Hurrian primeval deities
Hurrian primeval deities were regarded as an early generation of gods in Hurrian mythology. A variety of Hurrian, Hittite and Akkadian labels could be used to refer to them. They were believed to inhabit the underworld, where they were seemingly confined by Teshub. Individual texts contain a variety of different listings of primeval deities, with as many as thirty names known, though many are very sparasely attested. Some among them were received from Mesopotamia, but others might have names originating in Hurrian or a linguistic substrate. No specific cult centers of the primeval deities have been identified, and they were not worshiped by all Hurrian communities. They were also incorporated into Hittite religion, presumably either from Kizzuwatna or Syria. Offers were made to them in sacrificial pits, examples of which have been identified in Urkesh and Hattusa. The primeval deities also appear in a number of Hurrian myths, including multiple sections of the Kumarbi Cycle and the Song of Release.
Terminology
In Hittitology and Assyriology, Hurrian primordial deities are variously referred to as “primeval deities”, “primeval gods”, “former gods” or “ancient gods”. In Hurrian they were described as enna turenna or ammatina enna. Andrea Trameri proposes that the term enna turenna had a broader meaning, and that it referred to all underworld deities, including a more specific group designated as ammatina enna.In Hittite, the same group was called karuilieš šiuneš, “primeval gods” or kattereš šiuneš, “lower gods”. Both terms were calques from Hurrian. They could also be called taknaš šiuneš, “gods of the underworld” or “gods of the earth”. A logographic writing, A-NUN-NA-KE4, is also attested. This term initially referred to major deities belonging to the Mesopotamian pantheon, but in later times in Akkadian texts it came to function as a label designating underworld deities. Furthermore, the Hurrian group of primeval deities could be described with the Akkadian phrase ilū ša dārâti, “gods of eternity”.
Character
The primeval deities were regarded as members of early generations of gods which predated the rise of the head of the Hurrian pantheon, Teshub, to the rank of king of the gods. According to Alfonso Archi, Hurrians received the idea of multiple successive generations of deities from Mesopotamia. The primeval deities could be described as divine ancestors of other figures. They were believed to dwell in the underworld, which the Hurrians referred to as the “dark earth”, timri eže. This term might also have been loaned into Hittite as dankuiš daganzipaš. Based on a passage from a purification ritual, it was believed that they were driven there by Teshub, who subsequently made birds the standard offering for them in place of cattle and sheep. Presumably they came to live there aftermath of a confrontation which took place either during Teshub's quest for kingship among the gods or shortly after he was enthroned, mythical events which were believed to have taken place in the distant past, early on in the history of the world. As underworld deities, they were responsible for purification, and were meant to draw impurity and adversity to their realm. However, in the case of Mesopotamian deities who came to be incorporated into the Hurrian group, the association with the underworld was of secondary importance. Their inclusion in the group might have reflected their perception in areas on the periphery of the sphere of Mesopotamian cultural influence, where they plausibly could have been viewed as primordial figures.Primordial deities were associated with Kumarbi, a high ranking Hurrian god. They appear as his allies in myths. They could also be linked with Allani, a goddess regarded as the queen of the underworld. In Hittite sources, they might instead appear alongside the Sun goddess of the Earth, who was identified with her. In the Hurrian ritual text KBo 17.94, the primeval deities are associated with Išḫara. Presumably the connection reflects this goddess’ own ties to the underworld and the deceased. Alfonso Archi notes that the shared association with the primeval deities and with the underworld might have in turn influenced the well attested connection between Išḫara and Allani.
Lists of primeval deities
Hurro-Hittite ritual texts did not establish a single canonical list of primeval deities. Their number in individual sources varies, with groupings of five, seven, eight, ten twelve and fifteen all attested. Of these, seven and twelve are the most recurring numbers. The latter represented completeness. A total of around thirty names of individual primeval deities are known, but the precise identity of many of them remains opaque. Most frequently listed sequence consists of Nara, Namšara, Minki, Ammunki, Ammizzadu, Tuḫuši, Alalu, Anu, Antu, Apantu, Enlil and Ninlil. The names of many of the primeval deities were arranged in texts in rhyming pairs, according to for magical reasons. Triads are also attested.argues that the fact the group was referred to ammatina enna, “divine grandfathers”, indicates that the seven best attested deities belonging to this category were all male. This assumption is also accepted by Amir Gilan. He additionally notes that the twelve primeval deities depicted in Yazılıkaya are male too, but also that in addition to the group of seven possibly male gods, female members of the group are attested in textual sources. Examples include Apantu and Zulki.
Piotr Taracha interprets the lists of primeval deities attested in various texts as combinations of figures received from Mesopotamia and from a “local substrate”. He also states that some of their names are Hurrian. According to Gernot Wilhelm, many of the names which do not have Mesopotamian origin cannot be explained in any language, and might have originated in modern Syria. He also notes that the absence of the primeval deities from Mitanni sources makes it implausible that the group originated in Upper Mesopotamia, as sometimes suggested. Volkert Haas argues that their names were received by the Hurrians from a non-Semitic substrate language, with Mesopotamian deities added to the group later on. Alfonso Archi instead argues some of the names represent corrupted forms of Mesopotamian theonyms, possibly reflecting early transfer.
Attested individual names
In addition to the deities listed above, less well attested Hurrian primeval deities include Alammu, Elluita, Napirra, Undurupa and the pairs Ašša and Apašta and Aunammudu and Iyandu. Furthermore, in a single Hittite treaty a deity designated by the Sumerogram NIN.É.GAL appears among them. Additionally, anonymous divine ancestors of multiple Hurrian deities, including Teshub, Ḫepat, Šauška, Šimige, Ningal and Lelluri, are mentioned in ritual texts from Kizzuwatna. In two cases, those of Šauška and Šimige, all of the ancestors are stated to be of the same gender, respectively female and male.Worship
It is presumed that the worship of primeval deities was a part of the traditions of Hurrians living in Syria and Kizzuwatna, but it is not attested in Mitanni sources. Alfonso Archi on this basis concluded they cannot be considered pan-Hurrian deities. Ritual texts do not associate them with a specific cult center.Communication with the primeval deities required the preparation of special pits, typically located outdoors. One example of such a structure has been identified during excavations of Urkesh. It dates to 2300 BCE, measures five meters in diameter and might be seven meters deep, though between 1999 and 2004 the excavators only reached six meters deep into the ground. Its purpose was initially uncertain, with an early proposal being to identify it as an elaborate cist burial, but it has eventually been established based on the presence of numerous faunal remains and other objects identified as offerings. However, while later sources indicate that underworld deities received birds as offerings, the Urkesh pit instead contains the remains of piglets, puppies, sheep, goats and donkeys. The first two of these animals were not typical sacrifices, and based on evidence from later rituals it is assumed they were used as agents of purification.
Hittite reception
Hurrian primeval deities were incorporated into Hittite religion. Most likely they were received in the fourteenth century BCE from northern Syria or Kizzuwatna. Hittites were aware of the tradition of making offerings to them in pits, and possible examples of such structures have been identified during excavations in Hattusa. Multiple terms were used to refer to the offering pits in Hittite texts, including ḫateššar, pateššar, wappu, āpi and the Sumerogram ARÀḪ. As a group, the primeval deities received offerings in rituals such as CTH 446, 447 and 449. However, they had no established cult, and ceremonies related to them were only carried out in reaction to specific events. One example is a ritual meant to help purify a house from blood, which had to last two days and involved the preparation of statues of the primeval deities from clay from a riverbank sprinkled with oil and honey and the offering of birds to them. The text KBo 23.7 describes an invocation of the group performed by a SANGA priest on Mount Irrāna, during which a “Song of the Invocation of the Primeval Deities” was sung.The primeval deities also appear as divine witnesses in treaties. The oldest example, which does not yet use their individual names, is CTH 139, dated to the reign of Arnuwanda I, where they are listed separately from “the gods of the heaven and the gods of the earth”, a grouping which according to earlier Hattian-Hittite tradition already included underworld deities of local origin. The received Hurrian idea of underworld deities differed from the earlier Anatolian one, which did not present them as an earlier generation. When their individual names are listed in Hittite treaties, twelve of them are enumerated, with the exception of the treaty with Alaksandu, which lists only nine, namely Nara, Napšara, Amunki, Tuḫuši, Ammezzadu, Alalu, Kumarbi, Enlil and Ninlil.
It is assumed that a group of twelve gods from the Yazılıkaya sanctuary reliefs dressed in pointy caps and armed with curved swords can be interpreted as a depiction of the Hurrian primeval deities.