First Woman to Write

History is limited.

To a bounded horizon, and a restricted narrative.

After all, they are his stories – tales of men, written by men.

Where does a woman stand amidst these stacks of worn, torn books in the accounts of the past?

Where are her tales of courage?

Where are her chapters of glory?

Where is herstory?

At times when it is too easy to consider the systematic oppression of women and their histories for centuries on end, it serves as an empowering reminder to think of the first author known to mankind – she was a woman.

The first woman to speak her mind, and write her story.

Enheduanna.

Her name meant High Priestess.

When the great King Sargon of Akkad had appointed his daughter for this position, his main aim was to unify the many regions under his empire’s control. At a time where Mesopotamia was far from united, he had established himself as a “foreign king” who swooped over small tribes and territories to form what is now known as the great Akkadian empire. But of course, as is inevitable in all forms of colonization, the native people who lived between the Tigris and Euphrates river areas were not happy. Sources mark frequent uprisings, revolts, and challenges against the empire-builder Sargon. To them, a king who wouldn’t even speak their language, was nothing more than a foreign invader. Animosities arose, and the empire soon saw itself fracturing and slowly weakening in its strength. Was there any way this could be stopped?

The solution came in the form of his only daughter, Enheduanna.

He knew of her brilliance as a child, and saw her the best fit to save the ever-so-rapidly decreasing remains of the empire. She was to be the bridge that united the two seemingly diametrically opposing trains of thought. The colonized and the colonizers. The Sumerians and the Akkadians. With that, began the arduous task of amalgamating two metals into one – gold and silver both into one, singular, lavish pot.

The task was not to be taken lightly, however.

The path towards cultural appropriation, be it the 21st century or the 2nd is much the same. And the fine line it would take to both take the best of both cultures and turn them into one religion, but also not offend either side would be a feat in and of itself.

And presuming that the task was to be done, it would be much greater of a concern to have the commoners follow the laws and rituals instructed by a woman. Considering, at the time, that women had no role in social life beyond the confines of their four-walled mud homes.

These problems came both externally and internally.

To successfully live up to her father’s expectations, Enheduanna would have to both please the people, and the Gods.

The first step was long, but necessary.

To humanize the Gods that were worshipped.

She figured, the people couldn’t pray to someone they couldn’t identify with.

So she began her task of assigning feelings – anger, love, hatred, empathy – to these deities. The more relevant the Gods became to the common people, the greater their influence would spread. And as fate would have it, it turned out Enheduanna’s most convincing of strategies came from the writing of these hymns and tales. Poems upon poems, etched onto clay tablets with reed styluses in hand.

The same hand, now known for its use of the pronoun “I” which forever revolutionized the perspective of stories, and the stanzas that changed the form of poetry as we know it.

Slowly, through her wit and unquestionable character, Enheduanna began overtaking more and more jobs. It was bound to happen. Enheduanna was a favorite amongst her people, and soon grew out of a priestess to be one of many things…

A fresh hope for a new empire that was pieced together by religion.

A mediator between the Gods and the people, who she humanized and made relevant to locals.

A righteous leader who oversaw the work of many new temples and temple workers.

A strong manager for the food supply of many cities.

A holy interpreter for the underlying messages of sacred dreams.

A kind spirit that constantly worked to empower women under the grip of the patriarchy.

And of course…

An excellent poet who wrote mystical hymns and led her people on spiritual ventures that traveled far from where they’d ever gone before. Her favorite pastime, and her most cherished skill.

The first woman to write.

The first ever author.

It would be wrong to assume that along the way she found no obstacles.

That would not be true, for she found rejection, animosity, and cruelty along the way – as did every great person in their reach for success and greatness.

The path to excellence is never a straight one. But she took those obstacles in her stride.

These pebbles along the way came in the form of refusal of women in power, which she tackled with firm belief and dedication.

Droughts and hardships in micromanaging an entire empire, she tackled with grace and planning.

Religious disputes in the temple, she tackled with speeches and love.

Forced exile through hatred towards the royal family, she tackled with humility and faith.

And not once, in her forty years as head priestess, or her lifetime as an author, did she let these rocks on her path deter her from her goal. From day one when she was appointed, to the day she died, she was Enheduanna – with the stylus in her hand, and the desire to change the world.

She turned the penmanship of his story into hers.

Her name was Enheduanna.