Nikkal

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Nikkal
Spouse of the moon god
Nikkal (second from the left) on the Yazılıkaya procession relief[1]
Other namesNikkal-wa-Ib
Major cult centerUgarit
Personal information
Parents
Spouse
ChildrenSun god of Heaven (in Hittite sources)
Equivalents
Mesopotamian equivalentNingal

Nikkal (logographically dNIN.GAL,

moon god, whose precise identity varied between locations. While well attested in Hurrian and Hittite sources, as well as in Ugarit, she is largely absent from documents from the western part of ancient Syria
.

Name and character

Nikkal was derived from the

Ur III period.[8]

In Hittite sources Nikkal's name was usually spelled logographically as dNIN.GAL, though phonetic syllabic spellings such as dNi-ik-kal are also known, while in Hurrian texts the latter predominate.[9] An additional form of the name, Nikkal-wa-Ib ("Nikkal and Ib"), is known from Ugarit.[10] It is commonly accepted that the second element means "fruit" in Ugaritic and that it is analogous to a similar epithet of the Mesopotamian Nanna,[11] dIn-bi, "the fruit".[12] However, restorations of Ugaritic texts including the phrase ilat inbi, "goddess of fruit," are now regarded as erroneous and there is no evidence that such an epithet was ever applied to Nikkal independently from the name Nikkal-wa-Ib.[12] An alternate interpretation associates Ib with Umbu,[5] a name of the moon god in Hurrian sources which possibly originated in Upper Mesopotamia.[8] However, according to Mauro Giorgieri connecting this epithet with the Umbu, or treating the latter as an epithet of Nikkal, is problematic.[13] He concludes that instances where the name Umbu precedes Nikkal should be treated as references to a dyad of deities, the former being the name of the Hurrian moon god in this context.[14] The etymology of this theonym ultimately remains uncertain.[13]

Due to Nikkal's infrequent appearances in mythological texts discussion of her character is regarded as largely speculative.[15] In Hittite tradition she could function as one of the deities linked to oaths alongside Ishara and the moon god.[16][a] However, such attestations are not common.[18]

Association with other deities

The notion of Ningal being the wife of the moon god was retained by cultures who adopted her into their pantheons as Nikkal.

cultic context due to their similar characteristics.[5] In Ugarit Nikkal is attested alongside Kušuḫ, but she was also regarded as the spouse of local moon god Yarikh.[8]

Maḫitti (singular) or Maḫittena (plural) are attested as members of Nikkal's circle in a Hurro-Hittite context.[20] Volkert Haas suggested that they were divine prophetesses, and interpreted their name as an Akkadian loanword in Hurrian based on the similarity to the terms maḫḫitu and maḫḫutu(m) attested in the Mari texts.[21] A ritual attributed to queen Nikkal-mati lists various further deities who belonged to the circle of Nikkal, including Zēdu (possibly her divine handmaiden), Alwil, Agaššari, the "gods of the father" of Nikkal,[b] as well as other groups of deities not provided with individual names (širini, ḫawari and gate) divine hounds and piglets.[21]

The Hittite text known as "prayer of Kantuzzili" refers to Ištanu (the "Sun god of Heaven") as Nikkal's son.[9]

It has been proposed that a god known only from the Ugaritic myth Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh, ḫrḫb, might be Nikkal's father.[15] However, modern restorations of the text indicate explicit references to such a relation are lacking.[23] He is referred to with two epithets, with the first being agreed to mean "king of summer"[15] or "king of the summer fruit,"[12] while the meaning of the second is regarded as connected to the institution of marriage (proposals include "king of weddings," "king of the wedding season" and "king of marriage").[24] In the past interpretations such as "king of the raiding season" were also proposed.[24] He is assumed to be a deity of Hurrian origin,[15] and it is possible that his name might mean "he of the mountain Ḫiriḫ(i)", and end with the suffix -bi (Ḫiriḫ(i)bi).[25] This type of divine name would be similar to these of Hurrian deities Kumarbi and Nabarbi,[25] meaning respectively "he of Kumme" and "she of Nawar."[26]

Worship

Nikkal had a prominent position in the

Damkina and Aya.[1] However, in Ankuwa during the reign of Tudḫaliya IV she received offerings as a deity from the kaluti of Teshub instead.[2] A distinct kaluti centered on her is also known.[30] In the Kizzuwatnean ritual of Ammiḫatna Nikkal is among the goddesses mentioned in the context of offerings made to all the female deities (Hurrian: ḫeyarunna aštuḫina).[31] The fragmentary ritual text KUB 51.73 mentions offerings made to Nikkal and her throne.[32]

A number of Hittite theophoric names invoking Nikkal are known, including these of queen Nikkal-mati and her daughter Ashmu-Nikkal.[33] Haas pointed out that etymologically Hurrian theophoric names of queens invoking Nikkal and Ḫepat might point at a connection of the Middle Hittite royal house with southern Anatolia and northern Syria, where both of these goddesses were worshiped.[34] It is possible that Nikkal-mati was the queen who according to a Middle Hittite document presided over a private ritual to Nikkal, in which her two sons, a priest (possibly named Kantuzzili) and Tulpi-Teshub also took part.[9]

Ugaritic reception

In Ugarit Nikkal is attested in both

Ashtart.[44] During a ritual which took place during the final month of the Ugaritic lunar calendar, Ra’šu-Yêni ("first wine"),[45] she received a cow as an offering directly after sacrifices to Yarikh.[46]

Multiple theophoric names invoking Nikkal are known from Ugarit as well.[3] Seven individuals bearing them have been identified as of 2016.[47] One of them was Eḫli-Nikkal [de].[18] She is the only presently known Hittite princess who married into the Ugaritic royal family.[48]

A treaty between Ugarit and Carchemish indicates that Nikkal was also worshiped in two other nearby settlements, Gur'atu and Nubannu, both of which were under the control of the latter kingdom.[3]

Miscellaneous attestations

Nikkal is not attested in non-Hurrian non-Ugaritic sources from Bronze Age western Syria.[49] According to Gina Konstantopoulos, it is possible that a reference to Nikkal which she compares to the attestations of this goddess from Ugarit might be present in the treaty between Ashur-nirari V of Assyria and Mati-ilu of Arpad from the first millennium BCE, which invokes many western deities, for example Hadad of Aleppo, Karhuha and Kubaba from Carchemish or Melqart and Eshmun from Phoenicia, alongside Assyrian ones.[50]

In Egypt Nikkal is only attested in Leiden Magical Papyrus I dated to the reign of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, in which she appears as a foreign deity implored to heal a specific affliction.[49]

Mythology

Nikkal appears in an

Attar's daughter ybrdmy, which lead some researchers to propose he is simply the matchmaker, rather than Nikkal's father as often assumed.[54] Yarikh shows no interest in either of these goddesses.[15] After showing he is willing to offer a large amount of silver, gold and lapis lazuli and promising that he is capable of siring a child he secures a permission to marry Nikkal.[55] He states that he will "make her fields vineyards, fields of her love orchards," which is both a figurative and metaphorical reference to the marriage being fruitful according to Steve A. Wiggins.[55] It has been proposed that a poorly preserved section of the text describes a sexual encounter between Nikkal and Yarikh, but this remains uncertain.[56]

Notes

  1. ^ The sumerogram denoting this deity, dEN.ZU or dXXX, typically refers to Arma in Hittite sources, with Hattian Kašku being a figure of minor importance.[17]
  2. ^ enna(-ša) attani-we-na(-ša)'; the concept of ancestral deities was most likely derived from Mesopotamian theology, in which figures such as ancestors of Enlil developed; in Hurrian sources divine ancestors of deities such as Teshub, Ḫepat, Šauška, Lelluri and Šimige are also mentioned.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b Taracha 2009, p. 95.
  2. ^ a b Taracha 2009, p. 102.
  3. ^ a b c d Weippert 1998, p. 358.
  4. ^ a b Wiggins 1998, p. 767.
  5. ^ a b c d Taracha 2009, p. 128.
  6. ^ Taracha 2009, p. 120.
  7. ^ a b Archi 2013, p. 11.
  8. ^ a b c d Archi 2013, p. 12.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Imparati 1998, p. 356.
  10. ^ Wiggins 1998, p. 766.
  11. ^ Wiggins 1998, pp. 767–768.
  12. ^ a b c Rahmouni 2008, p. 233.
  13. ^ a b Giorgieri 2014, p. 333.
  14. ^ Giorgieri 2014, p. 332.
  15. ^ a b c d e Wiggins 1998, p. 769.
  16. ^ Taracha 2009, p. 86.
  17. ^ Taracha 2009, p. 110.
  18. ^ a b c Imparati 1998, p. 357.
  19. ^ Haas 1994, p. 375.
  20. ^ Frantz-Szabó 1987, p. 259.
  21. ^ a b Haas 1994, p. 376.
  22. ^ Archi 2015, p. 654.
  23. ^ Rahmouni 2008, p. XXVIII.
  24. ^ a b Rahmouni 2008, p. 229.
  25. ^ a b Rahmouni 2008, p. 230.
  26. ^ Archi 2013, p. 7.
  27. ^ Haas 1994, p. 620.
  28. ^ Haas 1994, p. 580.
  29. ^ Taracha 2009, p. 199.
  30. ^ Archi 2013, p. 21.
  31. ^ Haas 1994, pp. 376–377.
  32. ^ Haas 1994, p. 377.
  33. ^ Imparati 1998, pp. 356–357.
  34. ^ Haas 1994, p. 20.
  35. ^ Weippert 1998, pp. 357–358.
  36. ^ Rahmouni 2008, p. 342.
  37. ^ Wilhelm 1989, p. 53.
  38. ^ Pardee 2002, p. 55.
  39. ^ Duchesne-Guillemin 1984, p. 14.
  40. ^ Duchesne-Guillemin 1984, p. 13.
  41. ^ Pardee 2002, p. 90.
  42. ^ Válek 2021, p. 52.
  43. ^ Pardee 2002, p. 95.
  44. ^ Pardee 2002, p. 93.
  45. ^ Pardee 2002, p. 56.
  46. ^ Pardee 2002, p. 64.
  47. ^ van Soldt 2016, p. 100.
  48. ^ Válek 2021, pp. 50–51.
  49. ^ a b Weippert 1998, p. 357.
  50. ^ Konstantopoulos 2023, p. 142.
  51. ^ Wiggins 1998, pp. 766–767.
  52. ^ Rahmouni 2008, p. 141.
  53. ^ Rahmouni 2008, pp. 269–270.
  54. ^ Wiggins 1998, pp. 769–770.
  55. ^ a b Wiggins 1998, pp. 771–772.
  56. ^ Wiggins 1998, p. 771.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nikkal&oldid=1183952868"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Nikkal. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy