On DAY 4 the king begins his first cultic journey of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival. He leaves Katapa and travels to Taḫurpa, a city located one day’s journey from Ḫattuša and tentatively identified with Eskiyapar, approximately 25 km northeast of Boğazkale (Sir Gavaz Ö. 2012b). Before reaching Taḫurpa, he stops in the town Ḫišurla, where a purification ritual is performed at the river involving the burning of wood piles (for this ritual, see also DAY 16). The day concludes with a great assembly in the palace complex of Taḫurpa.

DAY 4 is the first day of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival for which the detailed sequence of events is known, owing to the large number of surviving day-tablets. Seventeen manuscripts representing seven versions have been identified. An important caveat must be noted: DAY 15 of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival contains events that closely parallel those of DAY 4, namely the king’s journey from Katapa to Taḫurpa and a great assembly in the latter city (albeit without a stop in Ḫišurla). Since day-tablets never specify to which day of the festival they belong to, it is impossible to determine with certainty which tablets describe DAY 4 and which describe DAY 15. It is even conceivable that, for the celebrations common to both days, the same tablets were used.

The day-tablets of DAY 4 were among the first to be recognized as belonging to the nuntarriyašḫa- festival (see Laroche E. 1957c: 67). The first detailed edition of those texts, however, was published only by Nakamura M. 2002a: 86–89, who identified and edited five manuscripts, treating all of them as duplicates of the first tablet in a series. He also noted a sixth manuscript, KUB 20.18, as a possible candidate. Since this text describes precisely what one would expect at the end of DAY 4 and at the beginning of DAY 5, KUB 20.18 is included in the present edition.

By contrast, the present edition does not include IBoT 4.320, also attributed to CTH 626 (see Lorenz directly in the Konkordanz). The fragment records a standard hand-washing rite and could belong to any festival that features this ceremony.

According to the present reconstruction, the events of DAY 4 begin with an offering ritual in Katapa, after which the king visits the Garden of Aškašepa in the vicinity of the city. Only then do the celebrations proceed to Ḫišurla. There, by the river, two wood piles have already been prepared. Upon the king’s arrival, they are set on fire, and a purificatory ritual takes place. First, the ‘man of the Storm-god’ conducts a purification using the tuḫḫueššar substance. Then the king receives a number of pebbles from a priest of the god Zilipuri, takes them in his left hand, and throws them – again with his left hand – into the river, thereby symbolically casting off any impurity he may bear. Finally, he walks between the two burning wood piles, and is thus cleansed by fire (a similar ritual appears to take place on DAY 16 at Nirḫanta).

Afterward, the king departs from Ḫišurla and continues toward Taḫurpa. Along the route he stops at a ḫuwaši- precinct, where he performs a libation for the gods. Further on, at a gazzituri- – perhaps a well pole – near Taḫurpa, he exchanges his chariot for a ḫuluganni- cart, a much slower vehicle, traditionally used in festivals. As he approaches Taḫurpa, he is greeted, i.a., by female zintuḫi- singers and priests of the city Durmitta, who present him with lumps of salt.

Upon the king’s arrival in Taḫurpa, a great assembly commences in the ḫalentu- complex. This elaborate ceremony involves numerous court officials and local dignitaries and culminates in an extended god-drinking rite dedicated to a large number of deities. After the ceremony, the ḫalentu- complex is closed for the night, bringing the day’s events to a close. The day-tablets end with a brief description of the early hours of the following morning and the king’s departure for Arinna (see DAY 5).