Sumerian Addenda · Signs

𒊑RI · [ri] · [ri]; distant — ud ri-a, "in those days"

distant

Where it comes from

The sign behind Sumerian epic’s favorite way to begin: ud ri-a / ud re-a, “in those distant days.” As a demonstrative it points far away; as a verb it is “to pour out, to cast upon” — what the Great Mountain does with seed in Gudea’s hymn.

How to remember it

Distant is where the storyteller points: over the horizon, before the flood, in THAT day — not this one. When a poem opens with this sign, settle in: you are being carried a long way back.

In the wild

Piece by piece:

• ud — day
• re — that distant one: this sign doing the pointing
• -a — in

Once upon a time, the Sumerian way — whole works were filed under it. The formula anchors 102’s chapter 10.