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Kittum

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Kittum
Divine embodiment of truth
Other namesNiĝgina[1]
Major cult centerSippar, Bad-tibira, Raḫabu
Genealogy
ParentsUtu/Shamash and Aya
SiblingsMamu, Sisig

Kittum, also known as Niĝgina, was a Mesopotamian goddess who was regarded as the embodiment of truth. She belonged to the circle of the sun god Utu/Shamash and was associated with law and justice.

Character

Kittum's name means "truth" in Akkadian and she regarded as a divine hypostasis of this concept.[1] Kittum's Sumerian counterpart, Niĝgina, is not attested before the Old Babylonian period, and it is possible that the Akkadian name was older, which would make Niĝgina an artificial translation.[1] A possible forerunner to the idea of a goddess embodying truth are proverbs or dialogues copied in scribal schools in which truth was personified.[1] Names with the element niĝgina are already attested in sources from the Ur III period, one example being Niĝginaidug ("truth is good"), but there is no indication that they were necessarily theophoric, and the word is written without the dingir sign which preceded divine names.[1] Kittum could alternatively be equated with another of Utu's courtiers, Nigzida, but the meaning of the latter name was not identical, and terms like "fidelity" or "righteousness" are considered more accurate translations.[1]

Kittum was one of the deities associated with law and justice.[2] She could be invoked in legal texts as a divine witness.[3]

Associations with other deities

There are differences regarding the position of Kittum in Utu's court in known copies of An = Anum.[1] She usually appears as the first of his daughters, but some copies instead refer to her as his sukkal (divine vizier), and one lists Kittum and Niĝgina as two separate deities, with the former referred to as a son and the later as a daughter of Utu.[1] Jacob Klein argues that Kittum was regarded as the sun god's "primary" daughter.[1] One text refers to her as the "beloved daughter of Utu" (dumu kiag dUtu).[1] The deities Mamu and Sisig were regarded as her siblings.[1]

Iqbi-damiq functioned as Kittum's sukkal.[4] Instances of a sukkal having a sukkal of their own, while known, should be regarded as an anomaly according to Richard L. Litke.[5] Iqbi-damiq's name means "she said 'it is fine!'"[6] Wilfred G. Lambert's earlier translation, "he spoke, it is pleasant," presumed Iqbi-damiq was male.[7] However, a text referring to her as a "daughter" is now known.[6] She is also attested in the god list An = Anum and in Šurpu.[7] An illness called "hand of Iqbi-damiq" is mentioned in one medical text alongside "hand of Nanaya" and "hand of Kanisurra."[8]

Worship

Sources from the Old Babylonian period attest the existence of two temples of Kittum, one in Bad-tibira and another in Raḫabu,[9] a settlement located near Larsa.[10] Their ceremonial names are presently unknown,[9] and available documents simply refer to both as É dKi-it-tim.[3]

In offering lists from Sippar, Kittum commonly appears alongside Mīšaru, a deity from the circle of Adad who was also associated with justice.[11] In the Neo-Babylonian period both of them were additionally grouped with Ūmu and Dajjānu.[3] It is possible that she was among the deities worshiped in Ebabbar, the temple of Shamash located in this city.[3] Outside Sippar, the pair Kittum and Misharu is also attested in the Takultu ritual from Assur.[3] References to this pair as the "attendants of Ekur" (mazzāz Ekur) are also known from Neo-Assyrian sources.[3]

Theophoric names invoking Kittum are known from Larsa and Ur, two examples being Kittum-lizziz and Apil-Kittum.[3] She is also attested in women's theophoric names from Old Babylonian Mari.[12] She is one of the seven goddesses appearing in names with the element -šimhī, the other six being Annu, Admu, Ishtar, Ishara, Aya and Tabubu.[12] The name Kittum-šimhī can be translated as "Kittum is my joy."[13] She is also one of the Mesopotamian deities who appear in Akkadian theophoric names from Susa from the same period.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Klein 1998, p. 311.
  2. ^ Krebernik 2008, p. 354.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Klein 1998, p. 312.
  4. ^ Krebernik 2011, p. 602.
  5. ^ Litke 1998, p. 133.
  6. ^ a b George 2000, p. 298.
  7. ^ a b Lambert 1980, p. 151.
  8. ^ Stol 1998, p. 147.
  9. ^ a b George 1993, p. 168.
  10. ^ Horowitz 1998, p. 84.
  11. ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 67.
  12. ^ a b Nakata 1995, p. 248.
  13. ^ Nakata 1995, p. 240.
  14. ^ Zadok 2018, p. 155.

Bibliography

  • George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 0-931464-80-3. OCLC 27813103.
  • George, Andrew R. (2000). "Four Temple Rituals from Babylon". Wisdom, Gods and Literature: Studies in Assyriology in Honour of W. G. Lambert. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-004-0. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  • Horowitz, Wayne (1998). Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography. Atlantic Studies. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-0-931464-99-7. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  • Klein, Jacob (1998), "Niĝgina/Kittum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-06-12
  • Krebernik, Manfred (2008), "Richtergott(heiten)", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-06-13
  • Krebernik, Manfred (2011), "Sonnengott A. I. In Mesopotamien. Philologisch", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-06-13
  • Lambert, Wilfred G. (1980), "Iqbi-damiq", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-06-13
  • Litke, Richard L. (1998). A reconstruction of the Assyro-Babylonian god lists, AN:dA-nu-um and AN:Anu šá Ameli (PDF). New Haven: Yale Babylonian Collection. ISBN 978-0-9667495-0-2. OCLC 470337605.
  • Nakata, Ichiro (1995). "A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in Old Babylonian Texts from Mari". Orient. 30 and 31. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan: 234–253. doi:10.5356/orient1960.30and31.234. ISSN 1884-1392.
  • Schwemer, Daniel (2001). Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen: Materialien und Studien nach den schriftlichen Quellen (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-04456-1. OCLC 48145544.
  • Stol, Marten (1998), "Nanaja", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-06-13
  • Zadok, Ran (2018). "The Peoples of Elam". The Elamite world. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 978-1-315-65803-2. OCLC 1022561448.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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