Cult inventory

(CTH 529.53)

Textual tradition

Basis of the edition

The present edition is based on the photographs available at the Mainzer Photoarchiv of the Hethitologie Portal Mainz, as well as the available hand-copies and relevant secondary literature up to 2019. When the original manuscripts have been collated, this is noted in the commentary.

Commentary

Previous editions: Pecchioli Daddi and Baldi 2004.

This large fragment of a two-columned tablet has been recognized as a cult inventory by van den Hout 1995: 226, 231 fn. 431 and others, but is presently classified as CTH 670 in S. Košak, hethiter.net/: hetkonk (v. 1.992). It has been the object of a study by F. Pecchioli Daddi and M. Baldi (2004; see also Pecchioli Daddi 2006: 125-27). The present edition expands on a photo-collated transliteration prepared by J. Lorenz.

The text constitutes a report on the cults of Ḫurma, which is located in the region of Tegarama, not far from Išuwa (Alparslan 2017: 214 with literature). The text treats various groups of deities, of which the festivals and the relative offerings (with contributors) are listed. Description of cult images or festivals are lacking. The first group of gods (§§1′-8′, i 1′-30′) pertains to local deities; only the treatment of Ḫantitaššu is preserved, the local Storm god and other gods were likely treated in the lost part of the first column. The second group (§§9′′-10′′, iv 1-10) is made up by gods of Zippalanda, namely the Storm god of Zippalanda, Anzili, Ḫaršašwa, the divine mountain Daḫa, and U.GUR. The cults of these gods, with offerings provided by the Palace of Ḫurma, had “national” character and were in place since of old; the existence of a shrine of the Storm god of Zippalanda at Ḫurma is documented already in the MH tablet KuT 53. The last group of deities attested on the tablet (§§11′′-17′′, iv 11-32) is constituted by three gods related to the royal cult and particularly to Tudḫaliya IV, namely the Stag (protective) god of the King, the deified throne (DDAG), and Zitḫariya. Interestingly, in this last sections the formula katta ḫamenk- “to fix, to mandate” is used, which might hint at measures taken at the initiative of the king: note that two votive texts, KUB 15.11 (iii 13′-18′) and KUB 15.23 (rev. 6′), witness to vows made by queen Puduḫepa in Ḫurma for the well-being of the king.

Apart from offerings and suppliers, the text mentions a number of festivals, some of which are rarely attested (among others, the festivals “of putting on” and “of putting off the garment,” i 17′-18′, 29′). The detailed lists of offerings, with monthly and yearly “totals,” allow to analyse the system of units used, showing that the equivalence 1 BÁN = 6 UPNU applies in this inventory (likewise in KUB 42.100+). The fact that some offerings are to be supplied by “Kaššu, Lord of Ḫurma” (i 21′) suggests that the inventory may date back to a later phase of the reign of Tudḫaliya IV, since that role was previously fulfilled by Palla (Pecchioli Daddi and Baldi 2004: 502 with fn. 25).

Palaeography and orthography: Clear script with deeply impressed wedges. ḪA with two Winkelhaken, late LI and DA.

i 17′-18′, 29′-30′: Most festival names mentioned here are of unclear interpretation. In HW2 Ḫ 85 it is assumed that ḫalluwa- is a garment, but the assumption seems to be based on a misunderstanding of the syntax of the passage, which is a list of festivals, not of garments. An eššayaš-festival is listed in the cult inventory of Karaḫna as well (KUB 38.12 i 22), but its interpretation is unclear, as well as that of the mimizzuwaš-festival mentioned in line i 30′.

iv 9: The interpretation of the term en-nu-wa-šu is unclear, see Pecchioli Daddi and Baldi 2004: 504 fn. 33.

iv 13: On the stem walutaššiya(nt)-, see Cammarosano 2019b: 64, commentary on DAAM 1.36 iii 12′′.

iv 24: Note the omission of the deity and festival treated.

iv 29: Likely a festival entailing a procession to the stela, not a festival of the stela (so according to van Gessel 1998: 711 with reading [Š]A NA₄ZI.KIN).

CC BY-SA 4.0 Michele Cammarosano | Produced as part of the research project Critical edition, digital publication, and systematic analysis of the Hittite cult-inventories (CTH 501-530), funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – project number 298302760, 2016–2020.