Ningublaga

Ningublaga (, less commonly Ningublag) was a Mesopotamian god associated with cattle. His cult center was Kiabrig, a little known city located in the proximity of Ur. He belonged to the circle of deities related to the moon god, Nanna, and sometimes could be viewed as his son. He is also well attested as the brother of Alammuš, and they frequently appear together in god lists, incantations and especially in astronomical texts. Character It is assumed that Ningublaga's name is a genitive construction meaning "lord of Gublag" in Sumerian, Gublag presumably being an otherwise unknown toponym linked with the worship of this god. Two further names which possibly referred to him are GUL-zi (attested in the name of a priestess, reading of the first sign uncertain) and Lugal-baḫar. Ningublaga was associated with cattle. He was believed to oversee the herds belonging to the moon god Nanna. Consumption of beef was regarded as taboo to him. He also had an apotropaic role, and appears in many incantations, for example against scorpion bite. One of them refers to him as lugal-ḫulĝálra, "lord who fights evil." He could also be referred to as a mašmaš, "incantation priest." This epithet is otherwise rare, and the only other known deities it was applied to were Ninšar (in the text Lipit-Ishtar and the plow) and the unidentified deity dTU (in an incantation from the Ur III period). Associations with other deities Ningublaga was closely associated with the moon god Nanna (Sin), and appears after him and his wife Ningal in most god lists. The great god list An = Anum does not label him as Nanna's son, though the existence of such a tradition is confirmed by other sources. Similarly, it is considered plausible that Ningal was viewed as his mother. However, An = Anum states that his mother was a goddess named dÁb-na-ar-bu or dÁb-nir-bu. He was also commonly associated with Alammuš, the sukkal (attendant deity) of Nanna. They could be regarded as brothers. Early assyriologist Ernst Weidner incorrectly assumed that Ningublaga was a female deity and the wife of Alammuš, which has been disproved by subsequent studies. Together they corresponded to the constellation called "Little Twins" (mulMAŠ.TAB.BA TUR.TUR) in Mesopotamian astronomy. It has been proposed that Little Twins corresponded to Lambda Geminorum and Xi Geminorum. The analogous title "Great Twins" referred to Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea.