In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology (and Mesopotamian mythology in general) Hanbi or Hanpa (more commonly known in western text) was a member of the udug (dark shadow demons different from the gods of Earth, Wather Fire, Air and Afterlife) and he was the lord of evil, lord of all evil forces different from the gods and the father of Pazuzu.[1]
He was also the creator of the solid monster Hunbaba and probably of the two solid creatures named Asag and Anzu.
The Udug were capable of entering the human body and they were born in the inferior realm.
In a bilingual incantation written in both Sumerian and Akkadian, the god Asalluḫi describes the "evil udug" to his father Enki:
O my father, the evil udug [udug hul],
its appearance is malignant and its stature towering,
Although it is not a god (dingir)
its clamour is great and its radiance [melam] immense,
It is dark, its shadow is pitch black and there is no light within its body,
It always hides, taking refuge, [it] does not stand proudly,
Its claws drip with bile, it leaves poison in its wake,
Its belt is not released, his arms enclose,
It fills the target of his anger with tears, in all lands,
[its] battle cry cannot be restrained.
This description mostly glosses over what the udug actually looks like, instead focusing more on its fearsome supernatural abilities.
All the characteristics ascribed to the "evil udug" here are common features that are frequently attributed to all different kinds of ancient Mesopotamian demons: a dark shadow, absence of light surrounding it, poison, and a deafening voice.
Other descriptions of the udug are not consistent with this one and often contradict it.
Konstantopoulos notes that "the udug is defined by what it is not: the demon is nameless and formless, even in its early appearances."
Cunningham, Graham (2007) [1997], Deliver Me from Evil: Mesopotamian Incantations, 2500-1500 BC, Studia Pohl: Series Maior, vol. 17, Rome, Italy: Etrice Pontificio Instituto Biblico, ISBN 978-88-7653-608-3
Geller, Markham J. (2016), Healing Magic and Evil Demons: Canonical Udug-hul Incantations, Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-1-5015-0015-2
Konstantopoulos, Gina (2017), "Shifting Alignments: The Dichotomy of Benevolent and Malevolent Demons in Mesopotamia", in Bhayro, Siam; Rider, Catharine (eds.), Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period, Leiden, The Netherlands and Boston, Massachusetts: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 19–38, ISBN 978-90-04-33854-8
