| Ninatta and Kulitta | |
|---|---|
Attendants ofŠauška, divine musicians | |
 A relief fromYazılıkaya depicting Ninatta and Kulitta. | |
| Major cult center | Hattusa,Ugarit,Arbela |
Ninatta and Kulitta were a dyad ofHurrian goddesses regarded as the handmaidens ofŠauška. They were primarily considered divine musicians, though they also had a warlike aspect. They are attested in western Hurrian sources fromUgarit andHattusa. They were also incorporated into theHittite andMesopotamian pantheons.
In addition to the standard forms of Ninatta's and Kulitta's names known fromHurrian andHittite texts,Akkadian variants Ninitum and Kulittum are known fromNeo-Assyrian sources.[1] In theUgaritic alphabetic script the names were rendered as, respectively,nnt andklt.[2] It has been argued that the terms Ninattani and Kulitanni could be used to refer to them as a pair.[3] However,Piotr Taracha [de] instead argues that they should be understood as designations for minorhypostases of both individual goddesses, per analogy withMaliyanni,Allanzunni orŠarrumanni.[4]
When they are mentioned together, Ninatta always precedes Kulitta.[5] They were worshiped together as adyad, which is considered an example of a phenomenon widespread inHurrian religion, in which pairs of related deities were often believed to act as a unity and were therefore venerated together, as also attested in the case ofAllani andIšḫara orHutena and Hutellura.[6]Volkert Haas argued Ninatta and Kulitta were regarded as twins.[3]
John MacGinnis assigns Hurrian origin to both Ninatta and Kulitta.[7] Gabrielle Frantz-Szabó suggested that Kulitta's name might have originated in one of theAnatolian languages, and pointed out that it is phonetically similar to the personal namesku-li-e-it andku-li-a-it and the mountain nameḫur.sagku-li-ta-ḫa-ṷa, though she ultimately considered the origin of both her and Ninatta's names to be uncertain.[5]Joan Goodnick Westenholz proposed that Ninatta's name might be derived from the toponym Ninêt (ni-ne-etki) or Nenit (ne-en-itki) known from documents fromMari andTell al-Rimah, which might be theAmorite name ofNineveh.[8] Occasional references to a goddess called "Ishtar of Ninêt" are also known from these locations.[9] Westenholz tentatively suggested connecting her withŠauška,Ishtar of Nineveh and Ninatta, though she stressed it is not possible to ascertain the relationship between these deities and their names in the earliest periods.[8]
Ninatta and Kulitta were regarded as thehandmaidens ofŠauška,[5][10] the Hurrian counterpart ofMesopotamianIshtar.[11] In ritual texts they could be grouped with other members of this deity's entourage.[1] Examples of other attendants of Šauška include Šintal-wuri (Hurrian: "seven-eyed"), Šintal-irti ("seven-breasted"), Šinan-tatukarni ("twofold at [?] love"),[12] Namrazunna (fromAkkadiannamru, "shining", andZunna, a Hurrianized spelling ofSuen).[13] and thesukkal Undurumma.[14] In the first millennium BCE Ninatta and Kulitta came to be incorporated into the entourages ofIshtar of Arbela,[7] Ishtar ofAssur,[12] and Ishtar ofNineveh.[1]
Typically Ninatta and Kulitta were portrayed as divine musicians.[12] They had a warlike aspect as well, which presumably reflected the analogous role assigned to Šauška, and they were sometimes invoked directly before her "right weapon" (panti šauri) of Šauška; it has been suggested that this term referred to them metaphorically.[1]
The only depiction of Ninatta and Kulitta identified with certainty is a relief from the Yazilikaya sanctuary.[1] They are shown in a procession of deities, directly behind the male aspect of Šauška.[15] Textual sources additionally refer to placing statues representing them on the sides of a depiction of Šauška.[16]
Ninatta and Kulitta are presently attested in Hurrian context in western sources, namely in texts fromUgarit andHattusa.[17] They appear alongsideŠauška in offering lists (kaluti [de]) dedicated to the circle ofḪepat.[18] In the text RS 24.261, which documents a ritual combining Hurrian andUgaritic elements focused on Šauška and closely associated local goddessAshtart,[19] Ninatta and Kulitta are listed in sequence as recipients of offerings twice, once after an unidentified deity and beforeNupatik, and once afterNikkal and beforeAdamma.[20]
Like many other Hurrian deities, Ninatta and Kulitta were incorporated into theHittite pantheon.[1] They are among the members of the Hurrian pantheon portrayed on the walls of theYazılıkaya sanctuary.[15] They received offerings during theAN.TAḪ.ŠUM [de] festival alongside Šauška of Ḫattarina,Šimige,Aya andḪepat-Mušuni.[21] They are also listed alongside Šauška of Nineveh as recipients of drink offerings and a sacrificial sheep in the ritual CTH 714,[22] which focuses on bathing a statue of Šauška.[23]
Hittite sources also attest that Ninatta and Kulitta could serve as divine witnesses of treaties, as attested for the first time in such formal agreements betweenŠuppiluliuma I with Ḫuqqana ofḪayaša and Tette ofNuḫašše.[5] They also appear in theEgyptian version of the treaty between the Hittite Empire andEgypt[24] originally compiled in 1259 BCE, during the reign ofRamesses II to cement peace established after the end of a conflict between these two states which culminated with thebattle of Kadesh.[25] Their names are prefaced by thedeterminativepꜢ-nṯr, which indicates that the Egyptian scribe mistakenly assumed that both of them were male.[26] Since a similar mistake is also attested in the case of Ḫepat,Itamar Singer concluded that presumably thecuneiform signdingir which prefaced theonyms was misunderstood in translation.[27]
In the first millennium BCE Ninatta and Kulitta were worshiped inArbela in Egašankalamma, thetemple ofIshtar of Arbela.[7] They are listed together among the deities of this city in atākultu ritual from the reign ofAshurbanipal (tablet K 252).[28] John MacGinnish suggests that their presence in the local pantheon might indicate that Arbela originally belonged to the Hurrian cultural milieu.[29] Alternatively, their introduction might have been the result of syncretism between Ishtar of Arbela and Ishtar ofNineveh.[7]
According to Beate Pongratz-Leisten, Kulitta might additionally be attested in a Neo-Assyrian ritual fromAssur as a recipient of offerings alongsideAshur, Ishtar and theSebitti, though only a part of the name is preserved, making the identification uncertain.[30]
Ninatta and Kulitta appear in theSong ofḪedammu,[1] one of the myths belonging to the so-called "Kumarbi cycle", which describes a conflict over kingship among the gods between the eponymous god, his sonTeshub and their respective allies.[31] They assist their mistressŠauška during her attempt at subduing Ḫedammu with alove potion.[1] They are instructed to play their instruments,arkammi andgalgalturi, to lure him out of the sea.[32]
According to Meindert Dijkstra's restoration of the myth of Ḫašarri, Ninatta and Kulitta also appear in this composition, with one of the surviving sections possibly describing themthreshing grain.[33]