Information about the Hittites

Royal Funerary Rituals Royal Funerary Rituals

Otten, Heinrich, Hethitische Totenrituale, Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin Institut für Orientforschung, Veröffentlichung 37, 1958.

Introduction

Days 1 and 2

§1
If a Great¹ Calamity occurs in Hattusa - (namely) the king or the queen becomes a god (i.e. dies):

§2
Everyone - great and small - takes away their drinking tubes^? from themselves,² and they begin to weep.

§3
On the day on which he³ becomes a god they will do the following: They will offer a plow ox of exhaltation to the soul of that one.⁴

§4
They will cut it open at the head (of the deceased), speaking thusly: "Just as you have become, so may this one, too, now become in the same way! May you unite (lit. "turn") your soul with this ox!

§5
Then they bring a HAB.HAB-vessel of wine. They libate it to the soul of that one. Then they break it.

§6
When it becomes night, they wave one goat over the deceased, at the same time⁵ speaking thusly:

Rest of Col. I lost.

The goat was probably a recepticle for evil things, and it would next have been destroyed.

Col. II

§7'
Then for him a drink/they drink^? [. . .]
Whether from a silver cup [. . .]

§8'
Another kiln-fired^? cup [. . .]
they set. And [. . .]
Name^? [. . .]
When for him [. . .]
Then before the table^? [. . .]
on [. . .]
And for the deceased him [. . .]

§9'
While drinking^? [. . .]
He will drink in exactly that way. [. . .]

§10'
Then for that one [. . .]
They will pass the night sleepless [. . .]
In the morning [. . .]

§11'
Tablet 1 - Not complete. [When] a Great Calamity [occurs in Hattusa . . .]

§12'
When [a Great Calamity occurs in Hattusa], (namely) the king [or the queen becomes] a god:

§13'
The days [. . .] On what day he became a god, [. . .] is not observed. [. . .] And it/them [. . .]

§14'
And fire [. . .]
the days [. . .]

§15'
Of a burning [. . .]

§16'
In the morning [. . .]
of^? an image [. . .]

Day 2⁶
(KUB 30.15 + KUB 39.19)

§1
When it dawns on the 2^nd day, the women go to the fire pits to gather up the bones. They extinguish the fire by means of 10 vessels of beer, 10 vessels of wine, and 10 vessels of walhi-beverage.

§2
1 huppar-vessel of silver weighing 1/2 mina - namely^? 20 (shekels) - is filled with fine oil. They take each bone by means of a silver tong^?, and they place them in the fine oil in the silver huppar-vessel. They take them up from the fine oil, and they place them down on a kazzarnuli-cloth. A delicate garment is lying beneath the cloth.

§3
When they finish gathering up the bones, they cover them with the cloth and the delicate garment. They place them on a chair for sitting. If it is a woman, they place them on a stool.⁷

§4
In what fire pits the deceased is burned, they put down 12 thick breads around those fire pits. They put oiled bread on the thick bread. The fire is already extinguished by means of the beer and wine. On what chair the bones are placed, they place a table down before that chair. They give warm breads, GÚG-legume breads, and sweet breads for breaking. The cooks and the table men set the first course. (Then) they take up the first (course), and whoever has come to gather up the bones, they give the food to them all.

§5
They give to drink 3 times. They drink the soul of that one on those 3 times. The thick bread and the INANNA-instrument is not done. [. . .] [The holding/handling] of the fire pits [is finished.]

§6
Next, they proceed in the following way. Amongst the fire pits the women [. . .] outline the image of the person with figs, raisons, and olives. They place fruit, parhwena of the gods, poppy^?, a walla-leg part of the right (side), and a wool tuft of a yanda-sheep in the outline (lit. "place").

§7
They pour out beer in the midst of the image. Then they place hiwasiwalla thick bread of 3 SATI in it. The Old Woman takes a scale. She puts all the silver, gold, and stones on one, and she puts mortar on the other.

§8
The Old Woman speaks thusly to her companion, calling the deceased by name: "(Some)one will bring the one thusly named. Who will bring him?" And a companion will say to her: "The men of Hatti - the uruhha-men - they bring him." And that one says: "May they not bring him!" And the companion says to her: "Take the silver (and) the gold for yourself!" And that one says, "I will not take it for myself!" And she will speak just so three times.

§9
On the third time the (first) one will speak thusly: "I will take the mortar for myself." And she will break up the scales, and she will hold it (i.e. the silver, gold, and stones?) towards the Sun. She sings. She begins to wail.

§10
Hiwasiwala thick bread each [. . .] into the midst of the image [. . .] whoever [. . .] thick bread that one kneels^?. And thick bread [. . .]

§11
They put [. . .] in the midst of [. . .] And that form of fruits [. . .]
And them like 10 minas^? they finish [. . .]
She offers to the Sun Goddess of the Earth. They the ashes with fine oil [. . .]
This fire pit [. . .]

§12
They send 2 oxen and twice 9 sheep from the palace. 1 ox and 9 sheep they offer to the Sun Goddess of the Earth. 1 ox and 9 sheep they offer to the soul of the deceased. They take up the bones. Them from the pyre [. . .]
They carry them into the Stone House. In the inner chamber of the Stone House they spread out beddings. They take the bones off of the chair, and they put them on the spreadings of the bed. A lamp [. . .] they put x shekels of x with oil before the bones. Then they offer 1 ox and 1 sheep to the soul of the deceased.

§13
Later into what houses they carry the deceased [. . .]
[. . .] 1 ox and 9 sheep they offer thusly there:

Notes

¹ "Great" often specifically applies to the royal family.

² i.e. denies themselves of the pleasures of life?

³ The Hittite pronoun and verbal case endings do not distinguish between male and female. I have chosen male over using "he/she" because other indicators in the text point to this being more appropriate. Where a chair for men versus a stool for women is used elsewhere in the text, the generic word settled upon by the texts is the masculine chair. Nevertheless, the reader should remember that this ritual could be used for either a man or a woman.

⁴ Plows and a sample of meadow land are given in other texts.

⁵ Temporal use of anda.

⁶ In this version, the body must have been cremated on the first day.

⁷ While it may be possible that the distinction between chairs and stools may have in some way signified the superiority of the male over the female, it would be much better to restrict our understanding here to the direct significance of these clauses: Chair vs. stool is a division between symbols of masculinity and femininity, and is not a judgement of worth.

					Why?
	Royal Funerary Rituals Royal Funerary Rituals Otten, Heinrich, Hethitische Totenrituale, Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin Institut für Orientforschung, Veröffentlichung 37, 1958. Introduction Days 1 and 2 §1 If a Great¹ Calamity occurs in Hattusa - (namely) the king or the queen becomes a god (i.e. dies): §2 Everyone - great and small - takes away their drinking tubes^? from themselves,² and they begin to weep. §3 On the day on which he³ becomes a god they will do the following: They will offer a plow ox of exhaltation to the soul of that one.⁴ §4 They will cut it open at the head (of the deceased), speaking thusly: "Just as you have become, so may this one, too, now become in the same way! May you unite (lit. "turn") your soul with this ox! §5 Then they bring a HAB.HAB-vessel of wine. They libate it to the soul of that one. Then they break it. §6 When it becomes night, they wave one goat over the deceased, at the same time⁵ speaking thusly: Rest of Col. I lost. The goat was probably a recepticle for evil things, and it would next have been destroyed. Col. II §7' Then for him a drink/they drink^? [. . .] Whether from a silver cup [. . .] §8' Another kiln-fired^? cup [. . .] they set. And [. . .] Name^? [. . .] When for him [. . .] Then before the table^? [. . .] on [. . .] And for the deceased him [. . .] §9' While drinking^? [. . .] He will drink in exactly that way. [. . .] §10' Then for that one [. . .] They will pass the night sleepless [. . .] In the morning [. . .] §11' Tablet 1 - Not complete. [When] a Great Calamity [occurs in Hattusa . . .] §12' When [a Great Calamity occurs in Hattusa], (namely) the king [or the queen becomes] a god: §13' The days [. . .] On what day he became a god, [. . .] is not observed. [. . .] And it/them [. . .] §14' And fire [. . .] the days [. . .] §15' Of a burning [. . .] §16' In the morning [. . .] of^? an image [. . .] Day 2⁶ (KUB 30.15 + KUB 39.19) §1 When it dawns on the 2^nd day, the women go to the fire pits to gather up the bones. They extinguish the fire by means of 10 vessels of beer, 10 vessels of wine, and 10 vessels of walhi-beverage. §2 1 huppar-vessel of silver weighing 1/2 mina - namely^? 20 (shekels) - is filled with fine oil. They take each bone by means of a silver tong^?, and they place them in the fine oil in the silver huppar-vessel. They take them up from the fine oil, and they place them down on a kazzarnuli-cloth. A delicate garment is lying beneath the cloth. §3 When they finish gathering up the bones, they cover them with the cloth and the delicate garment. They place them on a chair for sitting. If it is a woman, they place them on a stool.⁷ §4 In what fire pits the deceased is burned, they put down 12 thick breads around those fire pits. They put oiled bread on the thick bread. The fire is already extinguished by means of the beer and wine. On what chair the bones are placed, they place a table down before that chair. They give warm breads, GÚG-legume breads, and sweet breads for breaking. The cooks and the table men set the first course. (Then) they take up the first (course), and whoever has come to gather up the bones, they give the food to them all. §5 They give to drink 3 times. They drink the soul of that one on those 3 times. The thick bread and the INANNA-instrument is not done. [. . .] [The holding/handling] of the fire pits [is finished.] §6 Next, they proceed in the following way. Amongst the fire pits the women [. . .] outline the image of the person with figs, raisons, and olives. They place fruit, parhwena of the gods, poppy^?, a walla-leg part of the right (side), and a wool tuft of a yanda-sheep in the outline (lit. "place"). §7 They pour out beer in the midst of the image. Then they place hiwasiwalla thick bread of 3 SATI in it. The Old Woman takes a scale. She puts all the silver, gold, and stones on one, and she puts mortar on the other. §8 The Old Woman speaks thusly to her companion, calling the deceased by name: "(Some)one will bring the one thusly named. Who will bring him?" And a companion will say to her: "The men of Hatti - the uruhha-men - they bring him." And that one says: "May they not bring him!" And the companion says to her: "Take the silver (and) the gold for yourself!" And that one says, "I will not take it for myself!" And she will speak just so three times. §9 On the third time the (first) one will speak thusly: "I will take the mortar for myself." And she will break up the scales, and she will hold it (i.e. the silver, gold, and stones?) towards the Sun. She sings. She begins to wail. §10 Hiwasiwala thick bread each [. . .] into the midst of the image [. . .] whoever [. . .] thick bread that one kneels^?. And thick bread [. . .] §11 They put [. . .] in the midst of [. . .] And that form of fruits [. . .] And them like 10 minas^? they finish [. . .] She offers to the Sun Goddess of the Earth. They the ashes with fine oil [. . .] This fire pit [. . .] §12 They send 2 oxen and twice 9 sheep from the palace. 1 ox and 9 sheep they offer to the Sun Goddess of the Earth. 1 ox and 9 sheep they offer to the soul of the deceased. They take up the bones. Them from the pyre [. . .] They carry them into the Stone House. In the inner chamber of the Stone House they spread out beddings. They take the bones off of the chair, and they put them on the spreadings of the bed. A lamp [. . .] they put x shekels of x with oil before the bones. Then they offer 1 ox and 1 sheep to the soul of the deceased. §13 Later into what houses they carry the deceased [. . .] [. . .] 1 ox and 9 sheep they offer thusly there: Notes ¹ "Great" often specifically applies to the royal family. ² i.e. denies themselves of the pleasures of life? ³ The Hittite pronoun and verbal case endings do not distinguish between male and female. I have chosen male over using "he/she" because other indicators in the text point to this being more appropriate. Where a chair for men versus a stool for women is used elsewhere in the text, the generic word settled upon by the texts is the masculine chair. Nevertheless, the reader should remember that this ritual could be used for either a man or a woman. ⁴ Plows and a sample of meadow land are given in other texts. ⁵ Temporal use of anda. ⁶ In this version, the body must have been cremated on the first day. ⁷ While it may be possible that the distinction between chairs and stools may have in some way signified the superiority of the male over the female, it would be much better to restrict our understanding here to the direct significance of these clauses: Chair vs. stool is a division between symbols of masculinity and femininity, and is not a judgement of worth.