Altoriental. Forsch.

33 (2006) 2,313-327

A D A TAGGAR-COHEN

The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom:

A Mesopotamian priestly office in Hatti?

In the Hittite texts we find a large number of titles for Professionals, including cultic ones,
written in Sumerograms as well as Akkadograms.' To be presented in this paper is one
example of such a title, that of the NIN.DINGIR-priestess. Have the Hittites borrowed the
Sumerograms alone, or also the profession that stands behind them?

1. The study of Mesopotamian and Hittite priestesses

The study of the Mesopotamian priestesses suffered for a long time from a stigma, since the
Office of the priestesses was considered "cult prostitution". In the last two decades the
attitude has changed, however, following new interpretations introduced by gender studies
and the study of women in antiquity.^
The data available to us on the Mesopotamian priestesses includes a number of titles in
Sumerian and in Akkadian, such as nin.dingir, eres.dingir, lukur, nu.gig etc. (for Sumerian),
and entum, ugbabtum, naditum, qadistum, harimtum etc. (for Akkadian). The data focuses
on their rank, status in society, and legal rights.^ Martha Roth'' shows, for example, how
"the Laws of Hammurabi do not attempt to regulate religious, sexual, or moral behavior",
but rather "the offense in this law is one of the priestess presenting economic competition
to the established market system".' The law thus relates to the social rights or status of the
priestess. Unfortunately, the Mesopotamian texts do not reveal much about the priestesses'
cultic Performance. Quite different is the data on the Hittite priestesses, who are in fact

Pecchiolo-Daddi (1982).
See Asher-Greve (2000) 1-22; Goodnick-Westenholtz (1990) 510-525. See also van derToorn (1998)
193-205.
The latest article by Assante (1998) 5-96, on the KAR.KID-women shows how, indeed, even the very
clear title regarded among scholars to mean "prostitute" stood for a social-legal term in ancient Meso-
potamian Society. In her words: "KAR.KID was a legal Classification not a professional category"
(p. 82). See also a summary in Roth (2005) 21-25; Stol (1995) 139-140; Harris (1964) 106-135; Stone
(1982) 50-70; Diakonoff (1986) 225-238.
Roth (1999) 445-464.
Roth,ibid,p.-461.

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mainly referred to in regard to their cultic activity. The two main ancient titles for the Hit-
tite priestesses are SANGA-priestess and AMA.DINGIR-priestess. Neither of these titles
is known from the Sumero-Akkadian list of titles for priestesses. The only exception in this
regard is the NIN.DINGIR, a Sumero-Akkadian professional title for a priestess whose
cultic activity is described in detail in a number of texts from the third to the first millennia
BCE.
Fleming^, in his work on the middle Babylonian NIN.DINGIR of Emar, refers to
Frayne's^ study on the Old Babylonian enm/n-priestess where Frayne determined that this
Institution ceased to exist in Mesopotamia proper after that period. Fleming then com-
ments: "In the west, the office seems to take on a life of its own [...].The Emar ittu may be
part of a larger pattern, in which Hurrian, Hittite, and Syrian cultures took on both word
and Institution". This paper will endeavor to look at the NIN.DINGIR of Hittite culture in
the light of its Mesopotamian and North Syrian counterparts.

2. The NIN.DINGIR in Sumero-Akkadian Sources

2.1 Several scholars have recently treated the Sumerographic combination NIN.DINGIR
and examined the term's readings and meaning. Marches® summarizing the lexical data,
has shown that the sign NIN should be read as Sumerian eres when referring to the king's
consort or when used as a divine epithet or as a component of a priestly title. In Akkadian it
is read beltu /sarratum, to be translated "queen" or "lady". Steinkeller, relying on the same
data, emphasizes the translation of the title nin.dingir in Sumerian as a non-genitival form
to be rendered "godly/divine lady, deity devotee, implying the high-ranking woman serving
a god or goddess".'The earlier North Semitic term correlating to this title is dam.dingir.'°
In third millennium Ebla this title represents a female member of the royal family, either
the king's sister or the king's daughter, who officiated as a high priestess to a male god."
Archi, who described the evidence on the Eblaite dam.dingir, points to the fact that the
Eblaite data during a period of more than 40 years shows the Service of four royal prin-
cesses as dam.dingir. These princesses officiated in the major cultic center to the god of the
Eblaite dynasty. Stol recently reexamined the titles of the priestesses in the Old Babylon-
ian period.'^ According to him, the title NIN was read differently in different Mesopotam-
ian towns. In early Old Babylonian texts NIN was read in Akkadian as ugbabtum. But in a
lexical text a NIN ''Utu is called lukur ''Utu (in Akkadian enmrn of the god §ama§). From
Sippar and Kis are known equivalents of NIN.DINGIR with naditum. From Sippar and
Mari, NIN shows the reading of dam.dingir ("wife of the deity") - a title, as mentioned
above, already known from Ebla of the third millennium.'^

Fleming (1992) 82.

' Frayne (1985) 22.
8 Marchesi (2004) 186-189.
' Steinkeller (1999) 121 with footnote 59.
Steinkeller (1999) 121-124.
" Archi (1998) 43-53.
Stol (2000) 457-466.
» Stol, ibid., pp. 457-459.

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Altoriental. Forsch. 33 (2006) 2 315

Renger draws up a list of some nineteen attestations to enthroning or choosing a

NIN.DINGIR-priestess in old Babylonian texts."^ Most of the NIN.DINGIR-priestesses
serve a male deity, thus emphasizing their role as female counterpart to the god they serve.
As can be learned from the lexical texts the title NIN.DINGIR is equivalent to other
titles of female priestly office, and thus must always be studied in relation to the period and
place it was used. Düring the last third of the third millennium as well as during the second
millennium we often find the Sumerian title NIN.DINGIR rendered as entum in Akkad-
ian. Thus, a Short description of the entum's office is necessary.

2.2 The entum of Mesopotamian sources could serve a male deity as well as a female deity.
However, it should be noted that she is a counterpart of a male deity and is that specific
deity's priestess. Her ritual entrance into office in the OB period, according to Frayne,'^
involved a "sacred marriage" type of rite, including the setting up of a lady's throne and a
bed, and the prospective priestess's lying on the bed.
The entum usually lives in the gipäru, a separate house or quarters belonging to her,
which is located in the courtyard of the temple. This place is regarded as "the place of the
fertility rite of the 'sacred marriage'".^® There are several omen texts that refer to the
sexual life of the entum but they are not clear enough to give a picture of her sexual
practice. It seems that in early periods she did not have children. This may also be con-
firmed by Sargon of Akkad's birth legend; his mother, who was an entum, conceived him
"in concealment", and after giving birth, set him in a basket on the river."
From different texts of the Neo-Sumerian period (economic and legal texts as well as
seal-legends) we learn that the NIN.DINGIR/e«rMW is in Charge of other personnel, and
connecting this knowledge with the Old Babylonian material we can say that as the highest
priestess of her deity she is in Charge of her temple's economy.

2.3 One of the interesting functions of the NIN.DINGIRyenfwm is in relation to the fertil-
ity cult. The famous idea of the "sacred marriage", just noted, is usually related to the
highest priestess of a god. Just how she plays a part in this marriage is not clear, however.'^
Jacobsen argued that the king's partner was the queen or perhaps a high priestess that
incarnated the goddess.^'
Frayne, in a review article on Kramer's book,^® treats in detail the question of the partici-
pants in the "sacred marriage", and comes to the conclusion that the priest called enum and
the priestess called entum "impersonated the divine couple of the town. The male role of

" Renger (1967) 136^139. To that hst can be added Henshaw's, which includes later periods. Henshaw
(1994) 45-46.
Frayne (1985) 19. Steinkeller (1999) 123-124 emphasizes that a female consort of a male deity called
dam.dingir is to be regarded a genuine Semitic tradition.
See the CAD G 84''. For a contradictory explanation of the entum activity, see 2.3 below.
" Lewis (1980) 38-42; Goodnick-Westenholz (1997) 39-41. The fact that his mother was entum -
priestess may point to his royal descent.
Kramer (1969) 93.
" Jacobsen (1976) 39
20 Frayne (1985) 6-22.

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316 Ada Taggar-Cohen, The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom

enum was generally performed by the king in the form of the god Dumuzi".^^ The role of
the entum, however, was performed by a priestess, and is indicated in the Sumerian year
formula by the words: "The year the entum of ''Nanna was chosen by omens". Thus the
sacred marriage rite was part of the designation of the new entum priestesses, according to
Frayne.
Several scholars have questioned the reality of the sacred marriage ritual. In a com-
prehensive study, Lapinkivi summarizes the issue of the Sumerian sacred marriage by
saying that "the texts employ metaphorical language in form and function [...]. Thus the
marriage of the goddess Inanna and the king is also to be understood as an allegory for the
Union of a human soul with the divine".^^ She also indicates that "many of the songs (telling
of the sacred marriage) are written in terms of a rite ofpassage for the woman".^^
In that respect Lapinkivi follows Cooper and Steinkeller, who both emphasize the social
context of the sacred marriage ritual as a "way for the king to secure legitimacy and divine
blessings, and to reaffirm his and his people's obligations to the gods".^'* The legal act of
marriage functions to reestablish a whole set of mutual obligations between the people and
the gods, who become "in-laws" as a result of this marriage.^^ In essence, the king becomes
part of the family of the goddess. It seems, however, that this living Sumerian ritual be-
comes in later periods only a symbolic one, where the deities are presented in statue form
and two priests accompany them during the ritual.^^ Lapinkivi therefore stresses that
"there is little reason to believe that the sexual union described in the (Sumerian love)
songs took place on anything but the allegorical or symbolic level".^^

2.4 A special mention should be made of the Sumerian princess Enheduanna. In a detailed
article about her - daughter of Sargon, the third millennium king of Akkad - Goodnick-
Westenholz shows how as a priestess this Enheduanna was considered the embodiment of
the goddess Ningal, consort of the god Nanna, and how Nanna bestowed on her an epithet

Frayne, ibid, p. 14. Especially the hne from the Iddin-Dagan hymn A: "The king, being a god, sits with
her inside".
Lapinkivi (2004) 242,248 ff.
Lapinkivi (2004) 243.
Cooper (1993) 91; Steinkeller (1999) 136. In his article, Steinkeller suggests the historical development
of the titles en, dam.dingir and nin.dingir for the third millennium.
2-'' Cooper, ibid, pp. 90-91; see his comparison with material from India. One may note the strong "echo"
of such a term in the relationship between YHWH and his people. See, for example, Jer. 2: 2-3;
Hos. 2: 18-22. Lapinkivi compared it with the Song of Songs and the Jewish mystical texts of Kab-
balah.
^ See the Neo-Assyrian letter no. 70 ( A B L 366) in Cole and Machinist (1998) 62, mentioning a sacred
marriage to Nabu and Taämetu, which is attended for five days by the lü hazannu 'inspector, mayor'.
See also the Aramaic New Year's ritual presented by Steinkeller (1999) 135 in this regard. It shows the
symbolic way the king consummates the marriage with the goddess Nanai.
2' Although from a different regional cult, I would like to point to the biblical priestly Levite installation
ceremony in Numbers 8:8 where the Levites are symbolically identified legally as "of god". This legal
terminology ("and they shall be mine"), also appearing in other A N E texts, is used in regard to adop-
tion and marriage. Thus the priestly Levites become part of the deity's household on earth. For de-
tailed explanation of the Levites legal status see Taggar-Cohen (1998). The NIN.DINGIR, by analogy,
becomes legally part of the deity's household in a ceremony described in terms of marriage.

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originally given to Ningal.^® Goodnick-Westenholz attempts to present the way the pries-
tess was understood according to her titles and then tries to detect her different functions
and duties. Enheduanna has several titles: one of them isen (which is interchangeable with
eres.dingir=nin.dingir), andas such she is the highest priestess officiating in the temple of
Nanna. The second title she holds is zirru, written SAL.NUNUZ.ZI.<^NANNA, translated
by Steinkeller as "faithful devotee".^' The priestess is to be considered as the embodiment
of the goddess Ningal on earth. Her third title is "the spouse (Sum. dam) of Nanna".
From Enheduannd's writing it is clear that she is chosen by divination, indicating divine
selection. She then lives in a separate building in the temple called gipäru, where she is to
dwell until her death. Among her duties is taking care of the god's meals, since she carries
the basket; she then participates in different rituals. The most interesting role is the one
regarding the "sacred marriage". In what way did she consummate this divine relationship
with the deity? According to Enheduanna's testimony she uses a ritual coach, but there is
no Information about how this is done or who is with her at the time, if anyone at all, except
for the god. This fact receives fresh illumination from the rite for the Installation of the
NIN.DINGIRinEmar.3o

3. Evidence from Emar

3.1 The NIN.DINGIR ofthe Storm-god ofEmar ClM^^)
The title NIN.DINGIR appearing in texts from Emar of the Middle Bronze period sheds
some light on this priestess's office as practiced in North Syria.^^ The first thing to notice in
Emar is the fact that there are several NIN.DINGIRs. In the A:/MM-festival of Dagan, the
masartu-phestess follows two NIN.DINGIR-priestesses: one NIN.DINGIR of Dagan from
the town of §umi, the other from the town of Satapi (Emar 385 line 16). In a text on the
enthronement of the NIN.DINGIR of the Storm-god ClM) of Emar, two priestesses are
mentioned besides her: the NIN.DINGIR of the town of Sumi in the vicinity of Emar, and
the masartu-pnestess of the goddess Aätart from Emar (Emar 369 line 16).
There are two texts from Emar dealing with an Installation of priestesses. One is the just
mentioned Installation of the NIN.DINGIR of the Storm-god ''IM, the other treats the In-
stallation of the masartu-priestess of the goddess AStart, who is not entitled NIN.DINGIR.
However, several basic stages of the ritual of her Installation are quite similar to those
of the NIN.DINGIR of ''IM. They are both to be considered in the same rank among the
religious officials in Emar.^^

2» Goodnick-Westenholz (1989) 539-556.

Steinkeller, ibid, 121-122. He indicates that this should be the meaning of the logogram. Thus the
priestess is the attendant or companion of the goddess.
Cooper, ibid, p. 88 states that according to the description of the NIN.DINGIR of Emar, lying down in
the bed does not necessarily have to be with another human being.
" To be read Ba'alu according to Schwemer (2001) 548-573.
A detailed study of the NIN.DINGIR of Emar is the work of Fleming (1992).
Fleming, ibid, p. 98.

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318 Ada Taggar-Cohen, The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom

The status of the NIN.DINGIR of the Storm-god of Emar is related to the group of
people named "sons of Emar" (Emar 369 line 3). She is not from the royal family and she is
never given a personal name in the texts from Emar.^'* We do not know what status the
group "sons of Emar" had, but it is clear they should have been among the high-ranking
famihes. There is no mention of a child of the NIN.DINGIR,^^ and there is no indication
that she married; that may have been in violation of her office.^®

5.2 As for the relationship between the NIN.DINGIR and the deity she serves, it can be
discerned mainly from activity on the last day of the Installation rite.This rite prescribes the
final procession leading the priestess, with animals for offering, from the house of her
father - where she stayed for the last seven days of the Installation festival - to the bit
NIN.DINGIR ("the house of the NIN.DINGIR") which is located at the courtyard of the
temple of the god ""IM. Leaving the house of her father is described as analogous to sending
a bride to her wedding:
When the NIN.DINGIR leaves the house, they will cover her head as a bride,
with a colorful sash of her father's house. Her two maids will embrace her as a
bride. Just before the evening watch, one ox, seven sheep, and three lambs, along
with a torch and the singers, will go ahead of her, and the divine weapon/axe will
go behind her. (Emar 369:60-64)3'
The departure from her father's house towards the evening is described as that of a bride
going to her husband's house. She goes to the house of the deity and enters her Chamber,
where she is presented with gifts including a bed, a chair, a table, and a blanket that is
spread on the bed. In her Chamber the singers sing to her. She is left at the temple after she
has mounted the bed. Fleming thinks it should be understood not from a sexual perspec-
tive, but rather as her final act of residing in her house with the deity. These acts of marriage
he takes only as aspects of the rite of Installation and not as an erotic State of consummat-
ing the "sacred marriage", as has been debated in regard to the Mesopotamian texts.^® The
NIN.DINGIR-priestess, then, acts like the female counterpart of the deity, serving him in
his house. She becomes one of the servants of the divine, dwelling in the divine house. In
many respects this evidence resembles the role assumed by Enheduanna of the Old Akkad-
ian dynasty. She has been described above as the spouse of the male deity Nanna but also
as the servant of the female deity Ningal, and even as her embodiment.
The Emar NIN.DINGIR, too, has a clear relationship with the goddess Hepat, who is the
consort (wife) of the Storm-god ClM) of Emar. Düring the days of the Installation rite the
NIN.DINGIR Visits the temple of the goddess Hepat several times and sacrifices to her,
as if she needs the goddess's consent to her Installation.^'

The installation text is an instructive ritual for the officiating priestly administrator of the cult, and
does not relate to a specific NIN.DINGIR.
^^ In contrast to the marärfM-priestess, who is known to have a son and a brother; see Fleming, ibid, p. 99.
^ Fleming, ibid, p. 83.
'' Fleming, ibid, p. 56.
Fleming, ibid, pp. 190-192.
For Hebat in the text Emar 369 see lines 31-36,52. Fleming, ibid, 76,222-223.

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4 Evidence from Hattusa

4.1 The Hittite NIN.DINGIR
In research on the Hittite priesthood,''o I have presented in detail the NIN.DINGIR-
priestess as she is portrayed according to the Hittite texts. I shall next briefly summarize
this Hittite priestly office, in order later to compare it with its Mesopotamian and North
Syrian counterparts.
In the Hittite texts the NIN.DINGIR is an exceptional priestess. There is always only
one such priestess. The title NIN.DINGIR is a Sumerographic combination with no known
Hittite equivalent. She is never given a personal name in the texts. Nor is she directly
affiliated with a single deity (such as "the NIN.DINGIR of DN"). From all the texts
mentioning the NIN.DINGIR, it is clear that she appears only in contexts relating to
festivals. Since the king and the queen, as well as the crown prince, take part in these rituals,
the festivals can appropriately be assigned to the "state cult".
Most of the texts mentioning the NIN.DINGIR reveal Old Hittite language. From the
Script and ductus of the texts one can see that there are texts of Old Hittite origin, as well as
copies showing newer forms.'*^ On this basis, the continuation of the NIN.DINGIR office
from Old Hittite times to the Empire period can be assumed.

4.2 Several factors point to the connection of this office with Hattuäa and, especially, with
the royal family. First, the places mentioned in the texts connect the NIN.DINGIR mainly
with Hattuäa and Tawiniya, which is located not far from HattuSa. The NIN.DINGIR relies
on supplies from the traditional cult centers of the Hittite kingdom, but does not neces-
sarily go to these places.
Secondly, the Hittite NIN.DINGIR is clearly a member of the royal family, and thus
should be regarded a princess, possibly the king's daughter. Below I list her main royal
characteristics.
1. She arrives at a temple and performs together with the royal family during the main
festivals of the kingdom, such as the nuntarriyasha-festiwäi and the AN.TAH.SUM-
festival; she drinks the deities and makes offerings in succession assisted by the cup-
bearer and the table-man, just as the king, queen, and crown prince do.
2. The NIN.DINGIR has special symbols of status, several of which seem to compare
mainly with the king's activity and the symbols he carries during rituals. The items
clearly referring to the NIN.DINGIR's royal status include:
a. The deity's vestments, in Hittite siunas aniyatta, into which she changes during rituals.
This can be compared with the Hittite king's activity in KUB 58.33, 26-27': "the
deity's cloth - the adupli-coat - he puts on".
b. A scepter and a scepter-bearer, who runs in front of the NIN.DINGIR to announce
her arrival.

Hittite Priesthood Texte der Hethiter 26 (in press).

^^ Neu (1980) has already shown this, for example, in the young duplicates to KBo 25.31 on p. 83.

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320 Ada Taggar-Cohen, The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom

c. The use of a carriage to transport the NIN.DINGIR from temple to temple and from
town to town.This carriage is called °^^huluganni, which is known as a royal insigne.

In KBo 17.101 iii 1 1 - 2 0 ' we find the following description of a stage in the rituals the
NIN.DINGIR performs:

The NIN.DINGIR goes into the inner Chamber, She puts on the aniyatta-
clothes."^ Then she comes ( o u t ) , a n d she bows to the deity. Then she seats
herseif in the carriage. The hapiya-m.Qn adorned, in front of her i®' they
proceed; the [men] of the town Anunuwa sing in front of her". It seems to be
either a member of the royalty in worship, or a priestess in a special ritual.

The NIN.DINGIR receives special treatment as a cult official, which in a way is reminis-
cent of the treatment that the king or the crown prince receive as they come to offer to the
gods. Of both of them it is said that they change clothes, wash, and then offer bread and
wine while the temple personnel serve them.
To this should be added the fact that in many of the rituals, the NIN.DINGIR is describ-
ed as being held by the palace attendants, in intervals between acts or when she comes and
goes.'^Thus also KUB 56.46 i, 33-36': "The NIN.DINGIR comes (out).Two palace attend-
ants one on this side and one on the other hold (her)" (dupl. KBo 25.31 obv. ii 9'). In KBo
10.27 iii 21' they are identified as belonging to her: ^i' §A NIN.DINGIR DUMU^f^s
E . G A L ™ ap-pa-an-zi which translates as, "The palace attendants of the NIN.DINGIR
take (theirplace)".''^
Finally, a third factor points to the NIN.DINGIR's connection to royalty: she visits dif-
ferent temples while fulfilling her duties to the gods. In the fragmentary texts some temples
are mentioned by the name of the gods who reside in them. In other cases, when the
NIN.DINGIR is mentioned as being inside a Compound or returning to it, the scribe uses
the general term for temple (= E DINGIR^"*^ = siunas parna), rather than indicating which
temple it is (KUB 25.51 iv, 10'; KBo 10.27 v, 19'). On the other hand the NIN.DINGIR can
Visit several temples during one ritual such as in KBo 10.27, thus worshiping several deities.
The number of temples mentioned as being visited by the NIN.DINGIR adds up to about
nine in the preserved texts.
The text K U B 59.2 mentions two temples: those of ' ' K a t a ^ a and of ''LAMMA. At the
former, the NIN.DINGIR goes to perform a ritual which involves spinning a spindle. The
latter is mentioned as part of the duties of the ninth day of the festival, which Houwink ten
Gate suggested is the AN.TAH.SUM (the most important spring festival)."®
The temple of the deity Teteshapi is mentioned in the group of texts describing the ritu-
als which the NIN.DINGIR performs to this deity. According to the sequence of KUB

See Otten's treatment of the ritual KBo 19.128, Otten (1971) 20-21
WithHW^ A:89^nu-zaa-ni-ya-at-tada-a[-i].
KBo 25.48 iii, 8' and KBo 20.79,9'-10'.
Another possible translation is: "The palace attendants of the NIN.DINGIR finish" - meaning: once
she arrives into the temple they finish their work until she appears again to leave the temple. Compare
with KBo 25.31 ii, 11-12.
« Houwink ten Gate (1988) 189 n. 45.

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11.32 + 20.17, it seems possible to say that the NIN.DINGIR goes to the temple of
''Teteghapi, which is located at the town of Tawiniya (col. v, 3', 9'). In the text KBo 21.95
(i, 20' ff.) and the dupl. KBo 21.93, it seems that the temple of "^Teteghapi is located near the
storehouses of the king in HattuSa.'^''
It can be said, then, that the temples, which the NIN.DINGIR Visits are those of deities
related to the strata of the ancient Anatolian deities, who are associated with fertiUty and
the protection of the royal family.

4.3 The Hittite NIN.DINGER and the goddess Teteshapi

One deity seems to be of most importance to the Hittite NIN.DINGIR. She is called
''Teteghapi: an old Hattian goddess with central Anatolian roots, who seems to be related
to hunting. Teteghapi is a Hattic name that means "the great goddess". She may also be
considered an aspect of the goddess Inara."® The connection with the wild animals is sug-
gested, according to Haas, in a ritual where antelope, a sheep, and a sacred spring of the
goddess are mentioned,'" as are a leopard and a wolf. According to Pecchioli Daddi, the
NIN.DINGIR plays the role of the goddess in this ritual (KBo 21.90 // KUB 32.83+ KBo
21.103++).
Haas, following Pecchioh Daddi, connects the ritual for the goddess Teteähapi with the
celebration of the purulli-festival in Hattuga.'° He assumes that the rituals, in which the
NIN.DINGIR participates in a Performance of the cult duties together with the royal pair
and many cult functionaries, belonged to a larger festival. On the other hand, it is not clear
enough how this is to be connected to the purulli-festi\a\ or to any other festival in which
these same functionaries participate.

4.4 The texts describing the NIN.DINGIR during the ritual to ''Teteghapi may indicate
some Identification between the deity and the priestess performing in front of her. A com-
parison with Enheduanna is possible with regard to this detail.
In contrast to the Mesopotamian NIN.DINGIR, the Hittite NIN.DINGIR from Hattusa
has no special contact with a male deity; neither is it mentioned that she goes to live in the
temple.'^
In a special ritual to the deity Teteghapi the NIN.DINGIR is described as follows:

KBo 21.90 obv. 7 ' - 2 3 '

7' The NIN.DINGIR rises and she goes to the inner Chamber.
They sweep, and

The fragment KBo 25.48 also describes the NIN.DINGIR in the temple of Teteähapi, but there is no
reference to its locatioti.
Popko (1995) 71-72,149.
« This passage KBo 32.83 + KBo 21.103 = KBo 21.90 rev. 51'-54 is treated by Pecchioh-Daddi (1987b)
366-367.
Haas (1994) 729. Popko (1995) 149 rejects this connection.
Hittite priests in general do not live in the temple Compound, as is described in the texts.

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322 Ada Taggar-Cohen, The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom

8' the NIN.DINGIR comes forth, and she sits down.They give water for the
hands;The table-men [
9' She places the ^M.A:if-plant (= netde); then, she breaks sweet-bread;
The scepter bearer half sweet-bread of[ ]
10' puts down. He, however, puts them on the altar for the deity; that, also, he
takes.
i r The overseer of the table-men takes it too; and next,likewise, eight times he
makes rounds. Then
12' the NIN.DINGIR rises;Then she goes to the inner Chamber, and she puts on
(herseif) the deity's vestments.

13' Then she [comes out.] The palace attendants hold her; and on her place
she turns.
14' [ ] the scepter bearer runs in front of her; and she [goes?]
to the courtyard.
15' [The SANGA-priest of the deity Tet]eShapi (and) the zintuhi-^omen are
lined up behind her,
16' [and sing in Hattic as follows:] iyapitipis iyatipis tustali tuela eunit
17' [ ] They take away from behind the tarSanzipa.

18' [ ] . . . she keeps dancing, and next the zintuhi-v/omea

19' [sing as follows in Hattic: t\uelluwaya ilelluwaiya ;The poor man to her
20' [ ]dances.The palace attendants hold the
NIN.DINGIR.
21' [ ] holds.Then, she goes again to the courtyard.

22' [ the NIN.DINJGIR alone, keeps dancing towards the deity.

23' [ the] poor man, the scepter bearer holds. [squatting?] they dance.

5. ENTU-priestess in Hittite documents relating to Kizzuwatna

5.1 ENTU and entanni

In the Hittite texts there are two terms which may be regarded as derived from the Akkad-
ian terms for the priestess e«fum. One is the Akkadogram ENTU and the other is the noun
entanni. The word entanni can be recognized immediately as a Hurrian word by the ending
-anni. This noun always appears in the plural form, and since the Hittite NIN.DINGIR is
always a Single priestess, it seems there is no correlation between these two offices.
The word ENTU appears in two Hittite t e x t s , a n d in both the title refers to the cult of
the Hurrian goddess Khara, who entered the Hittite cult toward the end of the Middle
Kingdom (14"" Century B C E ) and who appears primarily from the beginning of the

52 PecchioliDaddi (1982) 4 3 4 - 4 3 5 .

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Altoriental. Forsch. 33 (2006) 2 3 23

New Kingdom onwards.'^ These texts relate to the land of Kizzuwatna, in the Cilician area
of Anatolia, and may represent religious traditions different than the central Anatolia
Hattian-Hittite cult.

5.2 The Hittite ENTU and the NIN.DINGIR ofEmar

The Hittite £Afrf/-priestess, mentioned in the texts relating to the cult in Kizzuwatna,
appears mainly in KUB 40.2. This is a MH text (of Muwatalli I),^" according to which the
Hittite ENTU is a head of a temple for the deity I§hara along with a SANGA-priest.^^ The
royal status of the SANGA-priest and ENTU-pnestess can be assumed, though it is not
stated, and another name of a king of Kizzuwatna is indicated asTalzu.
KUB 40.2 is a land grant involving areas in Kizzuwatna returned to the cult of Ishara and
three other deities by a royal decree. The text indicates that the 'tribute' for the cult of
I§hara, every third year, is mandated to three recipients: the temple of the deity Khara, the
ENTU-pnestess, and the SANGA-priest.
The ENTU-pnestess receives different clothes and implements. Lines 25-30 of the text
describe the £'A'^ri7-priestess tribute as follows: one bronze vessel, one copper vessel, ten
bronze cups and a silver cup for drinking. From the palace she is to receive a wooden bed, a
garment, a hassiyalli, another silver cup, and a few more items missing in the broken lines.
This compulsory donation to the priestess may be compared with a similar practice
involving the NIN.DINGIR of Emar. She is indeed the head of the cult of the male deity,
the Storm-god of Emar, but she also serves Hepat, the male deity's consort.^^
The NIN.DINGIR of Emar is entitled to an annual allotment for her living expenses as
well as her cultic Performance.^'' But on the last day of her Installation ceremonies she re-
ceives as her cultic equipment a fine garment, one bed, one chair, one footstool, an Akkad-
ian blanket, and a hulelu-tahle. This resembles the donations made in KUB 40.2. Both
priestesses are at the head of their temples, but next to the NIN.DINGIR of Emar we do
not find a ^^SANGA, but rather a ^^HAL. Fleming, discussing the position of the ' - ü h a L
in Emar, concludes that his role there deviates from that of the Mesopotamian '-"HAL.'®
While the latter is involved only in divination, the Emar ^"HAL has no clear connection to
divination.^' Instead, his role pertains to rehgious rituals and religious administration. He
collects payments for his role in the rituals, such as the Installation of the NIN.DINGIR. He
is a cultic official with a wide ränge of responsibilities and high social status. A ^"SANGA
in Emar seems to be in a lower position than the ^"HAL, according to Emar 268 where the

« Prechel(19%)90.
For the historical context of this text see Klengel (1999) 101-103.
The text is treated in Goetze (1940) 60-71.
^ For the reading of the Sumerographic combination NIN.DINGIR in Emar as entu, see Stol (2000) 460
with note 20.
" Heining (1992) 58-59 for Emar 369 lines 85-90; also pp. 85-149.
58 Fleming (1992) 87-92.
" See Fleming's latest study on this official in: Fleming (2000) 26-47.

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324 Ada Taggar-Cohen, The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom

^ " H A L is expected to appoint a l ^ s a N G A ® The Hittite text of Kizzuwatna has a

SANGA-priest, and not a ^-'^HAL. It seems that the l ^ s a N G A in this text is the highest
cultic figure in that temple. But we know nothing of bis roles, cultic or administrative, out-
side of the temple. On the other hand, he must be an administrator over all these towns and
lands belonging to tbe temple, which he is supposed to control according to the royal grant.
The Office of tbe NIN.DINGIR in Emar and tbe ENTU of Kizzuwatna may reveal
similar but not completely identical religious institutions.The NIN.DINGIR in Emar is the
main female functionary in the cult of the Storm-god, since we do not hear of any other
SANGA-priest in her Installation rite. By contrast, the Hittite ENTU serves beside a
SANGA-priest. She serves a female deity, Ehara, while the NIN.DINGIR in Emar serves a
male deity, ''IM. Both priestesses receive special implements for their office duties and one
of them is a bed. From this description of the Hittite ENTU and the Emar NIN.DINGIR
we may conclude that both are different than the Hittite NIN.DINGIR of HattuSa.

6. Conclusions

6.1 Only one female at a time serves as the Hittite NIN.DINGIR in Hattusa, and we do not
hear of other NIN.DINGIRs in other towns. She is of royal descent, possibly the daughter
of the king. Her cultic activity resembles that of other royal family members such as the
king, queen, and crown prince, with whom she performs rituals to the divine. In her office
she may personify the deity during the rituals. In that capacity, the original example for the
Hittite NIN.DINGIR is the Mesopotamian nin.dingir/eres.dingir or dam.dingir, who is also
a chosen daughter of the ruling king and acts as the embodiment of a goddess. The Hittite
NIN.DINGIR, in this respect, is part of the priestly tradition seen in Mesopotamia during
the end of the third and the second millennium, assimilated to the ancient Hattian tradition
of central Anatolia. While the Mesopotamian and North Syrian NIN.DINGIR is a priestess
for a certain deity, the Hittite figure worships all the Hittite gods. On the other hand, her
cultic activities involving visits to several temples can be compared with those of the Emar
NIN.DINGIR, though hers are confined only to the Installation ceremonies. Meanwhile,
the Emar NIN.DINGIR is not a royal priestess, even though her installation ritual includes
ceremonies for the king of Aätata. In other respects tbe Emar NIN.DINGIR may resemble
the ENTU of Kizzuwatna.
The basic components of the profession of Mesopotamian NIN.DINGIR/enfMw, a
priestess who serves a god, a goddess, or gods on behalf of the royal family and thus the
country, have been noted. The reality of the priestess's life and activities is different than
that of the Hittite NIN.DINGIR. The latter does not live in the temple of the specific deity,
and we do not know if her post involves a lifetime dedication. Could she marry and have
a family, or is she dedicated to the gods as in the Mesopotamian and North Syrian office?
A last glance at the titles may offer a little more insight into the Mesopotamian, North
Syrian, and Hittite office.

^ EMAR IV text no. 268: Letter of Agal-Simegi the [priest?] to Zu-Ba'ala the ^-UHAL.

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Altoriental. Forsch. 33 (2006) 2 325

6.2 AMA.DINGIR-priestess and NIN.DINGIR-priestess: Evolution ofa title

At the beginning of my paper I noted that there were two main titles for priestesses in
Hittite texts, written in Sumerograms beside the NIN.DINGIR's title. One of them, the
MUNUS^MA.DINGIR^™ title, is of interest for the development of these designations.
The combination of the Sumerian ideograms AMA ("mother") and DINGIR ("deity")
with the Akkadian suffix indicating the genitival case LIM {ummu ihm) does not appear in
the Sumero-Akkadian texts, as already noted above. This combination appears only in the
texts from Bogazköy®^ Kronasser, therefore, suggested that it is a combination created by
the Hittites themselves on the basis of the Hittite words siu(n)- siuni- siuna ("god") and
anna ("mother").^^The Hittite texts always indicate the gender of the office holder with a
determinative, in this case MUNUS ("female").
The meaning of the title "^"NUSAJ^A.DINGIR^™ could be understood as "divine
mother" or "god's mother" as shown by Neu.^^ In the Sumero-Akkadian texts there is a
combination of Sumerian words such as AMA "TNANNA appearing in MSL 12, (Akk.
amalutu/amalitu). The meaning could be "the mother (who is) INANNA" or "the mother
of INANNA". In this text it is a title of a priestess who is a cult functionary.®^ This form of
the Hittite title, translated "divine mother," is parallel to the combination of the title
NIN.DINGIR, to be translated "divine lady". In all cases it is a title for priestesses, those
who serve the divine, mainly from amongst the royal family.
Basically we have here the same forms: nin.dingir, ereä.dingir, dam.dingir, and ama.
dingir, which convey the same concept: a priestess who is serving the divine as a devotee,
a companion, or a counterpart of the female deity. Perhaps originally there was a difference
in the officiating lady, the wife of the king or the daughter of the king, but she was a female
member of the royal family. Later it became the title for a priestess, not necessarily from
the royal family.
In the Hittite material the queen is titled AMA.DINGIR-priestess, who officiates for all
the gods of the kingdom beginning in New Kingdom times. The title NIN.DINGIR was
reserved for a princess officiating in the cults of ancient central Anatolia. The Akkadian
title of enrwm-priestess was, to our knowledge so far, used only in the Kizzuwatna region,
which was in dose contact with the North Syrian cults of the Middle Bronze era; this
explains the similarity with the NIN.DINGIR of Emar.
I would therefore conclude that the Hittites of the first quarter of the second millennium
adopted some titles for priestly offices from the Akkadian and Sumerian Mesopotamia
writing system, which was also used in North Syria. The office rank, meaning, and practice
were probably similar to those prevalent in Hittite culture, but not necessarily identical. In
general, the rank of the Hittite NIN.DINGIR and her affiliation with the royal family is
similar to the Mesopotamian case, but there is no clear indication that she is a devotee of
only one male god. She does have a special affiliation with one goddess, but the goddess

«1 Deimel, 5L 2 (1927 nr. 237 sub 9).

Kronasser points out the possible development of the Hittite word siwanzanna, which is behind the
Sumerograms: iiwannant+s+anna = siwanzanna. Kronasser, EHS: 125-126, also p. 103. The cid Hittite
formseen on a tablet in OH Script isSi-un-za-an-na-asKBo20.16 obv.? T.
Neu, StBoT 18:124 reads the combination *siuns/siwans (old gen.) + anna.
" See for this title in the Sumerian Dictionary (Pennsylvania: 1998) A: 201a.

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326 Ada Taggar-Cohen, The NIN.DINGIR in the Hittite Kingdom

rank in the Hittite pantheon does not seem to be a major royal deity. On the other hand,
she officiates on behalf of other deities as well, somewhat like the NIN.DINGIR of Emar,
who does not belong to the royal family in Aätata.
To summarize, the Hittite NIN.DINGIR is a priestess of the Hittite-Hattian cultic tradi-
tion of central Anatolia that surrounds the capital Hattuäa.

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Ada Taggar-Cohen, PhD

Associate Professor of Bible and Ancient Near East
School of Theology
Doshisha University
Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8580 - JAPAN

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