The Falcon (buru4mušen) in the Great Ritual and the Archives of the Palace G of Ebla: An Emblem of Eblaite Royalty from the 24th Century BC
SÁNCHEZ MUÑOZ, José Pablo
More than fifty years after the discovery of the royal archives of Ebla, the royal Eblaite ideology remains largely a mystery, due in part to the fundamentally economic-administrative nature of the documentation. In this context, the bird known as buru4mušen stands out for being one of the most mysterious symbolic elements used by the Eblaite palace elite in some of the most important royal ceremonies. In the documentation, this bird is not only named or was represented in various objects of very different nature, but it appears among the votive gifts of the kings for the most important gods of the Eblaite pantheon, it is part of the goods of some of the most influential princesses of Ebla at their interdynastic weddings, priestly ordinations or funerals and is the most important symbolic gift offered to royal ancestors during the Great Ritual of Eblaite royalty. Despite this, both the philological problems surrounding the ornithological identification of buru4mušen and the wide variety of contexts in which this bird is involved, have made its interpretation extraordinarily difficult. However, a joint study of the sources in the light of current advances in research could provide a possible answer to the meaning of buru4mušen that could provide answers about the language of power, as well as the royal Eblaite ideology and its influences.
Session 4. Crafting Identity and Clusters through Material Culture, Iconography and Texts [info]