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Kamrušepa was a Hittite and
Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub- ...
goddess of
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
and magic, analogous to Hattic and Palaic goddess Kataḫzipuri. 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,
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 (; 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 ...
Šauška in Hittite rituals. The
Luwians The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-f ...
seemingly regarded her as analogous to
Mesopotamian Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
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 Hititte 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,
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 ...
, Arma, Iyarri,
Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
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 in the 2nd millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun, in modern-day Turkey. It en ...
. While she is one of the best attested goddesses in the Hittite pantheon of the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, 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, 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 The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
"). 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 Medicine goddesses Luwian goddesses