***a Myhthical Account Of Origin Of Writing! Poem by RAJ NANDY

A MYTHICAL ACCOUNT OF THE
ORIGIN OF WRITING!

The ancient Sumerians believed writing to be
one of the divine arts,
Brought down from the heavens by Enki, -
Their first god to settle on this earth!
The later Babylonians and the Assyrians,
attributed this invention to Nabu,
Who was the son of Marduk and a descendent
of Enki too!

The Egyptians attributed creation of writing to
goddess Seshat,
While Thoth, the god of writing, taught mankind
this exquisite art!
They also believed that in order to achieve immortality, -
A person’s name must be both spoken and inscribed
for posterity!
The Greeks who became acquainted with Thoth,
Called him Hermes Trismegistus, their writing God!
In Rome, it was Mercury, Hermes’ counterpart,
Considered to be the creator of this art!
In Norse mythology the great Odin, who had
sacrificed an eye, -
In exchange of the knowledge of the past, the present,
and the future of mankind,
Is credited with the invention of Furthark – the
Runes,
That ancient script, for mankind’s boon!

Among the Mayans their supreme deity Itzamna,
Who was a sorcerer and creator of the world;
Was also the creator of writing and the time-keeper
of the Mayan world!
But in China it was not a deity, but an ancient sage
named Ts’ang Cheih!
It was during the reign of the Yellow Emperor, -
Forging a link between their Gods and ancestors-
with their Empire!
Thus writing became an extension of human
memory;
A tool for the priests, scribes and the elite,
To rule over the illiterate of their country!
-Raj Nandy
08 Oct 09
New Delhi
**Dear friends, this mythical account was just a Prelude,
To the actual Story of Writing, which I will be putting
up soon!