Nipas

Nipas' name was rendered as Ni-pá-as in cuneiform.[3] According to Piotr Taracha, it most likely originated in a language he refers to as a "central Anatolian substrate", similar to these of other local deities of Kanesh: Ḫariḫari, Ḫigiša, Parka, Tuḫtuḫani and possibly Anna.[1] Guido Kryszat instead connects it with the Hittite word nepis, "heaven".[4] This explanation is also accepted by authors such as Manfred Hutter[5] and Gojko Barjamovic.[6] However, it has been criticized by Daniel Schwemer, who argues that as a neuter noun, this word would be an unusual theonym, and additionally points out that to accept Kryszat's view one has to assume the word preserved the initial n as in Hittite, but developed the same suffix as its Luwian cognate, which starts with a t.[7]

Nipas might have been was a weather god, though the deity represented by the logogram ^dIM in texts from Kanesh is more likely to be Hittite Tarḫunna than him.[8]

It has been proposed that seals from Kanesh showing a family of deities might depict Nipas and Anna accompanied by divine children, but this interpretation is far from certain.[9]

Since Nipas, Anna and Parka appear particularly often in known texts from Kanesh from the karum period, it is possible that they formed the core of the local pantheon.[10] Guido Kryszat outright refers to him as the most important deity of this city next to Anna.[8] Despite their prominence, these deities are largely absent from theophoric names.[4]

A temple dedicated to Nipas existed in Kanesh.[11] A festival held in his honor is also attested.[12] It is presumed it occurred in the fourth month in the contemporary Assyrian calendar, in which the year started in October.[13] It took place after the festival of Anna,[14] the city goddess.[15] The local ruler visited Nipas' temple during it.[14] In one text, "when the ruler leaves the temple of Nipas" is the date by which a loan has to be repaid.[16]

A priest of Nipas named Šulili is mentioned in a single document.[17] However, the name is otherwise unattested in the entire corpus of texts from this site.[9]

Nipas is not attested in any Hittite texts postdating the Kanesh tablets.[14] Later Assyrian texts similarly do not mention him in any capacity.[3] The reasons behind his apparent loss of relevance are not known.[4]