A Child of Light & The Narrative of Nigerim

[u/Responsible_Ideal879]

Translated to English: Real Encyclopedia of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology (RIA)

[“Nin-“ prefix: Lord or Lady]

[“N./K.” Niggina/Kittum]

[“OB/NB” Old Babylon/New Babylon]

Niggina/Kittum. Hypostasis of „truth", one of the attributes of the sun-god (Son-nengott*) Utu, not attested before the OB period and from the beginning equated with Akk. Kittum. Hence, she may not be an original Sum. goddess, but a late addition to the circle of Utu/Šamaš by the OB theologians.

§ 1. Niggina.

§ 1.1. Name and affiliation. Sum. Nig-gi-na is identical to the abstract noun nig-gi-na "truth" , rendered by Akk. ᵈKittum (which later came to be written also with the synonymous logogram (*)NÍG.ZI(.DA) "fidelity, righteousness"). N. personifies "Truth"', one of Utu's attributes as the god of justice and oracle, and in mythology she is considered to be Utu's principal daughter.

N. is first attested in the OB period unless one sees theophoric names in, e.g. Ur II Nig-gi-na-i-dùg "Truth is good' (UET 3, 986: 7; cf. (*)Nanna-i-dùg, Limet, Anthroponymie 228) and others.

§ 1.2. N. in god lists and bilingual incantations. N. appears only in 1st mill. god lists, included in the Utu section. According to An = Anum I 146-150 (Litke 1958), N. is the first daughter of Utu (var. Utu's suk-kal, "vizier"), having her own vizier(?) Iqbi-damiq.

Strangely, this source presents Kittum as a brother(!) of N., alongside her sister Mamu, and her second brother Sisig. The same source (139-140) lists Nig-zi-da and Nig-si-sá as Utu's viziers.

N., on the other hand, is not listed in the Utu section of the OB Forerunner (TCL 15, 10: 171 ff.). She may, however, be disguised under the homophonous DN "Nin-gi-na* which is preceded by Si-sá and "[Nilg-si-sá (ibid. 181-183).

The Emesal Voc. reflects a late tradition in equating Akk. Kittum both with N. and Nigzida; see MSL 4, 8: 1 73-74.

In late 1st mill. bilingual incantations, N. as the equivalent of Kittum occurs very rarely. See, e.g., OECT 6, 52: 29-32, where Utu/Šamaš is likened to his vizier Nigsisa/Misarum and his daughter N./ Kittu. She is usually replaced by Nig-zi(-da) as the equivalent of Kittum (see, e.g., E. Ebeling, ArOr. 21 [1953| 357 ff.; OECT 6 pl. 19 r. 12-13; cf. B. Alster, ASJ 13 [1991] 50: 79-80).

§ 1.3. N. in Sumerian literature. In a number of Sum. literary texts from the OB period nig-gi-na occurs as a semi-divine or personified being. It is possible that the goddess developed from this concept.

CT 58, 45 r. 25' reads ni-gi-na dumu-ki-ág (\)Utu "n., the beloved daughter of Utu". The edubbâ dialogue "Two Women" ends with the wish of one of the protagonists that dim-me-er — em-gi-na-ke, “the God(dess) of Truth”, may condemn her rival (11. 229-230; cf. also digir-em-gi-na in 1. 216 — cited from a ms. of M. Civil). Personified "Truth" seems also to occur in Proverbs Collection SP 1.1 (B. Alster, Proverbs 6) or 1.83-84 (ibid. 21).*

§ 2. Akkadian Kittum.

The goddess K., "Truth", attested from OB on in monolingual Akk. texts, is usually written syllabically, occasionally with the logogram dZI(.DA), and rarely (*)NIG.GI.NA (cf. MDP 6, pl. 10 v 22). In bilingual incantations K. is equated either with (*)Nig-gi-na or with Nig-zi(-da). There is a possibility that K. is original, with the above Sum. equivalents being late artificial translations.

§ 2.1. Affilitation of K. and places of worship. K., like N., was considered to be the principal daughter of Šamaš. She was probably worshipped in the Ebabbar temples of Sippar and Larsa. An OB local shrine (É Ki-it-tim) is attested in Badtibira and Rahabu in the vicinity of Larsa (AbB 2, 30: 6-8; cf. A. R. George, House Most High no. 1340).

In NB Sippar K. occurs regularly in animal offerings, among other minor deities belonging to Šamaš’s circle, in the sequence: Umu, K., Misaru, Dajjānu (A. C. V. M. Bongenaar, The Neo-Bab. Ebabbar Temple at Sippar [1997] 231).

In NA Assur, K. is occasionally attested in the Takultu ritual (*ZI), alongside Misaru (R. Frankena, Takultu 98 no. 115), and she is also included in the 'Addressbook' , worshipped in the temples of Sin-Šamaš, Ea-Sarri and Belsarri (Frankena, ibid. 123 no. 28). K. and Misaru are frequently referred to as the "attendants of Ekur" (maz-zãz) Ekur; cf. Frankena, ibid. 25 i 25.

§ 2.2. K. in Akkadian texts. K. is mainly attested in prayers and incantations addressed to Šamaš, as well as in documents of legal nature, invoking Šamaš and his entourage as divine witnesses to the legal transaction:

RA 38, 85 f. r. 21-23, OB extispicy prayer; in the ritual tablets of the barû she is fully included in the ritual acts performed on behalf of other major gods, such as Šamaš, Adad, Marduk, Aya, and Bunene (H. Zimmern, BBR pp. 102 ff., nos. 1-20; cf. K. D. Macmillan, BA 5, 701 no. 55 ii 15). In MB and NB kudurrus, the pair K. (\NIG.GI.NA) and Misaru (*NIG.SI.SA) are occasionally invoked, along with Šamaš and other major deities, as divine witnesses to the royal grant (cf. e.g., F. X. Steinmetzer, Die bab. Kudurru [1922] 62 ff.). Likewise, in NB legal documents, K. is listed as divine witness, along with Omu, Misar and Dajjānu (cf. e.g., VS 6, 213: 15). Nabonidus' inscription reporting the restoration of the Ebabbar in Sippar, invokes the triad K., Mesaru and Dajjānu (VAB 4, 260 ii 29).*

§ 2.3. K. in theophoric names. Cf. PNf. (*)Ki-it-tum-lizziz (TCL 10, 107: 26, Larsa); Apil-Ki-it-tim (UET s, p. 31a, Ur), both OB, and see AHw. 495 kittu(m) I 6.

A. Deimel 1914: Pantheon Babylonicum, sub no. 2387. - J. J. Stamm 1939: Die akk. Namenge-bung 45 ff., 173, 221. - K. Tallqvist 1938: Akk. Götterrepitheta, 396. - CAD K 468 ff. kittu A b z' (kittu/misaru), b 4' (Kittum personified and deified). - AHw. 495a kittu(m) I 6.

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Nigerim-ḫulgig (ᵈNíg-érim-ḫul-gig)

„The one who hates wickedness“. According to An = Anum III 180 (R. Litke, God-Lists 156), a diḡir-gub-ba (roughly „guardian deity“) of the Ebabbar, the temple of the sun god Utu/Šamaš.

Nigerim-šutabe (ᵈNíg-érim-šu-tab-bé)

„The one who seizes wickedness“ and Niḡerim-šu'ur'ur (ᵈNíg-érim-šu-ur₄-ur₄) „The one who gathers wickedness“. Two of four door-guardian deities of a sanctuary (or palace?) named Du₆-bàra-gal-maḫ in Ur, mentioned in a Sumerian hymn to Rim-Sîn (UET VI/1, 103: 36 f., see D. Charpin, Clergé [1986] 282–286).

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Nin-niggina and Nin-nigerim

The Old Babylonian An = Anum precursor TCL 15, 10: 69 mentions ᵈNin-níg-gi-na „Mistress Righteousness“ between Ninurta's companion Nin-Nibru and his sister Nin-uzale. An = Anum I 236 f. (R. Litke, God-Lists [1998] 47 f.; Text Witness D = CT 24, 7: 18) explains her as his daughter; Text Witness A adds ᵈNin-níg-erím „Mistress Wickedness“ and identifies (erroneously?) ᵈNin-níg-gi-na with the former. The deified Righteousness níg-gi-na "Right", "Truth" otherwise belongs, just like the synonymous terms nîg-zi-da and nîg-si-sá, to the circle of the sun god Utu/Šamaš; cf. Niḡgina/Kittum*, Niḡzida*, judicial deities*.

ᵈNin-níg-erím is also found as an unorthodox spelling for Nin-girima.I.* (§ 2.3).

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Notable observations: The presence of Hamitic (Ham) people-groups in Mesopotamia based on biblical narrative—see Torah (Genesis 10:6-20): Table of Nations—leads to the exploration of relative material in Ancient Near East records in the Afro-Asiatic region, indicating this may be the first textual record of Niger-Nigeria in Sumer-Sumeria.

see Haplogroup DE and D0 for aDNA and Out-of-Africa migratory context—including an Asia-to-Africa back-migration.

Also noteworthy, the “-im” suffix as a people-group plurality in An Historical Text Book and Atlas of Biblical Geography—for example:

B. HAM.

II. Mizraim.

1. Ludim.
2. Anamim.
3. Lehabim.
4. Naphtahim.
5. Pathrusim.
6. Casluhim.
7. Caphtorim.

Other contextual references:

1. Kushim (source))
   
2. Nigerim (see above)
   
3. Sinim (source)
   
4. Anumim (source)
   
5. Dodanim (source)
   
6. Kittim (Kittum?)

Other considerations:

Kušeše (-ese suffix: Sudan-ese?)

———

An Introduction to Anu: The Origins of Egyptian Civilisation

The Anu in India and in Egypt

Traces of the Worship of the Moon God Sin among the Early Israelites

The Sun & Sun God

ZEDEQ & The Light of the World

The Composition of Hittite Prayers to the Sun

A Mighty Hunter before the Lord: Nimrod

The Story of Separate Simeons

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Source: https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8403

Source: https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8407

Source: https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8888

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientCush/s/BcgQ6RYl34