Page 71 - DILMUN 13_Neat

DIL,MUN

T٦١e ifftl festival w٦5 ''th٥ grca‫ ﺍ‬festival, (Wen-mah) in the ١inth month which too;k i1';
name fron ;٦"١‫«ﺇ‬

The sixth and final fcstival was ''th١e ritc of ١onth opening''27

III. Conclusion

There are noticeable conparison bctwee١ the Dilun's bull-gme inscribcd on Seal No, 36.
nd the Minoan Crete wall painting. Dilmun's bull was powerful with a larg٥ chcst, short
tail, a sonewhat long neck, powerful lcgs, long body, and stright long horns, The players
wer٥ of acrobatic body and standing in the sa١٥ style and ٦a٦cr as in the Crctan cxanmplc.

Minoan Crete's bull had a large chest, a powerf١l body, a long tail, a short neck,
powcrful lcgs, a large big body, a١d sei-circular short horns.

Tlis similarity between the two cmplcs is not bccause of any possible cultural
cchangcs or influence of the bull-game betwecn the two cultures. Dilmun's bull-game was
dated c. 2300 B.C., and there was no known or cven possible cultural cclange of influence
bctwcen the two cultures, The only possible cxchange could be through a third related
culture, and the only culture which had any relation with the gul'fs ancient rcgion and the
Creste island, was the Phoenician culturc but 'the great era'' of Minoan trade was long gone
when the Phoenician cities of Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon had their brief "golden age'23.
Excluding three to seven hundred years difference between Dilmun's and Crete's example,
'the greatest (palaces) of them, at nosses, were first built around ١900 B .C29 whereas
'the peak of Minoan civilisation came about 1600 B.C. and a century or so hater the palaces
and towns were destroyed'30

Seal No. 36, should belong to one of the six festivals of the Nanna rites, but which one?
hTe ''month opening' rite is not the festival as we are looking for an annual event. The
"eses'' festival is also not the one because it was held thrice every month. The 'Ud-nu-a'
festival also was a monthly event. The Akiti festival seems to be merely a relegious ritual and
no possible acrobatic bull-game could be associated with it.

We, therefore, are left with the only two remianing festivals, first, "2ag-mu-ak", the
new year fostival which started with the beignning of the moon (mashdagu) and, the second
festival, 'Eaen-mah', the great festival, which began in the ninth month, both these festivals
could be the ones recorded on Seal No. 36. They are both annual events and both are major
festivals for Nanna, a new year and a great festival.

Tihs bull-game fesitval for the Moon-god, does support the point which I have been
making in my paper that, the Dilmun culture was and should be igven its rightufl credit as an
advanced ancient ciivlised culture. They were so civilised that they had time to hold this
annual event. Dilmun was not a culture of trade alone but was a great civilisation.

26. ١bid, Page 124.
27. Ibid, Page 124.
28. Histoyr of the Wolrd, Page 76.
29. Ibid, Page ٦7•
03, bid, Page 78‫ﺍ‬.

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