The soul has to live the land of the living

copy Koninklijke Brill NV Leiden 2008 JANER 72Also available online ndash wwwbrillnl

A first draft of this paper was red in December 2005 at the Annual Meetingof the Circolo Linguistico of the University of Florence in remembrance of RuggeroStefanini

THE SOUL HAS TO LEAVE THE LAND

OF THE LIVING

ALFONSO ARCHI

Ruggero Stefaniniin memoriam

Abstract

A fragmentary Hittite tablet (a late copy of an Old Hittite original) describes the

soulrsquos journey in the Netherworld unwilling to travel ldquothe great road the road

that makes things disappearrdquo even though aware that ldquoto the gods belongs the

soulrdquo This is the belief or cry of hope that runs through the entire history of

humanity which a popular poem in Des Knaben Wunderhorn expresses in this way

ldquoIch bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gottrdquo Despite this the soul does not want

to ldquoundergo the perdition of the mortalrdquo The journey starts in the second col-

umn (of which only a few words remain) It is not clear whether the narrative is

interrupted here by a ritual act At the end of the second column and up to the

start of the third the desolation of souls in the Netherworld is described However

the fate awaiting this soul is different but the text breaks of without telling us

anything more definite The fourth column contains a brief section of the ritual

The Document

That everything does not end with the dissolution of the body thatthe spirit continues to exist has been a hopemdashoften a certaintymdashharboured within the conscience of man since the start of timeThe soulrsquos fate is indefinable Appropriate rites have the aim ofstarting the soul on its dangerous journey and mitigating the pre-sumably sad final state pre-announced through the suffering of death

A Hittite text unique of its kind portrays the terror felt by thesoul on beginning its journey in the Netherworld notwithstandingits awareness of its own nature (ldquoto the gods belongs the soulrdquo) A

JANER 72_f4_169-196III 22708 548 PM 69

170 alfonso archi

kind of viaticum (ldquomy good drinkrdquo) furnishes the certainty that inthe end it will attain a state of beatitude

The fragments KBo 22178 + KUB 48109 + 4360 (CTH 457)have been joined by H Hoffner who recognized that this text con-cerns the journey of the human soul in the realm of the dead(Hoffner 1988 191-199) The colophon does not indicate the pur-pose of this ritual but strangely only says that ldquotwo speeches arerecorded on this tabletrdquo (KUB 4360 IV 16rdquo)

The first speech starts in I 1 without introduction and contin-ues for all of the 37 preserved lines of col I It is not clear whetherthis first speech is interrupted by a ritual action or where the sec-ond speech begins About twenty lines in the second part of col I and the first five lines of col II are completely missing Thetwenty-three fragmentary lines which follow do not preserve evenone whole word (II 3rsquo) i-l[a-li- ] ldquodesi[re ]rdquo (cfr I 17) (5rsquo) li-l[i-wa- ] (7rsquo) li-li-w[a- ] ldquotravell[ing] quicklyrdquo (8rsquo) nu-za A-S[AR ] ldquothe pla[ce ] (Hoffner 1988 198 note 48) Therefollows a description of the continuation of the journey begun bythe soul in col I 26 There is then a lacuna of perhaps twenty-five lines The last ten lines of col II and the first eleven lines ofcol III describe the soul visiting the Netherworld these are fol-lowed by a lacuna KUB 4360 preserves twenty-nine fragmentarylines of the lower part of col III concerning the celebration of aritual It is impossible to understand what is going on the eagleand the river (ll 17-18) are mentioned (Hoffner 1988 198-199)KBo 22178 has some final signs of IV 8-12 ldquo ] drink (-y]a-tar e-ku) [ ] do not (le-e) [ rdquo (Hoffner 1988 192)

KUB 4360 IV the last written section of the tablet preservespart of the ritual This column is not completely written The rit-ual section looks therefore rather short which is anomalous

3rdquo [n]a-at GUgraveB-li-it ki-ltis-gts[a-ri-itar-ha e-ku-zi na4ZAGIgraveN 9 N[A4

5rdquo ta-an-na-ra-as an-da-ma-kaacuten NA4x[GIShu-u-la-li 1 GISBAL SA lt1gt GIacuteN KUgraveGI nu-us-sa-an

7rdquo SIacuteG GE6 an-da hu-u-la-li-an-za

7 GISsa-ma-ma 7 GISx-i-sa 7 GISGESTINrsaquoAacuteDDUA 7 sa-an-hu-u-wa-as

9rdquo na-at-kaacuten A-[N]A 1 GISti-i-piacute su-uh-ha-an-te-es17

na-at-kaacuten a[r- ]x-x-az da-a-i na-at ga-ra-a-piacute11rdquo 1 TUacuteGku-ri-es-sar x[ ] I-NA GISBANSUR ki-it-ta

JANER 72_f4_169-196III 22708 548 PM Page 170

the soul has to leave the land of the living 171

1 Two rather fragmentary documents KUB 396 and 43 (Kassian KoroleumlvSidelrsquotsev 2002 609-629) show that a similar ritual was celebrated also for theprinces

kat-ta-an-ma 1 NINDAEacuteRINMES [ki-i]t-ta nu-us-sa-an KUgraveBAB-BAR KUgraveGI

13rdquo ANNA ANBAR URUDU AGAR5 lu-ul-lu-ri na-at-za GUgraveB-se-it [S]U-[i]tpu-u-ri-ya-as-sa-as piacute-ra-an e-ip-zi

15rdquo x-x gal-gal-tu-u-ri ha-az-zi-ltkaacuten-gtan-i

ki-e-da-ni-is-sa-an tup-piacute 2 INIMrsaquoIA a-ni-ya-an

ldquo[Heshe takes] it with the left hand [and] drinks [it] up Lapislazuli nine [ ] not decorated inside [X -]stone a distaff (and)one spindle of ltonegt shekel gold black wool is wraped on itrdquo

ldquoSeven samama-nuts seven seven raisins seven s they arepoured into one wooden tigravepa-vessel Heshe takes them from [ ]and consumes them One (womanrsquos) head-dress [ ] is placedon the table below one lsquobread for the trooprsquo is placed on (it there are) silver gold tin iron copper lead (and) l Heshe holds it with the left hand before hisher lips They clash thecymbalsrdquo

ldquoOn this tablet two speeches are recordedrdquo

Two factors indicate that this ritual was destined for a woman thedistaff together with the spindle and the headdress kuressar a pieceof female clothing Since rituals do not generally indicate the sexof the person for whom they are performed this version must relateto a specific individual or category of person The ritual mentionshowever ldquothe soul of the mortalrdquo The black wool on the spindlemay characterise a ritual for the Sun-goddess of the Earth (Haas1994 648 Haas 2003 640) The use of the left hand (ll 3rdquo and13rdquo) may also be connected with this Netherworld deity In theroyal funerary ritual the usual Hittite symbols for masculinity andfemininity are given to the dead (end of the second day) ldquoTo theman [he puts] in his hand a bow [(and) arrows if it is a wo]manhowever [he puts] her a distaff [and a spindle in her hand] andTUacuteGNIacuteGLAMMES-garmentsrdquo (Kassian Koroleumlv Sidelrsquotsev 2002 98-99)1


172 alfonso archi

Col I has been transcribed and translated by C Watkins (Watkins1995 284-287 previous analyses of some lines are listed by S Kosak in Hethiter Portal Mainz) I follow him with minimalchanges

1 [x-x-x-x-a]z GUD-us su-up-pa-at-ta UDU-us[su-up-pa-a]t-ta ne-piacute-is su-up-pa-at-t[a]

3 [KI-as su-up-pa-a]t-ta ul-la-a-pa ka-da-an-ki[x-x d]a-an-du-ki-is ZI-an-za

5 [ku-wa-piacute-i]t-se-pa uacute-it-ta rsaquoURSAG-i-ku-wa-at-sa-an[NI]MLAgraveL-at uacute-da(IT)-uacute sa-an piacute-e-di-is-si da-a-ugrave

7 [taacutek-s]a-an-ni-ku(MA)-wa-ltat-gtas-sa-an NIMLAgraveL-at da-a-ugrave[na-]at piacute-e-di-is-si da-a-ugrave ku-i-ta

9 [te-r]i-ip-piacute-az-ma na-at NIMLAgraveLMES uacute-da-an-du[na-]at piacute-di-is-si ti-an-du NIMLAgraveL te-ri-ya-as UD-as

11 mi-i-uacute-walt-asgt UD-as KASKAL-an pa-a-an-du na-pa i-ya-tar-mi-ituacute-da-an-du taacutek-ku a-ru-na-az-ma na-at la-ha-an-za

13 uacute-da-uacute na-at-sa-an piacute-e-di-is-si da-a-uacutetaacutek-ku IacuteD-az-ma na-at hu-wa-la-as uacute-da-uacute

15 na-at-sa-an piacute-e-di-is-si da-a-uacute

ku-i-ta na-piacute-sa-az-ma na-at ta-pa-ka-li-yalt-asgt17 ha-ra-asMUSEN kad -du-ud uacute-da-uacute i-la-li-an-za kad-du-us-mi-it

wa-al-ha-an-za e-es-du MAacuteSGAL-sa-an sa-ap-pu-it19 wa-al-ah-du UDUNITA-sa-an SIrsaquoIA-an-da wa-al-ah-du

an-na-sa-an UDU-us ti-it-ti-it-te-it wa-al-ah-du21 an-na-as DINGIRLIM-as is-ha-ah-ru-an-za na-as is-ha-ah-ru-it

wa-al-ha-an-za nu-us-si-is-sa-an ku-e a-as-su-u23 9-an-da-as ha-ap-piacute-es-na-as se-er ha-a-as-sa-an ne

[wa-]al-ha-an-za e-es-du ZI-an-za-ma i-ya-at-ni-ya-an-za25 [ha-ap-p]iacute-es-ni-an-za nu-us-si-kaacuten li-e a-ri-es-kat-ta

[Z]I-an-za-wa-kaacuten u-ri-is ZI-an-za-wa-[k]aacuten u-ri-is27 ku-el-wa-kaacuten ZI-an-za u-ri-is da-an-du-ki-es-[n]a-as-kaacuten

ZI-an-za u-ri-is nu ku-in KASKAL-an har-zi29 u-ra-an KASKAL-an har-zi mar-nu-wa-la-an KASKAL-an har-zi

sa-an-za-pa KASKAL-si LUacuteKASKAL-la-as ha-an-da-a-it31 su-up-piacute DUTU-as ZI-an-za DINGIR-na-an ZI-an-za

da-an-du-ki-is-na-as ku-wa-at a-ru-sa-an pa-i-mi33 [d]a-a-sa-na-ta-an pa-a-mi IacuteD-p[a mu]-u-uh-hi lu-li[-ya]

mu-u-uh-hi te-na-wa-sa-an pa-i-m[i li-]e pa-i-[mi]



35 te-e-na-wa-as i-da-a-lu-us x-x[uacute-el-lu-wa li-[

37 si-uacute-ni-ya-[ah-

1 [ ] the ox is sleeping The sheep[is sleep]ing Heaven is sleeping

3 [Earth is sleep]ing [ ] the mortal soul (ie the soul of the mortal)

5 [Wher]e did it come for it (If) it is on the mountainlet the bee bring it and put it in its place

7 (If) it is on the plain let the bee bring itand put it in its place What is

9 from the ploughed field let the bees bring itand put it in its place Let the bee(s) go a journey of threedays

11 of four days and let them bring my plentyIf it is from the sea let the (migratory) lahanza-duck

13 bring it and put in its placeBut if it is from the river let the swan() bring it

15 and put it in its place

But whatever is from the sky let the hare-grabbing()17 eagle bring in (his) offenses (ie talons) Let the desired one be

struck with their offenses (ie talons) Let the he-goat strike her19 with his sappu-horns Let the ram strike her with his horns

Let the mother-sheep strike her with her nose21 The Mother-goddess is tearful She is struck

with tears Whatever good things23 are opened over the nine body parts

let her be struck (with regard to) them The soul is thriving25 with (all) its parts Let no oracle be taken for it

ldquoThe soul is great The soul is greatrdquo27 ldquoWhose soul is greatrdquo ldquoThe mortalrsquos

soul is greatrdquo ldquoWhat road does it haverdquo29 ldquoIt has the great road It has the road that makes things disappearrdquo

The man of the road (ie the psychopompos) has got it readyfor the road

31 A holy thing of the Sun-goddess (of the Earth) is the soul Tothe gods belongs the soulldquoWhy should I go the perdition of the mortal


174 alfonso archi

2 The souls of the dead have to eat clay and to drink muddied water alsoaccording to the Mesopotamian sources (Hoffner 1988 1993 note 9 Biggs 1993Malul 1993)

33 Should I go the dagravesanata I will fall into the river I will fallinto the pool Should I go the tenawa Let me not go

35 The tenawa is evil [to the meadow let [me] trav[el quickly

37 [Let me not () be] struck down by a god [ rdquo

Hoffner noted that the fragments KBo 22178+KUB 48109 ldquoarewritten in a small elegant hand of the New Hittite periodrdquo (Hoffner1988 191) The language is however clearly Old Hittite somemistakes show that the later scribe had some difficulty in provid-ing this copy The fact that this is an Old Hittite composition makesit more probable that we have an original work not a translationof a foreign one Moreover col I contains various typically Hittitetopics the search entrusted to the bee and the lahhanza-duck (thisbird is mentioned also in the royal funerary ritual) the mention ofthe sea manrsquos ecosystem as exemplified by the goat the ram andthe mother sheep and the mention of the Sun-goddess (of theEarth) This composition expresses therefore expectations of anafterlife which belong to a Hittite tradition

The soul which begins its journey in col I will not suffer thesad fate of other souls in the Underworld lonely wandering shad-ows set adrift from all family ties and forced to eat mud and drinkdrainage water II 2rdquo-III 11 (translation by Hoffner 1988 192)2

ldquo[ The ev]il tenawa- [hold him ()] [he s the evi]l (accus) tenawa-[so that] he does not recognize [them] One doesnrsquot recognize the otherSisters by the same mother do [not re]cognize each other Brothers by thesame father do [not re]cognize each other A mother does [not] recognize[her] own child [A child] does [not] recognize [its own] mother [ ] does[not] recognize [ ] [ ] does [not] recognize [ ]rdquo

ldquoFrom a fi[ne] table they do [no]t eat From a [fi]ne stool they do [n]oteat From a [f]ine cup they do not drink They do not eat [goo]d foodThey do not drink my good drink They eat bits of mud They [dri]nkdrainage watersrdquo

ldquoEmaciation [ ] Upon the[m ] And the fat[her ] dri[ed up() ]rdquo



The Souls which Do Not Meet This Sad Fate

The fate of this travelling soul will be different from those of othersouls because all those dead ldquodo not drink my good drinkrdquo assuakuwatar-mit UgraveL akuwanzi (l III 5) The soul had previously askedldquoto bring my plenty ( iyatar-mit I 11)rdquo and it is for this reason thatldquothe soul is thriving (ZI-anza-ma iyatnianza I 24)rdquo Watkins referswith insight to the Orphic eschatology The uninitiated will drinkat the spring of Oblivion (Lethe) ldquofrom which entails forgettingpast liferdquo the initiated is directed to the waters of Mnemosyne(Memory) that is ldquoremembrance of past lives which confers throughrebirth and Persephonersquos grace to die and to be reborn a godto travel the way of Zeus the way which is holy to the Isle of theBlessed and the company of heroesrdquo (Watkins 1995 283)

One of the most suggestive amongst documents of this kind isthe gold leaf from the necropolis of Hipponion (Vibo ValentiaSouthern Italy)

ldquoThis is the leaf of Remembrance for the time when one shall die(You will go) to the well-fitted house of Hades on the right hand there

is a spring and close to it a white cypress This is the place where thedescending souls cool themselves Take good care not to come close to thisspring (of forgetfulness)

Further on you will find a cold stream flowing out of the lake ofRemembrance And there are guardians standing by the stream They willask you with shrewd mind what for are you searching through the dark-ness of the deadly Hades

Answer to them lsquoI am a son of the Heavy (Earth) and the starry SkyBut I am drained dry with thirst and I am perishing So give me quicklycold water flowing out of the lake of Remembrancersquo

And they will show mercy to you because of the king of the Netherworldand will give to drink from the lake of Remembrance Having you drunk(from it) you will tread the holy path of the many on which walk also theother glorious initiates and worshippersrdquo (Pugliese Carratelli 1974 and 199320-31 for an English translation Marcovich 1976)

According to this text the soul did not have to drink at the foun-tain of Oblivion (Lethe) but at that of Remembrance (Mnemosyne)in order to have the memory of all the teachings received by theinitiated and its immortal origins The soul which travelled theldquosacred wayrdquo faithfully following instructions attained a privilegedif not clearly defined goal (Pugliese Carratelli 1993 23-31)

A similar destiny awaited the soul which according to the Hittitetext journeyed along ldquothe great wayrdquo However we have no data whichenables us to presume the existence of some mysteric religion for


176 alfonso archi

3 See eg the funerary gifts for the ladies of the Eblaite court 24th centuryBC Archi 2002 Nilsson 1949 103 remarked ldquoEquality in death is a chimaeraEven more than now it was so at a time when man believed in the continuanceof the power of the dead The man of the people was equally insignificant in lifeand in the grave He was soon forgotten even by those nearest to him But theprince was a prince even in the tomb his power was not diminished by deathit was only transferred to a sphere in which it was regarded with greater admirationrdquo

4 The favorable destiny bestowed to Urnamma was the reward for his pity andhis untimely death For the long composition with the lament for his death per-haps to be ascribed to his wife see Katz 2003 328-336 (with previous literature)See further Lundstroumlm 2001 245-246 A recent edition of the Urnamma hymnshas been provided by Fluumlckiger-Hawker 1999

the initiated in Hittite Anatolia The royal funerary ritual and theritual KUB 3028 (see below p 189) also promised a privilegedfate In Anatolia as in other region of the Near East there wouldappear to have been a widespread belief that through the cele-bration of appropriate rituals the soul could have a favourable fatepossibly even attain a state of permanent beatitude (a hope whichit is true is common to all esoteric religions)

In Mesopotamian cultures the realm of the dead was held tobe a sad place as in the classical world However the funerarygifts indicating the role the deceased had whilst alive show howwidespread was the belief that the same rank was in some wayenjoyed even in the afterlife3 Urnamma king of Ur kept his life-time status in the Netherworld and was made the equal of a deity4

Forcing religious beliefs of a culture (known to us from differentplaces and periods) into a coherent system means losing the indefinableand irrational aspects of that specific religious experience The meth-ods applied by the historian do not always coincide with the demandsof requirements of the theologian

The Soulrsquos Departure from the Body

The text opens immediately with the myth describing the soulrsquosfate (the myths of Disappearance of Telepinu and the Storm-godalso lack an introduction) The death of the individual for whomthe ritual is performed acquires a cosmic dimension and even natureand animals are motionless ldquoThe ox is sleeping The sheep [issleep]ing Heaven is sleeping [Earth is sleep]ingrdquo ll 1-3 Sleeprepresents a Death-like state (Hesiod Theogony 212-213 ldquoNight bore



5 ldquoThanatos and Hypnos are a famous pair of brothers rdquo (West 1966 207)6 ldquoThe bee as a motherrdquo an-na-as NIMLAgraveL-as appears also in an obscure

passage of Hattian origin in the KILAM festival KUB 487 III and duplicates(Haas 1981 112 Singer 1984 99-101) See now Groddek 2004 335 b 17-19[(an-n)]a-as NIMLAgraveL-as [(an-na-as)] NIMLAgraveL-as [(NIMLAgraveL-as)] e-es-zi ldquoAmother (is) the bee a mother (is) the bee is the beerdquo

horrible Moros and black Ker and Thanatos [three different wordsfor death] and Sleep she bore and also the brood of Dreamsrdquo)5

The soulrsquos situation is enigmatic Something indefinite is miss-ing expressed by the inanimate case (-at) It is not known wherethat which has disappeared is now to be found and it must bereturned to its place ( pegravedi-ssi dagraveu) Only in this way can its ldquoplentyprosperityrdquo (iyatar-mit udandu ll 10-11) be ldquobroughtrdquo to the soulHere we might have a representation of the state in which the soulfinds itself now that the body is motionless The balance of bodyand soul which forms the human being has been destroyed Thesoul feels incomplete and something indefinable has disappearedwhich the bee must search for on land two kinds of bird seek onthe waters and the eagle in the sky (ll 5-15)

The bee is also given the task of seeking Telepinu as well asthe Storm-god and Inara the gods who disappeared even thoughldquoits wings are smallrdquo The instructions given by Hannahanna themaieutic goddess are ldquolsquoWhen you find him (Telepinu)] sting hishands and feet and make him stand up Then take wax and wipehim off Then purify ( parkunut) him and make him holy again (sup-piyah) Then conduct him back here to mersquordquo (version 2) ldquolsquo make]him stand up [Take wax] and [wipe off] his eyes and his handsPurify him and bring him back to mersquo The bee searched the highmountains it searched [the deep valleys it searched the Blue] DeepThe honey was exhausted in its interior [the wax] was exhausted[in its interior]rdquo (version 3) (Hoffner 1990 18-19) Honey and waxpurify and appease (Haas 2003 497-502)

Thus the bee represents Hannahanna the Mother-goddess oneof the tutelary divinities of living beings who has a particular rela-tionship with birth (hanna- ldquoGrandmotherrdquo logograms DNINTUDINGIRMArsaquo sometimes in the plural Beckman 1983 202-203239-241)6 Telepinu the god of vegetation is in a deep death-likesleep His absence causes the paralysis of nature and all livingthings The very existence of the gods is threatened (ldquoThey ate butcouldnrsquot get enough They drank but couldnrsquot quench their thirstrdquo)


178 alfonso archi

The bee wakes him up with a sting and nature and animate beingsreturn to life

Already V Haas noted that the bee is associated with the Mother-goddess amongst the Hittites as for the Greeks (Haas 1981 111-116)This insect possesses a complex symbolism in many cultures It ispure and a symbol of rebirth For the Greeks the bee had accessto uncontaminated places such as the pastures where the goddessArtemis lived ldquoThere never shepherd dares to feed his flock norsteel of sickle came only the bee roveth the springtide mead undes-ecraterdquo (Euripides Hippolytus 75-77) A scholium in this passageglosses meacutelissa ldquobeerdquo with psycheacute ldquosoulrdquo The scholiast considers thebee given its purity to symbolise the soul In his commentary ofSophocles Porphyrios says that the ancients ldquodid not apply theterm meacutelissai to all souls coming to birth but only to such asshould live a life of righteousness and return whence they cameafter doing the will of heavenrdquo (Cook 1895 17 Drexler 1894-1937who quotes some other cases concerning the connection betweenthe soul and the bee also from other cultures Bettini 1986 205-210 Katz 2001 208-209 note 10)

According to the Hittite text the bee must re-establish the soulin ldquoits plentyrdquo The bee does not represent the soul moreover ithas not an exclusive relationship with it The task of seeking thatwhich has disappeared is also given to two aquatic birds and tothe eagle

The bee is also the messenger of the Sun-goddess of the Earthin some way the opposite of Hannahanna The Sun-goddess of theEarth appears eg in some birth rituals although she had no par-ticular connection with birth being ldquowell attested as recipient ofunwanted evils from the world of humankindrdquo (Beckman 1983 54)One ritual CTH 447 has the function of determining whether abee (possibly a bee-sting on a specific occasion) is to be taken asan unfavourable sign sent by the following gods the Hilassi andthe Gulses tutelary deities the Sun-goddess of the Earth the Sun-god the Storm-god of Heaven the Storm-god of Zippalanda anda seventh deity whose name is not preserved (Popko 2003) A sim-ilar incantation is directed towards each of these deities ldquoSonnengoumlttinder Erde Der Mensch nimmt sich des Menschen an und errettetihn (In aumlhnlicher Weise) du Sonnengoumlttin der Erde (was betrifft)die Biene die du schicktestmdashsiehe dir pflegen Koumlnig und Koumlnigindieses Opfer (als) Versoumlhnungsgabe (in bezug auf die) Biene darzubrin-gen Wenn du die (ie die Biene) Sonnengoumlttin der Erde in Boumlsen



7 According to Puhvel 2003 326 the lahanza did not belong to the genusAnatina but rather Gavia

8 Fortson 1996 suggests that huwala- and ldquoowlrdquo (OHG ucircwila) have the sameonomatopoeic preform

herschicktest veraumlndert sie jetzt und mache sie zum guumlnstigen Vogelrdquo(II 20rsquo-27rsquo Popko 2003 35-36) Popko remarks ldquoWenn wir einzelneBeschwoumlrungen miteinander vergleichen wird es deutlich daszligsein Verfasser (bzw die Verfasserin) vor allem die Sonnengoumlttin derErde der Zusendung der ungluumlckverheiszligenden Biene verdaumlchtigteIn der Tat tritt sie sehr oft als Hauptgoumlttin magischer Ritualeuumlberdies selbstverstaumlndlich auch im Kult auf rdquo (Popko 2003 72)

The lah(h)anza entrusted with exploring the sea was a migratorybird It appears in the thirteenth day (the last but one) of the royalfunerary ritual ldquoThey make models of the lahanza-birds in thehouse Ten lahanza-birds are made of wood and they inlay themwith silver On five lahanza-birds (representing the males) the headsare plated with gold Ten lahanza-birds are made of iyatna- (some-thing of wool) And ten lahanza-birds are made of dough Thereare thirty (artificial) lahanza birds (in all) And they catch either five(var four) or six live lahanza-birds If it is not the lahanza-bird sea-son they catch shelducks (Tadorna tadorna MUSEN rsaquoURRI )rdquo (CHDL-N 7 KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSidelrsquotsev 2002 490-497)7 The Tadornais a big duck with white feathering crossed by a brown-chestnutstrip around the breast while head and wings are green

The huwala associated with the river must have been anotheraquatic bird perhaps the swan8

The rite with the lahanza-birds is performed at a crucial point inthe royal funerary ritual when the soul finally leaves the deceased

Day 13

a) The live lahanza-birds are tied to figurines of the lahanza-birdsinlaid with silver The soul is mentioned The birds are takenthree times from outside through the window They say atthe third time ldquoYou are the lahanza-birds May you be with[the soul() ] (A II 18-25)

b) The live lahanza-birds are burned next to the statue of thedead A part of the artificial lahanza-birds are tied to the allan-taru-tree and burned there This allantaru-tree together withthe gold and silver inlay of the birds are carried in the mau-soleum (EacuteNA4) (A II 27-38)


180 alfonso archi

9 Differently according to the Odyssey the Netherworld was beyond the Ocean(10 508 11 13 ldquoShe came to the deep-flowing Oceanus that bounds theEarth rdquo) more details in 24 11-14 ldquoPast the streams of Oceanus they wentpast rock Leucas past the gates of the sun and the land of dreams and quicklycame to the mead of asphodel where the spirits dwell phantoms of men whohave done with toilsrdquo

c) They bring two more allantaru-trees The remaining artificiallahanza-birds are tied to them and burned (B2 I 48rsquo-53rsquo)

d ) They drink several times the soul of the deceased and offerloaves (A III 11-23 27-31 34-38)

Night from day 13 to day 14

e) They pass the night awake (A III 53)f ) The taptara-women appeal to the deceased ldquoWhen thou wilt go

the meadow (UacuteSAL-wa) do not pull the cordrdquo (A IV 12-14)g) The cupbearer gives to the statue of the deceased to drink

He drinks his soul (A IV 23-24)

Day 14 (scantly preserved)

h) Final rite with the birds Shelducks (MUSEN rsaquoURRI ) aretied to the allantaru-tree lahanza-birds are tied to the [ (D III8rsquo-9rsquo) (KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSidelrsquotsev 2002 36-40)

The rite of the birds falls on the thirteenth day and is repeated onthe following day the last of the funerary ritual (manuscript D onlypreserves the beginning of this) The birds are taken three timesfrom outside through the window The fact that they are not freed buttied up and in the end burnt shows that their role was not thatof accompanying the soul on its long journey to a distant sea9 buton the contrary had to carry something from outside (the sametask given to them in the text studied under consideration here)This can only be the soul which must have lingered in some dis-tant spot The soul had to be present in order to receive the finalsalute

ldquoThe mortalrdquo danduki- consists of body and ldquosoulrdquo istanza(n)-The moment of death is a delicate one when the soul detachesitself from the body The royal funerary ritual records above allthe intense emotional impact produced by a death ldquoeveryone adult(and) young take away their drinking-straw and begin to wailrdquoThe first ritual action concerns however the soul ldquoOn what dayhe becomes a god (ie the king dies) on that day they do the fol-



10 ldquoLrsquoacces de lrsquoacircme agrave lrsquoau-delagrave que lrsquoAvesta reacutecent eacutevoque souvent observe unprocessus qui est deacutecrit avec preacutecision dans un fragment intituleacute Hacircdocircxt NaskQuand le ruvan acircme intracorporelle qui produit le sentiment du moi est libereacutepar la mort il demeure trois nuits aupregraves de la tecircte du cadavre incapable depercevoir drsquoecirctre perccedilu et de se mouvoir Lorsque point la troisiegraveme aurore ladayanacirc qui est lrsquoacircme du chemin lui apparaicirct et le guide vers lrsquoau-delagrave Crsquoestun jugment lapidaire qui lrsquoidentifie comme hocircte du paradis ou hocircte de lrsquoenferLe processus drsquoaccegraves agrave lrsquoau-delagrave rdquo Kellens 2006 130

lowing they offer to his soul one plough-ox for extolling (sarlumas)They stick it (ie the ox) at its head and speak as follows lsquoAs thouhast become let this one become likewise (ie let the ox die) Release(katta tarna) thy soul down into this oxrsquo Then they bring a jug ofwine and libate it for his soul Then they break it (ie the vessel)into pieces But when night comes they sway one he-goat over thedeceased and speak at the same time as follows lsquo[ ]rsquordquo (KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSideltrsquosev 2002 46-49)

In brief the soul almost has to be convinced of its new stateand persuaded to leave the body of the deceased Death is ritu-alised by killing an ox (and possibly also a billy-goat) The body ofthe deceased is burnt on the second day after death On the thirdday the bones are removed from the pyre and taken to the tomb(EacuteNA4) and the rite of ldquoconciliationrdquo lilauwar performed Fromthis moment on the deceased was represented by a statue (van denHout 1995) During the remaining days of the ritual the rites hadthe aim of appeasing the soul (in particular with the drinking-ceremony eku-) and ensuring it a privileged place in the afterlifeThe last day sealed the soulrsquos separation from the world of the living

Anthropological Implications

The presence of the soul near the corpse is attested to in manycultural traditions by the practice of addressing it throughout thedeath rites10 In the Hittite royal funerary ritual they ldquodrinkrdquo thesoul every day together with several deities related to death andthe Netherworld (eg in days 2 and 7 Sun-goddess of the EarthSun-goddess of Heaven grandfathers and grandmothers the Good-day day 7 Sun-goddess of Arinna Storm-god Storm-god ofZippalanda KAL Sun-goddess of the Earth the Good-day KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSidelrsquotsev 2002 951-953 sv ZI) The funerary rites accom-pany or rather guide the deceased in his passage from one stateto another from the land of the living to that of the dead The


182 alfonso archi

length and intensity of these rites are directly related to the socialcontext in which the death occurred (the Hittite royal ritual lastedfourteen days as we have already said) Some of these rites (includ-ing the Hittite ones) can be analysed according to the tripartitescheme developed by A Van Gennep for his rites de passage (sepa-ration liminality reincorporation)

R Hertz (1907) studied the funeral ceremonies of certain pop-ulations in Borneo which show a correlation between the corpsersquosfate and that of the soul The corpse is exposed for one or twodays and then buried in a jar or similar recipient After some timethere is the secondary and definitive disposal The bones of thedeceased are removed and cleaned and lastly placed in a kind offamily tomb the event being an occasion for festivities ldquoThe bonesare taken to their final resting place in the monument prepared forthem But first the soul must be provided for and death songs sungon that last night give it very specific instructions as to how tomake the journey to the land of the dead The journey of thesoul has more cosmological significance than it is first apparentrdquo(Huntington Metcalf 1979 71-72)

According to the Hittite royal funerary ritual (as noted above)the corpse was cremated on the second day The following daythe bones were gathered and placed in the tomb or mausoleum(EacuteNA4) which was their last resting-place (see below section 5) Aproper burial had a paramount importance for the dead becauseit allowed them to reach the Netherworld ldquothe realm of the deadwas sealed by the face of the earth and a passage through wasopened when necessary In actual reality this concept finds its prac-tical expression in a burialrdquo (Katz 2003 32) Secondary burials arenot known among the Hittites In the royal ritual the cremationserved to eliminate those parts of the body which would decay Forother deaths inhumation was probably most generally used

The fate of the soul depended mainly on the correct burial ofthe body After dealing with the corpse or its most lasting partsthe ritual turned its attention to the soul whose presence was nec-essary for the rites to be effective In the long royal ritual thecorpse was substituted by an effigy for practical reasons becausethe soul used to stay near it

In numerous cultures there are ritual actions for liberating thesoul which relate to the domestic organisation These cause the soulto move away from the hearth where it persists to stay In thecase of a death for example furniture may be moved up against



11 This topic has been discussed by Lombardi SatrianimdashMeligrana 1982 inrelation to the folk customs of Southern Italy

12 The documentation concerning istanza(n)- ZI has been collected and stud-ied by A Kammenhuber (1964 and 1965) Kammenhuber (1965 181) offers thefollowing translations istanza(n)- ldquoSeele Sinn Wille Wunschrdquo giving the follow-ing definition ldquoIndividualseele die zugleich Lebensprinzip und lsquoOrganrsquo geistigerund emotionaler Regungen istrdquo (Kammenhuber 1964 168) For ldquoZI als Sitz von

the walls interrupting the old order and ending a rule so that anew order may begin11

If the soul was not appeased it could not reach the land of thedead It continued to wander dangerously in the land of the liv-ing An offering was compulsory in the case of a death KUB 59Vs 26 ldquoMy son died I have however not provided the offering(for him)rdquo If the soul was not ritually separated from the corpsethere was the risk of having to deal with a ldquodead person the spiritof a dead personrdquo akkant- GIDIM EˇEMMU KUB 1616 Vs 23-25ldquoIf the son of someone dies and all the dammara-women come intocontact with the (spirit of a) dead person (GIDIM) having eatenbread and beer of the (spirit of the) dead rdquo (Otten 1958 136-137) Many documents show how dangerous one of these ldquodeadrdquocould be (del Monte 1973) so that it was necessary to appeasetheir soul KUB 2235 II 7 magraven-ma GIDIM ZI-an DU8-si ldquoIf you(spirit of the) dead relieve (your) soulmind rdquo (Otten 1958 123)It seems that the Palace provided large offerings in order to avoidthe evil influence of dead persons who did not receive the properrites KUB 155 IV 37-39 ldquoDid they give the 140 shekels of sil-ver and the 144 sheep for the oppressed dead people (GIDIMHIA

dammeshandas)rdquo (del Monte 1975 343-345) The malevolent spiritof a dead person was Zawalli (Archi 1979 DZawalli interchangeswith akkant- GIDIM notice that only Zawalli has the determina-tive DINGIR for ldquogodrdquo)

The living human was conceived as the conjunction of the body(tuekka- NIacuteTE) and a spiritual component (istanza[n]- ZI) Thisistanza(n)- pronounced istantsa(n)- was not only the vital spirit (likethe Greek psycheacute ) but also the seat of sentiment and thought Itdefined a complex semantic field ldquospirit soul will mind (denot-ing also sexual arousal Puhvel 1984 468)rdquo Since it was the seatof feelings the gods had both tuekka- and istanza(n)- (like humanbeings) as did also animals KUB 4123 II 15 (copy of an OldHittite text) SIacuteLA-as istanzanana dagrave ldquotake the soul of the lambrdquo12


184 alfonso archi

Geistigemrdquo ldquoZI = Wille Wunschrdquo and ldquoZI und Gefuumlhlsregungenrdquo seeKammenhuber 1964 193-197 198-203 and 204-208 respectively

karat- ldquointerior entrails wombrdquo was the innerest part of the body Kammenhubernotices that ldquo es ergibt sich daszlig die Hethiter die Zweiteilung in Leib (tuekka-)und Seele (istanzan-) bei Goumlttern (und Menschen) kennen aber offensichtlich nichtvon der Einheit von Leib und Seele sprechen sondern von einer Einheit von Seeleund Leibesinnerem (SAgrave = karat-) (Kammenhuber 1964 164 the passages are collectedat the pp 164-168) According to the analogical thought the unit of these twocomponents are ascribed also to inanimates subjects KUB 4123 II 18rsquo-21rsquo ldquoOSun-god(dess) of the gods as marnuwa-drink and beer have been blended andtheir soul (istanzan-) and interior (karat-) have become one let the soul and inte-rior of the Sun-god(dess) of the gods and of the Labarna become onerdquo (Archi1988 15 note 38 with previous literature)

kir kardi ldquoheartrdquo can be found instead of karat- ldquointeriorrdquo expressing also theutmost unitiy KUB 291 (copy of an Old Hittite ritual) II 39-46 ldquoCome youeagle Go One thing has disappeared from me the sisai of the lion and thesisai of the leopard hold them join them make them one and bring them tothe heart of the man (LUacute-as SAgrave-si peda) and let the kingrsquos soul be joined to hisheart also (LUGAL-was ZI-as kardi-ssi-ya taruptaru)rdquo (Starke 1979 88-89) Th vanden Hout has explained Hieroglyphic (341)tan(i )- as ldquosoul selfrdquo where 341 isCOR not VAS (van den Hout 2002) He comments (2002 184) ldquoWhatever therelations of these various sign shapes may have been the implications of theidentification of 341 as representing a heart as the seat of a personrsquos soul revealto usmdashnot surprisinglymdashhow the Luwians conceived (or at least originally did so)of certain mental and emotional activities (wisdom envy loyalty anger) that aredeterminated by this sign as located in and coming from the heartrdquo

Whatever it may be it is clear that the unit of ldquosoulrdquo (istanzan-) and ldquoheartrdquo(kir kardi) or ldquoinnerrdquo (karat-) constituted the deepest essence of an individual Theuse of istanzan- ldquowillrdquo and tuekka- ldquobodyrdquo referred to the Hittite king is frequentin the political documents These passages are analysed by F Starke (1996 169-182) who gives an interesting interpretation strongly influenced by the famoustheory formulated by E H Kantorowicz of ldquothe kingrsquos two bodiesrdquo The funer-ary ritual of the Tudor and French kings presented this dichotomy Starke sug-gests further that the meaning ldquosoulrdquo given to istanzan- ldquomehr als fraglicherscheint istanzan- zunaumlchst uumlberhaupt Koumlrperteilbezeichnung ist und lsquoGehirnrsquobedeutetrdquo (Starke 1996 177 note 156) This is contradicted by the funerary doc-uments One has to consider that KUB 4360(+) studied in the present article isa copy of an Old Hittite document the royal funerary ritual presents also oneancient form -e of the enclitic personal pronoun pl nom-acc (KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSideltrsquosev 2002 769)

The Soul Leaves the Land of the Living

It was essential to ascertain that the soul was present during therites so as to persuade it to leave and go to the realm of the deadIn our text the search in the sky is entrusted to the eagle since thesky is its realm It would use the strength of its talons (ll 16-18)That which has departed (uitta) and must be brought (udau) is inthe indeterminate kuit (l 16) Whatever it is however provides



ldquofullnessrdquo iyatar (l 11) to the soul Above we presumed that thissensation of incompleteness is a reaction to the fact that the unionof body and soul has suddenly been interrupted In brief a vitalelement has moved away and nobody knows where it is now

The question which automatically occurs to anyone who con-templates the lifeless body of a person they knew well has alwaysbeen ldquowhere are you nowrdquo

The text undergoes a sudden change in style ldquothe desired onerdquo(ilalianza l 17 HED 1 2355-356) is an animate term and cannotbut refer to the soul that has been rediscovered The eagle strikes(walh-) the soul with his talons (ll 17-18) In the same way thebilly goat and the ram strike it with their horns the mother sheepwith its muzzle (ll 18-20) The bee and the birds denote thosespaces beyond human control With their strikes or hits these ani-mals representing nature want to force the soul to leave the landof the living to which it no longer belongs

This passage is crucial There is no way to compensate for thedeath of an individual This sentiment is expressed in dramaticterms on the third day of the funerary ritual when the final good-bye is given to the remains of the deceased I quote the descrip-tion given in KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSideltrsquosev 2002 25 ldquoThe pyre isextinguished with the help of thirty vessels of wine beer and walhi-beverage The bones are taken out of the pyre anointed with fineoil and wrapped into a linen cloth and a fine cloth The bones are placed on the throne if it was the queen on a tabouret Twelvethick loaves and one oil loaf are put round the extinguished pyreA table is set in front of the throne Various loaves are crumbledThere is a meal for those who helped to gather the bones Thestatue of the deceased is decorated with various fruits in the centreof the extinguished pyre rdquo Before the funeral cortege (ldquothe menof Hatti and the uruhhi-menrdquo) takes the bones to the mausoleum(EacuteNA4) we find this dialogue ldquoThe Old Woman takes the bal-ance and with one (pan) she takes silver gold and every kind ofgems with the other (pan) however she takes clay mortar TheOld Woman speaks opposite her colleague as follows calling thedeceased by name lsquo(Someone) brings him so-and-so Who bringshimrsquo And her colleague says lsquoThe men of Hatti the uruhhi-menbring himrsquo And her colleague says lsquoTake the silver (and) the goldfor yourselfrsquo And she says lsquoI will not [tak]e for myself rsquo She speaksthree times in this way [At] the third time however she says oncethe following lsquoI will take the clay mortar for myself rsquo And she


186 alfonso archi

13 Haas 2003 75 (a parallel text presents twelve body parts) 526 672 730For the twelve body parts see the texts listed in Haas 2003 859 on this pointsee Miller 2004 455-458 (with previous literature)

smashes [up] the balance and holds it towards the Sungod (ie fac-ing the sun) [She la]ments (The taptara-women) [begin] wailingrdquo(Otten 1958 68-69 KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSideltrsquosev 2002 266-269)

The life of a loved one cannot be exchanged even for preciousgoods The Old Womanrsquos choice of clay and her laments showan acceptance of pain on the part of the community At this pointan ox and nine sheep are offered both to the Sun-goddess of theEarth and to the soul Lastly the bones are taken to the mau-soleum and lain on a bed their final destination The soul mustfollow the road to the Netherworld An ox and a sheep are thenoffered to the soul Other animals are offered to the Sun-goddessof the Earth to the Sun-goddess of the Heavens to the Good-dayand the soul Despite the communityrsquos pain the soul must moveaway A balance has been disturbed and a new equilibrium has tobe established ldquoLe Roi est mort Vive le Roirdquo

The soul is worried about its fate The animals seek it and itsbelongings and ldquostrikerdquo her The Mother-goddess which broughtthe soul into this world is afflicted with sorrow she is ldquostruckrdquo(wrecked) by sobs because the soul must leave the world of the liv-ing (ll 21-22) Her reaction expresses the strong emotions whichaccompany death

In accordance with a widespread ritual practice a sick personwas healed by transferring the nine parts of his body to the nineparts of a sacrificial animal ldquoeyes (of the animal) are arranged (han-dant-) against hisher eyes ears to hisher ears rdquo (Beckman 198344-45 ll 9rsquo-16rsquo)13 In the specific case of this soul however no ail-ment can survive and have a negative influence and must there-fore be eliminated ldquothe soul is thriving with (all) its partsrdquo It iseven not necessary to have an oracle for the soul (ll 22-25)

ldquoThe new paragraph begins with a veritable choral celebrationof the soul [lsquoThe soul is greatrsquo] The particle -wa(-) in each of thesentences in ll 26-27 marks them formally as direct quoted speechand the question and answer as dialoguerdquo (Watkins 1995 288)The soul must now travel along ldquothe great road the road thatmakes things disappearrdquo (l 29) The image of a soul travelling alonga road is shared by all ancient cultures In Sumerian it is ldquoa foreign



14 Concerning the long road going to the Netherworld Katz 2003 43 writesabout the Sumerian documentation as follows ldquoA road bridged the distancebetween the worlds but no description provides its length in measurable terms ofdistance or timerdquo (see also p 33) According to the Akkadian documentation thatroad was a very unpleasent ones see Botteacutero 1983 191-196 See in particularthe prayer of a dead to his personal god MDP 18250 1-2 9-15 ldquoLetrsquos go mygod my lord I will appear before the Anunnaki (the gods of the Netherworld) You have made me cross a swamp of want and woe You made water and fod-der rare for me in a terrain of thirstrdquo Ebeling 1931 20-21 Botteacutero 1982 393-396 This journey could be done also by boat Selz 1995 Cavigneaux 2000 (ldquoSoeurresteacutee sur la rive et dont je mrsquoeacuteloigne ne me laisse pas seul Les fleuves desEnfers ne versent pas drsquoeau rdquo) Katz 2003 36-37 For models of boats foundin graves see Meyer 2001

roadrdquo kaskal-bar ldquoan unknown road at the edge of the moun-tainrdquo kaskal nu-zu gaba-kur-ra-ka (Katz 2003 9 71 and 72) ldquotheroad of no returnrdquo har-ra-an nu-gi4-gi4 (Katz 2003 41 316 318-319 lagrave tacircri) it is ldquothe road of the kur a desolate pathrdquo kaskal-kur-ra in-ti sugrave-ga-agravem (Katz 2003 330-331 and 168) Similarly inAkkadian ldquolet them follow the roadrdquo harragravena lillikugrave (Botteacutero 1983191-192) According to C Watkins ldquothe lsquogreat wayrsquo cannot butrecall the Orphic lsquoholy wayrsquo of the gold leaves or lsquoZeusrsquos wayrsquo in Pindarrdquo The general property of this Hittite road is not a pos-itive one it is ldquothe road that makes things disappear (marnuwala-an adj derived from maernu- CHD sv) Watkins adds with insightthat ldquothe same expression also cannot but recall the HieroglyphicLuvian inscription on the inside of the tomb destined forSuppilulyamas II (DEUS)VIA+TERRA Cuneiform HittiteDKASKALKURrdquo (Watkins 1995 288) The hieroglyphic inscrip-tion in the chapel by the Suumldburg in Hattusa ends with ldquoHere aDivine Earth-Road in that year (I Suppilulyama) construct(ed)rdquo(Hawkins 1995 22-23 44-45) This Babylonian and Assyrian com-pound ideogram was used also to write the name of the RiverBalih In Hittite it means an underground water-course (Gordon1967 Otten 1976-1980 Otten 1988 33-34) This ideogram derivesfrom the Sumerian expression kaskal-kur-ra(k) ldquothe road of theNetherworldrdquo

The soul is in a state of grace (ldquothe soul is thriving the soulis greatrdquo) It is ldquoa holy thing of the Sun-goddess (of the Earth)rdquo (l 31) However it cannot detach itself from the land of the livingThe road of no return (ldquothe road that makes thing disappearrdquo)terrifies it14 It means ldquoperdition (ar(r)usa-) of the mortalrdquo (l 32)The journey to the afterlife is fraught with danger there are rivers


188 alfonso archi

15 Puhvel 1969 recalls a passage in the Rigveda with the same prohibition ina similar context ldquothis pasture (for the cows) has not to be taken awayrdquo

and pools (ll 33-34) a geography common to both Mesopotamianand Classical cultures Something similar to the Elysian Fields ismentioned (wellu-) (l 36)

The Privileged Fate of the Soul

There are roughly twenty-five lines missing from the fragmentarysection at the start of col II The ll II 5rsquo li-l[i-wa- 7rsquo li-li-w[a- ldquotravell[ing] quicklyrdquo show however that the journey hasbegun The lines at the end of col II and at the start of col IIIare a sorry description of the situation of those living in theUnderworld (see above p 174) The soul travels through theUnderworld but its fate is somewhat different insofar as ldquothey donot drink my (ie of the soul) good drinkrdquo assu akuwatar-mit UgraveLakuwanzi (l III 5) (cfr above p 175)

That the king and queen at least have a privileged fate in theNetherworld has been known since the publication of the royalfunerary ritual (Otten 1958) On the eighth day there is the riteof the pig who ldquodiverts waterrdquo wagravetar nagravei The Old woman saysldquoBehold the pig has diverted the water [May] the oxen sheephorses (and) mules satisfy their thirstrdquo This water makes ldquothemeadowrdquo in the Netherworld where the animals of the deceasedgraze luxuriant ldquoThen they take the hoe (and) the spade andcut off the meadow (UacuteSALLAM) (ie a piece of turf) The OldWoman [puts] the meadow [on] a thick loaf They hold [them]towards the S[un-god They take] the ba[lance and] hold [it tow]ards[the Sun-god She speaks] as f[ollows] lsquoO Sun-god make it right-ful for him (ie the deceased) May no one take it away from him(nor) sue (him) May the oxen and sheep the horses (and) mulesgraze for him on his meadowrsquordquo (KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSideltrsquosev 2002376-377 381-385)15 The Sun god of justice must guarantee thatthe possession of such goods is legitimate In this meadow wellprovided with animals the king or queen will arrive On the thir-teenth day ldquoThey bring the cord He smears it with fine oil andthrows it into the hearth lsquoWhen thou wilt go to the meadowdo not pull the cord Thy will be donersquordquo (KassianmdashKoroleumlvmdashSideltrsquosev 2002 516-517)



When the king dies it is said that he ldquohas become a godrdquo DINGIRLIM-is kis- This term is reserved to the king and simplymeans that the king has become a tutelary deity of the royal fam-ily A ritual from the cultural milieu of Kizzuwatna KUB 3028(+) 3923 (in 12rsquo DHamrishara D[x are mentioned) dupl KBo 3480(Otten 1958 96-97) shows that this privileged fate was not merelyreserved for the king and queen A patili-priest stands on the roofof the deceasedrsquos house and calls his name asking whither he hasgone Six times the patili-priest receives an evasive answer from the(Underworld) gods to whom he is gone At the seventh time it issaid that the deceased has joined his mother

ldquo[Th]en the patili-priest who ( is) on the top of the roof calls down intothe house and repeatedly calls the one who died by his name lsquoWhere hashe gonersquo Those gods with whom he (is) each say from bel[ow up (to theroof )] lsquoTo the sinapsi-house he wentrsquo and the first one [from] the r[oof ]calls down lsquoWhere has he gonersquo Those gods with whom he then (is) sayfrom below up (to the roof) lsquoThereto [he w]entrsquo When they finish theround of gods then the clothes that (are[]) his [ ] they say from belowup (to the roof) lsquoHere he went or [ ]rsquo He speaks from the roof down-wards six times [they] spe[ak] up(wards) six times When for seventh timehe says downwards lsquoWhere has he g[on]ersquo they say to him from belowup (to the roof ) lsquoFor him the day of (his) mother [has come and] (annas-wa-ssi UD-az [aras]) she has taken him by hand and accompanied himrsquordquo(translation by van den Hout 1994 42)

G Beckman has noted with insight ldquothat death is understood hereas a kind of birth Thus the predominant concern of the patili-priestwith birth explains his presence in a rite de passage marking the trans-lation of an individual from the earthly existence to the afterliferdquo(Beckman 1983 237) The same rite is performed for the king andthe queen according to KUB 3949 a text which does not belongthe sallis wastais royal funerary ritual quoted above (van den Hout1994 43)

15rsquo ] speaks upwards[lsquo ] has driven [him]rsquo The divination priest

17rsquo ] calls lsquoWhere [has] the king [] rsquo To him [he calls] dow[n]

19rsquo ] drove [him]rsquo

do]wn he calls lsquoW[here has] the king21rsquo rsquo From be]low upwards he (ie the divination

priest) calls


190 alfonso archi

[lsquo ] he ishas [ rsquo] but if (it is) a woman then [23rsquo [lsquo ] from the womanrsquos His colleague [

from the [ ] down he calls lsquoThe king [25rsquo [ from below u]pwards the divination priests calls lsquoWhat [

] I will For him the day of his mother[has come

27rsquo ] she has and [to] the Sun-goddess ofthe Earth

] and she holds him by handrsquo

The concordances between these two texts lead to two considera-tions 1) the concept of the ritual from Kizzuwatna belongs to theHittite-Luwian tradition and was not influenced by the Hurrianmilieu 2) ordinary people could aspire to a fate that was in someway privileged like that of the royal couple

ldquoThe day of (onersquos) motherrdquo was a commonly used expression toindicate death ldquo[When for you] Alaksandu will have come the dayof your motherrdquo (Friedrich 1930 54-55 l 64) KUB 53 I 45-46ldquoIf out of ten (or) twenty people for some the day of the mother[will have come] but no massive dying takes place in HattusardquoThis expression became somewhat banal bringing the other par-ent into the equation ldquoIf for someone the day of his father andmother is longrdquo (von Schuler 1957 13 l 14-15) KUB 528 + 1856Vs 28 SA AMA-SU A-BI-SU-ya UD[KAM

According to KUB 3949 and KUB 3028+ the mother took the soul of the deceased by the hand and presented to the Sun-goddess of the Earth the Lady of the Netherworld The soul oncefreed from the body underwent a second birth The mother whoaccording to the rites accompanies the soul towards a new lifemust be the biological mother In crucial moments what we maycall the ldquothe motherly deeprdquo emerges from the subconscious Inthe Sanskrit dialogue Nagravegagravenanda by Harsa (6th century AD) atthe moment of the definitive separation (ldquothe time of Garudarsquosarrivalrdquo) a youth destined to die turns to his mother with the fol-lowing words

ldquoIn whatever state (of) life I may be born hereafter O mother so lovingto your son may you alone become my mother every one of those condi-tionsrdquo (Toraskar Deshpande 1953 223)16

16 This quotation is found at p 9 in Pugliese Carratelli 1993 7 I thank maycolleague A Pellegrini for having put at my disposal the editions of this text This



This reaction occurs whether the biological mother is still alive ornot Instead in the Hittite text concerning the soul which is reluc-tant to leave the land of the living (sect 1) the Mother-goddessappears who suffers for the soul and bursts into tears as if shewere the biological mother (ll 21-22) The factual dimension is cov-ered by the mythical and the two are mingled

The day of death or rather that in which the soul leaves thebody is called ldquothe good-dayrdquo This should not be taken as aeuphemism This term needs the divine determinative Hattian-Hittite DIzzistanu logographic writing DUDSIG5 It is the day ofthe second birth In the royal funerary ritual ldquothe Good-dayrdquo receivesofferings on a number of occasions usually together with the Sun-goddess of the Earth and the soul of the deceased the Sun-god-dess of the Earth grandfathers (and) grandmothers the soul of thedeceased the Good-day the soul and the Good-day (Day 7 KassianKoroleumlv Sidelrsquotsev 2002 320-322 ll 4-6 328-329 ll 4 Day 10432-433 ll 4-6) ldquoWhen he drinks his soul for the third time andnames the Good-dayrdquo (Days 8 and 10 Kassian Koroleumlv Sidelrsquotsev2002 388-389 ll 30-31 460-463 III 10-12 IV13-14) The godIzzistanu was the object of a cult that was separate from funeralceremonies In a festival for the goddess Huwassanna the queenldquodrinksrdquo the following deities Haristassi the Gulses and dUDSIG5KBo 2072+ III 12rsquo-13rsquo (Lombardi 1999 237) These are tutelarydeities Izzistanu DUDSIG5 belongs to the gods for whom theldquosinger of Kanesrdquo sings These gods were connected particularlywith the usual needs of the family (Archi 2004 22-24)

The re-birth or the good-day were signs of a hope that deathdid not mean a dissolution into the unknown and that the soulcould enjoy an undefined but favourable fate The attainment ofsuch a state would appear to be ensured by the proper rites andofferings (ldquothe good drinkrdquo assu akuwatar) The soul feels that ithas a right to such a fate given its divine origin It proclaims thisfaith thus ldquoA holy thing of the Sun-goddess (of the Earth) is thesoul To the gods belongs the soulrdquo (l 31)17 That the soul belongs

passage hint at the Hindu idea of a ldquoselfrdquo which remains the same althoughttrasmigrating from generation to generation (Sannino Pellegrini 1998 102)

17 This assertion expressed for the soul of the individual for which this ritualis celebrated has a correspondence in a substitution ritual for the king KBo 152( KUB 1731) Rs 13-19 ldquoDer Koumlnig spricht vor dem Sonnengott desHimmels folgendermaszligen lsquoSonnengott des Himmels mein Herr Was habe ich


getan Ihr habt mir den Thron weggenommen und habt ihn einem andern gegebenund ihnes [ ] Mich aber habt ihr zu den Toten(geistern) gerufen (GIDIMrsaquoIA

anda ueriyatten) Nun sie[he ]bei den [Totengeister]n (bin ich) Ich habe michdir Sonnegott des Himmels mein Herrr gezeigt Nun laszlig mich zu meinem goumlt-tlichen Geschick zu den Goumlttern des Himmel (ANA dSIMTI-JASIMTI-JA ANADINGIRMES SA SAMEgrave ) ein und [laszlig] mich frei aus der Mitte der Toten(geister)(GIDIMrsaquoIA-as istarna)rsquordquo (Kuumlmmel 1967 62-63 with commentary at pp 91-92)

192 alfonso archi

in any case to eternity and is part of the same although in a vagueand unclear way is a widespread sentiment Tristan expresses itwith these words accompanied by moved notes ldquoIch war wo ichvon je gewesen wohin auf je ich gehrsquo im weiten Reich derWeltennachtrdquo

Bibliography

Archi A1979 ldquoIl dio Zawallirdquo AoF 6 81-941988 ldquoEine Anrufung der Sonnengoumlttin von Arinnardquo Documentum Asiae Minoris

Antiquae (Fs H Otten2) Wiesbaden 5-312002 ldquoJewels for the Ladies of Eblardquo ZA 92 161-1992004 ldquoThe Singer of Kanes and his Godrdquo Offizielle Religion lokale Kulte und indi-

viduelle Religiositaumlt (edd M Hutter S Hutter-Braunsar) Muumlnster 11-26Beckman G M

1983 Hittite Birth Rituals (StBoT 29) WiesbadenBettini M

1986 Antropologia e cultura romana RomaBiggs R D

1993 ldquoDescent of Istar line 104rdquo NABU 199374Botteacutero J

1882 ldquoLes inscriptions cuneacuteiformes funeacuterairesrdquo La mort les morts dans le socieacuteteacutesancienne (edd G GnolindashJ-P Vernant) Paris 373-406

1883 ldquoLes morts et lrsquoau-delagrave dans les rituels en accadien contre lrsquoaction deslsquorevenantsrsquordquo ZA 73 153-203

Cavigneaux A2000 ldquoFragment drsquoeacuteleacutegierdquo RA 94 11-15

Cook A B1895 ldquoThe bee in Greek Mythologyrdquo JHS 15 1-24

del Monte G1973 ldquoIl terrore dei mortirdquo AION 33 373-3851975 ldquoLa fame dei mortirdquo AION 35 319-346

Ebeling E1931 Tod und Leben nach den Vorstellungen der Babylonier I Berlin und Leipzig

Fluumlckiger-Hawker E1999 Urnamma of Ur in Sumerian Literary Tradition Freiburg

Fortson B W1996 ldquoHittite huwalasrdquo Sprache 3871-75



Friedrich J1930 Staasvertraumlge des Hatti-Reiches in hethitischer Sprache 2 Leipzig

Gordon E I1967 ldquoThe Meaning of the Ideogram dKASKALKUR = lsquoUnderground Water-

Course and its Significance for Bronze Age Historical Geographyrdquo JCS 21 70-88

Groddek D2004 ldquoZum hattischen Sprachmaterial im KILAM-Festrdquo Sarnikzel (Gs

E Forrer) Dresden 331-338Haas V

1981 ldquoLeopard und Biene im Kulte lsquohethitischerrsquo Goumlttinen Betrachtungen zuKontinuitaumlt und Verbreitung altkleinasiatischer und nordsyrischer religioumlserVorstellungenrdquo Ugarit-Forschungen 13 101-116

1994 Geschichte der hethitischen Religion LeidenndashNew YorkndashKoumlln2003 Materia Magica et Medica Hethitica Berlin

Hawkins J D1995 The Hieroglyphic Inscription of the Sacred Pool Complex at Hattusa (SUumlDBURG)

(StBoT Beiheft 3) WiesbadenHertz R

1907 ldquoContribution agrave un eacutetude sur la repreacutesentation collective de la mortrdquoAnneacutee sociologique 10 48-137 (= R Hertz Death and the Right Hand NewYork 1960)

Hoffner H A1988 ldquoA Scene in the Realm of the Deadrdquo A Scientific Humanist (Gs

A Sachs) 191-1991990 Hittite Myths Atlanta

Hout Th van den1994 ldquoDeath as a Privilege The Hittite Royal Funerary Ritualrdquo Hidden Features

Death and Immortality in Ancient Egypt Anatolia the Classical Biblical and Arabic-Islamic World Amsterdam 37-75

1995 ldquoAn Image of the Dead Some remarks on the Second Day of the HittiteRoyal Funerary Ritualrdquo Atti del II Congresso Internazionale di Hittitologia(O CarrubandashM GiorgierindashC Mora edd) Pavia 195-211

2002 ldquoSelf Soul and Portrait in Hieroglyphic Luwianrdquo Silva Anatolica (Fs M Popko) Warsaw 171-186

Huntington R P Metcalf1979 Celebrations of Death Cambridge

Kammenhuber A1964 ldquoDie hethitischen Vorstellungen von Seele und Leib Herz und

Leibesinneren Kopf und Personrdquo ZA 56 150-2121965 ldquoDie hethitischen Vorstellungen von Seele und Leib Herz und

Leibesinneren Kopf und Personrdquo 2 Teil ZA 57 177-222Kassian A A Koroleumlv A Sideltrsquosev

2002 Hittite Funerary Ritual sallis wastais MuumlnsterKatz D

2003 The Image of the Netherworld in the Sumerian Sources BethesdaKatz J T

2001 ldquoHittite ta-pa-ka-li-yalt-as gtrdquo Anatolisch und Indogermanisch (O Carruba W Meid edd) 205-237

Kellens J2006 La quatriegraveme naissance de Zarathushtra Paris


194 alfonso archi

Kuumlmmel H M1967 Ersatzrituale fuumlr den hethitischen Koumlnig (StBoT 3) Wiesbaden

Lombardi A1999 ldquoUna festa per rsaquouwassanna celebrata da una regina ittitardquo SMEA

41 219-244Lombardi Satriani L M M Meligrana

1982 Il ponte di San Giacomo Lrsquoideologia della morte nella societagrave contadina delSud Milano

Lundstroumlm S2001 ldquolsquoWenn Du in die Unterwelt hinabsteigen willst rsquo Mesopotamische

Vorstellungen von der Ordnung der Unterweltrdquo KulturgeschichtenAltorientalische Studien (Fs V Haas) Saarbruumlcken 245-253

Malul M1993 ldquolsquoEating and drinking (onersquos) refusersquordquo NABU 199399

Marcovich M1976 ldquoThe Gold Leaf of Hipponionrdquo Zeitschrift fuumlr Papirologie und Epigraphic

23 221-224Meyer J-W

2001 ldquoZur Bedeutung der Bootsmodelle aus dem Alten Orientrdquo Kultur-geschichten Altorientalische Studien (Fs V Haas) Saarbruumlcken 267-283

Miller J L2004 Studies in the Origins Development and Interpretation of the Kizzuwatna

Rituals (StBoT 46) WiesbadenNilsson M P

1949 A History of Greek Religion2 OxfordOtten H

1958 Hethitische Totenrituale Berlin1976-1980 ldquoKASKALKURrdquo RlA 5 463-4641988 Die Bronzetafel aus Boltazkoumly Ein Staatsvertrag Tutcentalijas IV (StBoT

Beiheft 1) WiesbadenPopko M

2003 Das hethitische Ritual CTH 447 WarszawaPugliese Carratelli G

1974 ldquoUn sepolcro di Hipponion e un nuovo testo orficordquo La Parola delPassato 29 108-126

1993 Le lamine drsquooro lsquoorfichersquo MilanoPuhvel J

1969 ldquoMeadow of the Otherworld in Indo-European Traditionrdquo Zeitschriftfuumlr vergleichende Sprachforschung 83 64-69

1984 Hittite Etymological Dictionary 1 A 2 E and I Berlin2003 ldquoOf Loons and Legumesrdquo Hittite Studies in Honor of H A Hoffner

Winona Lake 325-328Sannino Pellegrini A

1998 Harsa La gioia dei serpenti BresciaSchuler E von

1957 Hethitische Dienstanweisungen (Archiv fuumlr Orientforschung Beiheft 10) GrazSelz G J

1995 ldquoDen Faumlhrmann bezahlen Eine lexikalisch-kulturhistorische Skizzezu den Bedeutungen von addirrdquo AoF 22 197-209

Singer I1984 The Hittite KILAM Festival Part Two (StBoT 28) Wiesbaden



Starke F1979 ldquorsaquoalmasuit im Anitta-Text und die hethitische Ideologie vom

Koumlnigtumrdquo ZA 69 47-1201996 ldquoZur lsquoRegierungrsquo des hethitischen Staatesrdquo Zeitschrift fuumlr Altorientalische

und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte 2 140-182Toraskar A N A Deshpande

1953 Nagravegagravenand of Hagravershagravedev BombayWatkins C

1995 How to Kill a Dragon Aspects of Indo-European Poetics New YorkndashOxfordWeniger L

1894-1897 ldquoMelissardquo Ausfuumlrliches Lexicon der griechischen und roumlmischen Mythologie 5(ed W H Roumlscher) Leipzig

West M L1966 Hesiod Theogony Oxford


170 alfonso archi

kind of viaticum (ldquomy good drinkrdquo) furnishes the certainty that inthe end it will attain a state of beatitude

The fragments KBo 22178 + KUB 48109 + 4360 (CTH 457)have been joined by H Hoffner who recognized that this text con-cerns the journey of the human soul in the realm of the dead(Hoffner 1988 191-199) The colophon does not indicate the pur-pose of this ritual but strangely only says that ldquotwo speeches arerecorded on this tabletrdquo (KUB 4360 IV 16rdquo)

The first speech starts in I 1 without introduction and contin-ues for all of the 37 preserved lines of col I It is not clear whetherthis first speech is interrupted by a ritual action or where the sec-ond speech begins About twenty lines in the second part of col I and the first five lines of col II are completely missing Thetwenty-three fragmentary lines which follow do not preserve evenone whole word (II 3rsquo) i-l[a-li- ] ldquodesi[re ]rdquo (cfr I 17) (5rsquo) li-l[i-wa- ] (7rsquo) li-li-w[a- ] ldquotravell[ing] quicklyrdquo (8rsquo) nu-za A-S[AR ] ldquothe pla[ce ] (Hoffner 1988 198 note 48) Therefollows a description of the continuation of the journey begun bythe soul in col I 26 There is then a lacuna of perhaps twenty-five lines The last ten lines of col II and the first eleven lines ofcol III describe the soul visiting the Netherworld these are fol-lowed by a lacuna KUB 4360 preserves twenty-nine fragmentarylines of the lower part of col III concerning the celebration of aritual It is impossible to understand what is going on the eagleand the river (ll 17-18) are mentioned (Hoffner 1988 198-199)KBo 22178 has some final signs of IV 8-12 ldquo ] drink (-y]a-tar e-ku) [ ] do not (le-e) [ rdquo (Hoffner 1988 192)

KUB 4360 IV the last written section of the tablet preservespart of the ritual This column is not completely written The rit-ual section looks therefore rather short which is anomalous

3rdquo [n]a-at GUgraveB-li-it ki-ltis-gts[a-ri-itar-ha e-ku-zi na4ZAGIgraveN 9 N[A4

5rdquo ta-an-na-ra-as an-da-ma-kaacuten NA4x[GIShu-u-la-li 1 GISBAL SA lt1gt GIacuteN KUgraveGI nu-us-sa-an

7rdquo SIacuteG GE6 an-da hu-u-la-li-an-za

7 GISsa-ma-ma 7 GISx-i-sa 7 GISGESTINrsaquoAacuteDDUA 7 sa-an-hu-u-wa-as

9rdquo na-at-kaacuten A-[N]A 1 GISti-i-piacute su-uh-ha-an-te-es17

na-at-kaacuten a[r- ]x-x-az da-a-i na-at ga-ra-a-piacute11rdquo 1 TUacuteGku-ri-es-sar x[ ] I-NA GISBANSUR ki-it-ta













172 alfonso archi










































174 alfonso archi























176 alfonso archi

















178 alfonso archi













Day 13




180 alfonso archi




















182 alfonso archi















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186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W






































172 alfonso archi










































174 alfonso archi























176 alfonso archi

















178 alfonso archi













Day 13




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182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W
















































174 alfonso archi























176 alfonso archi

















178 alfonso archi













Day 13




180 alfonso archi




















182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W







































176 alfonso archi

















178 alfonso archi













Day 13




180 alfonso archi




















182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



































178 alfonso archi













Day 13




180 alfonso archi




















182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W


































Day 13




180 alfonso archi




















182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



























180 alfonso archi




















182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W


































182 alfonso archi















184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



































184 alfonso archi














186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W

































186 alfonso archi













188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



























186 alfonso archi







JANER 72_f4_169-196III 22708 548 PM 6






188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W
































188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi











JANER 72_f4_169-196III 22708 548 PM 0










192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



























188 alfonso archi















priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



































priest) calls


190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



























190 alfonso archi





















192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W




































192 alfonso archi


Bibliography










































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W





















































194 alfonso archi









23 221-224Meyer J-W



























The soul has to live the land of the living

Documents

Transcript of The soul has to live the land of the living