Ningal (deity)
Ningal is a significant figure in Sumerian mythology, recognized as the daughter of the goddess Ningikuga and the god Enki. Known as the consort of Nanna, the moon god, Ningal embodies qualities of morality and purity, earning her the title of "great lady" or queen. She is revered particularly among cow-herders in the marshes of South Mesopotamia, with major centers of worship established in the city of Ur and at Sirara. Ningal's mythology often revolves around her romantic relationship with Nanna, which highlights the importance of marriage and familial approval within the culture.
Ningal is also celebrated for her unique abilities, including dream interpretation, which granted her followers a connection to the divine. Her children with Nanna—Inanna, Dumuzi, Utu, and Ninkigal—further link her to the broader pantheon of Mesopotamian deities. Historical evidence indicates that royal families sought her blessings for important events, reinforcing her respected status. In other cultures, such as the Phoenicians and Babylonians, Ningal is also recognized under different names, embodying similar themes of wisdom and guidance through dreams.
Ningal (deity)
Culture: Sumerian
Mother: Ningikuga
Father: Enki
Siblings: Ninkurra; Ninsar; Uttu
Children: Inanna; Dumuzi; Utu; Ninkigal
Ningal is the daughter of Ningikuga, Sumerian goddess of reeds and marshes, and Enki, the wisest among the Sumerian gods and the lord of the watery world called Apsu. She is well known as the consort of the moon god Nanna. She bore him four children, including Inanna, Dumuzi, Ninkigal, and the sun god, Utu.
Ningal means great lady or queen. She was the goddess of morals and ethics. She is considered to be one of the pure goddesses. Ningal was worshipped by cow-herders in the marshes of South Mesopotamia. Her association with reed marshes is often cited as proof of her ancient origins because this area is where the first settlements were built in ancient Mesopotamia. Her main center of worship was the city of Ur, where she was worshipped along with Nanna.
In the Mesopotamian pantheon, Ningal is the most clearly defined female aspect of the moon. One of the most popular folktales is the love story that recounts the relationship between Ningal and Nanna. In mythology, Ningal’s role is primarily defined in political terms insofar as she is the wife of the moon god Nanna. Evidence suggests that the royal families of the region sought the blessings of Ningal and Nanna before entering into important pacts.
In Mythology
The most popular story about Ningal recounts the courtship between her and Nanna. This folktale was often used in Mesopotamian society to impart moral teaching to the young. The legend spoke of the importance of the institution of marriage. The story says that Nanna constantly renewed himself and brought about changes in time, the cosmos, tides, the seasons, and the growth of reeds. He was at once young and old because he could renew himself from time to time. His chief role was to bring rest to the land and living beings. He caused humans to dream or have nightmares. His mysterious ways caused people to adore or fear him. However, if he was pleased, then he would also bestow wisdom and alertness. One such person who received this blessing from Nanna was Ningal.
Ningal lived in the marshlands close to the ancient settlement of Eridu. She possessed a special gift—the power to decode what was revealed in images, age-old legends, poetry, and dreams. She was also a skilled interpreter of dreams. She followed the moon god’s progress in the night skies. Her mother Ningikuga realized that her daughter had fallen in love with Nanna and would eventually gain full powers as a young goddess. Ningikuga knew that when Ningal became a goddess, she would get the right to choose her future husband by singing a bridal song naming the person she had fallen in love with.
One night, with the onset of spring, Nanna appeared on the night sky, and Ningal wooed him with her bridal song. She was unsure if he would return her love. Nanna heard the song and looked down to find Ningal singing. He recognized her as the maiden who had accompanied him silently on his night journeys. Enraptured by her beauty, he asked her to meet him the next night but without completing the sacred premarital customs that were typically required of couples who intended to marry. The two of them continued to meet secretly for a fortnight, after which it was time for Nanna to journey to the underworld to light it up for the next fortnight. However, the great gods knew of the secret relationship between the two. Even though they approved of the union, they were not happy with the decision of the young couple to keep their respective families in the dark about their relationship. The great gods were guardians of the land and patrons of order, balance, and spiritual sustenance of all living beings. They believed Nanna could not use youth as an excuse for ignoring the custom of seeking the approval of both families. To teach the young couple a lesson, the gods hid Nanna’s new moon glow behind dark and heavy clouds.
The story goes on to state that Nanna comes in the disguise of a hooded traveler and asks for Ningal’s hand in marriage from her mother Ningikuga. The two follow the sacred rituals and are married at Ur at the end of spring. Ningal then bares Nanna four children: Inanna, Dumuzi, Utu, and Ninkigal.
Origins and Cults
The main center of the worship of Ningal was in the Mesopotamian city of Ur. Besides Ur, Ningal also had a cult center at Sirara near Lagash in modern Iraq. Often, the royals sought her patronage along with the patronage of Nanna during important events. One of the steles (a stone slab or pillar bearing inscriptions) of Ur belonging to the period 2112–2095 BCE shows Ningal seated next to her spouse as he confers the insignia of power to the king.
A stele of the ruler Adad-Guppihas has been discovered at Harran, an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia and modern day Turkey. In this stele is a direct reference to Ningal and her spouse—namely, an invocation to both Ningal and Nanna. Two important discoveries prove that Nanna and Ningal were invoked by the royals during important events. Letters from the Sargonid period (722–612 BCE) seek the blessings of the couple. Ningal and Nanna are together called upon as witnesses of the treaty between Ashur-nirari V of Assyria (753–746 BCE) and Mati’ilu of Arpad.
In cities other than Harran, Ningal is often depicted only as a goddess of the reed marshes. However, in references to the cult of the moon at Harran, Greek, Roman, and Arabic sources show her as the consort of the moon god.
She was known as Nikkal by the Phoenicians. In Babylonia, she was recognized as the so-called interpreter of dreams, a deity who gave her priests the power to interpret and prophesize from the dreams of others. The priests had to undergo an elaborate ritual in which they descended into a pit as a symbolic representation of death and resurrection. Only after this initiation ceremony would Ningal bestow the ability both to interpret people’s dreams and also to foretell the future on the basis of their interpretations of those dreams.
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