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100 The defeat of Zu lingered in the memory of the Anunnaki as a great deliverance. Perhaps because of the assumption that the spirit of Zu—representing betrayal, duplicity, and all evil in general- persists in causing ill and suffering, the trial and execution of Zu were transmitted to mankind's $_generations in the form of an clabo- vee ee eee - - ee re Long instructions for the ritual have been found in both Babylo- nian and Assyrian versions, all indicating their earlier Sumerian source. After extensive preparations, a "great bull, strong bull who treads upon clean pastures" was brought into the temple and purified on the first day of a certain month. It was then whispered into the bull's left ear through a reed tube: "Bull, the guilty Zu are you"; and into the right ear: "Bull, you have been chosen for the rite and the ceremonies." On the fifteenth day the bull was brought before the images of "the Seven Gods Who Judge" and the sym- bols of the twelve celestial bodies of the Solar System. The trial of Zu was then reenacted. The bull was put down be- fore Enlil, "the Great Shepherd." The accusing priest recited rhe- torical accusational questions, as though addressed to Enlil: How could you have given "the stored treasure" to the enemy? How could you have let him come and dwell in the "pure place"? How could he gain access to your quarters? Then the playacting called for Ea and other gods to beseech Enlil to calm himself, for Ninurta had stepped forward and asked his father: "Point my hands in the right direction! Give me the right words of command!" Following this recital of the evidence given at the trial, judgment was passed. As the bull was being slaughtered in accordance with detailed instructions, the priests recited the bull's verdict: His liver was to be boiled in a sacrifical kettle; his skin and muscles were to be burned inside the temple; but his "evil tongue shall remain out- side." Then the priests, playing the roles of the other gods, broke out in a hymn of praise to Ninurta: Wash your hands, wash your hands! You are now as Enlil, wash your hands! You are as Enlil [upon] the Earth; May all the gods rejoice in you! When the gods looked for a volunteer to fight Zu, they promised the vanquisher of Zu: THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN rate ritual. In this annual commemoration a bull was chosen to stand for Zu and atone for his evil deed.