Ninkilim

The god Ninkilim, inscribed ^dnin-PEŠ₂, is a widely referenced Mesopotamian deity from Sumerian to later Babylonian periods whose minions include wildlife in general and vermin in particular. His name, Nin-kilim, means "Lord Rodent," where rodent, pronounced šikku but rendered nin-ka₆, is a homograph.^[1]

He is described in the Sumerian language as a.za.lu.lu “lord of teeming creatures”, and in Akkadian as Bēl-nammašti “lord of wild animals” and features in much of the incantation texts against field pests, such as the Zu-buru-dabbeda. Although Ninkilim is feminine in the great god-list, and the Sumerian Farmer's Almanac – (which entreats the farmer to pray to Ninkilim, goddess of field mice, so that she will keep her sharp-toothed little subjects away from the growing grain), the field-pest incantations know him as masculine, as do other texts of the later periods.^[2] Ninkilim was often regarded as the creator of various field pests, though this role could also be assigned to the god Ennugi or to Alulu,^[3] a legendary primordial king of Eridu who was apparently believed to detest barley (metaphorically referred to as "Queen Nisaba").^[4]

The 8th year of Iddin-Dagān celebrates his selection “by means of the omens (of) the high-priestess of Nin-kilim.” He was one of the patron deities, with the goddess Bēlit-ilī, of the city of Diniktum.^[5]

Suggestions that Ninkilim was equated with Ningirima can be found in older publications,^[6] based on the similarity of their names, a shared cult center (Murum) and other factors, but according to Manfred Krebernik this proposal is implausible.^[7] He points out the following differences: while Ningirima is always female, Ninkilim could be regarded as a male deity; their placement in god lists always differs; while both were associated with snakes, the nature of this connection was not identical.^[8]