HFR Team

Citatio: Adam Kryszeń (Hrsg.), hethiter.net/: CTH 626.Tg34 (INTR 2026-01-15)


CTH 626.Tg34

Festival of Haste (nuntarriyašḫa-). Day 34

introductio



Short description

According to the only available outline tablet, Outline.5, DAY 34 comprised at least three elements: (1) a festival in the temple of URAŠ, also known as Šuwaliyat or Tašmišu; (2) a great assembly held “outside”, presumably at the temple of URAŠ; and (3) the taḫzamaradu- festival in Arinna, involving the chief of the palace attendants.

Detailed descriptions have been identified only for the first event, i.e. the celebrations in the temple of URAŠ. Texts depicting the great assembly are exceedingly difficult to identify owing to the generic nature of the ceremony, although its general course can be reconstructed. Details about the third event, the taḫzamaradu- festival remain entirely obscure, as the term taḫzamaradu- is a hapax legomenon.

Although the outline tablets do not explicitly mention the king’s involvement in the festival in the temple of URAŠ, the identified day tablets leave no doubt that the ruler participated in the celebrations. The two relevant fragments can be securely attributed to DAY 34, as they explicitly refer to an autumn festival incorporated into the nuntarriyašḫa- festival. It should be noted, however, that both texts may in fact be Sammeltafeln, reflecting changes introduced into several festivals, only one of which was the nuntarriyašḫa- festival (see Introduction to Version 1).

Texts

Version CTH 626.Tg34.1: Festival of Haste (EZEN₄ nuntarriyašḫa-). Day 34 (hrsg. von Adam Kryszeń)

History of publication

For an overview of DAY 34 (designated as the 30th day of the festival), see Nakamura M. 2002a: 134–135, without any proposed day-tablets. Note, however, that Nakamura M. 2002a: 81 and 134–135 assigns to this day also the celebrations described in KUB 55.5+ iv 17′–20′ (Ü 3 in Nakamura’s edition; Outline.7 in the present edition), despite the fact that these passages depict entirely different events. In the present edition, these celebrations are treated separately and assigned to DAY 34 and DAY 35, respectively.

General information

The reconstructed course of events of DAY 34 is as follows. After the customary morning preparations in the ḫalentu- complex, the king enters the temple of URAŠ. There, the chief of the cooks purifies the offering table with the tuḫḫueššar substance. The king then breaks one dannaš bread for URAŠ, while another is fashioned into the ḫarzazu- breads, which are subsequently offered, together with the mixture of wine and beer, to the loci numinosi of the temple. The king then proceeds to present animal offerings dedicated to URAŠ and his divine circle.

After a lacuna, a god-drinking rite follows, which includes toasts for Šeri and Ḫurri, the divine circle of the Storm-god, mountains and rivers, and Ḫašgala, who is toasted twice, once outside and once inside. The concluding rites include entertaining the deity and a toast to the Storm-god of Heaven, accompanied by singers performing in Hittite. Finally, the king returns to the ḫalentu- complex, which is then closed for the night.

The final section of the description explicitly states that this observance constitutes an autumn festival incorporated into the nuntarriyašḫa- festival. This modification was accompanied by additional offerings introduced into the ritual by King Ḫattušili III.

Overview of contents

Section 1ID=1Opening of the ḫalentu- complex. The king prepares for the day.
Section 2ID=2The kings goes to the temple of URAŠ (i.e. Šuwaliyat).
Section 3ID=3Bread, groats and various beverages are offered to URAŠ and loci numinosi.
Section 4ID=4Animals are sacrified to URAŠ and his circle.
Section 5ID=5(Fragmentary)
Section 6ID=6The king performs drinking rites for deities.
Section 7ID=7Deities are entertained and the king performs the concluding drinking rite for the Heavenly Storm-god.
Section 8ID=8The king returns to the ḫalentu- complex. The ḫalentu- complex closes for the night.
Section 9ID=9Information on the including of the autumn festival into the nuntarriyašḫa- festival.
Section 10ID=10Information on the changes in the ritual procedure ordered by king Ḫattušili (III).
Editio ultima: 2026-01-15