Ninhursag
In Sumerian mythology, Ninhursag (NIN.URSAG) was the earth and mother-goddess, 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' and kings of Sumer were 'nourished by Ninhursag's milk'. She is typically depicted wearing 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 rulers.
Names
Ninhursag means literally "Lady of the Mountain," from the Sumerian Nin ("lady") and Ḫursag ("sacred mountain"). She had many august titles including Ninmah ("Great Queen"); Nintu ("Lady of Birth"); Mama or Mami (mother); Sister of Enlil; and Belet-Ili (Lady of the Gods). Minor titles applied to her include Ninzinak (lady of the embryo); Nindim (lady fashioner); Nagarsagak (carpenter of insides); Ninbahar (lady pottery); Ninmag (lady vulva); Ninsigsig (lady of silence); Mudkesda (blood-stauncher); Amadugbad (mother spreading the knees); Amaududa (mother who has given birth); Sagzudingirenak (midwife of the gods); Ninmenna (lady of the diadem).
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 (Lady of the Diadem), according to a Babylonian investiture ritual, she placed the golden crown on the king in the Eanna temple.
Some take the view that Ki (earth) the primordial goddess of the earth and consort of An (heaven), was identical to or an earlier form of Ninhursag. This may very well be the case, since some Ki does not seem to have been regarded as a deity in her own right and there is no evidence of a distinct cult for her. However the name of Ki does appear in a several Sumerian creation texts. Arguing against Ki's identity with Ninhursag is the fact that as Ki is depicted as the the mother of Enlil, whereas in other sources Ninhursag is his sister. This type of confusion, however, is not unusually in ancient Mesopotamian mythology.
Likewise, some of the titles above were once associated with independent goddesses, such as Ninmah and Ninmenna, who later became identified and merged with Ninhursag. She also seems to have been sometimes identified with Ninsar (Lady Greenery) and Ninkurra (Lady Pasture) or even Uttu (the spinner), who are her daughters in the tale of Enki and Ninhursag.
In later Mesopotamian religion many of Ninhursag's attributes were attributed to Inanna/Ishtar, the goddess of love, fertility, and war. In the writings of the Akkadian princess and priestess of the mod god SinEnheduanna, Ninhursag-Ki was one of the most powerful images of the Divine Feminine. She was depicted as the daughter of the primeval goddess of the sea, Nammu. Together with the sky god An, Ninhursag-Ki was conceived in Nammu's oceanic womb. Anu and Ninhursag came to life embracing each other arms within the primeval sea. Ninhursag-Ki thus both sister and consort to An, and the two of them became the parents the Anunnaki], the ancient deities of Sumerian myth. (However, it should be noted that other Mesopotamian myths describe the process of creation differently.)
As the universe continued to elvove, Ninhursag came to rule more specifically mountains and sacred hills. Ninhursag-Ki had temples in several ancient cities, including Kish, Lagash and Tell Obeid.
Mythology
| Fertile Crescent myth series | |
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| Mesopotamian | |
| Levantine | |
| Arabian | |
| Mesopotamia | |
| Primordial beings | |
| The great gods | |
| Demigods & heroes | |
| Spirits & monsters | |
| Tales from Babylon | |
| 7 Gods who Decree | |
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4 primary: |
3 sky: |
In the legend of Enki and Ninhursag, Ninhursag bore a daughter to Enki, the god of the fresh waters, named Ninsar ("Lady Greenery"). Ninsar in turn bore Enki a daughter named Ninkurra. Ninkurra, then bore Enki a daughter named Uttu. On Ninhursag's advice, Uttu buried Enki's seed in the earth, whereupon eight plants sprung up—the very first plants on earth. Enki, seeing the plants, ate them, and became ill in eight organs of his body. Ninhursag cured him, taking the fertile plants into her own body and giving birth to eight deities: Abu, Nintulla (Nintul), Ninsutu, Ninkasi, Nanshe (Nazi), Dazimua, Ninti, and Enshag (Enshagag).
In the text Creator of the Hoe Ninhursag completed the birth of mankind after the heads of humans had been uncovered by Enki's hoe, the crucial instrument which he had invented.
In other creation texts Ninmah (another name for Ninhursag) acts as a midwife while 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
Ninhursag symbol, the omega (Ω), has been depicted in art from around 3000 B.C.E., though more generally from the early second millennium. It appears on some boundary stones, on the upper tier, indicating her importance.
Her temple, the E'Saggila (from Sumerian E = House, SAG = Sacred, Ila (Akkadian) = Goddess), was located on the sacred mound of Eridu, although she also had a temple at Kish.
See also
- Ereshkigal
- Eve (Bible)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Michael Jordon, Encyclopedia of Gods, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002.
External links
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