Amagi, or Freedom
The Sumerian word amagi 𒂼𒄄 means "freedom, liberty"; it is in fact the first recorded concept of freedom in human language. It consists of the signs AMA, meaning "mother", and GI4, meaning "to return"; the Sumerian concept of freedom can be thus understood as a "return to the mother".
It is one of the many Sumerian terms that is misunderstood and co-opted by people with a political agenda, who distort the meaning of the word from its original Sumerian implications. The sign for amagi has been adopted as a symbol by a number of right-libertarian groups in the United States and beyond, who claim that it stands for the sort of free market society that they endeavour to create, a society in which the pursuit of wealth reigns supreme and the poorest in society are cast out and consigned to their fate. They couldn't be more wrong if they tried.
The implication of a "return to the mother" is that freedom, in Sumerian society, represents a return to the natural order of things as ordained by the gods. Right-libertarians would be shocked at the natural order, as envisaged by the Sumerians, which declared that greed, oppression, and debt bondage were evils that should be obliterated by society; many Sumerian kings strove to be seen as champions of the poor, hungry, and marginalised, and it was seen as a mark of great honour for a king to protect the weak, to decrease inequality, and to enforce justice for all, regardless of their social status. These are all things that are tragically lacking in modern society, and certainly run contrary to the libertarian conception.
A Sumerian king, on ascending the throne, might promulgate an amagi reform, cancelling debts, freeing people from indentured labour, and the restoration of land rights. The Sumerians would have been quite horrified at the abuses of power that are allowed to run unchecked in modern Western society, and would certainly have seen such things as contrary to the concept of amagi.
The story of Enlil in the E-kur (mountain temple) tells of how great feasts were held in the temple, feasts of abundance and plenty for all; it was also the place where wages were gathered and distributed. The text also warns that those who look out at the temple with greedy eyes, those who seize and hoard wealth and resources out of avarice, are an affront to the gods; such things are not to be tolerated. Freedom, to the Sumerians, meant freedom for all, in a just and compassionate society.
It is one of the many Sumerian terms that is misunderstood and co-opted by people with a political agenda, who distort the meaning of the word from its original Sumerian implications. The sign for amagi has been adopted as a symbol by a number of right-libertarian groups in the United States and beyond, who claim that it stands for the sort of free market society that they endeavour to create, a society in which the pursuit of wealth reigns supreme and the poorest in society are cast out and consigned to their fate. They couldn't be more wrong if they tried.
The implication of a "return to the mother" is that freedom, in Sumerian society, represents a return to the natural order of things as ordained by the gods. Right-libertarians would be shocked at the natural order, as envisaged by the Sumerians, which declared that greed, oppression, and debt bondage were evils that should be obliterated by society; many Sumerian kings strove to be seen as champions of the poor, hungry, and marginalised, and it was seen as a mark of great honour for a king to protect the weak, to decrease inequality, and to enforce justice for all, regardless of their social status. These are all things that are tragically lacking in modern society, and certainly run contrary to the libertarian conception.
A Sumerian king, on ascending the throne, might promulgate an amagi reform, cancelling debts, freeing people from indentured labour, and the restoration of land rights. The Sumerians would have been quite horrified at the abuses of power that are allowed to run unchecked in modern Western society, and would certainly have seen such things as contrary to the concept of amagi.
The story of Enlil in the E-kur (mountain temple) tells of how great feasts were held in the temple, feasts of abundance and plenty for all; it was also the place where wages were gathered and distributed. The text also warns that those who look out at the temple with greedy eyes, those who seize and hoard wealth and resources out of avarice, are an affront to the gods; such things are not to be tolerated. Freedom, to the Sumerians, meant freedom for all, in a just and compassionate society.