Kamrušepa was a Hittite and

Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

goddess of

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and magic, analogous to Hattic and

Palaic Palaic is an extinct Indo-European language, attested in cuneiform tablets in Bronze Age Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites. Palaic, which was apparently spoken mainly in northern Anatolia, is generally considered to be one of four primary sub ...

goddess

Kataḫzipuri Kataḫzipuri (also known as Kataḫziwuri) was a goddess worshiped by Hattians, Hittites and Pala (Anatolia), Palaians in Bronze Age Anatolia. She was associated with magic, and was commonly invoked in rituals dealing with healing and purificatio ...

. She is best known as one of the deities involved in the Telepinu Myth, in which her actions were crucial to pacify the anger of the "missing" vegetation god.

Character

Kamrušepa was the goddess of both magic and medicine. She was regarded as the inventor of various procedures, subsequently passed on to humans, as attested in mythical explanations attached to ritual texts. She could function as a divine midwife as well. It is possible she was a household deity due to her connection with family life and the hearth. As a healing goddess, she could be associated with deities such as

Pirwa Pirwa, also known under the variant names Perwa and Peruwa, was a god worshiped by Hittites and Luwians in ancient Anatolia. He was associated with horses. There is also evidence that he was regarded as a warlike deity. He is first attested in do ...

Maliya Maliya was a goddess worshiped by Hittites in the Bronze Age. She was most likely a deified river in origin, but she was also associated with gardens and with artisanship, specifically with leatherworking and carpentry. The oldest attestations of ...

and the

Hurrian The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurro-Urartian language, Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria (region) ...

Šauška Šauška (Shaushka), also called Šauša or Šawuška, was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon. She was associated with love and war, as well as with incantations and by extension with healing. While she was usually referred to as ...

in Hittite rituals. The

Luwians The Luwians (also known as Luvians) were an ancient people in Anatolia who spoke the Luwian language. During the Bronze Age, Luwians formed part of the population of the Hittite Empire and adjoining states such as Kizzuwatna. During the Hittite ...

seemingly regarded her as analogous to

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...

medicine goddess Gula, and in some cases texts presented as incantations of Gula in Mesopotamia were attributed to Kamrušepa in Luwian tradition. Unlike other Anatolian deities connected with magic, she was regarded as a resident of heaven. It has been proposed she was connected to clouds or smoke, based on the possible origin of her name. She was believed to travel in a chariot drawn by horses, a mode of locomotion also attributed to the Luwian sun god Tiwad, who was associated with her. While she was connected with the Hattic and Palaic goddess Kataḫzipuri, and in bilingual Hittite- Hattic texts they correspond to each other, their names were not etymologically related. ''Kamrušepa'' likely means "spirit of the clouds" or "spirit of smoke" ("Genius der Wolke/des Qualms"), though the connection between the first half of her name and the Hittite word ''kammara'' ("smoke") might only be a folk etymology, while the name of Kataḫzipuri had an unrelated Hattic etymology and means "queen of the land." Piotr Taracha proposed that in Palaic sources Kataḫzipuri might have functioned simply as an epithet of Kamrušepa applied to her due to contact with Hattic communities. Her attribute was an iron throne.

Worship

Kamrušepa is already attested in the oldest texts from Kanesh. Later Hittite rituals preserve the association between her and this city. According to a prayer meant to prevent the spread of a plague, another location associated with her was Taniwanda. Despite her position in the pantheon and her prominence in myths, little information is available when it comes to specific rituals or festivals connected to her. Her status was also high in Luwian religion. Piotr Taracha notes that there most likely was no single uniform Luwian pantheon, but certain deities, including Kamrušepa, as well as Tarhunt, Tiwad,

Arma Arma, ARMA or variants, may refer to: Places * Arma, Kansas, United States * Arma, Nepal * Arma District, Peru * Arma District, Yemen * Arma Mountains, Afghanistan People * Arma people, an ethnic group of the middle Niger River valley * Arma lan ...

Iyarri Iyarri, also known as Yarri, was a god worshiped by Hittites and Luwians in Anatolia in the Bronze Age. He was associated with plague and war, and was portrayed as an archer whose arrows inflicted people with illnesses. While it is generally assum ...

Santa Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...

and a variety of tutelary gods represented by the logogram LAMMA were worshiped by most Luwian communities. She is especially well attested in Luwian incantations from

Kizzuwatna Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode'') was an ancient Anatolian kingdom, attested in written sources from the end of the 16th century BC onwards, but though its origins are still obscure, the Middle Bronze Age in Cili ...

. While she is one of the best attested goddesses in the Hittite pantheon of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, there is presently no evidence for her worship continuing in the first millennium BCE.

Mythology

Kamrušepa appears in various Hittite myths. In ''Disappearance of Telipinu'', she instructs the other gods how to ensure the eponymous vegetation deity's return after an initial attempt fails. The magical procedure she prepares involves an offering of twelve sheep taken from the herds of the sun god, which had to be taken to

Ḫapantali Ḫapantali, also known as Ḫapantaliya, was a Luwians, Luwian goddess who functioned as a divine shepherd. She was also incorporated into Hattians, Hattian and Hittite mythology and religion, Hittite beliefs. She is first attested in the Old Ass ...

, a Luwian shepherd goddess. A similar formula is known from a myth pertaining to the disappearance of the storm god. Yet another fragment describes the solar god and Kamrušepa arguing with each other until they calm down by combing sheep together. According to the Hittite text KUB 17 Kamrušepa was the "mother of the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

"). According to a local belief from Tauriša she and Tiwad, the Luwian sun god, were the parents of the city's tutelary god (LAMMA), referred to with the epithet ''wašḥazza'' ("sanctified" or "holy"). His spouse was a youthful goddess named Aššiyant, "the beloved."

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *{{cite book, first=Piotr, last=Taracha , title=Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia , publisher=Harrassowitz, year=2009, isbn=978-3447058858 Hittite deities Health goddesses Magic goddesses Luwian goddesses