip, made no noise, emitted no fireworks, and were “very much like the UFOs that are presently being reported by millions of people, all over the earth.”
I can promise you now that there will be many more fascinating discoveries in the pages and chapters that follow, as time permits. I wish to reveal everything that I have discovered, and make this site a true hub of information on all things sky-god and Sumerian related..
However, I hope that you will put the above dictionary system from the University of Pennsylvania and others to use as well, in order to decipher any Sumerian names that you come across in your own research into the true story of the ancient Sumerian people, and their interaction with paleo-alien entities. And then share it with us, if you will. As always, simply drop me a message using the Contact Me link with your comments or questions and I will respond as soon as possible.