Nunura

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Ninura.
Nunura
Divine potter

Nunura (also transcribed Nunurra

Ea
, which reflects a broader trend of treating artisan deities as aspects of that god.

Name and character

Nunura's name was written in cuneiform as dNun-ur4-ra[2] or dNin-ur4-ra,[3] though the latter spelling is considered unusual.[4] The name could also be represented by the logogram dBÁḪAR, "potter".[5] However, this combination of signs could also be used to write at least five other theonyms: Aruru, Lil, Enenuru, Nunšar and Šaršar,[6] the last three of which are secondary names of Enki/Ea.[5] Additionally, in the lexical list Diri Nippur the meaning of two logograms, dBÁḪAR and dSIMUG ("smith"), is seemingly swapped around, with the former explained as the blacksmith god Ninagal and the latter as Nunura.[7] Markham J. Geller refers to Nunurra as a female deity.[8] Hower, other authors consistently describe him as male.[5][9][1]

Nunura functioned as a divine potter.[6] He was addressed as the potter of Anu (Sumerian: báḫar gal an-na-ke4, Akkadian: pa-ḫa-ru rabû šá da-nim), though he could also be associated with Ea.[2] In late god lists they could be equated with each other, one example being An = Anu ša amēli, where Nunura is explained as "Ea of the potter"..[5] It is presumed this is an example of a broader late tendence of equating artisan deities with him, in Nunura's case possibly made easier by the resemblance of his name to the magical formula enenuru, which was associated with Ea.[10]

Nunura also played a role in apotropaic magic and exorcisms.[11] An incantation related to ablution rites refers to him as the "lord of purification" (lugal nam-išib-ke4).[12]

Attestations

Nunura is attested in a number of incantations.

Udug Hul.[14] Said incantation series describes Nunura heating up various ingredients associated with magic and medicine in an oven (tablet 9, line 47').[8] He is invoked to remove a demon from a house in a "pot fired in a pure kiln from a pure place".[15] It is presumed that it was a real container used in the ritual, as the passage appears to also invoke other deities, for example Ningirima, Nisaba and Lisin, in relation to tools or materials which are known to have played a role in Mesopotamian exorcisms.[9] An Old Babylonian incantation describes Nunura preparing a saḫar, a porous vessel used as a container for water in exorcisms, from clay earlier cleansed by the purification goddess Kusu.[1] A text found in Nimrud contains the phrase "Nunurra, fired from a great kiln", likely the beginning of another unpreserved formula.[15]

The compendium CBS 6060, an esoteric text assigning deities to substances or objects,[16] states that porringers correspond to Nunura[17] and then in turn explains this name as Ea.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c George 2016, p. 57.
  2. ^ a b George 1991, p. 153.
  3. ^ Peterson 2009, p. 64.
  4. ^ George 2016, p. 58.
  5. ^ a b c d e Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998, p. 620.
  6. ^ a b Lambert 2013, p. 156.
  7. ^ Krebernik 2011, p. 508.
  8. ^ a b Geller 2015, p. 24.
  9. ^ a b Rendu Loisel 2015, p. 220.
  10. ^ Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998, p. 621.
  11. ^ Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998, pp. 620–621.
  12. ^ George 2016, p. 36.
  13. ^ Rudik 2018, p. 404.
  14. ^ Rudik 2018, pp. 404–405.
  15. ^ a b Geller 2015, p. 310.
  16. ^ Livingstone 1986, p. 175.
  17. ^ Livingstone 1986, p. 179.
  18. ^ Livingstone 1986, p. 183.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nunura&oldid=1180973077"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Nunura. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy