Nikkal
Encyclopedia
Nikkal, Ugaritic
๐๐๐ nkl, full name Nikkal-wa-Ib, is a goddess of Ugarit
/Canaan
and later of Phoenicia
. She is a goddess of orchards, whose name means "Great Lady and Fruitful" and derives from Akkadian
/ West Semitic "ยดIlat ยดInbi" meaning "Goddess of Fruit". De Moor translates Ugaritic
๐๐ "ib" as "blossom" which survives in biblical Hebrew as ืึตื (Strongs Concordance
3) and cites as a survival of this usage
She is daughter of Khirkhibi, the Summer's King, and is married to the moon god Yarikh
, who gifted her with necklaces of lapis-lazuli. Their marriage is lyrically described in the Ugaritic text "Nikkal and the Kathirat
". She may have been feted in late summer when tree fruits had been finally harvested. Her Sumerian equivalent is the goddess Ningal
, the mother of Inanna
and Ereshkigal
.
The oldest complete annotated piece of ancient music
is a Hurrian song, a hymn in Ugaritic cuneiform syllabic writing which was dedicated to Nikkal. This was published upon its discovery in Ugarit
by Emmanuel Laroche, first in 1955 and then more fully in 1968, and has been the focus of many subsequent studies in palaeomusicology by, amongst others, Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, who gave it the title of "The Hymn to Nikkal" l.
Ugaritic language
The following table shows Proto-Semitic phonemes and their correspondences among Ugaritic, Arabic and Tiberian Hebrew:-Grammar:Ugaritic is an inflected language, and as a Semitic language its grammatical features are highly similar to those found in Classical Arabic and Akkadian...
๐๐๐ nkl, full name Nikkal-wa-Ib, is a goddess of Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
/Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
and later of Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
. She is a goddess of orchards, whose name means "Great Lady and Fruitful" and derives from Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
/ West Semitic "ยดIlat ยดInbi" meaning "Goddess of Fruit". De Moor translates Ugaritic
Ugaritic language
The following table shows Proto-Semitic phonemes and their correspondences among Ugaritic, Arabic and Tiberian Hebrew:-Grammar:Ugaritic is an inflected language, and as a Semitic language its grammatical features are highly similar to those found in Classical Arabic and Akkadian...
๐๐ "ib" as "blossom" which survives in biblical Hebrew as ืึตื (Strongs Concordance
Strong's Concordance
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, generally known as Strong's Concordance, is a concordance of the King James Bible that was constructed under the direction of Dr. James Strong and first published in 1890. Dr. Strong was Professor of exegetical theology at Drew Theological Seminary at...
3) and cites as a survival of this usage
She is daughter of Khirkhibi, the Summer's King, and is married to the moon god Yarikh
Yarikh
Yarikh, in Canaanite mythology, Yarkhibol in Phoenician, also written as Jerah, Jarah, or Jorah , is a moon god whose epithets are illuminator of the heavens, illuminator of the myriads of stars, and lord of the sickle. The latter epithet may come from the appearance of the crescent moon...
, who gifted her with necklaces of lapis-lazuli. Their marriage is lyrically described in the Ugaritic text "Nikkal and the Kathirat
Kotharat
The Kotharat, or Kotharot, or Kathirat , 'the skilful ones' were a group of northwest Semitic goddesses appearing in the Ugartic texts as divine midwives...
". She may have been feted in late summer when tree fruits had been finally harvested. Her Sumerian equivalent is the goddess Ningal
Ningal
Ningal was a goddess of reeds in the Sumerian mythology, daughter of Enki and Ningikurga and the consort of the moon god Nanna by whom she bore Utu the sun god, Inanna, and in some texts, Ishkur...
, the mother of Inanna
Inanna
Inanna, also spelled Inana is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare....
and Ereshkigal
Ereshkigal
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler.Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and...
.
The oldest complete annotated piece of ancient music
Ancient music
Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music.Ancient music refers to the various musical systems that were developed across various geographical regions such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Greece and Rome. Ancient music is designated by the...
is a Hurrian song, a hymn in Ugaritic cuneiform syllabic writing which was dedicated to Nikkal. This was published upon its discovery in Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
by Emmanuel Laroche, first in 1955 and then more fully in 1968, and has been the focus of many subsequent studies in palaeomusicology by, amongst others, Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, who gave it the title of "The Hymn to Nikkal" l.