He then proceeded to purify the
city by special rites, so that the mother when angered did not chide her
son, and the master did not strike his servant's head, and the mistress,
though provoked by her handmaid, did not smite her face. And Gudea drove
all the evil wizards and sorcerers from the city, and he purified and
sanctified the city completely. Then he kindled a great fire of cedar
and other aromatic woods, to make a sweet savour for the gods, and
prayers were offered day and night; and the patesi addressed a prayer
to the Anun-naki, or Spirits of the Earth, who dwelt in Shirpurla,
and assigned a place to them in the temple. Then, having completed
his purification of the city itself, he consecrated its immediate
surroundings. Thus he consecrated the district of Gu-edin, whence the
revenues of Ningirsu were derived, and the lands of the goddess Nina
with their populous villages. And he consecrated the wild and savage
bulls which no man could turn aside, and the cedars which were sacred
to Ningirsu, and the cattle of the plains. And he consecrated the armed
men, and the famous warriors, and the warriors of the Sun-god. And the
emblems of the god Ningirsu, and of the two great goddesses, Nina and
Ninni, he installed before them in their shrines.
Then Gudea sent far and wide to fetch materials for the construction of
the temple.
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