Damu

In Mesopotamian religion, a Sumerian vegetation god and city god of Girsu on the Euphrates River.

He was especially associated with the flowing of sap in the spring. His name means "the child," and his cult centred on the lamentation and search for him. Damu's cult influenced and later blended with that of Dumuzi the Shepherd, a Sumerian deity of the grassland people. Damu was also the name of a goddess of healing.

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▪ ancient god

      in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city god of Girsu, (Lagash) east of Ur in the southern orchards region. Damu, son of Enki (Ea), was a vegetation god, especially of the vernal flowing of the sap of trees and plants. His name means “The Child,” and his cult—apparently celebrated primarily by women—centred on the lamentation and search for Damu, who had lain under the bark of his nurse, the cedar tree, and had disappeared. The search finally ended when the god reappeared out of the river.

      The cult of Damu influenced and later blended with the similar cult of Tammuz the Shepherd, a Sumerian deity. A different deity called Damu was a goddess of healing and the daughter of Nininsina (Bau) of Isin.

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