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121 workshops where artful religious objects were fashioned; the Zabbu were a group of female priestesses, chefs, and cooks who prepared the meals. Other priestesses acted as profes- sional bewailers in funerals; the Bakate knew how to shed bitter tears. And then there were the Shangu—simply “the priests’”—who oversaw the overall functioning of the temple, the smooth performance of its rituals, and the receiving and handling of the offerings, or who were responsible for the gods’ clothes; and so on and on. The provision of personal “butlering” services to the resi- dent gods was handled by a small, specially selected elite group of priests. There were the Ramaqu who handled the purification-by-water rituals (honored with bathing the god), and the Nisaku who poured out the used water. The anoint- ing of the god with “Sacred Oil”—a delicate mixture of specific aromatic oils—was placed in specialized hands, starting with the Abaraku who mixed the ointments, and in- cluded the Pashishu who performed the anointing (in the case of a goddess the priests were all eunuchs). Then there were altogether other priests and priestesses, including the Sacred Choir—the Naru who sang, the Lallaru who were singers and musicians, and the Munabu whose specialty was lamen- tations. In each group there was the Rabu—the Chief, the one in charge. As envisaged by Marduk, once his Esagil ziggurat-temple was raised heavenward, its main function was to constantly observe the heavens; and indeed, the most important seg- ment of temple priests were those whose task it was to ob- serve the heavens, track the movement of stars and planets, record special phenomena (such as a planetary conjunction or an eclipse), and consider whether the heavens bespoke omens; and if so, to interpret what they did portend. The astronomer-priests, generally called Mashmashu, in- cluded diverse specialties; a Kalu priest, for example, spe- cialized in watching the Constellation of the Bull. It was the duty of the Lagaru to keep a detailed daily record of the celestial observations, and to convey the information to a cadre of interpreter-priests. These—making up the top priestly hierarchy—included the Ashippu, Omen specialists, In the Name of God