Hendursaga

File:Gudea tablet Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.jpg

Dedication tablet by Gudea, Governor of Lagash: "For Hendursaga, his master, Gudea, ruler of Lagash, built his house."Template:Sfn Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin.

Hendursaga (𒀭𒉺𒊕, ^Dḫendur-saŋ), also spelled HendursangaTemplate:Sfn or Endursaga (𒀭𒉺𒊕𒂷, ^Dḫendur-saŋ-ŋa₂) was a Mesopotamian god. He was regarded as a divine night watchman. He was commonly associated with the goddess Nanshe. In a number of god lists, he was equated with the similar Akkadian god Ishum.

Character

The etymology of the name Hendursaga is uncertain. However, it is possible it was related to his functions and can be translated from Sumerian as "torch (or staff) bearer who goes in front."Template:Sfn The word ḫendur is otherwise unattested, but it is assumed that it is related to Akkadian ḫuṭāru, a type of staff.Template:Sfn

Hendursaga was a divine watchman.Template:Sfn He has been characterized as a "protective god with a friendly face."Template:Sfn Attested epithets attributed only to him include "chief herald," "watchman of the street," and "lamp of the people," applied only to him, as well as "chief herald," "high constable," "herald of the silent street," and "herald of the silent night," and "hero who goes about at night," shared with Ishum.Template:Sfn The text Marduk's address to demons refers to him as "the god who wanders the thoroughfares."Template:Sfn According to Andrew R. George, the word nimgir/nāgiru, present in many of these epithets, which is conventionally translated as "herald." in this context should be understood as "constable," "town cryer" or "night watchman."Template:Sfn

Associations with other deities

Starting in the Old Babylonian period, Hendursaga came to be equated with Ishum in bilingual contexts, with the former appearing in Sumerian and the latter in Akkadian formulas.Template:Sfn They were also equated with each other in the Weidner and Nippur God lists,Template:Sfn and such an equation may also be attested in a copy of An = Anum, though due to state of preservation and possible scribal errors this is uncertain.Template:Sfn Another god closely related to both of them was Engidudu, who was the divine guardian of the Tabira Gate in the city of Assur.Template:Sfn In the Epic of Erra, Engidudu is used as an alternate name for Ishum.Template:Sfn

Hendursaga was also closely associated with Nanshe.Template:Sfn According to a hymn dedicated to him, she bestowed his functions, as well as his insignia, a staff (or perhaps a torch) upon him.Template:Sfn Hendursaga was also believed to have served as her advisor and cooperate with her steward Enniglulu.Template:Sfn

In a hymn to Nanshe, Hendursaga is called a son of Utu.Template:Sfn

It is possible that in the third millennium BCE, his wife was Dumuziabzu, the tutelary goddess of Kinunir (Kinirsha), a city in the state of Lagash, though in that period family relations between deities were often particularly fluid or uncertain.Template:Sfn In a later tradition his wife was Ninmug, a goddess of crafts and birth from Kisiga.Template:Sfn This was a secondary development based on the equivalence between him and Ishum, whose spouse Ninmug usually was.Template:Sfn

In a Sumerian hymn to Hendursaga, he is stated as being assisted by three groups of seven attendants.Template:Sfn This first group of seven is described in detail in the hymn. They were known as "warriors", and it is theorized that this heptad is related to the Sebitti heptad which developed in later times.Template:Sfn It is unclear if they are animal hybrids, or instead magical animals.Template:Sfn Each is associated with one specific creature: A fox, dog, two birds (one described as pecking at insects, possibly a raven, the other huge vulture, devouring carrion), wolf, nin-imma bird (probably an owl) and a shark.Template:Sfn

Worship

Hendursaga was one of the deities chiefly associated with the area controlled by the state of Lagash.Template:Sfn

A chapel of Hendursaga might had existed in Ur, next to one possibly dedicated to Ninshubur.Template:Sfn Identification of both of these sanctuaries is based on inscribed mace heads found during excavations.Template:Sfn However, it has also been argued that these objects might have no cultic function.Template:Sfn

According to a hymn dedicated to Hendursaga, it was believed that lighting a torch and invoking his name guaranteed safe passage through city streets at night.Template:Sfn An incantation implores him for protection from demons, including galla, maškim, udug and "evil lamma."Template:Sfn While the lamma was normally understood as a type of benevolent protective minor goddess,Template:Sfn multiple references to "evil lamma" (^dlama hul) are also known, though they are uncommon.Template:Sfn An "evil lamma" is listed in a similar enumeration of demons in a text dedicated to the medicine goddess Ninisina.Template:Sfn

External links

• A hymn to Ḫendursaĝa (Ḫendursaĝa A) in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature