Priestess Classes

Throughout history, the Druids have always been seen as sorcerers who had a strong bond with nature. Ancestral knowledge holders within Celtic society, directed all religious activity as the highest authority linked to the gods, practiced human sacrifices and festivals organized as Imbolc, Beltaine, Lugnasad or Samain, etc.. all aspects of which are discussed in this article.

This paper argues that there were no words for prostitute in ancient cuneiform texts. Terms for certain social and clerical classes of women were mistranslated as prostitutes. The karkid or harimtu was not a prostitute but a woman without patriarchal status. In turn, the goddess Inanna/Ishtar who was called a harimtu, was not a divine prostitute nor patroness of prostitution. This paper also lays the foundation for eradicating the erroneous notion of sacred prostitution in the ancient world.

LH 110 is part of the ancient Near Eastern scholarly debate regarding the function and role of the nadiātu-priestess groups in Old Babylonian society. Seemingly, LH 110 forbids the uncloistered nadītu from opening up or entering a business place associated with the sābītu; the penalty for such a crime is public execution by burning. Mainstream scholars view the nadiātu through the lens of either (a) indulging in illicit behaviour or (b) that LH 110 reflects a prohibition for the nadītu to compromise her chastity. In contrast, Martha Roth (1999) opines that LH 110 is an economic regulation of the nadītu, prohibiting her from overshadowing the money-lending business of the sābītu. However, what poses a problem is the horrific penalty, which seems to suggest and be justification for a seemingly terrible crime committed in concealment. I propose that when this prohibition is transgressed, a horrific crime is committed – tax evasion – which is a furtive crime that endangers the continuous welfare of the king/state. LH 110 is a fiscal regulation protecting the state/king’s revenues. The intention is to prevent a specific group of the nadiātu – an uncloistered priestess – to enter or open an enterprise, which the OB state administration is unable to regulate. Consequently, the nadītu could effortlessly conceal her yielded profits and thus evade paying tax to the king/state.

For know the controversial history of the Druids in the Celtic world, will investigate the sources of its origin, through stories of classic texts and medieval legends of Gaul, Britain and Ireland. His role in Celtic society surpassed the religious sphere, covering war, politics, medicine and the law. Almost unknown is the participation of women in this institution.

Generally, the family members conclude a division agreement of their inheritance received from a parental deceased estate to escape the perils of their shared inheritance by dividing it into portions of unburdened sole ownership. However, in some Old Babylonian Sippar division agreements, the family members devised and agreed to burden an elected inheritance property with a sui generis usufruct. This entails that they contractually agreed to share or appropriate to a family member the responsibility to manage the burdened property and use of its proceeds, for the maintenance and support of their priestess-sister. Only in the event of the priestess-sister’s death is the burdened property restored from the restraints of the usufruct. In the article, I have applied my developed analysis method to the study of three Old Babylonian Sippar division agreements which consist of a usufruct-clause. First, I outline the prerequisite elements of the analysis method, which identify the three texts as a family division agreement from a deceased estate. Then follows a discussion of the legal practices found in the three texts of which the usufruct as a chosen legal practice receives special attention. The aim of the article is to show that family members can decide to utilise the sui generis usufruct in the division agreement for the maintenance and support of their priestess-sister, imposing on themselves lifelong personal and financial consequences, while ensuring that the family retain their property on the death of the priestess-sister.