Ninhursag

Ninhursag
Mother Goddess, Goddess of Fertility

Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting on a throne surrounded by worshippers (circa 2350-2150 BC)
Symbol Omega-like symbol
Personal Information
Consort Enki
Children Ninurta, Ninsar, Abu, Nintulla (Nintul), Ninsutu, Ninkasi, Nanshe (Nazi), Azimua, Ninti, Enshag (Enshagag)

In Sumerian religion, Ninḫursaĝ[1] (𒀭𒊩𒌆𒉺𒂅 DNIN-ḪUR.SAG)[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] was a mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She is principally a fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the "true and great lady of heaven" (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain) and kings of Sumer were "nourished by Ninhursag's milk". Her hair is sometimes depicted in an omega shape, and she at times wears a horned head-dress and tiered skirt, often with bow cases at her shoulders, and not infrequently carries a mace or baton surmounted by an omega motif or a derivation, sometimes accompanied by a lion cub on a leash. She is the tutelary deity to several Sumerian leaders.

Names

Nin-hursag means "lady of the sacred mountain" (from Sumerian NIN "lady" and ḪAR.SAG "sacred mountain, foothill",[10] possibly a reference to the site of her temple, the E-Kur (House of mountain deeps) at Eridu. She had many names including Ninmah ("Great Queen");[10] Nintu ("Lady of Birth");[10] Mamma or Mami (mother);[10] Aruru,[10] Belet-Ili (lady of the gods, Akkadian)[10]

According to legend her name was changed from Ninmah to Ninhursag by her son Ninurta in order to commemorate his creation of the mountains. As Ninmenna, according to a Babylonian investiture ritual, she placed the golden crown on the king in the Eanna temple.

Some of the names above were once associated with independent goddesses (such as Ninmah and Ninmenna), who later became identified and merged with Ninhursag, and myths exist in which the name Ninhursag is not mentioned.

As the wife and consort of Enki she was also referred to as Damgulanna (great wife of heaven) or Damkina (faithful wife).[11] She had many epithets including shassuru or 'womb goddess', tabsut ili 'midwife of the gods', 'mother of all children' and 'mother of the gods'. In this role she is identified with Ki in the Enuma Elish. She had shrines in both Eridu and Kish.

Mythology

In the legend of Enki and Ninhursag, Ninhursag bore a daughter to Enki called Ninsar ("Lady Greenery"). Through Enki, Ninsar bore a daughter Ninkurra. Ninkurra, in turn, bore Enki a daughter named Uttu. Enki then pursued Uttu, who was upset because he didn't care for her. Uttu, on her ancestress Ninhursag's advice buried Enki's seed in the earth, whereupon eight plants (the very first) sprung up. Enki, seeing the plants, ate them, and became ill in eight organs of his body. Ninhursag cured him, taking the plants into her body and giving birth to eight deities: Abu, Nintulla (Nintul), Ninsutu, Ninkasi, Nanshe (Nazi), Azimua, Ninti, and Enshag (Enshagag).

In the text 'Creator of the Hoe', she completed the birth of mankind after the heads had been uncovered by Enki's hoe.

In creation texts, Ninmah (another name for Ninhursag) acts as a midwife whilst the mother goddess Nammu makes different kinds of human individuals from lumps of clay at a feast given by Enki to celebrate the creation of humankind.

Worship

Her symbol, resembling the Greek letter omega Ω, has been depicted in art from around 3000 BC, though more generally from the early second millennium BC. It appears on some boundary stones — on the upper tier, indicating her importance. The omega symbol is associated with the Egyptian cow goddess Hathor, and may represent a stylized womb.[12] Hathor is at times depicted on a mountain, so it may be that the two goddesses are connected.

Her temple, the Esagila (from Sumerian E (temple) + SAG (head) + ILA (lofty)) was located on the KUR of Eridu, although she also had a temple at Kish.

Family Tree

An
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ninḫursaḡ
 
 
 
 
 
Enki
born to Namma
 
 
 
Ninkikurga
born to Namma
Nidaba
born to Uraš
 
 
 
Ḫaya
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ninsar
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ninlil
 
 
 
Enlil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ninkurra
 
 
Ningal
maybe daughter of Enlil
 
 
 
NannaNergal
maybe son of Enki		Ninurta
maybe born to Ninḫursaḡ
 
Baba
born to Uraš
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UttuInanna
possibly also the daughter of Enki or the daughter of An
 
Dumuzī
maybe son of Enki		UtuNinkigal
married Nergal
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MeškiaḡḡašerBanda
 
 
 
Ninsumun
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EnmerkarGilgāmeš
 
 
Urnungal

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sometimes transcribed Ninkharsag.
  2. ↑ [King, L. W., Hall, H. R., History of Egypt Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery, p. 117, The Echo Library, 2008.]
  3. ↑ Jastrow, Morris., The religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Morris Jastrow, Ginn & Co., 1898.
  4. ↑ Douglas Van Buren, Elizabeth., Clay figurines of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 1, 19, 267, AMS Press, 1980.
  5. ↑ Possehl, Gregory L., Ancient cities of the Indus, p. 126, Carolina Academic Press, 1979.
  6. ↑ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, p. 234, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society, 1932
  7. ↑ Clay, Albert T., The Origin of Biblical Traditions: Hebrew Legends in Babylonia and Israel, p. 100, The Book Tree, 1999.
  8. ↑ Wallis Budge, E. A., Babylonian Life and History, p233, The Religious Tract Society, 1891, Reprint 2006.
  9. ↑ Edwardes, Marian & Spence, Lewis., Dictionary of Non-Classical Mythology, p.126, Kessinger Publishing, 2003.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dalley, Stephanie (1998). Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-19-283589-5.
  11. ↑ Jeremy A. Black, Anthony Green, Tessa Rickards, Gods, demons, and symbols of ancient Mesopotamia: an illustrated dictionary (1992), p. 56f.
  12. ↑ http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM06/spotlight.htm

Michael Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002

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