A day in the life of an ancient Babylonian business mogul - Soraya Field Fiorio

Prevodilac: Teodora Mijatovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

As dawn breaks in the Babylonian city of Sippar,

Kako sviće u vavilonskom gradu Sipru,

Beltani receives an urgent visit from her brother.

Beltanin brat joj dolazi u hitnu posetu.

It’s 1762 B.C.E., during the reign of King Hammurabi.

Godina je 1762. pre nove ere, za vreme vladavine kralja Hamurabija.

Beltani is a naditu— a priestess and businesswoman,

Beltani je nadutkinja - sveštenica i poslovna žena,

promised to the temple at birth.

po rođenju obećana hramu.

At puberty, she changed her name

Tokom perioda puberteta je promenila ime

and gained her elevated naditu status in a ceremony where a priest

i dobila uzdignut status nadutkinje tokom ceremonije

gde je sveštenik ispitivao unutrašnjost žrtvovane životinje tražeći proročanstva.

examined the entrails of a sacrificed animal for omens.

The naditu are an esteemed group drawn from Babylonia’s most affluent families.

Naditui su cenjena grupa ljudi iz najuticajnijih porodica u Vavilonu.

Though the rules are different for naditu in each city,

Iako su pravila različita za naditue u svakom gradu,

in Sippar they are celibate and never marry.

u Sipru su oni u celibatu i nikada se ne udaju ili ožene.

They live inside the gagum, a walled area inside the temple complex,

Oni žive u gagumu, ozidanom delu hrama

but are free to come and go, and receive visitors.

ali mogu dolaziti i odlaziti, i primati goste.

Beltani owns barley fields and a tavern.

Beltani poseduje polja ječma i kafanu.

Her brother manages these businesses while she fulfils her duties as a priestess.

Njen brat vodi biznis

dok ona ispunjava svoja zaduženja kao sveštenica.

This morning, he makes a troubling accusation:

Ovog jutra, rekao je strašnu optužbu:

her tavern keeper has been diluting wine with water.

njena gostioničarka je razblaživala vino vodom.

If true, this means she’s been undermining the business Beltani relies on

Ako je ovo istina, to znači da je ona sabotirala biznis

na koji se Beltani oslanja da je izdržava tokom starosti.

to sustain her in old age.

But the consequences would be even higher for the tavern keeper:

Ali kazna bi bila još veća za gostioničarku:

the punishment of diluting wine is death by drowning.

kazna za razblaživanje vina je smrt davljenjem.

The temple court is meeting this afternoon.

Hramski sud se sastaje ovog poslepodneva.

Beltani has just a few short hours

Beltani ima još samo nekoliko kratkih sati

to find out whether there’s any truth to these allegations.

da otkrije da li su ovi navodi istiniti.

But she can’t go to the tavern to investigate.

Ali ona ne može ići u kafanu da istražuje.

Taverns are off limits for priestesses, even priestesses who own them.

Kafane su nedostupne za sveštenice, čak i sveštenice vlasnice kafana.

She could be burned to death for entering.

Mogla bi biti spaljena nasmrt ako bi ušla.

So she sends for the tavern keeper to meet her at the temple of Shamash,

Zato poziva gostioničarku da se nađu u hramu Šamaša,

the patron god of Sippar.

boga pokrovitelja Sipra.

The temple is a stepped pyramid called a ziggurat,

Hram je stepenasta piramida koja se zove zigurat,

in the heart of the city and visible from twenty miles away.

u srcu grada i vidljiv sa 32 kilometara udaljenosti.

It symbolically connects heaven and earth

Simbolički povezuje raj sa zemljom

and is viewed as the literal home of the god Shamash,

i smatra se pravim domom boga Šamaša,

who gave humanity the code of laws

koji je ljudskoj vrsti dao kodeks zakona

and is the judge of the Babylonian pantheon.

i koji je sudija vavilonskog panteona.

Beltani leaves an offering of bread and sesame oil in a private room.

Beltani ostavlja hleb i susamovo ulje u sobi.

She never enters the inner chamber of the temple where the god lives,

Nikada ne ulazi u unutrašnji krug u kome bog živi,

a place so holy only high priestesses and kings visit.

toliko sveto mesto koje samo najznačajnije sveštenice i kraljevi posećuju.

Outside, worshippers play music and leave gifts,

Napolju, obožavaoci sviraju i ostavljaju poklone,

which are later collected and used to feed temple workers, including the naditu.

koji se kasnije sakupljaju i koriste za prehranu radnika, uključujući i naditu.

The tavern keeper is waiting with grim news.

Gostioničarka čeka sa mračnim vestima.

She says Beltani’s brother has been altering the weights

Kaže da je Beltanin brat menjao tegove

used to measure payments to cheat customers.

korišćene za merenje uplata, da bi prevario mušterije.

When the tavern keeper confronted him,

Kada se gostioničarka suočila sa njim,

he falsely accused her of watering down the wine.

on ju je lažno optužio za razblaživanje vina vodom.

If true, Beltani’s brother is the dishonest one—

Ako je to istina, Betanin brat je taj koji je neiskren -

and altering weights is another crime punishable by death.

i menjanje tegova je još jedan zločin koji se kažnjava smrću.

Beltani is running out of time to get to the bottom of this.

Beltani ponestaje vremena da otkrije istinu u vezi sa ovim.

Though she can’t go to the tavern,

Iako ne može da ode u kafanu.

she can check on the barley fields her brother manages

može da proveri polja ječma koja njen brat vodi

to see if he’s been honest there.

da vidi da li je tu iskren.

In the granary, she sees much more grain than he reported to her.

U žitnici, vidi mnogo više žita nego što joj je brat prijavio.

He’s been cheating her out of her share.

Varao ju je za njen deo.

Like all naditu in Sippar,

Kao svi naditui u Siparu,

Beltani inherited the same portion of her father’s property as her brother.

Beltani je nasledila jednak deo imovine kao i njen brat.

These were rare circumstances for women in a time and place

Ovo su bile retke okolnosti za ženu u vreme i na mestu

where property passed through men.

gde imovina prelazi na muškarca.

Still, their families didn’t always honor their rights.

Ipak, njihove porodice nisu uvek uvažavale njihova pravila.

Although naditu traditionally went into business with male relatives,

Iako je naditu tradicionalno otpočela biznis sa muškim rođacima,

the law stated they can choose someone else

zakon nalaže da oni mogu izabrati nekog drugog

if their brothers or uncles weren’t up to the task.

ako njihova braća ili ujaci nisu dorasli tom zadatku.

With the evidence she needs, she hurries to court.

Sa dokazima koji su joj potrebni, žuri na sud.

A judge presides over the temple court along with two naditu—

Sudija predsedava ispred hramskog suda zajedno sa dva naditua -

the overseer of the gagum and a scribe.

nadzornikom gaguma i pisarom.

Beltani asks to remove her brother as her business manager,

Beltani zahteva da se njen brat ukloni kao njen biznis menadžer,

citing the granary as evidence that he is mismanaging her properties.

navodeći žitnicu kao dokaz da on loše upravlja njenom imovinom.

The judge grants her request.

Sudija odobrava zahtev.

The scribe records the new contract in cuneiform into a wet clay tablet,

Pisar beleži novi ugovor na klinastom pismu na mokroj glinenoj tabli,

and the matter is settled.

i problem je rešen.

She's protected her income and spared her brother’s life

Zaštitila je svoju imovinu, i sačuvala život svome bratu

by withholding the true extent of his crimes.

krijući stvarni obim njegovih zločina.

Perhaps it is time to adopt a younger priestess:

Možda je vreme da primi mlađu sveštenicu,

someone to take care of her in old age and inherit her property,

nekoga ko bi mogao da se stara o njoj u starosti i da nasledi imanje,

who might do a better job of helping with her business.

ko bi mogao bolje da joj pomogne sa poslom.