“Great Festivals” and “Regular Festivals” in the Hittite Cult Calendar

Among the numerous festivals recorded in Hittite sources, two distinct types of religious ceremonies stand out, identified by the Sumerograms EZEN4 GAL, meaning “great festival”, and EZEN4 SAG.UŠ, meaning “regular festival”. In his edition of the KI.LAM festival, I. Singer (1983: 37–48) proposed that the term “regular” was used by Hittite scribes to denote the standard version of a festival, performed annually as part of a strictly organized cult calendar. The expression “great festival”, when referring to the same ceremony, likely indicated a distinct, perhaps more elaborate version, celebrated only in certain years or on special occasions. This interpretation has been widely accepted by scholars, but a systematic investigation of the two expressions, through a detailed examination of textual sources, has yet to be undertaken. In this paper, the authors will revisit the issue, focusing particularly on festivals recorded as both EZEN4 GAL and EZEN4 SAG.UŠ, such as the KI.LAM festival and the festival of the ḫešta-house (both forms attested in the shelf list KBo 31.1+, obv. ii 3’-4’, 8’-9’). They aim to redefine the meanings of the terms GAL and SAG.UŠ in the context of festival descriptions and their significance for the classification of ceremonies within the Hittite religious calendar.