Ninursanga
Ninḫursanga (mistress of the stony wasteland also Ninhursag, Ninmaḫ , Nintu , Mami sometimes also Ninlil , Damkina and the Akkadian Aruru ) is a Sumerian mountain and mother goddess . She is one of the leading female gods and is also named with the epithet "Mother of the Gods". In her function as the goddess of childbirth, she is also known as the “mother of all children”.
genealogy
In ancient Babylonian times she is equated with Ninlil, the wife of Enlil , and is considered to be the mother of the war and fertility god Ninurta and the moon god Nanna . In her function as “mother of all gods” she is equated with Ki and is therefore the wife of god An . In the myth of Enuma Eliš she is identified as the mother of Marduk and thus as Damkina and in the myths of Enki and Ninhursanga she is the wife of Enki and begets other gods with him. In Nippur and Susa she was venerated as the wife of Sulpa'e , the god of wild animals, and as the mistress of the wasteland, she is also responsible for the wild and tamed animals of the field.
history
Their main shrines were in the cities of Kiš , Lagaš and Tell Ubaid . Many Mesopotamian rulers such as Eannatum , Entemena , Uruinimgina and Nebuchadnezzar I described themselves as lovers or children of Ninḫursanga and built temples in her honor.
function
Their function changed over time. Sometimes she took on the function of other, less popular goddesses or was equated with them, depending on how the power structures of their main shrines changed.
Myths
Enki and Ninhursanga
Enki desperately wants a son, but his wife Ninhursanga only gives birth to the daughter Ninisiga , the goddess of the new moon. Thereupon he impregnates his daughter, who gives birth to his daughter Ninkur , the mistress of the highlands. Since Enki still has no son, he impregnates his granddaughter Ninkur and she gives birth to Uttu , the goddess of flax and weaving. Ninhursanga the whole thing is now too much. She advises Uttu how to resist Enki's advances. But Enki disguises himself as a handsome gardener and so he manages to mate Uttu. When Uttu notices the deception, she begs Ninhursanga for help. This removes the Enki seed and throws it on the ground. This results in eight plants that Ninhursanga Enki places in front of him for eating. Enki then falls seriously ill. The Anunna see this with concern and Enlil is able to persuade Ninhursanga to help Enki. Ninhursanga then sits on Enki, takes in the seeds and gives birth to the gods: Abu , Ninsikila , Ninkatu , Ninkasi , Nanše , Azimua , Ninti and Ensag .
Enki and Ninmah
Enki and Ninmah have a competition over who can create better people. Ninmah then creates various people with disabilities. However, Enki gives everyone a role in society. Enki then creates the being Umuul, with whom Ninmah does not know what to do because it is a non-viable miscarriage. She has to admit defeat.
Ninurta and Ninlil / Ninhursag
When Ninurta defeated the demon Asag , he created a huge dam that prevented the Tigris from flowing eastward. Thereupon the land became fertile and brimming with fruits and grain, and all the gods praised Ninurta. His mother Ninlil wants to congratulate him personally and follows him into the mountains. Impressed by so much motherly love, he bequeathed her the mountains and the wasteland, which he took from the demon Asag. He therefore renames his mother from Ninlil, the mistress of the air, to Ninhursag, the mistress of the stony wasteland.
See also
Ninmaḫ and the competition with Enki
literature
- Otto E. Dietz: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. Berlin / New York 2005
- Helmut Freydank u. a .: Lexicon of the Old Orient. Egypt * India * China * Western Asia . VMA-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-928127-40-3 .
- Brigitte Groneberg : The gods of the Mesopotamia. Cults, myths, epics . Artemis & Winkler, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-7608-2306-8 .
- Gwendolyn Leick: A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology. New York 1998.
- W. Römer, in: Texts from the environment of the Old Testament. Part 3. Myths and Epics. Gütersloher Verl.-Haus Mohn, Gütersloh 1993, ISBN 3-579-00074-8 .
Web links
- Enki and Ninhursaja. In: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.
- ENKI AND NINHURSAG. at: gatewaystobabylon.com