Hutena and Hutellura (also spelled Hudena and Hudellura; ''ḫdn ḫdlr'' in
alphabetic
An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syllab ...
Ugaritic texts
The Ugaritic texts are a corpus of ancient cuneiform texts discovered since 1928 in Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and Ras Ibn Hani in Syria, and written in Ugaritic, an otherwise unknown Northwest Semitic language. Approximately 1,500 texts and fragments ...
) were goddesses of fate and divine midwives in
Hurrian mythology
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Me ...
.
Number
An unresolved problem in scholarship is the number of goddesses referred to with the names "Hutena and Hutellura." Piotr Taracha notes that only two figures depicted on the
Yazılıkaya
:'' Yazılıkaya, Eskişehir, also called Midas City, is a village with Phrygian ruins.''
Yazılıkaya ( tr, Inscribed rock) was a sanctuary of Hattusa, the capital city of the Hittite Empire, today in the Çorum Province, Turkey. Rock reliefs ar ...
reliefs are labeled as such, but at the same the names appear to be plural. However, he also notes that based on equations in god lists the name Hutellura seemed to refer to a singular goddess, corresponding to Mesopotamian
Ninmah
, deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers
, image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg
, caption= Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sittin ...
, Nintu or
Aruru. He concludes that it can be assumed they were a pair worshiped together, like
Ninatta and Kulitta
Ninatta and Kulitta were two goddesses always invoked together who were the handmaidens of the Hurrian goddess Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart of Mesopotamian Ishtar.
Functions
Ninatta and Kulitta were regarded as divine musicians. In a myth k ...
or
Ishara
Ishara (Išḫara) was the tutelary goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Ebla. The origin of her name is unknown. Both Hurrian and West Semitic etymologies have been proposed, but they found no broad support and today it is often assumed that ...
and
Allani
Allani, also known under the Akkadian name Allatu (or Allatum) was the Hurrian goddess of the underworld, incorporated into Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons as well.
Name and epithets
The name Allani is derived from a Hurrian word meaning ...
.
Alfonso Archi assumes that the development of Hutena and Hutellura in Hurrian religion was influenced by the Syrian midwife goddesses, known as
Kotharāt in Ugarit or Kûšarātum in
Mari (both derived from the
Semitic root ''kšr'', "to be skilled"), who were regarded as a group of seven. According to god lists, Hutena and Hutellura were equated both with them and with
Šassūrātu
Šassūrātu were a group of Mesopotamian goddesses regarded as the assistants of Ninmah. Their name can be translated as "midwives" and they were considered to be tutelary goddesses of pregnant women. They appear in the myth ''Enki and Ninmah,'' ...
(derived from ''šassūru'', "womb," a
Sumerian loanword in
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
), assistants of the Mesopotamian birth goddess. As attested in the myth ''
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
and Ninmah'', the latter group consisted of seven goddesses:
Shuzianna
Shuzianna (Šuzianna; 𒀭𒋗𒍣𒀭𒈾 '' dŠu-zi-an-na'') was a Mesopotamian goddess. She was chiefly worshiped in Nippur, where she was regarded as a secondary spouse of Enlil. She is also known from the enumerations of children of Enmeshar ...
,
Ninimma
Ninimma was a Mesopotamian goddess best known as a courtier of Enlil. She is well attested as a deity associated with scribal arts, described in modern publications as a divine scholar, scribe or librarian by modern researchers. She could also se ...
,
Ninmada
Ninmada was a name applied to two separate Mesopotamian deities, a god and a goddess. The female Ninmada was a divine snake charmer, and in the myth ''Enki and Ninmah'' she appears as an assistant of the eponymous goddess. The male Ninmada was cal ...
,
Ninšar
Ninšar ( sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒊬, dNIN.SAR; also read Nin-nisig) was a Mesopotamian goddess commonly associated with the preparation of meat. The reading of her name remains uncertain, and its possible etymology appears to be unrelated to her role ...
,
Ninmug
Ninmug or Ninmuga was a Mesopotamian goddess. She was associated with artisanship, especially with metalworking, as evidenced by her epithet ''tibira kalamma'', "metalworker of the land." She could also be regarded as a goddess of birth and assist ...
, Mumudu and Ninnigina. On this basis, he proposes that Hutena and Hutellura should also be understood as a heptad.
Character
Emmanuel Laroche
Emmanuel Laroche (11 July 1914 – 16 June 1991) was a French linguist and Hittitologist. An expert in the languages of ancient Anatolia (Indo-European and Hurrian), he was professor of Anatolian studies at the Collège de France (1973–1985 ...
proposed that their names are both derived from the
Hurrian
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
verb ''ḫut'', perhaps to be translated as "to favor." Another proposed translation for the root word is "to raise." Alfonso Archi suggests the translation "those of favoring" for Hutena and notes that while derived from the same root, Hutellura most likely needs to be understood as analogous to the word ''hutelluri'', "midwife." He assumes the names reflected their benevolent nature.
A connection existed between Allani and Hutena-Hutellura, possibly due to the belief that the determination of each person's fate took place in the
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
.
While in theory it can be assumed that Hutena-Hutellura were regarded as responsible for premature deaths, such cases were often explained as divine wrath affecting a community. The character of the fate goddesses themselves was regarded as benevolent.
In addition to determining fates, Hutena and Hutellura were also goddesses of birth and midwifery. As such, they were likely believed to be responsible for shaping the fetus during pregnancy.
Worship
Hutena and Hutellura appear in ''kaluti'' (offering lists) of the goddess
Hebat and her circle, usually following her servant
Takitu
Takitu, Takiti or Daqitu was a Hurrian goddess who served as the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ḫepat. She appears alongside her mistress in a number of Hurrian myths, in which she is portrayed as her closest confidante. Her name is usually assume ...
and preceding the pair Ishara and Allani. In the Yazılıkaya sanctuary, they are likewise placed right behind Hebat, her daughters and Takitu, with the figures representing them labeled as 47 and 48 in modern scholarly sources. An exception is known from the Hurrian offering lists from Ugarit, where Hebat is followed by Ishara and Allani, while Takitu, Hutena and Hutellura are placed behind this pair.
Hutena and Hutellura were most likely originally incorporated into Hebat's court in ancient
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
.
In rituals they could also appear in relation to
Ea,
Damkina
Damgalnuna, also known as Damkina, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of the god Enki. Her character is poorly defined in known sources, though it is known that like her husband she was associated with ritual purification and that she ...
and
Izzummi (the Hurrian name of
Isimud
Isimud (also Isinu; Usmû; Usumu ( Akkadian)) is a minor god, the sukkal of the god Enki, in Sumerian mythology.
In ancient Sumerian artwork, Isimud is easily identifiable because he is always depicted with two faces facing in opposite directi ...
), who in Anatolia were part of the Hurrian pantheon.
Mythology
Hutena and Hutellura appear in the myths ''Song of
Hedammu'' and ''Song of
Ullikummi __NOTOC__
In Hurrian mythology, Ullikummi is a giant stone monster, son of Kumarbi and the sea god's daughter, Sertapsuruhi, or a female cliff. The language of the literary myth in its existing redaction is Hittite, in cuneiform texts recovered a ...
'', both of which belong to the cycle of
Kumarbi
Kumarbi was an important god of the Hurrians, regarded as "the father of gods." He was also a member of the Hittite pantheon. According to Hurrian myths, he was a son of Alalu, and one of the parents of the storm-god Teshub, the other being Anu ...
. In the latter text, they are present during the birth of the eponymous stone monster, and present him to his father Kumarbi.
In
Hittite translations both of this cycle and other Hurrian myths and ritual texts they are substituted with the
Gulšeš and DINGIR.MAH.
References
Bibliography
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{{Hurrian mythology
Hurrian deities
Hittite deities
Ugaritic deities
Time and fate goddesses