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Short description |
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For the eventful DAY 24 of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival, the outline tablets list the following:
1. Return to Ḫattuša and great assembly. For the third time in the course of the festival (see DAY 3 and DAY 16), the king returns to Ḫattuša — this time concluding a three-day festival in Matilla and Arinna. In the capital, a great assembly is convened. Since the king’s activities form an integral part of the three-day sub-festival of DAYS 22–24, the day-tablets specifically relevant to DAY 24 are presented under CTH 626.Tg22–24.5 (Sections 40ff.).
2. Activities of the NIN.DINGIR priestess. The NIN.DINGIR priestess, previously active on DAY 12, DAY 22, and possibly DAY 23, proceeds to the temple of Kataḫḫa, where she wraps wool on the distaff. The corresponding day-tablets are presented here.
3. A ḫadauri- festival is celebrated in the temple of the Stag-god. No day-tablets for this event have been identified.
4. A “festival of coming back” is held in the House of the Major-domo of the Right Side. No day-tablets for this event have been identified.
Although no surviving texts outside the outline tablets explicitly connect the NIN.DINGIR priestess with the nuntarriyašḫa- festival, two compositions focusing on her activities can tentatively be identified as day-tablets for DAY 24. One composition describes the priestess wrapping wool on the distaff (Version 1), while the other describes her performing celebrations in the temple of Kataḫḫa (Version 2).
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Texts |
| Version CTH 626.Tg24.ND.1: Festival of Haste (nuntarriyašḫa-). Day 24. Activities of the NIN.DINGIR Priestess (hrsg. von Adam Kryszeń) |
| Version CTH 626.Tg24.ND.2: Festival of Haste (nuntarriyašḫa-). Day 24. Activities of the NIN.DINGIR Priestess (hrsg. von Adam Kryszeń) | |
History of publication |
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In previous studies (most recently Nakamura M. 2002a, esp. 117–119), DAY 24 is designated as the 20th day of the festival (for differences in the day count, see Kryszeń 2025, ZA 115(1): 92–102). Nakamura (loc. cit.) mentioned KUB 58.61 (here ms. A of Version 2) as a possible candidate for a day-tablet, but ultimately argued for the attribution of this text to the AN.DAḪ.ŠUM festival.
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General information |
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According to the present reconstruction, the activities of the NIN.DINGIR priestess unfold as follows. At some point during the day, the priestess enters the temple of Kataḫḫa, where she applies the tuḫḫueššar substance used for purification, having received it from the SANGA priest of the Stag-god. After a series of actions involving weavers, preserved only fragmentarily, three sheep are brought from the House of Takkiputta and offered to three deities – Kataḫḫa, Kantipuitti, and Ḫapaliya – in the presence of the NIN.DINGIR priestess. The slaughtering is accompanied by the rare presence of two intoners (instead of the usual one), whose gender – normally explicitly stated – is not indicated.
Following several badly preserved passages, the text describes a god-drinking rite in which the NIN.DINGIR priestess toasts a number of deities. Notably, the gods invoked here differ from those celebrated in comparable rites performed by the king. The priestess toasts Šulinkatte, Waḫiši, Ḫašamelli, and Kazzumalili. This is followed by a final round of offerings to Kataḫḫa and her circle (Katipuitti and Ḫapaliya), after which the priestess leaves the temple. Following another lacuna, gifts in the form of sheep are brought from the Palaces or Houses of Ḫupišna, Tuwanuwa, and Ninašša (see the events on DAY 12 for the connection between these three institutions and the NIN.DINGIR priestess). Further offerings are mentioned before all available manuscripts break off.
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Overview of contents |
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