[1] The meaning of the second element of her name, written in cuneiform as SIG7 (correct reading is confirmed by phonetic spellings in lexical lists and other sources[2]) remains unknown, with past proposals including "green growth," "brick," or a pun on a term referring to the vulva.
[8] In an Old Babylonian hymn, she is described as a helper of Aruru who partakes in creation of life and assists her in cutting the umbilical cord and determining fates.
[12] A reference to this role can be found in the incantation series Šurpu, where she appears in a sequence of deities invoked to break a curse, after Lugal-Marada and Imzuanna, and before Shuzianna, Šulpae, Sadarnunna, Belet-ili, Sud, Siris and Ningishzida.
[18] According to Karen Focke, in the god list An = Anum Ninimma is labeled as a sister of Ninurta, which would make her a daughter of Enlil, who is also called her father in a Neo-Assyrian incantation.
[25] Julia M. Asher-Greve notes that direct references to goddesses breastfeeding, such as the designation of Ninimma as a nurse of Sin are rare in Mesopotamian literature.
[12] However, Andrew R. George argues that their character was not identical, and that Ninimma's main role can be compared to a modern librarian, while Nisaba functioned as a scribe and scholar.
[5] A single Old Babylonian letter invokes Nisaba and Ninimma together in a greeting formula in which the sender wishes the recipient to receive wisdom from these goddesses.
[28] Various ritual texts indicate Ninimma was associated with Shuzianna, who also appears alongside her in the myth Enki and Ninmah among the eponymous goddess' helpers aiding her in creation of mankind.
[29] They both were also members of a group of deities from the court of Enlil which according to Wilfred G. Lambert is known from an offering list from the Ur III period and a later theological commentary, which also included Nuska, Ennugi, Kusu, Ninšar and Ninkasi.
[30] Ninimma additionally appears alongside these five deities and Ninmada in sections dedicated to Enlil's courtiers in An = Anum and the Canonical Temple List.
[28] In addition to various attestations of Ninimma from Nippur, a temple dedicated to her is also mentioned in a text from Adab either from the Early Dynastic or Sargonic period.
[33] A text from the palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh[47] indicates that a cultic seat dedicated to her, Nidana-geštu,[48] "(house of) learning and understanding," existed in the library of the Ešarra temple in Assur.
[34] In a ritual text from the same city from the Seleucid period, she appears alongside deities such as the local goddess Uṣur-amāssu, Šilamkurra, elsewhere described as a daughter of Ninsun, and otherwise unknown Ninurbu.
[9] An Old Babylonian hymn focused on her role as a divine scribe[10] until 2019 was the only known composition dedicated to her, though references to an unpublished lament from the Ur III period can also be found in Assyriological literature.
[52] In addition to describing Ninimma's usual roles, it also portrays her as an adviser to various deities, including Enki and Inanna,[9] in this composition referred to with the epithet in-nin9, "mistress" (typically used in texts highlighting her warlike character), rather than with the proper theonym.
[20] It also describes Ninimma as the wife of Ninurta, and implores her to mediate with him on behalf of a worshiper,[53] identified in the closing lines king Nanni (also spelled Nanne), who is also known from the Tummal Chronicle, which counts him among the members of the Second Dynasty of Ur and attributes the creation of the garden of the Ekur, Enlil's temple in Nippur, to him.
"[54] However, Peterson does not agree with this assumption, and points out that Ninimma's presence in offering lists makes it plausible that hymns dedicated to her were in active circulation as part of her cult.
[57] In god lists this group was treated as analogous to foreign goddesses of similar character, Hurrian Hutena and Hutellura and Ugaritic Kotharāt.