Baal's Cedar: Natib Qadish, Canaanite Religion

Natib Qadish, a polytheistic religion which reveres the Canaanite deities, is based on ancient culture and the cuneiform texts found at the city of Ugarit. The Canaanites lived 3200 years ago in the areas of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine.

I share articles and commentary rooted in polytheistic, Near Eastern, Levantine, Middle Eastern, Anatolian, and Natib Qadish perspectives. I teach about the deities, festivals, cultures, divination, magic, divination, and beliefs.

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The Iluma, the Canaanite Pantheon

Posted by on in Paths
Day 22 Rashu Yeni (month), Shanatu 84 (year)* 
 
Many people aren't as well acquainted with the Canaanite pantheon as with other pantheons. My guess is that this is because biblical lore and religions did a great job stamping out their polytheistic roots and succeeded better with Canaanite religion than for other ancient religions. Although scholars knew a little of Canaanite religion for a long time, primary documents finally became available with the archaeological find of the city of Ugarit (modern-day Ras Shamra in Syria) in 1928. With this discovery scholars finally were able to learn a great deal more about Canaanite deities, and from texts written by the people who worshiped them, instead of from biblical ranters. Please allow me to introduce you to my deities...
 
 
The word Iluma, or ʻilūma, comes from the Canaanite language of Ugaritic and means "gods" and refers to the Canaanite pantheon. Sometimes the word is lengthened to ʻilahūma, and it is from this variation that one of the Hebrew names for "god" comes from: Elohīm. The iluma, or  pukhru ilima (puḫru ilīma, Assembly of Gods) meets atop the legemdary Mount Lalu, sometimes called Lel. Mount Tzapunu (Ṣapunu), Ba'lu Haddi's holy mountain,  known as Mount Casius or Jebel al-Aqra'a in Lebanon is as important to the Canaanites in the city of Ugarit as Mount Olympus is to the Greeks. In no particular order below are the Iluma, the Canaanite gods and goddesses:

’Ilu, Ilu, El: King of the Pantheon, Father of Years, known as the kind, compassionate, and benevolent one. He is never angry and does not punish his immortal and mortal children. Thought of as being far away, he is often reachable through his wife Athiratu. He lives on Mount Kasu.

’Aṯiratu, Athirat, Asherah: Queen Mother of the Pantheon, Co-creatress of the Universe. Known as wise and nurturing, but not to be slighted. Biblical peoples may have continued to venerate her throughout the first half of the Hebrew Bible. Some believe the Shekhina of today’s Judaism hearkens back to her.

Šapšu, Shapshu, Shapash: Goddess of the Sun, Torch of the Deities. Warm and loving, associated with horses, goes to visit the underworld at night. She often delivers messages for Ilu. Shapshu and Yarikhu are siblings. 

Yariḫu, Yarikhu, Yarikh: God of the Moon, Lamp of the Deities, whose night dew fertilizes Nikkalu. He is sometimes portrayed as “horned,” symbolic of the “horn” of the crescent moon.

Nikkal, Nikkalu-wa-Ibbu, Nikkal-wa-Ib: Goddess of the Orchards, or perhaps related to the Sumerian goddess Ningal. Nikkalu's name means “Fruitful and Beautiful.” She is Yarikhu's wife. The oldest recorded piece of music in the world is a hymn to this goddess. For links to recordings of this song, see Canaanite Music Link Bazaar.

Rašpu, Rašap, Rashap, Reshep, Reshef: God of healing, burning plague, and warfare. He is sometimes associated with gazelles. In Egyptian stelae, a composite "Semitic" goddess Qudshu, stands between the god Rashap of war and plaque, and the god Min of fertility. 

Kaṯiru-wa-Ḫasisu, Koṯaru-wa-Ḫasīsu, Kothar-wa-Hasis, Kathir-wa-Khasis: Skillful and Clever. Known as the craftsman and mage god, possibly related or cognate to Egypt’s Ptah or Thoth.

‘Anatu, Anat: The Adolescent Warrior Goddess, loyal and loving with a short temper. Supporter of Ba‘lu. Said to wade in the gore of her enemies. Scholars now believe that she is not sexually active, contrary to what older scholarship states.

‘Aṯtaru, 'Athtaru, Athtar: god of protection, warriors, youth, and personal property. He also sees to irrigation of fields and tries to substitute for Ba‘lu when Ba‘lu dies in the Ba'lu Epic tale from the city of Ugarit.

‘Aṯartu, 'Athtartu, Athtart: originally a goddess of justice, balance, treaties, and perhaps even hunting. Possibly also a goddess of stars. She later morphs into the goddess known as Astarte in Greek and the Babylonian Ishtar. In the bible she is known as “ashtoreth” to link her name with the word “boseth” which means “shame.” she seems to have a peaceful nature in Canaanite mythology. She is 'Athtar's sister, and a steady and true friend of her sister 'Anatu.

Ba‘lu, Ba'al, Ba'lu Haddu, Ba‘al Hadad: the Thunderer, the Storm God, fights the forces of Motu (Death) and Yammu (Sea), the Ba‘al Epic is the most extensive piece of literature left to us from the Canaanites. Often he is just called "Ba'lu" or "Ba'al" but his full name is "Ba'lu Haddi." "Ba'lu" or "Ba'al" are simply titles which mean "lord" and are applied to more gods than just this storm god. 

Dagan, Dagnu: God of Grain and Ba‘lu’s father.

Yammu, Yam: God of Sea and River and sometimes chaotic weather patterns. Ba‘lu, using Kathir’s magic weapons, fights Yammu for his position in the pantheon. One of Yammu’s “henchmen” is Litan, a sea-serpent and later known as the biblical Leviathan.

Ḥoron, Ḥoronu, Choron: A chthonic god of purification, exorcism, cleansing, and protection. He is associated with snakes and scorpions, and bears the ability of dispersing venom. 

Mot, Motu: God of Death, Heat-Death, and Sterility. His mouth is the devouring mouth of the grave. The Canaanites never make offerings to Motu.

 

Lilith is not a part of the Canaanite pantheon. Lilitu originates as Lamashtu, the Sumerian evil spirit. The Canaanites, specifically the Ugaritans, knew of Lamashtu, and warded against her. Lamashtu and Lilitu were known as evil entities who harmed infants and pregnant women.

 

Note: Deities have multiple combinations of names because names can change over time and because the Ugaritans often did not write down vowel sounds. However, scholars and linguists reconstruct vocalizations on the basis of texts from Ugarit written in Akkadian--a syllabic language--and by comparative studies with other Semitic languages such as Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic. The diacritics--markings on some letters--demonstrate letters found in Ugaritic cuneiform for which there are no English representations. Sometimes instead of using the diacritics, people will simply write out the sounds using combinations of letters. For instance an ḥ such as in the name Ḥoron represents a sound similar to that in the Jewish festival Channukah or in the name Bach. Sometimes the sound is written out like "ch" instead of ḥ. However, it does not represent the sound made by the ch in the word "cheese" but instead more like a rough "h" peculiar to Semitic languages. I've tried to include here many, if not most, of the different possible spellings for these deities so when you see alternate versions of these names, you'll know who's whom. 

This list of deities is by no means exhaustive and covers primarily deities known in the Late Bronze Age (1200 BCE, 3200 years ago) in the Canaanite city of Ugarit. The deities themselves were known in the area as far back as the Middle Bronze age at least, and their worship lasted into the Classical age. Their worship is now being revived, especially in the religion of Natib Qadish, and in the offerings and worship of many other Canaanite, Phoenician, and Carthaginian polytheists. 

 

Yishlam le-ilīma ugariti, yishlam le-ilīma kina'ani. "Peace and wellbeing to the gods of Ugarit, peace and wellbeing to the gods of Canaan," in Ugaritic, a Canaanite language from circa 1200 BCE, 3200 years ago. 
 
 
*This date reflects a date in the Canaanite calendar according to Ugaritic texts from 1200 BCE. The month name is Ra'shu Yeni, which means "new wine," and it is the twenty-second day since the new moon. The year 84 refers to when archaeologists rediscovered the city of Ugarit and our sacred texts back in 1928 of the secular calendar. Our previous holiday was on the full moon just past, the holiday of 'Ashuru Rashu Yeni, the Festival of New Wine. Our next holiday falls on the new moon before autumnal equinox, and that holiday is 'Ashuru Mathbati, also spelled 'Ashuru Mothbati, the Festival of Dwellings, which falls on September 15, 2012 of the secular calendar. The coming holiday is our new year.
 
 
 

Photo Credits: Image of a Canaanite god, likely Ba'al Hadad the storm god, in smiting pose. Photographer: Jastrow. Photo released into Public Domain, and accessed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baal_Ugarit_Louvre_AO17330.jpg  
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A qadish for fourteen years, Tess Dawson established the largest Canaanite groups and she is a leader in the Near Eastern and Middle Eastern polytheist communities. Her work, Whisper of Stone: Natib Qadish, Modern Canaanite Religion provides the foundation of Natib Qadish religion. Ms. Dawson edited Anointed: A Devotional Anthology for the Deities of the Near and Middle East; and she awaits the 2013 release of her new book The Horned Altar: Rediscovering and Rekindling Canaanite Magic. She earned her BA in anthropology; and received ordination through the ULC. Visit her on Facebook or through her website, http://canaanitepath.com/

Comments

  • Rebecca Buchanan
    Rebecca Buchanan Saturday, 11 August 2012

    I love reading about the Deities of different pantheons. :) If you ever get the chance, please expand this list to include other, lesser-known Deities outside the "main" pantheon.

    Also, what do you make of the Carthaginian Tanit? Since Carthage was a Phoenician colony, do you think that is the local name for Athirat, or do you think She is a completely different Deity?

  • Tess Dawson
    Tess Dawson Monday, 13 August 2012

    I believe that Tanit may have had her roots in the local North African people, but she grew and perhaps came to encompass characteristics associated with both Athiratu (leadership, queenship) and 'Athtartu (defense, fairness, justice). I treat Tanit as a separate deity and I even have an image of the sign of Tanit hanging on the wall in my temple.

    And you're right, I may have to do a "Canaanite pantheon part 2"...

  • Elani Temperance
    Elani Temperance Sunday, 12 August 2012

    Thank you very much for this! It's incredibly enlightening!

  • Tess Dawson
    Tess Dawson Monday, 13 August 2012

    You're welcome, Elani. My pleasure. Thank you for reading!

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