Nikkal
is a Goddess of Ugarit/Canaan, and Phoenicia. Her name is said to
derive from the Akkadian/West Semitic words 'Ilat
and 'Inbi
and means 'Goddess of Fruit' or 'Great Lady and Bright'. She is also
known as 'Ib,
Ugaritic for 'the Blossom' or 'the Fruitful One'. In Sumeria she was
worshipped as Nin-gal (Lady of the Temple).
Ningal/Nikkal
is the wife of Nanna/Sin/Yarikh (the moon/moon god) who causes dew to
fall each night to water Nikkal's trees so that they will thrive -
important for the goddess of orchards, specifically olive, fig,
apple, pistachio, walnut and almond trees!
She
is also the goddess of the fruitful earth, and of human fertility.
Her own fertility in the heiros
gamos
(Sacred Marriage) assures earthly abundance. Nikkal was believed
especially to manifest herself during the new moon after harvest, and
this was the time of her major celebration, although some sources
claim her current feast day is 13th March. She shares her main
characteristics with many other goddesses, particularly in her
association with the heiros
gamos
and the importance of the rite for earthly and human fertility. And
of course, the link between the Divine Feminine and the Moon is a
strong and nice one.
Nikkal's
father was the King of Summer, Khirkhibi, also known as Hiribi or
Harhab, who had not wanted his daughter to marry Yarikh and suggested
that instead Yarikh should marry one of the daughters of Ba'al and
Astarte, either Pidraya (the Goddess of Lightning) or Yabarodmay.
However, he was persuaded by a generous bride-price of a thousand
pieces of silver, ten thousand pieces of gold, and necklaces of
lapis-lazuli! There is in some texts a suggestion that Nikkal was the
daughter of Dagon of Tuttul, the Philistine god of grain and/or fish,
but in briefly researching him I have not found any reference to a
daughter.
Nikkal
is associated with the Kathirat/Kothirot (the Skilful Ones) -
goddesses who act as divine midwives - and was the mother of
Inanna/Ishtar (the Queen of Heaven), Ereshkigal (Queen both of the
Great Earth and of the Underworld), and Shamash (also known as
Shapash or Utu, the Sun God).
The
most ancient surviving annotated piece of music, albeit incomplete,
is a hymn inscribed in Ugaritic cuneiform syllabic writing on clay
tablets excavated from the Royal Palace in Ugarit (present day Ras
Shamra, in northern Syria) and first published in 1955. It is in the
Hurrian dialect, dates from approximately 1400 B.C.E. and is
dedicated to Nikkal (Nikkalu in Ugaritic). It is also known as the
''Hurrian Cult Hymn' or a 'Zaluzi to the Gods', or, simply, 'h.6'.
The composer/author is unknown. The tablet also contains instructions
for a singer accompanied by a nine-stringed sammûm (harp or
lyre).
The
text of the Hymn to Nikkal has been difficult to translate, due to a
lack of knowledge of the local Ugarit dialect (Hurrian) and the
condition of the tablets, from which some fragments are missing; but
it is believed clearly to be a religious song concerning offerings to
the Goddess Nikkal. The best published translation so far is this:
I
will bring ... in the form of lead at the right foot of the divine
throne.
I
will purify ... and change the sinfulness.
Once
sins are no longer covered and need no longer be changed,
I
feel well having accomplished the sacrifice.
Once
I have endeared the Goddess she will love me in her heart.
The
offering I bring may wholly cover my sin;
bringing
sesame oil may work on my behalf.
In
awe may I ...
The
sterile may they make fertile, grain may they bring forth.
She,
the wife, will bear to the father.
May
she who has not yet borne children bear them.
There
is another hymn or song associated with Nikkal, this time telling the
story of her wedding to Yarikh. It is thought that this was recited
or sung at weddings in Ugarit, similar to the use of the Song of
Songs, part of which we used at our own wedding. The song invokes the
power of the myth for the wedding and the marriage, and also contains
the prophecy of the birth of a son, which is reminiscent the
prophecies of Isaiah (7.4: A virgin shall conceive...) which it most
likely pre-dates. It is interesting that Nikkal is here described as
the daughter of the Katharat - a plurality of motherhood!
Let
me sing of Nikkal-an-Ib, the daughter of the King of Summer:
At
the setting of the sun, Yarikh became inflamed,
he
embraced her, who was born of the Katharat.
Hear,
goddesses, Katharat, O daughters of Ellil, the Bright Ones:
Lo,
the sacred bride will bear a son.
Yarikh,
the luminary of the heavens, sent a message
to Harhab, the King of Summer: give me Nikkal!
to Harhab, the King of Summer: give me Nikkal!
The
Katharat say: Give Nikkal! Yarikh would pay the bride-price of 'Ib;
let
her enter his household.
Yarikh
shall give her dowry to her father, a thousand of silver,
and
ten thousand of gold!
Yarikh
shall send gems of lapis lazuli;
he
shall turn her steppe-lands into vineyards,
the
steppe-land of her love into orchards!
But
Harhab, King of Summer, replied:
O
most gracious of the gods, become son-in-law to Ba'al; wed Pidray his
daughter.
I
shall introduce you to her father Ba'al; Athtar will intercede;
he
will betroth you to Yabradmay, his father's daughter the lion will
arouse!
But
Yarikh, the luminary of the heavens, replied:
With
Nikkal will be my wedding!
Her
father set the beams of the scales, her mother set the trays of the
scales;
her
brothers arranged the ingots, her sisters the stones of the scales.
Nikkal
it is of whom I sing.
Bright
is Yarikh; may Yarikh shine on you!
I
sing of the goddesses, the Katharat,
daughters
of Ellil, lord of Gamlu, the Bright Ones,
who
go down to the nut groves and among the olive groves.
To
the Compassionate, God of Mercy,
Lo,
in my mouth is their number, on my lips is the sum of them,
O
thou, established as her dot and dowry;
from
her, Wise Women, cut off from her the fruit with care, O Katharat.
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