Ninkarrak
Ninkarrak | |
---|---|
Divine physician | |
Pabilsag | |
Children | Damu |
Equivalents | |
Isin equivalent | Ninisina |
Umma equivalent | Gula |
Nippur equivalent | Nintinugga |
Luwian equivalent | Nikarawa |
Ninkarrak (
Like a number of other healing goddesses, Ninkarrak was described as a divine physician. She shared her role in the Mesopotamian pantheon with deities such as Gula, Ninisina, Nintinugga, and Bau. Dogs frequently are found associated with Ninkarrak and are interpreted as a symbol for her as well as for multiple other divine physician goddesses. While she was sometimes identified with other similar deities, certain traits were unique to her. Together with the distribution of evidence of her cult they serve as an indication that even if partially syncretised, individual Mesopotamian goddesses of medicine had distinct origins. It is possible that Ninkarrak only developed into a healing goddess due to already being associated with disease in curse formulas, in which she appears frequently as early as in the Akkadian Empire. In the context of those texts she could be paired with Ishara.
Name and origin
While the standard spelling of Ninkarrak's name is
The
According to Westenholz's proposal, the area where Ninkarrak was originally worshiped "could be in the Habur river basin, one side of the triangle formed by the Habur river ending at Terqa and the other side by the Tigris river ending at Akkad".[13] However, it is generally accepted that the point of origin for Ninkarrak should be considered uncertain in the light of available evidence.[19]
Eblaite Ninkar
Joan Goodnick Westenholz proposed that the name "Ninkar" attested in texts from Ebla, stand for Ninkarrak rather than the similarly named, but more obscure southern Mesopotamian goddess of daylight.[13] Occasional shortening of Ninkarrak's name to "Ninkar" is known from Mesopotamian sources as well.[6] This theory is also accepted by Alfonso Archi, who notes that identification of the Eblaite Ninkar with a minor Sumerian goddess of daylight would make it difficult to explain why devotion to her is relatively common, for example among women of the royal house.[20] Irene Sibbing-Plantholt also presumes Ninkarrak was worshiped in Ebla.[21]
Luwian Nikarawa
It is possible that Ninkarrak, under the name Nikarawa (dni-ka+ra/i-wa/i-sa2[3]), appears in a hieroglyphic Luwian inscription from Carchemish, which asks the goddess' dogs to devour anyone who damages the inscribed monument.[22] The identification of Nikarawa with Ninkarrak has a long history in modern scholarship.[3] Ignace Gelb already proposed it in his translation of the Carchemish inscription in 1938.[23] That translation has been challenged in a recent publication by Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar,[24] although as of 2022, the identification of Nikarawa as an alternate spelling of Ninkarrak's name is still regarded as plausible.[3]
Character
Ninkarrak was regarded as a healing goddess and functioned as a divine physician.[25] Evidence from deity lists such as An = Anum indicates that theologians perceived her as the default Akkadian goddess of medicine.[26] Šurpu addresses her as the "great doctoress"(azugallatu).[27] Mesopotamian goddesses associated with medicine were portrayed as surgeons in literary texts, cleaning wounds and applying bandages.[25] One healing incantation invokes Ninkarrak with the formula "May Ninkarrak bandage you with her gentle hands".[28] Her other area of expertise was believed to be exorcisms.[29] As attested for the first time in texts from the Old Assyrian period, she could be invoked to ward off the demon Lamashtu,[29] which is also attested for Ninisina and might indicate that healing goddesses were viewed as guardians of pregnant women, as well as mothers and newborns, who are demographic groups particularly endangered by this creature according to Mesopotamian beliefs.[30] Notably Ninkarrak was not described as a divine midwife, however.[19]
Ninkarrak was also invoked in curses.[31] In this capacity, she was implored to inflict various diseases upon potential transgressors, which led Jan Assmann to refer to her as the "goddess of maladies".[32] Irene Sibbing-Plantholt goes as far as suggesting that Ninkarrak might have been primarily a curse deity, and only acquired an association with healing as an extension of this role.[33] She already appears in a curse formula from the reign of Naram-Sin of Akkad.[34] The Babylonian king Hammurabi invoked Ninkarrak in a curse formula [35] on one of his steles, calling her the "goddess who promotes my cause at the Ekur temple" and imploring her to punish anyone who damages the monuments with diseases "which a physician cannot diagnose".[36]
References were often made to Ninkarrak's dogs, which were regarded as fearsome.[37] She can be identified on seals from Sippar through the presence of these animals.[38] A dog statuette was found during excavations of her temple in Terqa.[39] However, according to Sibbing-Plantholt it is not certain whether Ninkarrak's connection with dogs necessarily reflects her role as a healing deity, and might instead reflect the liminal character of dogs in Mesopotamian beliefs.[40]
Associations with other deities
Ninkarrak was usually not paired with any male deities,
The deity list
Irene Sibbing-Plantholt points out that parallels may be drawn between the roles of Ninkarrak and the rainbow goddess Manzat in treaties.[31]
In a hymn dedicated to Nanaya, this goddess compares herself to Ninkarrak.[45]
Ishara
Multiple sources attest the existence of a connection between Ninkarrak and Ishara,[13] a goddess first attested in sources from Ebla, later worshiped by various cultures of Mesopotamia, as well as by Hurrians and Hittites.[46] She was believed to be capable of both inflicting and, if placated, curing illnesses,[47] but she also functioned as a love goddess [48] and was associated with the underworld and by extension with the goddess Allani.[49] Examples of texts that mention Ishara together with Ninkarrak include an Old Assyrian treaty,[13] offering lists from Sippar and Mari, and especially, in curse formulas.[50] Additionally, both appear in Naram-Sin's treaty with Elam, although not next to each other.[13] Joan Goodnick Westenholz presumed that the link between the deities was based on their shared origin in what is modern Syria,[13] while Irene Sibbing-Plantholt refers more broadly to both of them as being worshiped in the "Western and Eastern fringes of Mesopotamia" and identifies that as the cause.[39] She also proposes that since Ninkarrak was associated with dogs and Ishara with either snakes or scorpions, they might have been perceived as complementary deities, due to their animal symbols.[40]
The name Meme is attributed to both Ishara and Ninkarrak in their respective sections of the deity list An = Anum.[51]
Other healing goddesses
In addition to Ninkarrak, multiple other healing goddesses belonged to the
Ninkarrak was commonly associated with both Gula and Ninisina, who were interchangeable to a degree.
A syncretistic hymn to Gula composed at some point between 1400 BCE and 700 BCE by Bulluṭsa-rabi [54] equates her with a number of other goddesses, including Ninkarrak, but also Bau, Ninsun, Nanshe, Ninigizibara, and more.[62] At the same time, each section appears to preserve information about the original character of the goddess mentioned in it.[63] The one dedicated to Ninkarrak does not describe her abilities as a healer, but rather highlights her high status.[64]
In a version of the literary text Great Revolt against Narām-Sîn from Mari, Ninkarrak is mentioned in association with the coronation of Ipḫur-Kiši, although in another copy Gula appears instead, and the temple present in the same passage, Esabad, belonged to Ninisina.[41] A degree of interchangeability between Ninkarrak and Ninisina and between Ninkarrak and Gula is attested in sources from Sippar,[59] as attested variable writing of both toponyms and theophoric names (for example, the same man appears as "Puzur-Ninkarrak" in one document and as "Puzur-Gula" in another).[65] According to Barbara Böck it is possible that large-scale migration from Isin was responsible for this phenomenon.[66] Irene Sibbing-Plantholt notes that since Ninkarrak was worshiped there for longer than the other two goddesses, who are much more sparsely attested, their names were likely treated as her "cognomina" locally.[59] Equally close connection between Ninkarrak and Gula is otherwise unattested.[67] A difference between them has been identified based on curse formulas, where only Ninkarrak was invoked to bring incurable diseases.[19]
In Mari, Kakka, seemingly a local healing goddess, was associated with Ninkarrak, but also with
Worship
The oldest certain attestation of Ninkarrak occurs in the treaty between
Sippar
The worship of Ninkarrak is well attested in sources from Sippar,[72] although it is not certain whether she was present in the local pantheon before the Old Babylonian period or, whether she only was introduced there during the reign of Immerum, perhaps from the Diyala area.[73] A temple dedicated to her already existed there in the Old Babylonian period.[74] It bore the ceremonial name Eulla, "house of rejoicing".[75] The temple might have owned property in the city, as indicated by a reference to a field of Ninkarrak.[74][72] A year name of Buntaḫtun-ila, a local ruler of Sippar contemporary with Sumulael, states that he brought a lilissu drum to her temple.[76] A gate and a district of the city also were named after her.[59] She also occurs in theophoric names, such as Puzur-Ninkarrak and Ṣilli-Ninkarrak.[77] One bearer of the latter name was a scribe during the reign of Hammurabi of Babylon.[78]
In sources from Middle Babylonian Sippar, her name occurs only on a single kudurru (boundary stone) inscription, which states that if anyone will transgress the listed regulations, Ninkarrak will "take away his seed".[79] Attestations from the Kassite and Middle Babylonian periods are infrequent overall: her name is only mentioned on three kudurru, never in clear association with a specific figure depicted, and on a single seal.[80]
Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned from 605 to 562 BCE,[81] apparently was devoted to Ninkarrak[79] and rebuilt the Eulla.[75] Eight copies of an inscription commemorating this event are presently known.[82] The king states that he was tasked by Marduk with repairing it, and describes its previous state in the following terms: "the temple had not been kept in good repair, so that its ground plan had become obliterated and its outlines unrecognizable, covered with dust, (which) was no longer named together with the sanctuaries of the gods, (whose) regular offerings were cut off, they ceased to be mentioned, the cereal offerings were discontinued".[83] He also built temples dedicated to Ninkarrak in Borsippa and Babylon.[79] The latter, Ehursagsikilla,[84] "house, pure mountain", survived as late as the Parthian period.[85] A number of sources refer to it as a temple of Gula instead.[84] Andrew R. George refers to it as belonging to "Gula-Ninkarrak" and tentatively proposes that it was the same house of worship as the Egalmah.[85] Joan Goodnick Westenholz describes the temple in Borsippa in similar terms.[84]
Terqa
Ninkarrak was also present in the pantheon of the middle
Early occupation of the structure has been dated to roughly the same period as the reigns of three kings of Terqa:
- Yadikh-abu, a contemporary of
- Kashtiliash, initially estimated as ruling c. 1690 BCE [92] a date later than 1650 BCE has been proposed as well, based on closer analysis of artifacts.[93] The beads, likely serving as a temple deposit, were specifically dated to his reign.[92] His name has Kassite origin.[94]
- Shunuhru-ammu, ruling c. 1650 BCE according to the initial estimates.[92]
However, the temple remained in use later as well.[92] and archaeologists speculate that the temple was remodeled multiple times.[88]
The scarabs from the temple of Ninkarrak are considered a find of particular achaeoloigcal importance, as they represent the easternmost known location where such objects have been found in a sealed deposit dated to the
Other Mesopotamian attestations
In documents from the Old Assyrian period Ninkarrak is the only healing goddess attested, and a reference to the property of a temple dedicated to her is known.[96] Later Assyrian sources mentioning her include the Takultu text, listing deities greeted by the king during a long ritual and a number of hymns from Assur,[22] although she was not a major goddess in this area in the first millennium BCE.[80] In the kingdom of Apum, also located in the north of Mesopotamia in the upper Khabur valley, she was one of the deities invoked in oath formulas in treaties, and a statue of her might have been present during related ceremonies.[97] However, Klaas R. Veenhof argues that it cannot be said for sure whether Ninkarrak appears in documents from this kingdom as a local deity or whether she belonged instead to the pantheon of the other signatory of the treaty.[98]
A temple of Ninkarrak was located somewhere in the proximity of the Diyala River, although its ceremonial name and precise location are unknown.[99] It is known that she was worshiped in Shaduppum, where a festival involving offerings of sesame oil was held in her honor, in Išḫali, where she is attested in incantations, and in Nuzi, where she appears in the theophoric names (Ninkarrak-ummī and Ninkarrak-ṣillī).[100]
Ninkarrak also was worshiped in locations more closely related to the cults of other healing goddesses: she had a small chapel in Nippur (where the main healing goddess was Nintinugga) and she is also present in a small number of personal names from Nippur.[80] It also is possible that she was worshiped at a site in Isin.[101] A year name of one of the kings from the dynasty of Isin, Suen-magir, mentions the digging of a canal named after her.[102]
While she is overall sparsely attested in sources from the Mesopotamian heartland before the end of the Old Babylonian period,[103] sporadic references to her are also known from the southernmost cities, notably Larsa and Uruk.[101] However, in the latter case the only evidence is a letter with the formula "just as I do not turn my back on Ninkarrak, I do not turn my back on you", which might only reflect the personal devotion of the author or the professional community he belonged to, and as such, does not necessarily confirm that she belonged to the local pantheon.[103]
Outside Mesopotamia
A goddess known from texts from Ebla who might correspond to Ninkarrak, Ninkar,[20] appears in one of the offering lists, following Resheph of Hadani and his spouse Adamma.[104] An offering of a mace to her is also attested, although Alfonso Archi considers it to be unusual.[105]
Attestations of Ninkarrak are known from sources from both
A copy of the Adapa myth from Amarna, presumably a part of a scribal school curriculum, mentions Ninkarrak.[112]
References
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External links
- The temple of Ninkarrak on terqa.org, a website documenting the excavations carried out at Terqa by a Joint American Expedition between 1976 and 1986
- Animal figures from Terqa