Adam Kryszeń (Hrsg.)

Citatio: Adam Kryszeń (Hrsg.), hethiter.net/: CTH 626.Tg14 (INTR 2026-01-07)


CTH 626.Tg14

Festival of Haste (nuntarriyašḫa-). Day 14

introductio



Kurzbeschreibung

According to the outline tablets, on DAY 14 of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival, the king departs from Zippalanda and proceeds to Katapa. There, he performs offerings to the Storm-god of Nerik and a great assembly takes place. This marks the king’s second visit to Katapa during the course of the festival (after DAYS 1–3), and also the second occasion (after DAY 5) on which the outline tablets explicitly mention bread of the šeppitt- grain. Given that during the AN.DAḪ.ŠUM festival a specific ritual was devoted to the opening of vessels containing this grain, offerings involving šeppitt- grain may reasonably be interpreted as ritual acts connected with seasonal transitions.

No detailed passages of the events of DAY 14 in Katapa have been securely identified. Nevertheless, one day-tablet may tentatively be associated with this day, namely KBo 51.132 (see the edition of DAY 13). This fragment mentions the beginning of the “second day” of autumn celebrations in Zippalanda, which would correspond to DAY 14, insofar as this day would begin with morning rituals still conducted in Zippalanda before the king's departure for Katapa. The tablet, however, breaks off at precisely the point where the king completes his preparations for departure.

An additional text relevant to DAY 14 is KBo 13.214+, which most likely belongs to the “Spring and Autumn Festival in Zippalanda” (CTH 592). The celebrations depicted there were either integrated into the nuntarriyašḫa- festival or, at least, exerted a formative influence on its structure.

History of publication

The available evidence for DAY 14 is discussed in Nakamura M. 2002a: 108–110, who emphasizes the significance of both KBo 13.214 and KBo 51.132, mentioned above. Nakamura also briefly discusses the geographical relationship between Zippalanda, Katapa, and Ankuwa, arguing that all three cities must have been located in close proximity. He further rejects Haas’s (Haas V. 1970a: 56 n. 1) suggestion that celebrations for the Storm-god of Nerik in Katapa, rather than in Nerik itself, should be explained by the inaccessibility of Nerik due to the Kaškaean control of the region. As Nakamura observes (ibid. p. 109), the nuntarriyašḫa- festival was geographically restricted to the region surrounding the capital, and the king would not have undertaken extensive journeys to distant cities such as Nerik or Ḫakmiš – despite the latter offering a more plausible alternative location for such celebrations, even if Nerik itself had indeed been inaccessible.

Editio ultima: 2026-01-07