Solar Deities in the Kuwattalla Ritual Tradition: Epithets and Functions

Abstract: Through the contextual analysis of the occurrences of solar deities in the Kuwattalla ritual texts, we will try to sketch a portrait of these deities, focusing on their functions in the ritual process. Special attention will be paid to the combination of ritual gestures with Luwian incantations, since the latter might help to define the specificities of each member of this divine group.

In the framework of the Luwili project, Ilya Yakubovich and myself have prepared the commented edition of the Hittite-Luwian ritual texts belonging to the Puriyanni tradition CTH 758 and to the Kuwattalla tradition CTH 759 to 763. The Puriyanni ritual texts are devoted to the purification of a house, while the rituals attributed to the female attendant Kuwattalla and/or the Old Woman Šilalluḫi address a person’s defilement.

Since there are more than a hundred occurrences of solar deities in this corpus of texts, in the context of this paper, I have made a selection according to the following criteria:

1) I have excluded the passages which are too fragmentary to be interpreted, unless they have clear parallels within this same corpus that can elucidate them;

2) I have excluded the passages using forms of Luwian tiwataniya-, a verb clearly built on the Luwian name Tiwad of solar deities, since the agency of a solar deity was not clearly the focus in those passages. And yet we shall examine one exception.

Through this short inquiry, I hope to be able to partly supplement Steitler’s investigation on solar deities1, since the Luwili project has enabled us to better understand several aspects of the Puriyanni and Kuwattalla ritual traditions.

For the sake of caution, we chose to keep the very generic translation “Sun-deity” or, whenever relevant, “Sun-god” or “Sun-goddess” for the logogrammatic shapes of the Sun-deities in our text edition, without providing a phonetic reading of them. In this paper, however, I will suggest phonetic readings whenever possible in order to try to delve further into this inquiry.

Let us briefly review the denominations of the solar deities in our corpus. Sometimes, the logogram of the solar deities, dutu, appears alone, without any phonetic complement or epithet which is the case in Excerpt 1 (KBo 22.137+ III 5’’), for instance. In such cases, only its association with a more detailed designation and/or the context may help determine which solar deity hides behind it.

Since we are dealing with Luwian incantations, it is not surprising to find several phonetic traces of the Luwian reading Tiwad for the solar deities.

We can, for instance, observe the designation “Tiwad above” ([šarr]i Tiwata) in Excerpt 8 (KUB 32.10+ obv. 12’), a MS2 text. This designation in the vocative is directly associated with another, namely “Tiwad below”, which we will examine hereafter. “Tiwad above” also occurs in a NS3 tablet of our corpus, Excerpt 6 (KBo 29.3+ II 25: šarri dutu-za), with the Luwian phonetic complement -za marking the nominative for Tiwaz.

A designation “Tiwad below” is closely associated with “Tiwad above” in the MS text Excerpt 8 (KUB 32.10+ obv. 12’; īnta Tiwata). An analogous Luwian epithet of Sun-deities is found in the MS fragment KUB 35.90 (r.col. 7’), which does not seem to belong to our corpus: inda dutu-šanza[n], where dutu-šanza[n] is to be read *Tiwataššanzan: a possessive adjective of Tiwad in the dative with a plural possessor, so literally “of the Tiwad-s below”.

The allusion to a solar deity “above” and to another below might be compared with the allusion made to the Sun-god (of heaven) as the deity responsible for the living vs. the Sun-goddess of the earth responsible for the dead in Excerpt 6 (KBo 29.3+ II 25-26).

Indeed, Excerpt 6 (KBo 29.3+ II 26) refers to “the Sun-goddess of the earth” (tiyammaššiš dutu-za)4, where the phonetic complement -za of the Sun-goddess’s name shows that she is called Tiwad in this context, just like the male Sun-deity. This phenomenon has already been noticed before and can be compared with Hittite Ištanu, also given to both male and female solar deities5.

The epithet “Father Tiwad” is attested twice in our corpus: first in the MS text Excerpt 12 (KBo 9.143 II! 10’; tātin dutu-an), where the divine name should probably be read *Tiwatan. Secondly in the NS fragment Excerpt 13 (KUB 35.68, 16’; [t]ātiš DTiwaz), this time in the nominative form. Both fragments describe a Kizzuwatnean ritual related to the Kuwattalla tradition (CTH 763). Note that the exact same expression is attested in Hittite in the Maštigga ritual text under the shape addāš dutu-uš “Father Ištanu”6, and this is not the only relationship we observe between the Kuwattalla and the Maštigga ritual traditions7. A “Father Ištanu” (attaš dutu-uš) is also among the divine witnesses of the MS treaty of Arnuwanda I with the Gašga, although this text might be a draft and is, therefore, difficult to further interpret8. This epithet tends to show that Tiwad was primarily a male name, as already noted by Hutter9, although it could also be given to female entities from time to time, as we have just seen. The incantation addressed to “Father Tiwad” in Excerpt 12 is addressed to the “Exalted Sun-god” in the NS text Excerpt 5.

A male connotation of Tiwad is also present in the designation “Tiwad divine lord” (dutu-ta EN-ya tiwāliya) which occurs in Excerpt 6 (KBo 29.3+ II 18). In this context, the phonetic complement -ta shows that the divine name is to be read Tiwata, in the vocative form. This is also the case in the NS text KUB 35.48 (II 11’), in a passage which seems to duplicate exactly Excerpt 6 (KBo 29.3+). The translation “divine lord” for en-ya tiwāliya was suggested by Yakubovich in Steitler’s 2017 monograph10 and it was followed by Melchert in his 2019 paper11.

In the NS text Excerpt 1 (KBo 22.137+ III 8’’) describing a ritual of Puriyanni, we find the name Šiwata. This is the only Puriyanni ritual text where we find a mention of a Sun-deity. Although van Gessel12 considers Šiwata to be a Luwian form of the deified Day Šiwatt, Hutter13 followed by Steitler14 interprets Šiwata as a Hittitized form of the Luwian Sun-deity Tiwad. We favor this second interpretation, since it has the advantage of echoing the mention of a Sun-deity in the Hittite description of the associated rite three lines before (III 5’’). In this description, the Sun-deity is associated with the Storm-god of the Open Country, a god who is one of the main divine agents of the Puriyanni rituals15. The form Šiwata imitates the Luwian vocative form Tiwata which we have already seen above.

Another designation of a solar deity which occurs several times in the Luwili corpus is the “Sun-god of the Oath” (Luwian ḫīrutalli dutu)16. All the attestations of this epithet are dated NS. Among all the cuneiform tablets of Ḫattuša, the texts of the dupaduparša-ritual (CTH 759) are generally the ones in which this epithet is attested. The only exception to this rule seems to be Excerpt 11 (KBo 22.254(+) III 7’ and IV? 3’), which is classified under CTH 762. From this epithet, one can deduce the role of this divine entity as witness to an oath. Generally speaking, the role of Sun-gods as witnesses is quite widespread in ritual texts, as already emphasized by Hutter and Steitler17. Since the latter role is traditionally associated with the sun which, in the sky, watches over all living creatures, we suggest a male gender for this deity due to the context.

Closely related to the Sun-god of the Oath is the Luwian verb tiwataniya-, which we chose to translate as “to enrage the Sun-god”18, and which in its turn is sometimes associated with the Luwian verb ḫīrutaniya- “to perjure oneself”, a cognate of ḫīrutalli- (KUB 9.6+ I 23).

It is worth mentioning that neither this pair of verbs nor the discussed divine epithet appear in the texts we grouped under CTH 761, i.e., the Great Ritual alone (a group partly represented by MS fragments): these features could therefore represent an innovation in the development of the Kuwattalla tradition.

A similar but not identical pair of verbs is present in texts of the Tauriša tradition, with the Luwian verb arraḫḫani- “to swear” and tiwadaniya- (KBo 12.89 II! 9’ and 19’); see Rieken’s 2017 paper19 on these verbs.

Among the occurrences of the epithet “Sun-god of the Oath”, some can be safely read “Tiwad of the Oath”. These occurrences are only in Luwian incantations. The phonetic complement -waza of dutu warrants a reading Tiwaz in Excerpt 4 (KUB 35.78(+) IV 9’, 11’-13’), in the nominative. We also find dutu with the phonetic complement -ti for the dative in the NS fragment Excerpt 11 (KBo 22.254(+) III 7’). This implies the reading Tiwati.

In Excerpt 4 (KUB 35.78(+) IV 5’), [ḫīrutalli]n dutu-un is most probably to be interpreted as “Ištanu of the Oath” in the accusative form, since the expected accusative of Tiwad is *Tiwatan, as attested in the MS text Excerpt 12 (KBo 9.143 II! 10’). Note that this Hittitized form is used in an incantation. Since the vast majority of the incantations of our corpus is in Luwian, one wonders whether the presence of this Hittitized form is a scribal error.

As for ḫīrutalli dutu-i in Excerpt 3 (KUB 9.6+ IV 21’), it might be a second occurrence of “Ištanu of the Oath”, since the dative of Tiwad is usually written dutu-ti in our corpus, as is the case in Excerpt 9 (KUB 35.13+ r. col. 16’), for instance. Therefore, I suggest that we have here the Hittite reading *Ištanui which hides behind the logogram and its phonetic complement. This time, the denomination occurs in the Hittite description of a rite and can, therefore, be considered to be a Hittite translation of a Luwian divine concept.

There is a mention of the “Exalted Sun-god” (šarlami[š dutu?]) in Excerpt 5 (KUB 32.8(+) IV 31’). The epithet šarlam(m)iš “exalted” is a participle from the Luwian verb šarla(i)- “to praise, to exalt”, which is also attested in the 1st plur. optative šarlāūndu in Excerpt 7 (KUB 35.16+ I 22’’). The verb šarla(i)- in turn represents a factitive derived from the adjective šarla-/šarli- “supreme”, also attested as an epithet of the Sun-god together with verb šarla(i)-. The choice to give a male connotation to the divine epithet “Exalted Sun-god” is due to the context in which this epithet occurs, I will return to this point below. Once more, note the Hittite calque šarlānza dutu-uš “Exalted Ištanu” in a MS text of the Maštigga ritual tradition20.

Finally, Excerpt 7 (KUB 35.16(+) I 22’’) also attests the denomination “Supreme Sun-god” (šarl[in dutu?]). As mentioned above, it is closely associated with the Luwian verb šarla(i)- “to praise, to exalt”.

In the Hittite ritual descriptions, the solar deities receive various offerings: bread (Excerpt 1 KBo 22.137+ III 5’’, Excerpt 4 KUB 35.78(+) IV 12’), sacrificial animals (see below for the detail), libations (often together with the dedication of the sacrificial animals: see Excerpt 3, KUB 9.6+ IV 20’-21’).

More specifically, a Sun-deity receives a sheep for the ikkunawar or ikkunatt-sacrifice in Excerpt 3 (KUB 9.6+ IV 13’) and Excerpt 4 (KUB 35.78(+) IV 8’). In both cases, we are dealing with the dupaduparša-ritual, during which the divine recipient of this sacrifice is the Sun-god of the Oath. In Excerpt 3 (KUB 9.6+ IV 20’-21’), the sheep is dedicated together with a libation of wine. Both ikkunawar and ikkunatt- were first translated as “anointing(?)”21 before being interpreted as a cognate of Luwian *ikkun- meaning “liver”22. Indeed, Excerpt 4 (KUB 35.78(+)) mentions the liver being sacrificed to a Sun-deity, together with the heart, in the context of an ikkunatt-sacrifice. According to Excerpt 3 of the dupaduparša-ritual, during the ikkunawar or ikkunatt-sacrifice both the ritual patron and the Old Woman are involved in the procedure: first the Old Woman associates the wine with the ritual patron and the bread with the sheep’s head and only after that could the ritual patron dedicate the sheep to the god, together with the wine. In Excerpt 7 (KUB 35.16(+) I 6’), which describes a mixed version of the Great Ritual with the dupaduparša-ritual, it is beer which is libated at the same time as the dedication of the ikkunatt-sacrificial sheep. Here too, the ritual patron is responsible for this dedication.

Another sheep is sacrificed to a Sun-deity for the šarlatt-sacrifice in Excerpt 5 (KUB 32.8(+) IV 28’-29’) and in the MS text Excerpt 12 (KBo 9.143 II! 5’). In the latter context, the šarlatt-sacrificial victim is raised up by the ritual patron and probably shown to the sun. The accompanying Luwian incantation asks “Father Tiwad” to witness the patient’s recovery. In Excerpt 5 (KUB 32.8(+) IV 29’), not only is the same ritual sequence described but it is also accompanied by an analogous incantation, this time addressed to the “exalted Sun-god”.

Sometimes, sacrificial meat cuts are presented to the sun, as is the case in Excerpt 4 (KUB 35.78(+) IV 28’-29’). This gesture is closely associated with the dedication of a sheep in this same passage, thus showing that in the context of the Luwili corpus, dedicating an offering to a solar deity partly implies showing it to the sun.

In exchange for these sacrifices, the Sun-deities are asked to perform particular acts. One of them is to witness the ritual action being performed in their presence.

In Excerpt 9 (KUB 35.13+ r. col. 16’), a Sun-deity is asked to witness the nailing down of the “evil dead” also called nakkiu-spirits in the text. The Luwian incantation specifically states: “[May] the forme[r (spirits) be separated …] before the Sun-deity!” (pūwāt[ilinzi …-t]īya-[…] dutu-ti p[arran).

In Excerpt 10 (KUB 35.74, 1’-9’), the reference to sheep fat probably suggests that a figurine of white sheep made of tallow is presented to the sun, i.e., probably dedicated to the Sun-god. The beginning of the associated incantation seems to consider the Sun-god to be a witness of the whole event.

In a particular Luwian conjuration, a Sun-deity is simply asked to look at a sacrificial victim dedicated to him, but this act is compared with the wish that the ritual patron be able to look at himself and see his own recovery: see for instance Excerpt 7 (KUB 35.16(+) I 7’-15’). The sentence immediately following the conjuration shows that this whole sequence corresponds to the dedication to a Sun-deity of an animal for the ikkunatt-sacrifice.

In Excerpt 11 (KBo 22.254(+) III 7’), “Tiwad of the Oath” is asked to witness the rite, together with Heaven and Earth. The continuation of this incantation employs the verbs “to perjure oneself” and “to enrage the Sun-god” that I have already mentioned above. This shows a close connection between the pair of verbs and the concept of Sun-god of the Oath as divine witness of perjury.

The MS text Excerpt 12 (KBo 9.143 II! 5’-15’) in its turn closely associates a šarlatt-sacrifice to “Father Tiwad” with the wish for the ritual patron’s recovery. The sacrificial victim of the šarlatt-rite is raised up by the ritual patron while the incantation is uttered which suggests that the animal is thus being dedicated to the Sun-deity who is supposed to witness the whole event, just like in Excerpt 7 (KUB 35.16(+) I 7’-15’).

Finally, the MS text Excerpt 8 (KUB 32.10+ obv. 11’-15’) also seems to ask a Sun-deity – or rather two Sun-deities – to witness the recovery of the ritual patron. This goes together with the untying of dough figurine which probably symbolize the patient’s miasma in this context.

Only in the Puriyanni ritual tradition does the Sun-god operate as a purifying agent, as is shown in Excerpt 1 (KBo 22.137+ III 9’’), with the phrase “you treated the bewitched matter”. This phrase uses the Luwian verb zappa- whose exact meaning is quite problematic. Since this verb is used several times in our corpus, we can see that it refers both to giving offerings and to getting rid of impurity, hence our suggestion to translate it as “to treat (ritually)”. To “treat (ritually) the bewitched matter” with a deity as the subject of the action echoes the following passage of a MS text of the Puriyanni ritual, namely Excerpt 2 (KUB 35.54 II 38’-40’) which states: “He gave them (i.e., the seeds and the precious metal mentioned before) to the Storm-god of the Open C[o]untry, so that he (i.e., the Storm-god) treated the e[v]il matter (and) [defile]ment. May they no[t] come b[ac]k into the presence of the deities of the ritual patron!”.

2.3 Solar deities as facilitators of the ritual patron’s domination over his rival(s)

Finally, one of the key roles of solar deities in the Luwili corpus is to facilitate the ritual patron’s domination over his rival or rivals. In Excerpt 6 (KBo 29.3+ II 15-27), the Old Woman’s conjuration addressed to the “Sun-god, divine lord” asks this god and other(?) solar entities to deliver the ritual patron’s adversaries to him, be they alive or dead. This conjuration goes hand in hand with the presentation of two figurines to the sun, and those figurines clearly represent the aforementioned adversaries. Note that right after this conjuration is uttered, the Old Woman places the figurines at the feet of the ritual patron, a clear symbol of his domination over his enemies. The presentation of the figurines to the sun is accompanied by a libation, just as a sacrificial victim would be. Although it is not explicit in this context, the figurines might be anthropomorphic, since they visibly represent the patient’s adversaries. Since the identity of these evildoers might be unknown to the ritual patron, it is probable that one figurine represents a man, and the other a woman, so that they cover both possibilities in the context of this ritual sequence. This procedure is quite widespread throughout Hittite Anatolia23.

In Excerpt 13 (KUB 35.68, 15’) the sentence “Now, you will take (and) kill” (nānum=pa lalātti uwaliya[tti …]) addressed to Tiwad also seems to refer to overcoming the ritual patron’s adversaries. The pair of clauses at the beginning of this incantation, if correctly restored, appears to introduce the enemies of the ritual patron, man or woman, whom the Sun-god is expected to destroy(?). In this incantation, the phrase “you zašta-ed the abar” whose meaning is unknown to us, can also be found in the MS fragment KUB 35.65 (III 11’) belonging to the same CTH number. The ritual context is also missing in the latter fragment.

Finally, in the MS text Excerpt 8 (KUB 32.10+ obv. 13’), the clause “Afterward, take him [b]ack” may refer to the ritual patron’s adversary in view of the contrast with the following clause concerning the ritual patron himself. If this is the case, this part of the incantation can be considered equivalent to the one examined just before in Excerpt 13. It should be noted that this incantation in Excerpt 8 accompanies the untying of dough figurines by the Old Woman. These figurines might be tongue figurines that were tied to the patient’s fingers, as an earlier echo of what is attested in KBo 29.3+ (II 33), namely the untying of tongue and hand figurines.

Several features are noteworthy in this chart: concerning the denominations of the solar deities, the epithet “Sun-god of the Oath” is mainly attested in the dupaduparša-ritual (CTH 759), with one notable exception. This Luwian denomination is sometimes translated into Hittite in this corpus. As for “Tiwad above” and “Tiwad below”, the later versions of which are “Tiwad above” and “Tiwad of the earth”, they seem characteristic of the Great Ritual (CTH 761 and its mixed version CTH 760). Finally, within our corpus, “Father Tiwad” appears only in CTH 763, a Kizzuwatna ritual related to the Kuwattalla tradition, but already in the MS version of it.

Concerning the roles of the solar deities in the Hittite descriptions of the rites, one of the most widespread roles is the one where the Sun-deities receive an ikkunawar or ikkunatt-sacrifice, often in combination with a libation of wine or beer. The šarlatt-sacrifice often follows, which is also addressed to a Sun-deity. These two types of sacrifice occur in the CTH 759, 760 and 763. Whenever specified, they seem to be associated with incantations which attribute the role of witness to the solar deity addressed.

As for the roles of the solar deities in the Luwian incantations, only the Puriyanni ritual tradition clearly attributes a purifying role to a solar deity. Besides the role of divine witness which is traditionally associated with the male Sun-deity of heaven, whatever his denomination may be – “Tiwad of the Oath”, “Exalted Tiwad”, “Supreme Tiwad” or else “Father Tiwad” –, another important function of the solar deities in CTH 760, 761 and 763 is facilitating the ritual patron’s domination over his rivals. This type of incantation sometimes accompanies the presentation of figurines to the sun, a rite which can also be accompanied by another category of incantations, according to Excerpt 10. Both roles of a solar deity as divine witness and as facilitator of the patient’s supremacy are already attested in MS texts. Thanks to this inquiry, the following point could be suggested: since all the well-preserved passages attest a correlation between the ikkunawar/ikkunatt-sacrifice and an incantation with the Sun-god as witness, this type of incantation is probably to be restored also in Excerpts 3 and 4. Since Excerpt 3 represents the end of tablet six of the dupaduparša-ritual according to its colophon, this means that tablet seven of the ensemble probably started with an incantation such as this, asking the Sun-god to be the divine witness of this sacrifice. As for Excerpt 4, the abridged version of the incantation does not seem incompatible with this hypothesis.

nu 1-en ana dutu paršiyami 1-[en=ma] ana gimraš du-ni paršiyami […] ḫaššī parā peššiyami nu m[emaḫḫi] dŠiwata ḫuwaiunati āš-[…] zappatta zammanza utarša […]

“I crumble one (bread loaf) to the Sun-deity [and] I crumble on[e] to the Storm-god of the Open Country. [Then] I cast […] into the hearth and [I] s[ay]: ‘Sun-god! Through running […], you treated (ritually) the bewitched matter […].’”

zāui ziyar numunḫá-na [p]ūnāta inzagān wašḫa a=ta [b]ēl sískur gišḫattarāti ḫatta[r]itta gištūrāti=pa=ta tūr[ā]tta a=ta imrašša〈n〉 dim-u[nt]i pari tarāuītta a=ta piyatta imma[r]aššan dim-ti [a]=ta zappatta attu[w]alza utarša [ḫall]išša a=ta ā[pp]a dingirmeš-anza ša en sískur parran ni[š]

“Here lie [a]ll (kinds of) seeds (and) underground treasures. The ritual [p]atron has han[d]led them with the hattara-tool. He has han[d]led them with the turi-tool. He handed them over to the Storm-g[o]d of the Open Country. § He gave them to the Storm-god of the Open C[o]untry, so that he (i.e., the Storm-god) treated (ritually) the e[v]il matter (and) [defile]ment. May they no[t] come b[ac]k into the presence of the deities of the ritual patron!”

egir-anda=ma=kan ī[kkūn]aunaššin 1 udu and[a] ūnniyanzi [nu munusšu.g]i 1 dugkukūb geštin gišbanšu[r]-az d[āi n=a]t ana en siskur parā pāi munusš[u.g]i=ma=kan [ninda.ku7] ša 1/2 upni gišbanšur-az arḫa d[ā]i ninda.ku7ḫ[á ku]iēš ša 1/2 upni ana gišban[š]ur ad.kid [kiantar]i n=aš=šan ana udu ana sag.d[u]=šu katt[a] ēpzi § egir-anda=ma=kan en siskur udu ištu dugkukūb geštin ḫīrutalli dutu-i šipanti § īkkūnaunaššiš=ma 1 udu=pat mān meqqāuš=(š)a anniškanzi īkkūnauna[šš]in=ma 1 udu=pat danz[i]

“Afterward, they lead insi[de] one sheep of the i[kkun]awar-sacrifice. [The Old Wom]an t[akes] one jug of wine from the tabl[e and] she hands [i]t over to the ritual patron. The Ol[d Wom]an t[ak]es [sweet breads] of half a handful from the table—the sweet breads of half a handful [w]hich [li]e on the wickerwork tab[l]e—, and she holds them ove[r] the sheep’s hea[d]. § Afterward, the ritual patron dedicates the sheep to the Sun-god of the Oath with the jug of wine. § Only one sheep (is) for the ikkunawar-sacrifice. (Even) if they treat many, they tak[e] only one sheep of the ikkunawar-sacrifice.”

[n=ašta uzuníg.gi]g uzušà ḫūi[šu dutu-i menaḫḫa]nda ēpzi nu memai [… ḫīrutalli]n dutu-un nu=(š)šan munusš[u.gi uzuníg.gig uzušà] katta tarmāizzi nu mem[ai kuiš=tar mal]ḫaššaššanzanza en-anz[a nu īkkun]attaš 1 udu šipanti nu mema[i ḫīrutall]iš dutu-waza n=ašta munusšu.[gi uzuníg.gig uz]ušà ḫūišu dutu-i menaḫḫa[nda ēpzi? n]u memai ḫīrūtalliš [dutu-waza] § […]x paršiya nu memai ḫīrutalli[š dutu-waza … ninda.gu]r4.ra dāi nu memai ḫīrutalli[š dutu-waza]

“She holds [the liv]er, heart (and) raw mea[t in front o]f [the Sun-god] and says: ‘[…] Sun-god [of the Oat]h (acc.).’ The Ol[d Woman] nails down [the liver (and) heart] and sa[ys: ‘Whoever (causes evil)] to the [ri]tual patron[s]…’ He consecrates one sheep of the [ikkun]att-sacrifice and [she] say[s]: ‘Sun-god o[f the Oath]!’ The Old [Woman holds the liver], heart (and) raw meat in fron[t] of the Sun-god [a]nd says: ‘[Sun-god] of the Oath!’ § She crumbles […-bread] and says: ‘[Sun-god] of the Oath!’ She takes a [thick br]ead […] and says: ‘[Sun-god] of the Oath!’”

[…]-yanzi […] n=at=šan […]=kan anda udanzi [n=an=kan en sískur ištu dugkukūb kaš bal]-ti nu munusšu.gi [lūili kiššan ḫūkkiške]zzi § [dutu-wata uzušà=tar uzuníg.gig zāšt]i mammanna [malḫaššaššiš=pa=tar en-aš ap]āššanzanza [waššinanza mammanna]ddu ḫuitwalaḫi〈ta〉ti [annarummaḫitati ārrayati muḫá-ti] āprandati [arāti dingirMEŠ-aššazati waššaraḫitati ḫ]ū〈i〉tumnaḫitati § [n=ašta munusšu.gi ikkunattaššin ina ašr]i=šu parā [pennai nu ninda.gur4.ra šipanti namma=at ka]tta dāi [ana ninda].gur4.ra=[šan katta? tarmaizzi? uzuníg].gig uzušà [k]iššan [ḫūkki]škezzi=ma § [kui]š=dur ā〈d〉duwa[nza ānnī]ti a=du=(t)ta [ta]niminzi dingirmeš-z[i uzuníg.gig uzu]šà šarra zātī [p]ūwandu a=ta=tar za[nta …] tarmaindu urudu-yati [tar]mati urudu=pa=tar zila p[arī n]āwa iti lúsimug=pa=an [t]apan kin-an nāwa ati [zašti=(t)t]a tapāru [t]atariamman āššiwant[attar] ḫērun zila apatin niš [au]iti § [n]u uzuníg.gig uzušà qadu ninda.[gur4.ra=šu par]ā dāi n=at=kan parā [p]ēdai n=ašta šarlat[taššin and]a ūnnianzi [n=aš]ta apūn=(n)a en sísku[r arāizzi] nu munusšu.gi tezzi § […] šarlami[š dutu? … uw]attarša […] x [… manād]u itwanitianza [dumumeš-ti ḫamšati ḫamšukkalati ārr]ayati [muḫá-ti āprandati arāti dingirmeš-aššazati waššaraḫitati ḫūitumnaḫitati]

“They […]. They bring in [… The ritual patron dedica]tes [it with a jug of beer]. The Old Woman [conjur]es [thus in Luwian: § ‘Sun-god], look [at the liver (and) heart of this o]ne! May [the ritual patron loo]k at his own [body] with life, [virility, long years, f]uture time, [favor (and) e]nlivenment [of the deities!’ § The Old Woman drives the (animal) of the ikkunatt-(sacrifice)] out into its [place. She sacrifices a thick bread and then] puts [it do]wn. [She nails down li]ver (and) heart [on top of] the thick [bread] and [conju]res [t]hus: § ‘[Whoe]ver [cause]s him evil, may [a]ll the gods [sn]atch up his [liver] (and) heart in this way! May they nail them down […] with a copper nail! In the future, (this nail of) copper will [n]ot go aw[ay]. The smith will not process it as taba-[work]. In the future, may judgment, curse, miser[y], perjury not [co]me (back) [to this one] in the same way!’ § She takes the liver (and) heart together with [their thick] bread and [c]arries them out. They lead [i]n the (animal) [of] the šarlatt-sacrifice. The ritual patro[n lifts] that one, too, and the Old Woman says: § ‘[…] exalte[d Sun-god … v]iew. [Ma]y he [see …] fertility, [with children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, long years, future time, favor (and) enlivenment of the deities]!’”

Excerpt 6: KBo 29.3+ II 15-30 (CTH 760: Great Ritual and dupaduparša-ritual, NS)

nu=za munusšu.gi egir-anda išnaš 2 šienuš dāi n=aš=kan dutu-i menaḫḫanda ēp[z]i namma šipanti ḫukkiškezzi=ma [k]iššan § dutu-ta en-ya tiwāliya piya=aš lúkúrmeš-inzi kattawatnallinza ūtnaššinza ḫišḫišašši[n]za taparuwaššinza tātariyammanaššinza ḫīrut[aš]šinza enmeš-anza kuiš=an šaḫḫaniššatta kuiš=an ippatarri〈š〉šatta en sískur-aššin alam-ša mīšanzav ḫašša ḫalḫalzanin uwarannaḫiša iunaḫiša lalpin kuwannanin maššanallin kaskal-an § mān=aš ḫuiduwališ šarri=(y)an dutu-za darauiddu mān=aš ulantiš a=an tiyammaššiš dutu-za darauiddu tatariyammanaššin ḫirutaššin en-an § [nu munusšu.gi] 2 [šienu]š išnaš ana en sískur [šapal gìrmeš=š]u dāi dugkukūb kaš=ma ana gišbanšur ad.kid [peran katta d]āi

“Afterward, the Old Woman takes two figurines of dough and she hol[d]s them before the Sun-god. Then, she makes a libation and she conjures [t]hus: § ‘Sun-god, divine lord, give (him) the enemies, the lords of vengeful words, traps, judgments, curse, perjury. Whoever restrained it, whoever distrained it, (namely) the ritual patron’s shape, flesh, bone(s), joint(s), speech, mobility, eyelash, eyebrow(-hair), divine path! § If he (is) a living being, may the Sun-god above deliver him (to the ritual patron)! If he (is) a dead spirit, may the Sun-goddess of the earth deliver him (to the ritual patron), (namely) the lord of curses (or) perjuries!’ § [The Old Woman] places the two [figurin]es of dough [at the fee]t of the ritual patron, but she [p]laces the jug of beer [in front of] the wickerwork table.”

Excerpt 7: KUB 35.16(+) I 1’’-3’’; 18’’-27’’ (CTH 760: Great Ritual and dupaduparša-ritual, NS)

[n=ašta ana en sisku]r dugkukūb kaš [udanzi n=an=kan e]n siskur [ištu dugkukūb kaš] bal-ti [munusšu.gi=ma lūili ki]ššan hukzi § [arin warmāunt]a ḫāratarša waškuwallimanza [… n]ānūn=pa īkkunāūnta [šarliš dutu?-waz zā]rza=tar zāšti [mammanna uzuníg.gig=tar] zāšti mammanna § [malḫaššaššiš=pa]=tar en-aš apāššānza [waššinanza ānnunn]anza māmmannaddu [ḫuitwalaḫitati annar]ummaḫiti ā〈r〉rayāti [uššāti apparantati] arāti maššanaššanzati [waššaraḫitati] § [n=ašta apūn īkk]ūnattaššin [egir-pa ina ašri=šu parā peḫud]anzi (one line possibly missing) [… n=a]t=kan en sis[kur šipanti nam]ma=at katta [dāi] (…) [šarl]ātt[aššin anda ūnniyanzi …] § [ar]in wārmāū[nta … nānūn=pa n]akkuššāūnt[a … šarl]āūndu šarl[in dutu?-an … mal]ḫaššaššiš e[n-aš …] § […] zīla […]-anza a-[…]

“[They bring] a jug of beer [to the ritua]l [patron and] the ritual [pa]tron dedicates [it with the jug of beer. The Old Woman] conjures [th]us [in Luwian]: § ‘[For a while we] have been [performing conjurations] (on account of) offense (and) fault. [… N]ow, we have performed the ikkunatt-sacrifice. [Supreme Sun-god, look at the hea]rt of this one, look at [the liver] of this one! § May the [ritual] patron look at his own [body (and) sou]l [with life, vir]ility, long [years, future] time, [favor] of the deities!’ [They le]ad [that] (animal) of [the ikk]unatt-sacrifice [back to its place]. (one line possibly missing) […] The rit[ual] patron [dedicates i]t. [Th]en he [puts] it down. (…) [They lead in (the animal of) the šar]latt-sacrifice. […] § ‘[For a whi]le, [we have been] performing conjurations […]. [Now, we pe]rformed the scapegoat rite […] Let us [pr]aise the Sup[reme Sun-god …]! [May the ri]tual pa[tron …]! § In the future, […].’”

[nu emeḫá?] īšnāš munusšu.gi arḫa lāiz[zi nu tezzi … šarr]i Tiwata īnta=ḫa Tiwata [… ā]ppan zīla lāla mal[ḫaššaššiš=pa en-aš … dumumeš-ti ḫamšat]i ḫamšu〈k〉kallāti ārra[yati muḫá-ti apparantati ārati dingirmeš-ašš]anzati wa[šša]raḫit[ati ḫuitumnāḫitati]

“The Old Woman untie[s the tongues] of dough [and says]: ‘[…] Oh, Tiwad [abov]e, and Tiwad below […], in the future, take him [b]ack! [May] the ri[tual patron …] with [children, des]cendants, lon[g years, future time], fa[v]or (and) [enlivenment of the deiti]es!”

Excerpt 9: KUB 35.13+ r.col. 6’-21’ (CTH 762: Great Ritual and halliyattanza-ritual, NS)

[egi]r-anda 20 gišgagḫá zabar 20 giš[gagḫá …] 30 gišgagḫá giš-ruwaš dāi nu=šmaš idalāmuš nakki[uš] katta tarmāizzi munusšu.gi lūi[li anda] kiššan 〈me〉mai § tarmāīmm[inzi=(y)at]a ašandu āddu[walinzi w]ālantinz[i] nu=kan munus[šu.gi nakk]iuš šumma[te=šunu] ḫalzāi ā[ḫḫašamm]inzi=[(y)ata ašandu] pūwāt[ilinzi …-t]īya-[…] dutu-ti p[arran pā i]ššari[n …] ari[n-…] nīš […] iššaraz[a … al]alātt[aza …] zašīn [… …-inz[i …]

“[Afte]rward, she takes twenty nails of bronze, twenty [nails of …] (and) thirty pegs of wood. She nails down the evil nakki[u-spirits]. [At the same time], the Old Woman speaks thus in Luwian: § ‘May the evi[l d]ead be naile[d] (down)—the [Old] Woman calls the [nakk]iu-spirits by [their] names—! [May] the forme[r (spirits) be separated …] before the Sun-deity! [Then] may […] not […] hand [… to their] hands [… to their] alalatt- […] of this […]!’”

Excerpt 10: KUB 35.74: 1’-9’ (CTH 762: Great Ritual and halliyattanza-ritual, NS)

[…]-uš=pat munusšu.g[i … …]-ya uzuì.udu an[a … n=at=kan d]utu-i menaḫḫa[nda ēpzi memai=ma] kiš[šan] § [zauin=aš] uišita udu babbar [… šaḫuita]ntalliš u[itantalliš …-t]a šaḫuit[antan …-t]a uita[ttan …] dutu-za […]

“The Old Woma[n …] and also sheep fat to [… She holds it] in fron[t] of the Sun-god [and says] th[us: § ‘Here] (has) appeared the white sheep […], one for [binding, one for] s[miting]. [It …]-ed the bo[nd]. [It …]-ed the bl[ow. …] the Sun-deity […].’”

Excerpt 11: KBo 22.254(+) III 1’-IV? 3’ (CTH 762: Great Ritual and halliyattanza-ritual, NS)

[…]=šan? kue-[… unū]t kù.babbar unūt k[ù.gi …] kuit ana dugdílim.gal ì […] anda šu-it anda e[me-it … munusšu.g]i=ma=kan anda memiškiu[wan dāi] § […]-unta [pa]rnaššanzanza dingirMEŠ-anz[a ḫirutall]i=pa=t[a] dutu-ti tappašī tiya[mmi parran] ānd[a] dunni § [kuiš ḫir]ut[ani]yatta kuiš tiwatani[yatta mān=aš] lú-i[š m]ān=aš munus-iš tappašaššin[zi tiyamm]ašši[nz]i kuinzi dingirmeš-inz[i a=ta nāuwa t]ūmantinta (end of col. III) § […]-tarta-[… …-d]u munus-š=ata […] § […-t]a? ḫirutall[i-… dutu …]

“[…] which […] the silver [item]s (and) g[olden] items […] which […] in the bowl (filled with) oil […]. At the same time, […] with the hand (and) [with] the to[ngue]. At the same time, [the Old Woma]n [starts] speaking: § ‘We […] to the deities of the [h]ouse. We are putting it inside [in front of] the Sun-god of [the Oa]th, Heaven, (and) Earth. § [Whoever per]jured [himself], (whoever) enra[ged] the Sun-god, [may it] (be) a man [o]r woman, the gods who are in Heaven (and) [Ear]th, they did [not l]isten [to him].’ (end of col. iii) § ‘[…] woman [… Sun-god] of the Oath […].’”

Excerpt 12: KBo 9.143 II! 5’-15’ (CTH 763: a Kizzuwatna ritual related to the Kuwattalla tradition, MS)

[namma=at katta dāi n=ašta] šarlattašši[n anda ūnnianzi n=ašta apūn=(n)a en sísk]ur arāizzi [nu munusšu.gi kiššan tez]zi § [aritta=ta en sískur ḫāra]tarša waškuwallimma[nza … ārin wārm]āunta nānum=pa [… šarlāundu] tātin dutu-an […] auwattarša § […] en sískur ītwanitiyanza [mammannaddu dumumeš-ti ḫ]amšāti ḫamšukkallāti [ārrayāti uššāti appar]antati ārati ḫattūlāḫitati [annarumaḫitati dingirmeš-anza]ti waššarāḫitati ḫuitumnāḫitati

“[They lead in] (the animal) of the šarlatt-sacrifice. [The rit]ual [patron] lifts [that one as well and the Old Woman say]s [thus: § ‘The ritual patron has lifted off]ense (and) faul[t]. Previously, we [perfor]med [conjurations]. Now, [… Let us praise] Father Sun-god! […] eyesight. § [… may] the ritual patron [see] fertility, [with children, g]randchildren, great-grandchildren, [long years, fut]ure time, health, [virility], favor (and) enlivenment of the deities.’”

Excerpt 13: KUB 35.68, 12’-17’ (CTH 763: a Kizzuwatna ritual related to the Kuwattalla tradition, NS)

[mān=aš zitiš z]auin=aš mān wanattiš [zauin=aš … DTi]waza apar=ḫa zāštātta na-[… …-ā]r ūpnalla māntalla […] nānum=pa lalātti uwaliya[tti … t]ātiš DTiwaz zammantat-[… …] x x x x […]-ruwa dušduš-[…]

“[Whether it is a man, h]ere he is. Whether (it is) a woman, [here she is. … Ti]wad, you have also zašta-ed the abar-. [You have …] the upnalla- (and) slanderous […]. Now, you will take (and) kill […! … F]ather Tiwad, […] the bewitched […] (v. to place around) […].”

Christiansen, Birgit. 2012. Schicksalsbestimmende Kommunikation. Sprachliche, gesellschaftliche und religiöse Aspekte hethitischer Fluch-, Segens- und Eidesformeln. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT 53).

Giorgieri, Mauro. 2002. “Birra, acqua ed olio: paralleli siriani e neo-assiri ad un giuramento ittita.” In Anatolia antica. Studi in memoria di Fiorella Imparati, eds Stefano de Martino, and Franca Pecchioli Daddi, 299-320. Florence: LoGisma (Eothen 11).

Hutter, Manfred. 2003. “Aspects of Luwian Religion.” In The Luwians, ed. Craig Melchert, 211-80. Leiden-Boston: Brill (HdO I/68).

Melchert, Craig H. 2019. “Solar and Sky Deities in Anatolian.” In QAZZU warrai. Anatolian and Indo-European Studies in Honor of Kazuhiko Yoshida, eds. Adam A. Catt, Ronald I. Kim, and Brent Vine, 239-49. Ann Arbor: Beech Stave Press.

Miller, Jared L. 2004. Studies in the Origins, Development and Interpretation of Kizzuwatna Rituals. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT 46).

Mouton, Alice. 2010. “Sorcellerie hittite.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 62: 105-25.

Puértolas Rubio, Laura. Forthcoming. “Appendix III: Deities and Impurity in the Puriyanni and Kuwattalla Traditions.” In Ilya Yakubovich, and Alice Mouton, Luwili. Hittite-Luwian Ritual Texts attributed to Puriyanni, Kuwattalla and Šilalluḫi (CTH 758-763). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT).

Rieken, Elisabeth. 2017. “Schimpfen und Fluchen im Luwischen.” Indogermanische Forschungen 122: 241-51.

Sasseville, David. 2020. Anatolian Stem Formation. Luwian, Lycian, and Lydian. Leiden: Brill (Studies in Indo-European Languages and Linguistics 21).

Steitler, Charles W. 2017. The Solar Deities of Bronze Age Anatolia. Studies in Texts of the Early Hittite Kingdom. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT 62).

van Gessel, Ben H.L. 1998. Onomasticon of the Hittite Pantheon 1-2. Leiden-New York-Köln: Brill (HdO I/33).

Yakubovich, Ilya, and Alice Mouton. Forthcoming. Luwili. Hittite-Luwian Ritual Texts attributed to Puriyanni, Kuwattalla and Šilalluḫi (CTH 758-763). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT).

1 Steitler (2017, 386-87): “There are further occurrences of the DN Tiwad in other Luwian recitations within the rituals of Kuwattalla, but due to their poor state of preservation, these currently contribute little or nothing to our understanding of the Luwian Sun-god.”

8 KUB 23.77a+ obv. 16: Christiansen 2012, 175 and Steitler 2017, 380-81 with prior bibliography.

18 A different approach is offered by Giorgieri (2002, 303-04 with note 15), according to whom the verb tiwataniya- is to be translated as “to take the Sun-deity as witness” and may also imply negative consequences for someone who perjured himself or was cursed before the Sun-god.

References Christiansen, Birgit. 2012. Schicksalsbestimmende Kommunikation. Sprachliche, gesellschaftliche und religiöse Aspekte hethitischer Fluch-, Segens- und Eidesformeln. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT 53). Giorgieri, Mauro. 2002. “Birra, acqua ed olio: paralleli siriani e neo-assiri ad un giuramento ittita.” In Anatolia antica. Studi in memoria di Fiorella Imparati, eds Stefano de Martino, and Franca Pecchioli Daddi, 299-320. Florence: LoGisma (Eothen 11). Hutter, Manfred. 2003. “Aspects of Luwian Religion.” In The Luwians, ed. Craig Melchert, 211-80. Leiden – Boston: Brill (HdO I/68). Melchert, Craig H. 2019. “Solar and Sky Deities in Anatolian.” In QAZZU warrai. Anatolian and Indo-European Studies in Honor of Kazuhiko Yoshida, eds. Adam A. Catt, Ronald I. Kim, and Brent Vine, 239-49. Ann Arbor: Beech Stave Press. Miller, Jared L. 2004. Studies in the Origins, Development and Interpretation of Kizzuwatna Rituals. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT 46). Mouton, Alice. 2010. “Sorcellerie hittite.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 62: 105-25. Puértolas Rubio, Laura. Forthcoming. “Appendix III: Deities and Impurity in the Puriyanni and Kuwattalla Traditions.” In Ilya Yakubovich, and Alice Mouton, Luwili. Hittite-Luwian Ritual Texts attributed to Puriyanni, Kuwattalla and Šilalluḫi (CTH 758–763). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT). Rieken, Elisabeth. 2017. “Schimpfen und Fluchen im Luwischen.” Indogermanische Forschungen 122: 241-51. Sasseville, David. 2020. Anatolian Stem Formation. Luwian, Lycian, and Lydian. Leiden: Brill (Studies in Indo-European Languages and Linguistics 21). Steitler, Charles W. 2017. The Solar Deities of Bronze Age Anatolia. Studies in Texts of the Early Hittite Kingdom. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT 62). van Gessel, Ben H.L. 1998. Onomasticon of the Hittite Pantheon 1-2. Leiden–New York–Köln: Brill (HdO I/33). Yakubovich, Ilya, and Alice Mouton. Forthcoming. Luwili. Hittite-Luwian Ritual Texts attributed to Puriyanni, Kuwattalla and Šilalluḫi (CTH 758–763). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (StBoT).