Taḫa (mountain god)
Taḫa was a Hittite mountain that was near the holy city of Zippalanda . He was also worshiped as a mountain god. A city gate in Zippalanda was named after him.
location
The identification of the mountain depends on the location of the city of Zippalanda. If this is located near Kuşakli Höyük (Uşakli Höyük) or the neighboring Çadır Höyük in the Kanak Su valley , then the Ta Berga mountain should be identical to the Kerkenes Dağı located between these two places . If, on the other hand, Zippalanda is equated with Alaca Höyük , he should be the Kalehısar.
cult
The mountain god Taḫa belongs to the circle of the weather god of Zippalanda and had his own temple with a priest on the mountain. The Ištar spring rises on the mountain, with a stele of the mountain god standing by it. At the purulliya festival , which was celebrated in spring, the weather god was awakened from his sweet sleep by Zippalanda so that the king could carry him up to Mount Taḫa in a solemn procession. The king offers bread, a cattle and a sheep to the stele of the mountain god on the mountain, and the god also receives a silver disk of the sun. Also during the nuntarriyašḫa festival and the AN.TAḪ.ŠUM festival , the Hittite king climbed the mountain to make sacrifices.
The mountain god Taḫa was worshiped not only in Zippalanda, but also in neighboring places, including Tauriša .
literature
- Gernot Wilhelm : Taḫa. In: Michael P. Streck (ed.): Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Aräologie . Volume 13, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2011-2013, ISBN 978-3-11-030715-3 , p. 408.
- Volkert Haas : History of the Hittite religion (= Handbook of Oriental Studies . Volume 1.15). Brill, Leiden 1994, ISBN 978-90-04-09799-5