Ḫapantali

Ḫapantali is considered a deity of Luwian origin by researchers.[2] Volkert Haas initially suggested that her name was related to the Hittite words ḫap(a)-, "river", and ḫapati-, "river land".[3] However, later he concluded that it was instead derived from Luwian ḫawa, "sheep".[4] The latter proposal is also supported by Manfred Hutter.[5] If this assumption is correct, it is possible the name can be translated as "shepherd".[6] In an earlier publication John G. McMahon attributes Hattic origin to her instead,[7] but according to Haas this is implausible.[8] He argues that cases where Ḫapantali appears in Hattian texts reflect early contact between the two groups, similarly to references to Hattian Šulinkatte in Luwian texts.[6]

McMahon refers to Ḫapantali as a male deity.[7] However, Haas pointed out that her gender is confirmed by a ritual text from Maşat Höyük, HKM 116, which refers to her as with the feminine title "queen of remedies", waššiyaš MUNUS.LUGAL-aš.[9] The view that she was a goddess is also supported by Hutter[5] and Piotr Taracha.[10]

Ḫapantali has been described as a "shepherd goddess",[10] a characterization supported by her portrayal in myths, where she is responsible for a herd of sheep belonging to the Luwian sun god Tiwaz.[5] She also appears in two rituals meant to pacify angry deities through the burning of wood, one focused on Telipinu and the other on Ḫannaḫanna.[11] In the latter, documented in the text KUB 33.45+, she is responsible for providing a type of wood, karšani, and for burning it in a hearth, which is meant to result in the rage of the other goddess involved similarly burning up.[12]

Oldest attestations of Ḫapantali come from the Old Assyrian period.[7] In the texts from Kanesh, she is attested in a number of theophoric names.[13] In later periods she is particularly well attested in texts dealing with festivals and in treaties.[7] In the list of deities worshiped during the KI.LAM festival, Ḫapantali appears alongside Inar.[14] She is one of the only deities mentioned in it whose origin was not Hattian.[15] Vessels in the shape of boars and leopards were used in the cult of Ḫapantali and Inar.[16] These two goddesses were closely associated with each other,[17] and appear together in various ritual texts.[3] Due to their frequent association, it has been argued that presence of Ḫapantali next to a deity designated by the sumerogram ^dLAMMA makes it possible to presume Inar was meant instead of any other Hittite or Luwian deities who could also be designated by it, such as Kammamma.[18] However, Ḫapantali could be perceived as a deity belonging to the category of ^dLAMMA (so-called "tutelary deities"[19]) herself too.[20] She appears in a number of Hittite treaties as one of the members of this group.[21] She commonly occurs next to Karzi in this context.[22] Examples where she appears as one of the divine witnesses include the treaties between Šuppiluliuma I and rulers such as Huqqana of Hayasa,[23] Shattiwaza of Mittanni[24] and Tette of Nuhašše,[25] between Muršili II and Tuppi-Teshub of Amurru,[26] Niqmepa of Ugarit[27] and Manapa-Tarhunta of the Seha River,[28] between Ḫattušili III and Ulmi-Teshub of Tarḫuntašša,[29] and between Tudḫaliya IV and Kurunta, another ruler of the same polity.[30] Based on these texts it is presumed she continued to be worshiped until the end of the Hittite Empire.[31]

In myths, Ḫapantali typically acts as an assistant of Kamrušepa, in contrast with her connection with Inar documented in other sources.[3] She could also be associated with Kamrušepa's husband, the Luwian sun god Tiwaz, and she takes care of his sheep in the myth of Telipinu's disappearance.[5] In the same composition, she is also among the deities who gather under a tree while Kamrušepa purifies Telipinu.[32]

In the myth The Moon that Fell from Heaven, also known as When the Storm God thunders Frightfully,[33] Ḫapantali appears to recite a spell after the events described in the title.[34] The original version of the myth was written in Hattic, though a Hittite translation is also known; the eponymous deities are accordingly the moon good Kašku and the weather god Taru in Hattic and their counterparts Arma and Tarḫunna in Hittite.[35]