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The identification of new joins to Outline.11 (KBo 51.130+), the corrected reading of Outline.13 (KBo 42.47), and the recognition of Outline.15 (CHDS 5.43) have led to the discovery of four previously unknown days of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival. These days are inserted between the king’s second and third cultic journeys.
The unifying element linking these days is the journey of the Divine Hunting Bag (KUŠ/Dkurša-). This sacred object is first carried from Arinna to Ḫattuša (DAY 17), then to Tawiniya (DAY 18), to Ḫiyašna (DAY 19), and finally back to Ḫattuša (DAY 20).
In addition to events connected with the Divine Hunting Bag, the outline tablets record a number of further activities. On DAY 17, someone – presumably the king – visits the temple of NISABA. On DAY 18, a ḫadauri- festival is celebrated in the temple of ZABABA, and the king purifies himself in preparation for the festival of the month; however, no such festival is mentioned on the following day. DAY 19 records that the king ascends onto a roof (the building in question remaining unidentified), that a ḫadauri- festival is performed in the temple of the Sun-goddess; and that the ḫalliyari- men celebrate Ḫalmaššuit, the Divine Throne. DAY 20 is the most eventful of the four: the treasurers perform the ganzuwa- festival; a lamb-festival takes place in the House of the Major-domo of the Right Side, with a lamb brought specifically from the town Kašaya; a great assembly is convened in the ḫalentu- complex; the road or journey (KASKAL) to the temple of the Sun-goddess is proclaimed – indeed, the king visits this temple on the following day; and finally, the royal couple embroider the ganzuwa- object.
Despite the substantial increase in information, no day-tablets corresponding to DAYS 17–20 have so far been identified. It is noteworthy, however, that nearly all of the events listed – both those concerning the Divine Hunting Bag and those involving the king and various officials – also appear, albeit in a different arrangement, in days 3–6 of the AN.DAḪ.ŠUM festival.
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As noted above, nearly all events attested for DAYS 17–20 can be found in the outline tablets of the AN.DAḪ.ŠUM festival (days 3–6), though in a different sequence.
Another text describing the same set of celebrations, this time organized in a sequence similar to that of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival, is KUB 25.27 (CTH 629; see also the section ‘Intertextuality’ in the Introduction to CTH 626.Tg16).
KUB 25.27 i 5′–6′ corresponds to DAY 17, when the Divine Hunting Bag is transported from Arinna to Ḫattuša, although the passage explicitly states that no festival is to be performed on this day. The subsequent passages align almost exactly with the following days of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival: KUB 25.27 i 7′–11′ (parallel to DAY 18), KUB 25.27 i 12′–19′ (parallel to DAY 19), and KUB 25.27 i 20′–27′ (parallel to DAY 20). In each case, KUB 25.27 provides additional information on the required offerings.
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