Ala (goddess)

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Ala was a Hittite and Luwian goddess of the wilderness, and consort of the god Runtiya . It only occupied a minor position in the pantheon.

Surname

In a Hittite text from the Bronze Age and in several hieroglyphic Luwian texts from the Iron Age, she was called "Frau Ala" (Heth. D MUNUS Ala-; Hluw. FEMINA Ala-). The name should belong to the Luwian adjective ala- "high".

Personal names that contain the name of the gods cannot be identified with certainty due to the brevity of the name and could also have been formed with the adjective ala- . Possibly the woman's name Alawani, which was used in the 18th century BC. Chr. In Kültepe is handed down to the goddess.

function

Ala was usually worshiped together with the patron god of the hallway during the Bronze Age and shared several epithets with him . So she was called similar to these "Ala of the animal world", "Ala of the quiver" and "Ala of the bow", which identifies her as the goddess of hunting. The nicknames “Ala of all mountains” and “Ala of all rivers” bring them into connection with the wilderness, and the mountains Saluwanta and Šarpa are also mentioned by name. In the hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions by Emirgazi , she was invoked together with the patron god and the mountain god Šarpa (ev. Arısama Dağı ). As “Ala of Salvation” and “Ala of Mildness”, she shows herself as a benevolent goddess who also donated fruits in abundance.

Ala was in the Hittite places Karaḫna , Kalašmita and Winiyanta worshiped together with the protective god. In the latter place a spring festival was celebrated for them.

In the Iron Age, she merged with the goddess Kubaba . The goddess "Frau Ala-Kubaba" had a sanctuary in the Luwian land of Kumuha near today's Ancoz and was worshiped there together with Runtiya the corridor, the sun god Tiwaz as well as Ikura and Tasku and the mountain Hurtula, perhaps Nemrud Dağı .

Ala is probably represented on the deer hyton of the Norbert Schimmel collection , together with the deer god.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ilya Yakubovich: Sociolinguistics of the Luvian Language ; Chicago (2008). P. 274
  2. ↑ Ilya Yakubovich: Sociolinguistics of the Luvian Language ; Chicago (2008). P. 274f.
  3. ^ Gregory McMahon: The Hittite state cult of the Tutelary Deities . Assyriological Studies 25 (1991). ISBN 0-918986-69-9 . P. 12

literature