to either of them having a spouse is known. A further deity associated with both of them was Patindu, a god linked with ritual libations whose name might mean "he who makes the stream of wine sweet." The god list An = Anum mentions a group of five children of Ninkasi. According to Manfred Krebernik, their names seem to allude to terms related to beer, binge drinking and inebriation: Meḫuš ("glowing me"), Mekù (or Menkù, "beautiful me" or "beautiful crown"), Ememete (or Menmete, "ornate speech" or "ornate crown"), Kitušgirizal ("magnificent seat") and Nušiligga ("not drying up"). Additionally, according to Andrew R. George, the snake charmer deity Ninmada could be regarded as Ninkasi's daughter. Ninkasi was also regarded as the "brewer of Ekur," and in this role appears in lists of courtiers of Enlil alongside deities such as his scribe Ninimma, his butcher Ninšar, or his snake charmer Ninmada. For example, Ninimma, Ennugi, Kusu, Ninšar, Ninkasi and Ninmada appear in sequence in at least two sources, An = Anum and the Canonical Temple List. Another similar group, consisting of Šuzianna, Nuska, Ninimma, Ennugi, Kusu, Ninšar and Ninkasi appears in an offering list from the Ur III period and in an esoteric explanatory text. It has been proposed that Ninkasi's classification as a deity from the circle of Enlil relied on his link with Nisaba, commonly regarded as his mother in law, who in addition to being a goddess of writing was also associated with grain, which was also indirectly linked to Ninkasi as the main resource used to produce beer. A single document in which Ninkasi appears alongside Šala also likely depends on a similar connection. The Weidner god list places both Ninkasi and Siraš between Nungal, the goddess of prisons, and Laṣ, the wife of Nergal. Similarly, Kurunnītu in multiple documents appears in association with the goddess Bēlet-balāṭi, who might be a late form of Manungal, and as such was likely an underworld deity. It has been proposed that this possible association between beer and underworld deities was meant to serve as a reflection of negative effects of alcohol consumption. In the incantation series Šurpu Ninkasi appears alongside the fire god Gibil, possibly in reference to the use of fire in beer production, though it has been called into question if it was necessary, and experiments show that it is plausible that Mesopotamian brewers relied on cold mashing. A grouping