Sumerian Addenda · Signs

𒈨ME · [me] · rites, divine powers; to be

rites

Where it comes from

Two wedges — the simplest sign of the Sumerian course, carrying one of Sumer’s deepest words. The me are the divine ordinances, the powers that make civilization run: kingship, crafts, truth, lament. The same sound also serves the copulaa word or word-part meaning "to be," linking a subject to what it is — Sumerian attaches it to the word itself: lugal-me-en, "I am king": -me-en, “I am / you are,” which puts this little sign inside every royal boast.

How to remember it

The rites are the smallest signs with the largest reach — two strokes that hold up the world, the way ritual does. When a king says lugal-me-en, “I AM king,” the being-verb he leans on is this sign.

In the wild

Piece by piece:

• lugal-me-en — king am I
• šag₄-ta — from the womb, literally “from the heart”
• ur-saŋ-me-en — hero am I: the copulaa word or word-part meaning "to be," linking a subject to what it is — Sumerian attaches it to the word itself: lugal-me-en, "I am king" again

Twice in one line, the rites-sign does the am. The hymn is read in 102’s chapter 15.