Thanks for joining us for another Families’ Deity! We’re exploring deities that tie into families and family values, or who are important to the family unit or children in some way. This month, we are exploring the mountainous God, Ninhursag
Who is Ninhursag?
Her name means “Queen of the Mountain” and she was a Mesopotamian mothers’ goddess who was worshipped between 3500 BCE to 1750 BCE. She had many temples dedicated to her in the Southern region of Mesopotamia which is modern day Iraq. References to her are found in art, the literary epics and temple hymns.
She lived in the mountains hence her name, and she was known by other names including Ninmah (great queen), Nintu (lady of birth) and Sag-zu-dingirenak (midwife of the gods.) She was one of the seven great deities of Sumer and is credited with being midwife to the gods and the goddess of all birth including animals. She is often portrayed carrying a baby.
Why has Ninhursag been chosen as a families’ deity?
Ninhursag is very much a mother goddess and presided over all births. Without her life would not have existed. She is goddess who completed the birth of mankind and is mother to all children
Honour Ninhursag
You could take a pilgrimage to a mountain or call on her to assist in an animal’s birth.
Correspondences
Animals
lion cub
deer
Tools
mace
baton
Images
tiered skirt
horned head dress
Offerings
water
License & CopyrightOriginal image by Claude Valette. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs