Lamia, Lamassu, Lamatu: The Non-Human Psychic Vampire

The Sumerian tradition with insights from the Bestiary of Gula Bau of Nippur,
including the means of banishment.

http://33.media.tumblr.com/0445353a79b20e3574e79dbe243f91cb/tumblr_nx5syjNBop1ryvq99o1_500.gif

Lion-headed Lamia kneeling on the back of an ass in a boat on the river of the Netherworld. She holds a serpent in each hand.
A piglet sucks on her left breast while a puppy sucks on the right. A scorpion is visible between her legs, above the neck of the
ass. The boats bow ends in the head of a snake. This is a detail from the bronze plaque below.

Lamia being driven back into the netherworld by the demon Pazuzu, the figure at the lower left corner. The head at the top of
the plaque is also that of Pazuzu. In the panel directly above Lamia, priests are treating a sick person lying on a bier. More
images of Pazuzu appear in the panel directly above that one.

The Lamia wasnt an earth spirit but one of seven evil entities that descended from heaven. The demon
Patsutsu was often called to counteract Lamia: Pazuzu was invoked in apotropaic amulets which combat
the powers of his rival, the malicious goddess Lamashtu, who was believed to cause harm to mother and
child during childbirth. Although Pazuzu is, himself, considered to be an evil spirit, he drives and frightens
away other evil spirits, therefore protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes. (Wikipedia).

Sumerian Utukk Lemntu tablet 5:

She is long of finger, long(er still) of nail.
Her forearms(?) are ...
She came right in the front door,
Slithering over the (door)post casing!
She slithered over the (door)post casing,
She has caught sight of the baby!
Seven seizures has she done him in his belly!
Pluck out your nails! Let loose your arms!
Before he gets to you, Ea, the warrior, as sage for the task.
The (door)post casing is big enough for you,
the doors are open,
Come then, be gone into the (door)post casing!
They will surely fill your mouth with dust, your face with sand,
With fine-ground mustard seeds they will fill your eyes!
I exorcise you by Ea's curse; you must be gone!

According to some Sumerian texts, Patsutsu was invoked owing to the belief of many healers that nothing
else counteracted Lamia who seemed immune to the rituals of exorcism. Not so the Sumerian Seeress,
who knew that exorcism was irrelevant because Lamia did not, in fact, possess a person in the way other
entities do. She was instead a psychic vampire who sucked the will to live from her victims. Besides
attemping to harm expectant mothers and infants, she feasted on peoples psychic energy.
Here follows the Seers description:

O beware ye the delinquent daughter of heaven of the power of seven!

Indeed is she not Lilith but worse by far, deadly as Tiamats darkest star.
Her embrace is a trap, verily lies death in her kiss. Cruel is she, her voice a serpents
hiss. Alike unto the leech is she, like the vampire she soareth, searching for thee.
Lo! Lamma is mightier than Lilith and a shape shifter too. Verily hideth she herself as it suiteth, yea in
diverse forms cloudeth she her might. An effective disguise to those without sight.
The problem then as now is that depression and exhaustion have multiple causes. For the inexperienced
healer, the cause was not evident. The Baru (diagnostician) could see the shape hovering over the victim,
sucking the life force from the crown chakra,

Sahasrra in Sanskrit and Keter in Hebrew.

Is there one who withers, who wastes away, one afflicted by nightmares? Let the family summon a Baru
(diviner healer) to determine the cause.
Hark thou Baru, when thou seest the Leech Hag hanging above the afflicted! Let the family summon the
Atsu (medicine man).
Hark thou Atsu, take a shard of the meteorite stone or the striated black stone of the rainbow stones
(tourmaline), and affix it to the crown of the sufferers head. Take the vervain? plant. Bruise the leaves and
rub them on the forehead. Of the leaves makest thou a brew for the afflicted to drink.
O Atsu, when thou hast done thy duty, summon the Iip (spiritual healer).

Hark thou Iip, make of clay seven figurines of guard dogs. And thou wilst consecrate them with
incantations under the full moon at the confluence of two canals, with running water wilst thou charge
them according to the texts.
Then placest thou the seven statuettes in the house of the victim. Why then, the ignorant ask, should the
mighty Lamma fear the small statuettes of baked clay? For this reason, that she knoweth neither large nor
small, nay, neither up nor down, in her ghostly realm. Will she not behold them as equal to her and flee?
Indeed will their anger throw waves? against her.

The charging by which thou chargest them under the moon where the flowing waters meet, that will be
like blinding lightning, like shaking thunder and the blasting gale to her.

O Iip, take up the reed pipes and in that house play the sacred song 'This house has received power from
the Abzu', in the key? of the crown must needs thou play it.

Webography
www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer_anunnaki/esp_sumer_annunaki15d.htm
web.archive.org/web/20050213025604/http://www.zyworld.com/vampirelore/Gallery1.htm