Zu-buru-dabbeda, inscribed zú-buru5-dib-bé-da, is the most complete exemplar of a small body of similarly themed texts from ancient Mesopotamia.
[1] Composed in Akkadian, it is a compendium of incantations against field pests such as locusts, grasshoppers, insect larvae, weevils and other vermin, the creatures known as the "great dogs of Ninkilim".
The text provides a series of invocations to various deities, entreating them to deflect various subjects of the god Ninkilim:[2] Accept, O East Wind that averts [storm-damage!]
In a letter[i 3] to Sargon II by his governor of Assur, Ṭab-ṣilli-Ešarra, he quotes the king's instructions to carry out just such a ritual fumigation.
[3] The final ritual includes a pause of seven days, a sacrificial white lamb, a bonfire heaped with a variety of offerings, and careful treatment of the charred remains.