ēr(ḫu)wa-

The attestations of the lexeme are distributed across the rituals of the Kuwattalla and the Tauriša traditions (from MS onwards).

[E.R.]

acc. sg.	e-er-wa-an	KBo 13.260 ii 31	(CTH 766, NS)
nom. pl.	⸢e⸣-er-wa-an-zi	KUB 35.28 i 6’	(CTH 761, NS)
	[e-er]-wa-an-zi	KUB 35.29 i 3’	(CTH 761, NS)
	[i]r-ḫu-wa-an-⸢zi⸣	KUB 35.21 rev. 24’	(CTH 761, MS)
	⸢e⸣-[er-ḫu-wa-an-zi]	KUB 32.9 obv. 10	(CTH 761, MS)
	e-er-ḫ[u-wa-an-zi]	KBo 29.7, 5’	(CTH 761, MS?)
acc. pl.	[ir]-ḫu-u-wa-an-⸢za⸣	KUB 35.50, 6’	(CTH 759, NS)
	e-er-ḫu-u-wa-an-⸢za⸣	KBo 34.245, 6’ + KUB 35.64, 5’	(CTH 762, NS)

Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv, except for KUB 35.29 i 3’ and KUB 35.50, 6’.

[E.R.]

The purely etymological interpretation of ēr(ḫu)wa- as the name of a disease by Meriggi 1962c:259 (and Meriggi 1980a:283) and Carruba 1982a:45 (and Carruba 1982b:3, followed in HHw:32, Hutter 2003a:262; skeptical HEG A-K:369f.) is not compatible with several of the contexts that show a merism with parittarwalli(ya)-, functioning as a description of CLuw. tapāru, curse and perjury or of evil word, defilement and impurity. This modifier may be adjectival or, as in the present case, a substantival apposition, but it does not denote an evil in itself.

Instead, Mouton & Yakubovich 2019a: 214-220, 224-229 propose to translate ēr(ḫu)wa- as ‘(the) interior (of a circle)’. Not only is it the likely base of the -i(t) stem ir(ḫ)ui(t)- ‘basket’ (← ‘insider’, implement for putting things inside; see under Lemma), but it also denotes the ‘inner circle’ of, or close attachment to the mother that a child would enjoy (for the context, see under ēḫḫui-^(ti)). Finally, ir(ḫu)wa- modified by the genitival adjective of wašpant(i)- ‘shrouds, clothing’ (see under Lemma) occurs in a list of evils, which is compatible with a meaning ‘(the) interior of shrouds, clothing’, since that can well denote the dead bodies, the defiled underwear, or the defiled inside of a dress worn without underwear (Mouton & Yakubovich 2019a:216f.)

[E.R.]

The endings identify the noun as a common gender non-mutating a-stem. Following Melchert 1982b: 44 n. 7 and Mouton & Yakubovich 2019a:218, the underlying root is irḫ- (i.e. see HLuw. /irh(i)-/ ‘border, boundary’), which is first derived with -wa(/i)- for polar adjectives (*irḫuwa(/i)- ‘interior’) and then turned into an abstract noun, i.e. ēr(ḫu)wa- c. ‘(the) interior’.

[E.R.]

1. ēr(ḫū)walli(ya)-

2. ir(ḫū)wašša-

For the lemma head see CLuw. *irḫ(i)-.