On DAY 16 of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival, the king returns to Ḫattuša after a four-day journey that began on DAY 12 and included visits to Ḫarranašši, Zippalanda, Katapa and Taḫurpa. On the final stage of the journey – from Taḫurpa – he first visits Tippuwa and then in Nirḫanta, where, at the river, he participates in a ritual burning of the wood stacks of the 'man of the Storm-god', a rite comparable to that perfomed on DAY 4 at Ḫišurla. Upon his return to Ḫattuša, he takes part in a great assembly, which for this day, just as for DAY 6, is further characterized by the phrase URUḫattušaš ešari  “Ḫattuša sits” (see Nakamura M. 2002a: 111 with n. 141).

The final major event of the day occurs in the House of the Major-domo, where a festival of the road/journey to Nerik is celebrated in honor of the deities associated with this institution. This appears to consitute the defining element of DAY 16, as the outline tablets refer to it as “(the Day) of the Road to Nerik.”

Despite the apparent importance of DAY 16, no day-tablets have been identified to date. It is noteworthy, however, that the journey from Taḫurpa to Ḫattuša via Tippuwa (though without the stop in Nirḫanta) is well attested in the day-tablets of the second day of the AN.DAḪ.ŠUM festival (CTH 594). This makes the absence of corresponding day-tablets for the nuntarriyašḫa- festival all the more surprising.

For the overview of DAY 16, see Nakamura M. 2002a: 111–114 with previous literature. However, due to the new joins and corrected readings, the texts that he proposes as day-tablets for DAY 16 must be regarded as uncertain.

The identification of KBo 48.35 (still cited as 132/s in Nakamura M. 2002a: 113) goes back to Houwink ten Cate Ph.H.J. 1988a: 184 n. 30. However, it seems unlikely that the text describes the festival of the journey to Nerik. First, KBo 48.35 rev. 1′ mentions the toponyms Zippaššana and Šuwatara, which are also found together in the Apology of Ḫattušili III (ii 16f.; for the corrected reading z]i-ip-pa-aš-ša-na see Kryszeń A. 2025 NABU 3). Secondly, KBo 48.35 rev. 3′ mentions a return journey (EGIR.KASKAL-NI). It is therefore more probable that the KA]SKAL URUn[e-ri-ik in obv. 2′ refers to an actual journey to the holy city, and not to a festival in Ḫattuša, as previously proposed. One should thus consider attributing the text to CTH 679 (Festival of the journey to Nerik) or CTH 678 (Festival fragments concerning the cult of Nerik).

The second fragment proposed in Nakamura M. 2002a: 114, Bo 4097, is now joined to CHDS 5.8+ and Bo 7474, i.e. Outline.11.

Finally, CHDS 6.168+, which has been identified as belonging to either CTH 604 or CTH 626 (see CHDS 6) does not provide sufficient evidence to be included in the present edition. The mention of toponyms Taḫurpa and Nerik in the same context is also found in texts from CTH 679 (e.g. KUB 44.18). In addition, the text seems to mention a prince (or at least a royal child; F2rev. 4′), which makes the attribution even more questionable.

Reference to DAY 16 can be found in two other texts that do not belong to the nuntarriyašḫa- festival corpus, but nevertheless add to our understanding of the events of that day. As already noted by Nakamura M. 2002a: 111f., the oracle KUB 34.48+ (often also cited as KUB 22.27+) F5+230′/15′–32′/17′ (CTH 568) mentions that three sheep are to be provided for the Festival of the Road to Nerik in the House of the Major-domo (see also Monte G.F. del – Tischler J. 1978a: 187 with a slightly more reliable translation).

Also, beginning with DAY 16, the celebrations recorded in the outline tablets of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival can be found almost exactly reproduced in KUB 25.27 (CTH 629). According to its colophon, the text provides the necessary instructions for the proper performance of ‘regular festivals’ (EZEN₄MEŠ SAG.UŠ). The similarity between the two sources is particularly striking, for although KUB 25.27 does not enumerate the days and does not employ the term nuntarriyašḫa- festival, it nevertheless follows the same sequence of celebrations as the ‘united version’ of the Festival of Haste. It should also be noted that KUB 25.27 is written in the Late New Script, suggesting that it is later than any of the identified outlines of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival.

Thus, DAY 16 is the first day of the Festival of Haste for which this correspondence can be established. The first preserved section of KUB 25.27 (obv. i 1′–4′) describes the same celebrations as those assigned to DAY 16. In addition, KUB 25.27 specifies the type and quantity of the required offerings: three sheep, three PARISU of flour, and an unspecified amount of beer.