Lamashtu
|
|
In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology Lamashtu was a female demon that menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped children while they were breastfeeding.
She had a hairy body, a lioness' head with donkey's teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails and the feet of a bird with sharp talons. She is often shown standing or kneeling on a donkey, nursing a pig and a dog, and holding snakes.
Her consort was Pazuzu. She was said to be the only one who could control and banish him.
Mesopotamian Incantation Prayer Against Lamashtu
Great is the daughter of Heaven who tortures babies
Her hand is a net, her embrace is death
She is cruel, raging, angry, predatory
A runner, a thief is the daughter of Heaven
She touches the bellies of women in labor
She pulls out the pregnant women’s baby
The daughter of Heaven is one of the Gods, her brothers
With no child of her own.
Her head is a lion’s head
Her body is a donkey’s body
She roars like a lion
She constantly howls like a demon-dog.