Nupatik

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Nupatik or Nubadig (Lubadag in oldest known inscriptions) was a Hurrian god of uncertain character.

Character and attributes[]

While Nupatik was a "pan-Hurrian"[1] god, and is well attested in Hurrian texts from locations such as Hattusa and Ugarit, his functions in Hurrian religion remain uncertain.[2]

In a ritual text the items offered to Nupatik are a bow, arrows and a quiver.[3] Gianni Marchesi and Nicolò Marchetti propose that he was a warrior god based on this evidence.[4]

Worship[]

He was venerated in 3rd millennium BCE in Urkesh under the name Lubadag.[5] Hurrian king (endan) Tish-atal of Urkesh mentions him in a curse formula, alongside Belet Nagar and Hurrian deities such as Šimige. The curse is part of a longer inscription commemorating the erection of a temple of Nergal (possibly a logographic representation of the name of the Hurrian god Kumarbi).[6]

In a list of offerings to gods from the circle of Teshub (so-called kaluti) from Kizzuwatna, Nupatik appears between Aštabi and Šauška. According to hittitologist Piotr Taracha, he was regarded as a member of the category of Anatolian tutelary gods (dLAMMA) in this context.[7] Figure 32 from the procession of gods from Yazilikaya, which follows a similar order to such lists, might represent him.[8]

During the hišuwa festival, meant to guarantee good fortune for the royal couple, two gods named Nupatik (pibithi - "of Pibid(a)" and zalmathi - "of Zalman(a)/Zalmat") were venerated alongside "Teshub Manuzi," Lelluri, Allani, Ishara and Maliya.[9] In a related ritual (KUB 20.74 i 3–7, KBo 15.37 ii 29–33) both Nupatik gods were also associated with Adamma and Kubaba.[10]

The spelling Nbdg is known from Ugaritic alphabetic texts.[11] A single Ugaritic personal name with Nubadig as a theophoric element is known.[12] Wilfred H. van Soldt notes that it didn't belong to a foreigner, but to a local inhabitant.[13]

In Middle Bronze Age Carchemish Nupatik was worshiped under the name Nubandag, and was one of the most prominent deities of the city alongside Nergal and Kubaba.[14]

Proposed identification with other deities[]

Suggestions that Nupatik can be identified with the Mesopotamian war god Zababa can be found in literature, but according to Gernot Wilhelm this assumption is incorrect, and the latter corresponded to Ḫešui (a war god) instead in the Hurrian pantheon.[15]

Jean-Marie Durand proposed that "Nubandag" (Nupatik) worshiped in Carchemish according to texts from Mari is to be identified with Nergal,[16] but Gianni Marchesi and Nicolò Marchetti reject this theory due to Nupatik and Nergal being distinct deities in known sources.[17]

References[]

  1. ^ A. Archi, The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background [in:] B. J. Collins, P. Michalowski, (eds.) Beyond Hatti. A tribute to Gary Beckman, 2013, p. 8
  2. ^ G. Wilhelm, The Hurrians, 1989, p. 53
  3. ^ G. Wilhelm, Lupatik, Nupatik [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 7, 1987, p. 173
  4. ^ G. Marchesi, N. Marchetti, The Deities of Karkemish in the Middle Bronze Age according to Glyptic and Textual Evidence [in:] M. D'Andrea, M. G. Micale, D. Nadali, S. Pizzimenti, A. Vacca (eds.), Pearls of the Past: Studies on Near Eastern Art and Archaeology in Honour of Frances Pinnock, 2019, p. 530
  5. ^ P. Taracha, Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia, 2009, p. 119
  6. ^ B. Pongratz-Leisten, Religion and Ideology in Assyria, 2015, p. 93-94
  7. ^ P. Taracha, Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia, 2009, p. 118
  8. ^ P. Taracha, Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia, 2009, p. 94-95
  9. ^ P. Taracha, Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia, 2009, p. 138
  10. ^ M. Hutter, Kubaba in the Hittite Empire and the Consequences for her Expansion to Western Anatolia [in:] A. Mouton (ed.), Studies on Hittite and Neo-Hittite Anatolia in Honor of Emmanuel Laroche's 100th Birthday, 2017, p. 115
  11. ^ A. Archi, The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background [in:] B. J. Collins, P. Michalowski, (eds.) Beyond Hatti. A tribute to Gary Beckman, 2013, p. 11
  12. ^ W. H. van Soldt, Divinities in Personal Names at Ugarit, Ras Shamra [in:] V. Matoïan, M. Al-Maqdissi, Études Ougaritiques IV, 2016, p. 104
  13. ^ W. H. van Soldt, Divinities in Personal Names at Ugarit, Ras Shamra [in:] V. Matoïan, M. Al-Maqdissi, Études Ougaritiques IV, 2016, p. 106
  14. ^ G. Marchesi, N. Marchetti, The Deities of Karkemish in the Middle Bronze Age according to Glyptic and Textual Evidence [in:] M. D'Andrea, M. G. Micale, D. Nadali, S. Pizzimenti, A. Vacca (eds.), Pearls of the Past: Studies on Near Eastern Art and Archaeology in Honour of Frances Pinnock, 2019, p. 532
  15. ^ G. Wilhelm, Lupatik, Nupatik [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 7, 1987, p. 173
  16. ^ J.-M. Durand, La religion amorrite en Syrie à l’époque des archives de Mari [in:] G. del Olmo Lete (ed.), Mythologie et religion des Sémites occidentaux, I. Ébla, Mari (OLA 162), 2008, p. 308
  17. ^ G. Marchesi, N. Marchetti, The Deities of Karkemish in the Middle Bronze Age according to Glyptic and Textual Evidence [in:] M. D'Andrea, M. G. Micale, D. Nadali, S. Pizzimenti, A. Vacca (eds.), Pearls of the Past: Studies on Near Eastern Art and Archaeology in Honour of Frances Pinnock, 2019, p. 530
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