mannāimma/i-

The lexeme is attested once with gloss wedges in a birth ritual (cf. most recently Bachvarova 2013a with references), but without gloss wedges three times in the ritual of an augur for the Šalawana-deities and the Patron Deity of the Hunting Bag, both texts abounding in Luwianisms (cf. Bawanypeck 2005a:105-125).

[E.R.]

Readings checked against the photographs in the Konkordanz (Mainzer Fotoarchiv). – Contra HW 2nd ed.:A 355, aruta and mannāimma/i- are clearly to be separated as two words (cf. also CHD: L-N 162).

[E.R.]

The attestations of mannāimma/i- are interpreted as participial forms parallel to Ì-anteš ‘oiled’ in CTH 433 (cf. Beckman 1983a:190, CHD: L-N 162, HEG: L-N 118, Tischler 2008a:110, Bawanypeck 2005a: 239; less specific Ünal 2007a:423 “mng unkn”). As Bawanypeck points out, the meaning must be positively connotated, since the birds whose wings are mannāimma/i- and whose breasts are ‘oiled’ are also called SIG₅-ant- ‘good’. Starke 1986a:160f. thinks of the result of a purifying act or grooming. While most scholars refrain from connecting the forms with a particular verb, Beckman 1983a:190 posits a verbal stem manna(i)- and considers ‘the exorcised one (?)’ as a possible meaning, which is based on KUB 44.4 rev. 16 + KBo 13.241 rev. 6 at the end of a purification ritual; also Giorgieri 2004a:417. In the same vein, Tischler 2008a:110 suggests ‘(rituell) gereinigt’, but also possessive ‘mit manna versehen’, thus following Melchert (CLL:136), who proposes ‘furnished with manna-’ with the metanalyzed possessive suffix -aimma/i-.

The deities addressed by the ritual CTH 433.3, i.e. the Šalawana-deities and the Patron Deity of the Hunting Bag, are asked to give or to bring, respectively, the MUŠEN.ḪI.A SIG₅-anduš aruta mannaimminza ^UZUGABA.ḪI.A Ì-antešš=a ‘the birds, that are in a good condition, mannaimma/i- with regard to their wings, and oiled with regard to their breasts’ (KBo 23.50 + KBo 34.46 iii 31’-33’). According to Bawanypeck 2005a:239, the good birds represent positive oracles sought for by the ritual (as opposed to the ‘horrible birds’ representing negative oracles). Outwardly, their positiveness is symbolized by the oiled breasts and the wings, which apparently are likewise positively equipped, after the birds have slept on oily ḫurti-soup, mutton-fat cake, and lentil soup. Since the oil or fat come from the ḫurti-soup and the fat cake (cf. CHDŠ:49), one may reasonably infer that it is arable crops—here more specifically lentils—that stick to the wings and are supplied by the lentil soup, and that, as a consequence, mannāimma/i- means ‘furnished/equipped with fruit/crops’.

This working hypothesis is further supported by the context of the birth ritual of ^fPittei, where a newborn child is treated medically with ointment and his mother is cleaned. Then the practitioner addresses the evil effects of the blood-red moon, probably an ill omen with Haas 1994a:234 and Giorgieri 2001a:419f.: ‘Step away! You are zunnima/i- (and) mannaima/i-’. By means of an implicit comparison between the former and the future condition, ‘it was good, and it shall go well’, the success of the ritual is stated. According to this interpretation, the Luwian participles describe the rectification of the omen and its reversed effect after the treatment. Thus, the positive meaning suggested here fits very well: ‘You are made alright (cf. zunnima/i- under Meaning.) (and) furnished with fruit (i.e. announcing a healthy child)’.A similar reversal (in behavior) connected with the expression awan arḫa tiya- ‘step away’ is found in the Ritual of Ambazzi (CTH 391), where ^dTarpattašša is asked to roam in the mountains and greens, to step away from the ritual clients and, henceforth, to speak well about them before the gods (KUB 27.67 iii 64-66; cf. Christiansen 2006a:54f.).

[E.R.]

From a morphological perspective, the Luwianism mannāimma/i- is easily derivable from the stem mann(a)- n. or manna- c. ‘fruit (?)´ by means of the possessive suffix -aimma/i-, which adds further support to its semantic assignment.

[E.R.]

The root *mann-, the derivation with the suffix -aimma/i- and the use of the gloss wedges leave no doubt about the Luwian origin of the lexeme. This is in accordance with the strong Luwian influence on the texts in which it appears.

[E.R.]

For the lemma head see PLuw. *men(H)-o-.