Jump to content

Ningal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ningal
Tutelary goddess of Ur
Old Babylonian fired clay plaque from Ur on display in the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq depicting a goddess accompanied by Nanna’s symbol, the lunar crescent. It has been proposed that depictions of a seated goddess accompanied by a symbolic representation of Nanna might be Ningal.[1]
Major cult centerUr,Harran
Genealogy
ParentsNingikuga and Enki
ConsortNanna/Sin
Children
Equivalents
Hurrian equivalentNikkal

Ningal(Sumerian:"Great Queen";[2]AkkadianNikkal[3]) was aMesopotamian goddessregarded as the wife of the moon god,Nanna/Sin. She was particularly closely associated with his main cult centers,UrandHarran,but they were also worshiped together in other cities ofMesopotamia.She was particularly venerated by theThird Dynasty of Urand later by kings ofLarsa.

Character and iconography[edit]

Ningal's name hasSumerianorigin and can be translated as "Great Queen".[2]While she was a major deity in theMesopotamian pantheonand the worship of her is attested from all periods ofhistory of Mesopotamia,her character was largely "passive and supportive" according toJoan Goodnick Westenholz.[4]She was the tutelary deity ofUr.[5]She shared it with her husbandNanna(Akkadian Sin).[6]She was referred to as the "lady" (NIN;Early Dynasticsources) or "mother" (AMA;Ur IIIsources) of Ur.[4]She and the city could be compared to a mother and her child in literary texts.[7]She was portrayed mourning over it in laments, such asLament for Ur[8]orLament for Sumer and Ur.[9]

Based on some of Ningal's epithets it has additionally been proposed that she was in part an astral deity, much like her husband.[10]This aspect might have been reflected in titles such as Ninantagal, Ninmulnunna, Si-iminbi and possibly Kalkal,[6]respectively "high lady", "lady, star of the prince", "sevenfold light" and "treasured".[11]

Ningal's iconography was not consistent.[12]It has been proposed that she could be represented as a seated goddess accompanied by the lunar crescent, a symbol of her husband.[1]A type of bird,u5-bi2,was possibly associated with her, though the evidence is inconclusive.[13]Proposed identities of this animal include thegreylag gooseand thewhooper swan,[11]but it is assumed that even in Ur, statues of a goddess accompanied by a water bird of the genusAnserini,well known from excavations, were more likely to representNanshe.[14]Ningal was also calledzirru,a term which might designate a female bird.[13]Someenpriestesses of Nanna, especiallySargon's daughterEnheduanna,were also referred to aszirru.[15]On theUr-Nammu Stele,Ningal is depicted sitting in her husband's lap.[16]This type of depictions was meant to display the intimate nature of the connection between the deities and highlight their ability to act in unison, and is also attested forBauandNingirsu.[17]

In medical treatises the term "hand of Ningal" referred to an unidentifiedskin disease;analogous names of diseases are attested for various other deities, for example Sin,Adad,ShamashandGeshtinanna.[18]

Association with other deities[edit]

Ningal's mother wasNingikuga(Sumerian: "lady of the purereed"), as attested in abalbalecomposition and in anemesallove song.[19]This goddess could be identified as a consort ofEnki.[5]The god listAn = Anumidentifies her withDamkinadirectly, though in itsOld Babylonianforerunner she is a separate deity in the circle of Enki.[19]Ningikuga could also instead function as the name of a manifestation of Ningal, addressed as "the pure one who purifies the earth".[20]

Thelunar godNanna (Akkadian Sin) was regarded as Ningal's husband.[3]Her role as his wife is the best attested aspect of her character.[5]Some of her epithets underlined her connection to him, for example Ḫegalnunna ( "wealth of the prince" ).[11]A derivative of Ningal were regarded as married to other moon gods inHurrian(Kušuḫor Umbu),Hittite(Arma) andUgaritic(Yarikh) sources.[3]In all of the corresponding languages her name was rendered asNikkal,similarly as in Akkadian.[5]The best attested children of Ningal and Nanna wereInanna(Ishtar), who representedVenus,andUtu(Shamash), who represented the sun.[3]The view that Inanna was a daughter of Nanna and Ningal is the most commonly attested tradition regarding her parentage.[13]The poemAgushayarefers to Inanna as Ningal's firstborn child.[11]Due to her identification with Ishtar, the Hurrian andElamitegoddessPinikiris referred to as a daughter of Sin and Ningal in a text written in Akkadian but found in a corpus of Hurro-Hittite rituals.[21]Further relatively commonly attested children of Ningal and Nanna include the goddesses Amarra-uzu and Amarra-he'ea, known fromAn = Anum,Ningublaga(the city god of Ki'abrig) andNumushda(the city god ofKazallu).[3]InNeo-Assyriansources fromHarranNuskawas regarded as the son of Ningal and her husband.[5]In aMaqlûincantation,Manzat(Akkadian and Elamite goddess of the rainbow) appears as the sister of Shamash, and by extension as daughter of his parents, Ningal and her husband.[22]

An = Anumindicates that Ningal was believed to have asukkal(attendant deity), though the reading of their name,dMEkà-kàME, remains uncertain.[3]Richard L. Litke argued that the gloss is unlikely to point at an otherwise unknown pronunciation of the sign ME, and assumed that the deity in mention was namedMeme,while an alternate version of the list had the name Kakka in the same line instead.[23]Manfred Krebernik[de]proposes that this deity is identical with the divine messengerKakka.[3]Litke instead concluded that in this case Kakka should be understood as a deity elsewhere equated withNinkarrak,[23]distinct from the messenger god.[24]A medicine goddess named Kakka, associated with Ninkarrak andNinshubur,is attested in sources fromMari.[25]

An association between Ningal andNinshuburis documented in theEarly Dynasticgod list fromAbu Salabikh.[26]In the Old Babylonian periodNanshewas incorporated into the circle of deities associated with her in Ur, though she is overall sparsely attested in sources from this city.[27]It is possible that the deityNin-é.NIM.ma,best attested in texts fromLarsaand theSealand,was associated with Ningal as a member of her entourage starting with the reign ofKudur-Mabukand his successors, though it has also been proposed that this name was her epithet.[28]

Worship[edit]

Ningal is first attested the god lists fromEarly DynasticFaraandAbu Salabikh.[5]She is also mentioned in theZame Hymns(fromza3-me,"praise" ), where she appears afterNannaas "mother Ningal" (ama Ningal).[4]

Ur[edit]

Atemplededicated to Ningal was located in Ur, and could be referred with the ceremonial Sumerian names Egarku and Agrunku ( "house, sacred boudoir" ).[29]In the earliest texts from this city, she is only attested in twotheophoric names,but by theUr III periodshe came to be invoked in them commonly.[6]TheUr-Nammu Steleindicates that she was likely the highest ranked goddess in the local pantheon during his reign.[30]A limestone bowl dedicated to Ningal byUr-Nammu's daughterEn-nirgal-ana[pl],who served as theenpriestess of Nanna, has also been discovered.[31]Shulgireferred to Ningal as his mother.[11]He also rebuilt the temple of Nanna in Ga’esh, Ekarzida ( "house, purequay") as a temple of Ningal in which she was known by the epithet Nin-Urimma," lady of Ur ".[32]

The veneration of Ningal in Ur is well documented in sources from theOld Babylonian periodas well.[6]Anette Zgoll argues that herculticimportance increased compared to the preceding Ur III period.[9]Shu-IlishuofIsinmentions Ningal in a curse formula in an inscription found in Ur commemorating the recovery of the statue of Nanna fromAnshan.[33]Iddin-Daganreferred to himself as the "beloved of Nanna and Ningal".[34]En-ana-tuma[pl],enpriestess of Nanna and daughter ofIshme-Dagan,dedicated a statue to Ningal.[35]Kings ofLarsa,especiallyWarad-SinandRim-Sîn I,considered Ur a city of particular religious and political importance and were active worshipers of Ningal.[14]Sources from this period indicate that her temple was combined with the Gipar, the residence of theenpriestess of Nanna, into a single complex.[36]The ceremonial name Egarku was retained for her major sanctuary within it, and appears in inscriptions of kings such asNur-Adadand Warad-Sin.[29]Another shrine dedicated to her in the Gipar was Eidlurugukalamma ( "house of theriver ordealof the land "), rebuilt bySilli-Adad.[37]The work continued under the reign of his successor Warad-Sin.[38]Sin-Iddinammentions Ningal alongside Nanna in an inscription dealing with the construction of the walls of Ur.[39]

In theKassite period,Kurigalzu Ibuilt another temple of Ningal in Ur, but its name is presently unknown.[40]

Ningal was still worshiped in Ur during theNeo-Babylonian period.[41]Her main temple there was rebuilt byNabonidus.[42]Additionally abīt ḫilṣi( "house of pressing" ), assumed to be a pharmacy accompanied by a garden where the ingredients for various medicines were grown) located in the same city in this period was associated with Ningal.[18]

Harran[edit]

InHarranNingal was worshiped in a shrine known under the namegiparu.[43]Andrew R. Georgeassumes it was located in the Eḫulḫul,[40]the temple of Sin located in this city.[44]It is attested in sources from the reign ofAshurbanipal.[40]An inscription of this king states that Ningal and Nanna crowned him in Harran.[6]According to inscriptions ofNabonidus,during the repairs undertaken at his orders in the Eḫulḫul the temple was provided with refurbished statues of its divine inhabitants, including Sin, Ningal,NuskaandSadarnunna.[45]

Harran most likely influenced theAramaiccenter of the cult of Ningal, known from sources from the first millennium BCE, Nereb (Al-Nayrab) located in the proximity ofAleppo.[46]

Other cities[edit]

Offerings to Ningal are mentioned in texts fromNippurfrom theUr III period.[9]According to the so-calledNippur Compendium,she was worshiped in this city in the local temple of Nanna,[47]as well as in a sanctuary referred to asbīt dalīli( "house of praise" ) alongsideNisaba,Kusu,Shamashand Bēl-ālīya.[48]A seal inscription from theKassite periodmentions "Ningal ofNippur"alongside the local goddessNinimma.[49]

Fromlower MesopotamiaNingal was introduced toMari,where she was already known in the Ur III period.[50]In an early offering list she appears afterBelet-ekallimand Lugal-Terqa ( "lord ofTerqa").[51]One masculine[52]and one feminine theophoric name invoking her have been identified inOld Babyloniansources from this city.[53]

A document from Old BabylonianSipparmentions that statues of Ningal and Nanna were used as witnesses of a transaction.[54]They were also invoked together oncylinder sealinscriptions from this city from the same period, though not as commonly as Shamash andAyaorAdadandShala.[55]

References to veneration of Ningal in the Old Babylonian period are also available from multiple other cities, includingBabylon,Isin,Kisurra,Larsa,TutubandUrum.[6]A joint cult center of Ningal and her husband whose location is uncertain was also patronized by kings of the Manana dynasty ofKish.[56]

A single attestation of Ningal is known from the archive of theFirst Sealand dynasty.[27]She occurs in this context as a recipient of offerings alongside Nanna.[57]A settlement named after her, Quppat-Ningal, is also attested a handful of times in this text corpus, for example in a letter of an official named Nūr-Bau, presumably addressed to kingPešgaldarameš[de]or his successorAyadaragalama.[58]

TheCanonical Temple List,which dates to theKassite period,[59]lists two temples of Ningal whose location remains unknown, Eangim ( "house like heaven" ) and Eengimkuga ( "house pure like heaven" ).[60]

One of the inscriptions of theAssyrian kingEsarhaddoncommemorates the construction of a temple dedicated jointly to Ningal, Sin, Shamash andAyainNineveh.[61]A shrine dedicated to her was also located inDur-Sharrukin,[62]a new royal city constructed during the reign ofSargon II.[63]It was located within his palace.[64]The king implored her in an inscription to intercede with her husband to grant him a long life and to guarantee his successors will continue to rule over "every inhabited region forever".[65]Ningal is also attested in a number of theophoric names fromAssyria.[6]

Letters from the reign ofAshurbanipalindicate that Ningal and her husband replacedInannaandDumuzias the tutelary deities of Kissig in late periods.[66]Nabonidus restored a temple of Ningal bearing the ceremonial name Eamaškuga ( "house, pure sheepfold" ) in this city,[67]which according toAndrew R. Georgemight be identical with Eamašku, attested in association with Inanna in earlier literary texts, includingInanna's Descent.[68]This event is commemorated by an inscription on a poorly preserved cylinder dated to 546 BCE discovered during excavations inTell al-Lahm,which might be the site of Kissik.[69]The king asked Ningal to intercede with her husband on his behalf in it.[70]

Ningal was also worshiped inUrukin theSeleucidperiod.[71]However, the attestations are limited to a single source, the ritual text K 7353, which shows astrological influence, but ultimately remains obscure.[72]She is absent from earlier Neo-Babylonian sources[71]and according to Julia Krul presumably was incorporated into the local pantheon due to her status as the wife of Sin, similarly to other spouses, children and servants of locally venerated deities who first appear in Uruk in Seleucid sources.[73]

Outside Mesopotamia[edit]

The cult of Ningal spread from Mesopotamia to other areas, includingHurriankingdoms such asKizzuwatna,as well asUgaritand theHittite Empire,where she developed intoNikkal.[74]In Ugarit, where she could be referred to as Nikkal-wa-Ib,[75]she belonged both to the Ugaritic and Hurrian pantheons of the city, and is attested as the wife of both local moon godYarikhand his Hurrian counterpartKušuḫ.[76]In an Ugaritic myth she is associated with an otherwise unknown godḪrḫb,who was possibly regarded as her father and most likely originated in Hurrian tradition.[77]Non-Hurrian non-Ugaritic attestations of Nikkal from areas whereWest Semitic languageswere spoken in the second and first millennia BCE are very infrequent, though it might be the result ofpreservation bias.[78]According to Gina Konstantopoulos, the distinct western form of Ningal might be mentioned in the treaty betweenAshur-nirari Vand Mati-ilu ofArpad.[79]

In the east Ningal is attested inAkkadiantheophoric names fromSusainElam,with the oldest examples occurring in sources from theSargonic period.[80]Additionally, a chapel dedicated to her was maintained there by an Akkadian-speaking family, possibly originally brought to the city as prisoners of war after the Elamite conquest ofUr.[81]They maintained it over the course of four generations.[82]

InEgyptNingal (or Nikkal) is only attested once, in a single magical papyrus, in which she appears as a foreign deity implored to heal a disease.[78]

References[edit]

  1. ^abAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,pp. 173–174.
  2. ^abAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 57.
  3. ^abcdefgKrebernik 1993,p. 365.
  4. ^abcAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 49.
  5. ^abcdefZgoll 1998,p. 352.
  6. ^abcdefgZgoll 1998,p. 354.
  7. ^Zgoll 1998,pp. 353–354.
  8. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 72.
  9. ^abcZgoll 1998,p. 355.
  10. ^Wiggins 1998,p. 768.
  11. ^abcdeZgoll 1998,p. 353.
  12. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 209.
  13. ^abcAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 230.
  14. ^abAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 231.
  15. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 182.
  16. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,pp. 190–191.
  17. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 191.
  18. ^abAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 120.
  19. ^abCavigneaux & Krebernik 1998,p. 361.
  20. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 109.
  21. ^Beckman 1999,pp. 27–28.
  22. ^Abusch 2015,p. 11.
  23. ^abLitke 1998,p. 122.
  24. ^Litke 1998,p. 25.
  25. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 273.
  26. ^Nicolet 2022,p. 19.
  27. ^abBoivin 2018,p. 215.
  28. ^Boivin 2018,p. 230.
  29. ^abGeorge 1993,p. 90.
  30. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 190.
  31. ^Frayne 1997,p. 87.
  32. ^George 1993,p. 108.
  33. ^Frayne 1990,p. 16.
  34. ^Frayne 1990,p. 24.
  35. ^Frayne 1990,p. 44.
  36. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 227.
  37. ^George 1993,p. 104.
  38. ^Frayne 1990,p. 203.
  39. ^Frayne 1990,p. 175.
  40. ^abcGeorge 1993,p. 93.
  41. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 277.
  42. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 286.
  43. ^George 1993,p. 92.
  44. ^George 1993,p. 99.
  45. ^Weiershäuser & Novotny 2020,p. 11.
  46. ^Weippert 1998,p. 358.
  47. ^George 1992,p. 159.
  48. ^George 1993,p. 74.
  49. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,pp. 95–96.
  50. ^Archi 2013,p. 12.
  51. ^Sasson 2015,p. 236.
  52. ^Nakata 1995,p. 253.
  53. ^Nakata 1995,p. 251.
  54. ^Harris 1975,p. 153.
  55. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 257.
  56. ^George 1993,p. 79.
  57. ^Boivin 2018,p. 222.
  58. ^Boivin 2018,p. 66.
  59. ^George 1993,p. 6.
  60. ^George 1993,p. 67.
  61. ^Leichty 2011,p. 58.
  62. ^Frame 2020,p. 31.
  63. ^Frame 2020,p. 30.
  64. ^Frame 2020,p. 34.
  65. ^Frame 2020,pp. 192–193.
  66. ^George 1993,p. 33.
  67. ^Weiershäuser & Novotny 2020,p. 9.
  68. ^George 1993,p. 66.
  69. ^Weiershäuser & Novotny 2020,p. 94.
  70. ^Weiershäuser & Novotny 2020,p. 95.
  71. ^abKrul 2018,p. 72.
  72. ^Krul 2018,pp. 69–70.
  73. ^Krul 2018,p. 75.
  74. ^Imparati 1998,p. 356.
  75. ^Wiggins 1998,p. 766.
  76. ^Weippert 1998,pp. 357–358.
  77. ^Wiggins 1998,p. 769.
  78. ^abWeippert 1998,p. 357.
  79. ^Konstantopoulos 2023,p. 142.
  80. ^Zadok 2018,p. 154.
  81. ^Zadok 2018,p. 155.
  82. ^Zadok 2018,p. 153.

Bibliography[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ningal&oldid=1229922120"