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Mesopotamian god From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alla or Alla-gula was a Mesopotamian god associated with the underworld. He functioned as the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ningishzida, and most likely was a dying god similar to Dumuzi and Damu, but his character is not well known otherwise. He had his own cult center, Esagi, but its location is presently unknown.
Alla | |
---|---|
Major cult center | Esagi |
Symbols | staff |
Alla's name was written in cuneiform either syllabically (dAl-la or dAl-lá) or logographically (dNAGAR).[1] A variant form, Alla-gula, "Alla the great," is also attested.[2] Additionally, the god list An = Anum indicates that he could be referred to with the Sumerian epithet Lugal-sapar,[3] "lord of the net."[4] The net is well attested as a divine weapon.[4]
The character of Alla is poorly understood, but it is agreed that he was associated with the underworld.[5] He belonged to the circle of deities connected with Ninazu and Ningishzida,[6] and functioned as the sukkal (divine attendant) of the latter.[7] He is also well attested as one of the dying gods mentioned in lamentations, and on this basis it has been argued he was viewed as comparable to better known Dumuzi.[8] According to Wilfred G. Lambert, a single Old Babylonian text seemingly outright equates them with each other.[5] Comparisons with Damu have also been made in modern literature.[9]
In art, Alla was depicted as a bald beardless man, and known representations do not wear the horned crown associated with divinity in Mesopotamian art.[10] Frans Wiggermann argues that he was additionally portrayed holding a staff, well attested as a badge of office of the sukkal.[7]
Wilfred G. Lambert proposed in 1980 that the goddess Allatum was the Akkadian feminine counterpart of Alla.[8] However, in 1989 Gernot Wilhelm noted that no plausible Akkadian etymology has been proposed for her name, and the most likely possibility is that it was simply a variant spelling of Allani, the Hurrian goddess of the dead, whose name is related to the Hurrian word allai, mistress.[11] This view has been accepted by Tonia Sharlach[2] and Alfonso Archi in subsequent studies of this goddess .[12] Sharlach entirely rules out a connection between Alla and Allatum/Allani based on their different roles and origin.[9]
Alla is attested chiefly in sources from the Ur III and Old Babylonian periods.[6] The settlement Esagi is identified as his cult center in texts pertaining to dying deities, but its location is unknown.[8] There is evidence that he was worshiped in Gišbanda, the cult center of Ningishzida, and it is possible a statue of him was located in the temple of that god in Lagash as well.[10] He was also venerated in Ur, where he appears in offering lists alongside Ninazu, Ningirida, Ningishzida, Azimua and Ninpumuna.[13][14] Additionally, the worship of "Alla-gula" is well attested in sources from Nippur from the Ur III period pertaining to the activities of queen Shulgi-simti.[15]
In a bilingual myth (tablet KAR 4 and duplicates), mankind is created from the blood of a plurality of deities referred to with the logogram dNAGAR, variously interpreted as either Alla or Lamga in modern literature.[6] According to Wilfred G. Lambert based on context the later option is implausible as the reading relies on the explanation lam-ga dNAGAR = d30 in a lexical list, which refers to a name of the moon god Sin.[5] Manfred Krebernik notes that the account resembles the scene in Atrahasis where the blood of dW-e(-i-la) is used instead.[6]
In late sources, Alla is also attested in lists of so-called "seven conquered Enlils"[6] alongside figures such as Mummu and Alalu.[16] In this context, the theonym Enlil is used as a generic label.[17] The deities designated by it were associated with Enmesharra.[17]
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