Distribution and Consumption of Food in Hittite Festivals. The Social and Economic Role of Religious Commensality as Reflected by Hittite Sources

The Hittite festival organization can be described, from a socio-economic point of view, as an articulated system of accumulation and redistribution of goods from the central administration, represented by the palace or the temple, to various categories of functionaries who, in different ways and to several degrees, take part in religious ceremonies and are responsible for their regular performance. My paper aims to analyze particular acts of distribution of food and beverages which are described in texts relating to some of the most significant Hittite ceremonies, such as the Month festival (CTH 591), the nuntarriyašḫaš festival (CTH 626) and the festivals of thunder (CTH 631). Besides providing a general description of these distributions, directed to specific groups of functionaries closely relating to the central administration, I will try to determine their potential social and economic function, in the broader context represented by the meaning of commensality in Hittite ritual practice.