Babylon Marduk During That Di Figure Priestess Unique Institution Of Marriage

In this paper, I would like to discuss the naditu women's social status in the Old Babylonian period based on their owner marriage contracts. The term naditu is derived from the root nadu, "to leave fallow", a term usually applied to fields. Naditu women were not allow to give birth to child. There are two groups of the naditu women: the naditu women of Samas and the naditu women of Marduk.. The naditu women of Samas lived in the cloister compounded of the Samas temple and were forbidden to marry. The naditu women of Marduk might married and was not cloistered. Many of the naditu women came from wealthy families. Because they were the maids of the Gods. Because they belonged to deities, they were the honor of their families and were given lots of privileges.This thesis is organized into 4 chapters:Chapter one, first I introduced several kinds of priestesses, such as: the naditu, entu, ugbabtu, qadistu, kulmasitu, sekretu, and so on. Second, I give the difference between the naditu women of Samas and the naditu women of Marduk. Third, I described the cloister of Sippar, the installation of a naditu and the economic position of the naditu women.Chapter two is about marriage contracts. In the Old Babylonian, marriage is consist of series of marriage documents, included dowry documents and marriage contracts. In dowry documents, the father of the naditu women gives his daughter lots of property. When his daughter returns her bride-price to her farther-in-law, wife's children will be her heris. In marriage contracts, we know the relationship between the naditu women of Marduk and the sugltu women of her husband is the hostess and servant and the punishment of the divorce.Chapter three included two parts. First is about the naditu women'sinheritance of her father' property. If the father of a naditu women didn't give her daughter property, when her father died, she could take one share of her father's property. Only the naditu women of Marduk had the right to give her property to anyone she liked, other priestesses's property belonged to her brothers after she died. Because the naditu women were not allowed to bear children, the naditu women of Samas could only adopted children as heris. For the naditu women of Marduk, she could give her husband a sugitu woman or a slave girl to bear children.Conclusion. The naditu women have many privileges of marriage and inheritance,. Especially their economic position is nearly similar to the social status of the man.