| Ancestors of Enlil | |
|---|---|
Primordial deities | |
| Major cult center | Nippur |
| Abode | underworld |
| Tree | tamarisk |
| Offspring | Enlil, Nuska |
| Equivalents | |
| Hurrian | Hurrian primeval deities |
| Ugaritic | Ilib |
Ancestors of Enlil[1][2] or Enki-Ninki deities[3] were a group of Mesopotamian deities. Individual lists do not agree on their number, though the enumerations always start with the pair Enki (to be distinguished from the water god Enki) and Ninki and end with Enlil. In the earliest recorded lists, Enki and Ninki were the immediate parents of Enlil, but beginning in the Ur III period onwards, a growing number of 'ancestors' separated them.[4] Enki and Ninki became primordial, ancestral beings who were no longer active and resided in the underworld. They could be invoked in exorcisms. They are attested in various texts, including god lists, incantations, prayers and myths.