Uttu was a
Mesopotamian goddess
Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substan ...
of
Sumerian origin. She was associated with weaving. She appears in multiple myths, such as ''Enki and Ninhursag'' and ''Enki and the World Order''.
Name and character
![A classic circular form spider's web](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/A_classic_circular_form_spider%27s_web.jpg)
Uttu's name was written TAG×TÙG, with the sign TAG (usually pronounced as ''tuku'') referring to the action of weaving cloth. The word ''uttu'' could also denote a part of a
loom. It is also possible that the name
dTAG.NUN should be read as Uttu, though
Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Joan Goodnick Westenholz (1 July 1943 – 2013) was an Assyriologist and the chief curator at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. She held positions related to academic research at the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago), Harvard Univ ...
rejected this interpretation and instead assumed that
dTAG.NUN was one of the multiple writings of the name of
Bizilla
Bizilla (also spelled Bizila) was a Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with Nanaya and like her sometimes listed alongside courtiers of Inanna. However, she is also attested in connection with Ninlil, and it is assumed that she was viewed as ...
or a closely related goddess who like her came to be associated with
Nanaya
Nanaya ( Sumerian , DNA.NA.A; also transcribed as "Nanāy", "Nanaja", "Nanāja", '"Nanāya", or "Nanai"; antiquated transcription: "Nanâ"; in Greek: ''Ναναια'' or ''Νανα''; Aramaic: ''ננױננאױ;'' Syriac: ܢܢܝ) was a Mesopo ...
in later sources.
Uttu was regarded as the goddess of weaving. According to an esoteric explanatory text which links various materials with gods, she could be associated with colored wool.
Uttu and spiders
Thorkild Jacobsen
Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (; 7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a renowned Danish historian specializing in Assyriology and Sumerian literature. He was one of the foremost scholars on the ancient Near East.
Biography
Thorkild Peter Rudolph Ja ...
argued that Uttu was envisioned as a spider spinning a web. However, the connection between Uttu and spiders, or more precisely between her name and the Akkadian word ''ettūtu'' ("spider"), is limited to a single text, and it might represent a "learned etymology" (scribal speculation), a
folk etymology or simply rely on the terms being nearly
homophonous
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...
. Two copies of the text contain slightly different versions of the same passage, "the handiwork of a spider (''ettūtu'') will be steady in his house," or "the handiwork of Uttu will be steady in his house." ''Ettūtu'' was only one of the words for spiders present in Akkadian texts, the other two being ''anzūzu'' (written ŠÈ.GUR
4) and possibly ''lummû.'' In Sumerian, spiders were known and ''aš'', ''aš
5'', ''lùm'' or ''si
14''. In Mesopotamian literature spiders are mostly attested in proverbs, with a particularly well attested one descrbing a spider (ŠÈ.GUR
4) putting a ''ḫamitu'' insect in fetters and then cutting it into pieces after it acted as a witness in a lawsuit against a ''kuzāzu'' insect. Most likely the meaning of it was that an evildoer should not act as a witness. Another proverb mentions a spider (''ettūtu'') which prepared a net to catch a fly but ended up threatened itself by a lizard, possibly meaning that one responsible for evil deeds will be eventually defeated by a greater force. Spiders also occur as an art motif on
Early Dynastic seals associated with female weavers.
Worship
Uttu was worshiped in the E-ešgar, "house of work assignment," which was a part of the
Esagil
The Ésagila or Esangil ( sux, , ''"temple whose top is lofty"'') was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon. It lay south of the ziggurat Etemenanki.
Description
In this temple was the statue of Marduk, surrounded by ...
temple complex in
Babylon.
dTAG.NUN, who might be the same deity as Uttu, had a temple in
Umma
Umma ( sux, ; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, formerly also called Gishban) was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell J ...
in the
Early Dynastic period, built by king
Il.
dTAG.NUN is also attested in a
theophoric name
A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that dei ...
, Ur-
dTAG.NUN.
Two bilingual Sumero-Akkadian incantations known from the neo-Assyrian period mention Uttu. In both cases, she is described cooperating with
Inanna on spinning yarn.
Mythology
According to the myth ''Enki and Ninhursag'', Uttu's parents were
Enki and
Ninkurra
Ninkurra or Ninkur was a name of multiple Mesopotamian deities, including a divine artisan, presumably a sculptress. There is no agreement among researchers if this Ninkurra corresponds to the identically named goddess appearing in the myth '' En ...
. In a late tradition, Ninkurra was instead a male deity and Uttu's husband. A variant of ''Enki and Ninhursag'' makes Ninkurra Uttu's grandmother and
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 ...
her mother. Enki is also addressed as Uttu's father in a neo-Assyrian incantation. However, another late text documents a tradition in which her father was
Anu.
In ''Enki and Ninhursag'', Uttu is the final goddess Enki (aided by his sukkal
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 ...
) tries to seduce while engaging in a series of incestuous encounters with his descendants (
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 ...
,
Ninkurra
Ninkurra or Ninkur was a name of multiple Mesopotamian deities, including a divine artisan, presumably a sculptress. There is no agreement among researchers if this Ninkurra corresponds to the identically named goddess appearing in the myth '' En ...
, in a variant of the text
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 ...
, and finally Uttu). Unlike the other goddesses, Uttu receives advice from
Ninhursag
, 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 ...
, and probably attempts to trick Enki with a false promise of marriage under the condition that he will supply her with fresh produce. While she is initially successful, Enki manages to obtain the requested cucumbers, apples and grapes from a farmer. He approaches her for a second time disguised as a gardener and this time Uttu becomes pregnant. Ninhursag intervenes and manages to remove Enki's seed from Uttu's body, which breaks the cycle of incestuous relationships. The scene is more detailed that the previous encounters between Enki and his daughters in the same myth. Curiously, the narrative makes no reference to Uttu's association with weaving.
Uttu also appears in the myth ''Enki and the World Order'', where she is the last of the deities awaiting the assignment of a domain. She is called a "conscientious woman" and "the silent one." It has been pointed out that both in ''Enki and Ninhursag'' and in ''Enki and the World Order'', Uttu's appearance marks a shift in the narrative: after her encounter with Enki in the former myth, the cycle of Enki's attempts at seducing and taking advantage of the goddesses ends, while in the latter, after her destiny is declared, Inanna and her complaints about not receiving an appropriate share of the universe take the center stage.
A reference to Uttu is also known from the debate poem ''The Debate between Grain and Sheep'', which describes a distant time before she started to weave, symbolically representing the age before the advent of civilisation and technology.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Enki and Ninhursag' in the
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL) was a project that provides an online digital library of texts and translations of Sumerian literature.
This project's website contains "Sumerian text, English prose translation and bibl ...
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Enki and the World Order' in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
*
The debate between Grain and Sheep' in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
{{Sumerian mythology
Mesopotamian goddesses
Crafts goddesses
Textiles in folklore