The website of "Bel of the Balls," the world's first ever novel set in the magical, sensual, swordual world of Belegarth.

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Thursday, April 20, 2017

Man singing "Epic of Gilgamesh" in ancient Sumerian

And here, I thought I was a badass for singing Beowulf in Anglo-Saxon.

This man has out-nerded me by several centuries:


I felt pretty proud of myself for singing the opening stanzas of Beowulf in the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language by the fireside, during Belegarth's medieval fighting event, "Battle for the Ring."

But that was before I discovered this guy.

First off, he recites the Epic of Gilgamesh in its original language--a tongue that nobody on earth has spoken for 4,000 years. (By contrast, Anglo-Saxon was spoken until just 900 years ago.) As if that weren't badass enough, though, he performs it on the "gishgudi," an actual ancient Sumerian instrument.

David, you've been officially out-nerded.

1 comment:

  1. That is badass. In case you hadn't heard of it, thought you might like this too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya-zOiiCd6U

    Maybe not quite as authentic, but several of the tracks on this album are prayers or curses found inscribed on tin plates from ancient Gaul and are sung in reconstructed Gaulish. I think this one is a curse against roman generals.

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