Haya (god)

Last updated
Haya
God of scribal arts
Major cult center Ur
Personal information
Spouse Nisaba
Children Sud

Haya was a Mesopotamian god associated with scribal arts and possibly with grain. He was considered to be husband of Nisaba and father of Sud. He was also associated with Enlil, both as his father-in-law and an official in his service. He was worshiped in Ur, Umma, Kuara, Shaduppum and later on also in Assur. He is sparsely attested in literary texts, with only a single known hymn being dedicated to him. He also plays a minor role in the myth Enlil and Sud.

Contents

Name

Haya's name was written in cuneiform as 𒀭𒄩𒉌 ( d Ḫa-ià). [1] Spellings with a breve are also in use in modern literature, including Ḫaya, [2] [3] Ḫaja [4] [5] [6] and Ḫaia. [7] [8] [9] The reading Hani is no longer considered to be correct. [10] It is possible that sometimes the name Haya was written logographically as NAĜAR, though this sign could also be read as a variety of other theonyms, for example Alla and Ninildu. [11]

It is commonly assumed Haya's name originated in a Semitic language. [4] [1] Miguel Civil suggested in 1983 that it was a cognate of the theonym Ea, though he noted these two gods were considered separate in Old Babylonian sources. [12] He also remarked that Haya was already actively worshiped and appears in offering lists at a time when the only evidence of Ea were theophoric names. [13] As of 2016, the proposal that a connection existed between Haya and Ea (and by extension with Eblaite Hayya) was still considered plausible, [10] though it is not universally accepted. [14] It is also uncertain if a homophonous element of names from Mari, written without the dingir sign used to designate theonyms, is related to Haya's name. [15] Jean-Marie Durand argues that it referred to a different deity, though one whose name was also derived from the same root meaning "to live." [16]

In the god list An = Anum , a secondary name of Haya is Lugalkisa'a (Lugalkisia), "lord of the retaining wall," though in the Old Babylonian forerunner to this composition and in offering lists from the Ur III period this theonym designates an unrelated doorkeeper deity instead. [4]

Character

Ḫaya was a minor god, [17] and is overall less well attested than his wife Nisaba. [2] It is assumed that he shared many of her traits. [7] He was associated with the scribal arts, [17] and was described as a wise divine accountant and archivist. [18] An unidentified tool, possibly a writing implement, giš dḫa-ià, was apparently named after him. [19] Francesco Pomponio suggests that he functioned as the god of seals. [20]

Marcos Such-Gutiérrez characterizes Haya as a grain god. [21] However, according to Mark Weeden the only evidence in favor of this interpretation are "etymological considerations," which he notes might not be fully reliable. [10]

An Old Babylonian text from Nippur indicates that the peacock was referred to as dḫa-iàmušen, but no connection between this bird and any aspects of the god's character has been established so far. [19]

Associations with other deities

Haya was regarded as the husband of Nisaba, [6] the goddess of writing. [22] The association between them is already attested in the Old Babylonian period. [10] In the god list An = Anu ša amēli equates dḪa-a-a, according to Andrew R. George identical with Haya, with Nisaba, and explains this name as "Nisaba of riches" (ša maš-re-e). [2] Unlike George, Dietz-Otto Edzard instead assumed that this theonym might have only been associated or confused with Haya's name. [23]

The daughter of Haya and Nisaba was the goddess Sud, who was equated with Ninlil and as such functioned as the spouse of Enlil. [24] As a result, Haya was regarded as the father-in-law of this god. [11] He was also his steward (agrig). [3]

A hymn dedicated to Haya equates him with Indagara, the husband of the goddess Kusu. [25] Indagara is sometimes treated in modern scholarship simply as an alternate name of Haya. [26] However, the later god list An = Anum instead equates him with Ishkur. [27] In the hymn, Indagara/Haya and Kusu are collectively referred to as "the continual providers of the great meals of An and Enlil in their grand dining-hall." [18]

In a god list from Emar which assigns Hurrian equivalents to Mesopotamian deities Haya corresponds to a poorly known Hurrian deity named dŠe-ra-am-mi-na. [28] An alternate name of the Hattian grain goddess Kait, written ḫa-i-a-am-ma, might have been derived from Haya, though it might also have a presently unknown Hattic etymology. [29]

Worship

The earliest known reference to Haya has been identified on a school tablet from Shuruppak the Early Dynastic period, though the context in which his name occurs on it remains uncertain. [30] He also occurs in texts from Adab from the Old Akkadian period, though only in theophoric names, such as Lu-Haya and Ur-Haya. [31] More attestations are available from the Ur III period, [19] during which Haya is particularly well represented in texts from Ur. [32] A hymn from the reign of Rim-Sîn I of Larsa also associates him with his city, and states that he was believed to dwell in the Ekišnugal, the temple of the moon god Nanna. [33] Further locations he is attested in the third millennium BCE include Umma and Kuara. [19]

Excavations indicate that in the Old Babylonian period, a temple dedicated to Haya existed in Shaduppum, a small city located near modern Baghdad. [33] After the end of this period his cult declined. [10] It was later revived in Assyria. [29] In the Neo-Assyrian period he came to be worshiped in Assur in a shrine located in the temple of Ashur. [10] He also presided over a procession of the "gods of Subartu" during a festival held in this city. [29] A temple dedicated to Haya was built by Sennacherib. [34] While the inscriptions mentioning this construction project come from Nineveh, the location of the structure itself is not known. [10]

The exorcism formula Gattung II invokes Haya alongside Nisaba, and describes him as the "solidifier of the boundaries of vast heaven." [35]

Mythology

Haya plays a minor role in Mesopotamian literature. [7] Only a single composition focused on him is known, a hymn from the reign of Rim-Sîn I of Larsa. [13] Since it is only known from Ur, it has been proposed that it was composed to celebrate a visit of the aforementioned king in this city. [10] It describes Haya's roles as a father-in-law of Enlil and as a divine accountant, mentions a connection between him and Ur, and implores him to bless the king. [36] It also states that he is responsible for marking down the years of a king's reign of the "tablet of life," a mythical artifact used by gods to keep track of deeds of mortals, though in other compositions this item is instead associated with deities such as Nisaba, Ninimma, Nungal or Lammašaga. [9]

Haya also appears in the myth Enlil and Sud, where he is mentioned as the father of the eponymous goddess. [32] However, unlike Nisaba he does not partake in the consultations preceding Sud's marriage to Enlil. [37]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sin (mythology)</span> God of the moon in Mesopotamian mythology

Nanna, Sīn or Suen, and in Aramaic syn, syn’, or even shr 'moon', or Nannar was the god of the moon in the Mesopotamian religions of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia and Aram. He was also associated with cattle, perhaps due to the perceived similarity between bull horns and the crescent moon. He was always described as a major deity, though only a few sources, mostly these from the reign of Nabonidus, consider him to be the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon.

Ninšar was a Mesopotamian goddess commonly associated with the preparation of meat. The reading of her name remains uncertain, and its possible etymology appears to be unrelated to her role in the Mesopotamian pantheon. She was chiefly worshiped in Nippur, though her original cult center was the settlement AB.NAGAR.

Ninlil was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of the pantheon. She is also well attested as the mother of his children, such as the underworld god Nergal, the moon god Nanna or the warrior god Ninurta. She was chiefly worshiped in Nippur and nearby Tummal alongside Enlil, and multiple temples and shrines dedicated to her are attested from these cities. In the first millennium BCE she was also introduced to Ḫursaĝkalamma near Kish, where she was worshiped alongside the goddess Bizilla, who was likely her sukkal.

Ninkasi was the Mesopotamian goddess of beer and brewing. It is possible that in the first millennium BCE she was known under the variant name Kurunnītu, derived from a term referring to a type of high quality beer. She was associated with both positive and negative consequences of the consumption of beer. In god lists, such as the An = Anum list and the Weidner list, she usually appears among the courtiers of the god Enlil, alongside deities such as Ninimma and Ninmada. She could also be paired with Siraš, a goddess of similar character, who sometimes was regarded as her sister. A possible association between her and the underworld deities Nungal and Laṣ is also attested, possibly in reference to the possible negative effects of alcohol consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanshe</span>

Nanshe was a Mesopotamian goddess in various contexts associated with the sea, marshlands, the animals inhabiting these biomes, namely bird and fish, as well as divination, dream interpretation, justice, social welfare, and certain administrative tasks. She was regarded as a daughter of Enki and sister of Ningirsu, while her husband was Nindara, who is otherwise little known. Other deities who belonged to her circle included her daughter Nin-MAR.KI, as well as Hendursaga, Dumuzi-abzu and Shul-utula. In Ur she was incorporated into the circle of Ningal, while in incantations she appears alongside Ningirima or Nammu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nisaba</span> Mesopotamian goddess of writing

Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Sumerian texts end with the doxology "praise to Nisaba" as a result. She declined after the Old Babylonian period due to the rise of the new scribe god, Nabu, though she did not fully vanish from Mesopotamian religion and attestations from as late as the neo-Babylonian period are known.

Siris or Siraš was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with beer. She was also worshiped in Ebla, where her name was spelled as Zilaš. Cognates of her name are also present as terms referring to alcoholic beverages or deities associated with them in languages such as Ugaritic and Hebrew. She was closely associated with another goddess of similar character, Ninkasi, though the nature of the connection between them varies between sources. She is attested in a variety of texts, including god lists, offering lists and a variant of the Ballad of Early Rulers.

Ennugi (𒀭𒂗𒉡𒄄) was a Mesopotamian god associated with agriculture, especially irrigation, and with the underworld. According to an incantation he was also considered to be the creator of grubs. He was considered a member of the court of Enlil, and appears in god lists alongside its other members, such as Ninimma and Kusu. He was worshiped in Nippur, where his temple Erabriri was most likely located. He is also mentioned in a number of myths, including Atra-Hasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manungal</span> Mesopotamian goddess

Nungal, also known as Manungal and possibly Bēlet-balāṭi, was the Mesopotamian goddess of prisons, sometimes also associated with the underworld. She was worshiped especially in the Ur III period in cities such as Nippur, Lagash and Ur.

Birtum was a Mesopotamian god who was the husband of Nungal. He was regarded as a deity associated with the underworld.

Ninimma was a Mesopotamian goddess best known as a courtier of Enlil. She is well attested as a deity associated with scribal arts, described in modern publications as a divine scholar, scribe or librarian by modern researchers. She could also serve as an assistant of the birth goddess Ninmah, and a hymn describes her partaking in cutting of umbilical cords and determination of fates. It has also been suggested that she was associated with vegetation. In the Middle Babylonian period she additionally came to be viewed as a healing deity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninisina</span> Mesopotamian goddess of medicine

Ninisina was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine physician or midwife. As an extension of her medical role, she was also believed to be capable of expelling various demons. Her symbols included dogs, commonly associated with healing goddesses in Mesopotamia, as well as tools and garments associated with practitioners of medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuska</span> Mesopotamian god

Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as Lamashtu or gallu. His symbols included a staff, a lamp and a rooster. Various traditions existed regarding his genealogy, with some of them restricted to texts from specific cities. His wife was the goddess Sadarnunna, whose character is poorly known. He could be associated with the fire god Gibil, as well as with various courtiers of Enlil, such as Shuzianna and Ninimma.

Ningirima was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with incantations, attested already in the Early Dynastic period. She was also associated with snakes, fish and water. According to the god list An = Anum and other sources, she was regarded as a sister of Enlil. While suggestions that she was conflated with the mongoose deity Ninkilim can be found in modern literature, this theory finds no direct support in primary sources.

Ninĝidru was a Mesopotamian goddess who most likely represented a deified scepter. She played a role in coronation rituals. She often appears in association with Ninmena, who represented the deified crown. A recently published hymn additionally attests that she was the sukkal of Sud, the tutelary goddess of Shuruppak.

Ninirigal or Ninirigala was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with Kullaba, a district belonging to the city of Uruk. Her character is poorly known beyond her role as a tutelary goddess of this area. Her husband was a god known under the name Nunbaranna, most likely an epithet of the fire god Gibil.

Lammašaga was a Mesopotamian goddess who functioned as the sukkal of Bau. She belonged to a class of protective deities known as Lamma. She was originally worshiped in Lagash and Girsu, though attestations are also available from other cities. A hymn focused on her was copied in scribal schools in the Old Babylonian period.

Kusu was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with purification and with grain. It is not certain which aspect of her character was originally primary, and which developed secondarily. She was considered to be a member of the court of Enlil, and in a number of text appears with other deities connected to him, such as Nuska. She could also be associated with other deities responsible for exorcisms, such as Ningirima. Multiple sanctuaries dedicated to her existed in Nippur, though she was also worshiped in other cities, for example Lagash and Assur. In the Seleucid period, she was additionally introduced to the local pantheon of Uruk.

Aruru was a Mesopotamian goddess. The origin of her name is presently uncertain. While initially considered an independent deity associated with vegetation and portrayed in hymns as violent, she was eventually came to be viewed as analogous Ninhursag. Her name could also function as an epithet of goddesses such as Nisaba and Ezina-Kusu. She was often called the older sister of Enlil. Her cult centers most likely were the cities of Kesh, Adab and Irisaĝrig. She appears in a number of literary texts, some of which preserve information about her original character. She is also present in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which her portrays her as the creator of Enkidu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inanna of Zabalam</span> Mesopotamian goddess, hypostasis of Inanna

Inanna of Zabalam was a hypostasis of the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna associated with the city of Zabalam. It has been proposed that she was initially a separate deity, perhaps known under the name Nin-UM, who came to be absorbed by the goddess of Uruk at some point in the prehistory of Mesopotamia and lost her unknown original character in the process, though in certain contexts she nonetheless could still be treated as distinct. She was regarded as the mother of Shara, the god of Umma, a city located near Zabalam.

References

  1. 1 2 Weeden 2009, p. 90.
  2. 1 2 3 George 1993, p. 23.
  3. 1 2 Rahmouni 2008, p. 65.
  4. 1 2 3 Lambert 1987, p. 146.
  5. ↑ Krebernik 1998, p. 74.
  6. 1 2 Michalowski 1998, p. 576.
  7. 1 2 3 Black 2006, p. 275.
  8. ↑ Civil 2017, p. 421.
  9. 1 2 Barrabee 2013, p. 401.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Weeden 2016.
  11. 1 2 Krebernik 1998, pp. 74–75.
  12. ↑ Civil 2017, p. 422.
  13. 1 2 Civil 2017, p. 423.
  14. ↑ Weeden 2009, p. 98.
  15. ↑ Weeden 2009, p. 96.
  16. ↑ Weeden 2009, p. 97.
  17. 1 2 Black 2006, p. 364.
  18. 1 2 Black 2006, p. 295.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Weeden 2009, p. 93.
  20. ↑ Pomponio 1998, p. 577.
  21. ↑ Such-Gutiérrez 2005, p. 17.
  22. ↑ Michalowski 1998, p. 575.
  23. ↑ Edzard 1972, p. 1.
  24. ↑ Michalowski 1998, pp. 576–577.
  25. ↑ Simons 2018, pp. 123–124.
  26. ↑ Black 2006, p. 365.
  27. ↑ Simons 2018, p. 123.
  28. ↑ Laroche 1989, p. 10.
  29. 1 2 3 Weeden 2009, p. 94.
  30. ↑ Weeden 2009, p. 92.
  31. ↑ Such-Gutiérrez 2005, pp. 17–18.
  32. 1 2 Civil 2017, pp. 422–423.
  33. 1 2 Black 2006, pp. 294–295.
  34. ↑ George 1993, p. 164.
  35. ↑ Simons 2018, pp. 131–132.
  36. ↑ Black 2006, p. 294.
  37. ↑ Black 2006, p. 107.

Bibliography

  • Barrabee, Janice (2013), "Tafel des Lebens A. In Mesopotamien · Tablet of life A. In Mesopotamia", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-09-20
  • Black, Jeremy A. (2006). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-929633-0 . Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  • Civil, Miguel (2017) [1983]. "Enlil and Ninlil: the Marriage of Sud". Studies in Sumerian Civilization. Selected writings of Miguel Civil. Publicacions i Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona. ISBN   978-84-9168-237-0. OCLC   1193017085.
  • Edzard, Dietz-Otto (1972), "Ḫa-a-a", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-09-20
  • George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. ISBN   0-931464-80-3. OCLC   27813103.
  • Krebernik, Manfred (1998), "NAĜAR", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-09-20
  • Lambert, Wilfred G. (1987), "Lugal-kisaʾa/Lugal-kisia", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-09-20
  • Laroche, Emmanuel (1989). "La version hourrite de la liste AN de Meskene-Emar". Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (in French). PERSEE Program. 133 (1): 8–12. doi:10.3406/crai.1989.14684. ISSN   0065-0536.
  • Michalowski, Piotr (1998), "Nisaba A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-09-20
  • Pomponio, Francesco (1998), "Nabû A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-09-20
  • Rahmouni, Aicha (2008). Divine epithets in the Ugaritic alphabetic texts. Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN   978-90-474-2300-3. OCLC   304341764.
  • Simons, Frank (2018). "The Goddess Kusu". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. CAIRN. 112 (1): 123–148. doi:10.3917/assy.112.0123. ISSN   0373-6032.
  • Such-Gutiérrez, Marcos (2005). "Untersuchungen zum Pantheon von Adab im 3. Jt". Archiv für Orientforschung (in German). Archiv für Orientforschung (AfO)/Institut für Orientalistik. 51: 1–44. ISSN   0066-6440. JSTOR   41670228 . Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  • Weeden, Mark (2009). "The Akkadian Words for "Grain" and the God Ḫaya". Die Welt des Orients. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG). 39 (1): 77–107. ISSN   0043-2547. JSTOR   25684169 . Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  • Weeden, Mark (2016), "Haya (god)", Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses, Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus, UK Higher Education Academy, retrieved 2022-09-20
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.