patalḫiyama/i- (?)

Hapax in a Hittite ritual in NS.

[Zs.S.]

Participle (?):

acc. sg. c.

pa-tal-ḫi-ya-ma‹-an›

KUB 35.145 iii 15’

(CTH 767, NS)

Attestations following CLL:174 (cf. also HEG L-S:538; HED Pa:202; CHD P:239) checked against the photograph of the Konkordanz. For other forms with Hittite endings see CHD P:239 s.v. (:)patalḫai- (including the Glossenkeilwort patalḫandan, see s.v.), for a form with Luwian infinitive ending see the Glossenkeilwort patalḫuna s.v. On its grammatical categorisation including whether this is a participle or a substantive and on the restoration see under Meaning.

[Zs.S.]

Most of the scholars agree in an underlying verb meaning ‘to fetter’, but some of them assume a participle ‘fettered’ in -mma/i- (Laroche 1971b:149; Reichardt 1998a:57; Ünal 2007a:533 [or ‘to tie, chain up, hobble’, all with question mark], Ünal 2016a:409 [confusingly booking, however, in Ünal 2016a:409 patalḫiyamman- ‘hobble, impediment of the feet’ too]; Bachvarova 2013a:150, 152; Dardano 2014b:250; CHD P:239; similarly HED Pa:201f.: ‘shackle, hobble, trammel, incapacitate’), while others assume an abstract noun ‘fettering’ in -mman- (and thus nom.-acc. pl. n., Starke 1990a:250; CLL:174; EDHIL:658 [with question mark]; HEG L-S:538, Tischler 2008a:142, Tischler 2016a:269).

The passage in question, however, contains a parallel phrase with a participle (KUB 35.145 iii 14’-15’, transliteration and restoration following Starke 1985b:231f. based on parallel structures):

“UR.MAḪ ki-ša-a[n-da-an ^(15’)a-uš-du] UR.BAR.RA pa-tal-ḫi-ya-ma a-uš-du”

‘[(s)he shall look] at the comb[ed] lion, (s)he shall look at the p. wolf’

This is further supported by the similar passage of KUB 44.4 rev. 32 + KBo 13.241, 20 (transcription following Beckman 1983a:178):

“UR.MAḪ-an GIŠ-ruandan KI.MIN [referring here to aušdu – Zs. S.] UR.BAR.RA patalḫandan KI.MIN”

‘(s)he shall look at the caged? lion, (she) shall look at the p.-ed wolf’

Although these passages do not prove unambiguously that we are dealing here with a participle (and thus acc. sg. c.), a participle is more probable than a form suffixed with -mman- (and thus nom.-acc. pl. n.). Needless to say, in this case one expects agreement between UR.BAR.RA and pa-tal-ḫi-ya-ma (cf. already Laroche 1971b:149) and thus a slight emendation into pa-tal-ḫi-ya-ma‹-an› is necessary (CHD P:239 [with question mark]; HED Pa:202 [emendation indicated only in the normalization, and not in the transliteration]; Starke 1990a:250 excluded the interpretation as participle exactly due to the lack of congruence).

As CHD P:239 points out, the meaning ‘to fetter’ is based on the presumably related noun, ^(GIŠ)patalḫa- translated by CHD as ‘sole of the foot; behaviour; fetter?’ and the verb taruwai- ‘to cage’ (as GIŠ-ruandan in the passage quoted above). Although ^(GIŠ)patalḫa- has probably a slightly different meaning (‘upper surface of the foot; behaviour; foot bracelet, anklet’, see s.v.), it still leads to a meaning ‘to fetter’.

Setting aside the question mark of CHD P:239 on the meaning, Beal 1992a:242 with n. 920 rejects the meaning ‘fettered’ and suggests ‘clenching’, which does not really match the parallel structures quoted above and his argument that ‘fettered’ “makes little sense” due to the form “patalḫāndu” is based on a false reading, see s.v. patalḫāi-.

[Zs.S.]

This word is generally identified as Luwian (Laroche 1971b:149; Starke 1990a:250; CLL:174; HEG L-S:538, Tischler 2008a:142, Tischler 2016a:269; Ünal 2007a:533, Ünal 2016a:409; HED Pa:202 [“Luwoid”]; Bachvarova 2013a:148f., 151; CHD P:239), although not included in the list of Luwianisms of Melchert 2005a and van den Hout 2007a. Considering that both derivations require Luwian suffixes (-mma/i- and -mman-, for arguments that the former is more probable see under Meaning), this identification is correct. The forms with Hittite endings reflect either a fully integrated Luwian loanword or a Hittite word, only the etymology can help to decide this question, which is, however, ambiguous, see under Reconstruction and the discussion under Origins s.v. ^(GIŠ)patalḫa-.

[Zs.S.]