Origins of the ritual of Puliša (CTH 407)

Abstract

The Hittite text of the ritual of Puliša describes the way of counteraction to the plague in the army which returns from a military campaign. The king and his officers should appease the angry gods of the enemy land. Two prisoners are presented to the gods among the ritual carriers. Puliša’s place of birth and profession are in lacuna that is why it is impossible to determine the ritual tradition which inspired Puliša to compose this text. The only way is to compare this composition with other rites. The ritual of Zarpiya from Kizzuwatna against pest (CTH 757) contains Luwian incantations. The ritual practitioners ask the gods to stop the epidemic in exchange for the offerings. The ritual of Zarpiya is very different from the ritual of Puliša, while the rituals against plague from Arzawa have a lot in common with the latter. The rituals from Arzawa (CTH 394, 410, 424.1) use the ritual carriers for transporting the epidemic to the enemy and for pacifying the angry gods. The vocabulary of Puliša’s ritual is close to the one of the royal substitution rituals (CTH 419, 421), which were held for saving a king from the ominous signs. But the sense of the rituals is different. The ritual of Puliša is not focused on the royal power. The conclusion is reached that the ritual of Puliša was created in the ritual tradition of Arzawa by a scribe that was familiar with the texts of the royal substitution rituals.