Dehwa Rabba

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Dehwa Rabba
Also called Nauruz Rabba
Observed by Mandaeans
TypeReligious, ethnic
SignificanceFirst day of the Mandaean calendar
Kanshiy u-Zahly masbuta in Sydney, Australia (2016) Kanshia u Zahla baptism.png
Kanshiy u-Zahly masbuta in Sydney, Australia (2016)

Dehwa Rabba (Classical Mandaic : ࡃࡉࡄࡁࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, romanized: Dihba Rba, lit.  'Great Feast') or Nauruz Rabba (Classical Mandaic : ࡍࡀࡅࡓࡅࡆ ࡓࡁࡀ, 'Great New Year') [1] : 111  is the Mandaean New Year. [2] It is the first day of Daula (or Dowla), the first month of the Mandaean calendar. [3]

Contents

Kanshiy u-Zahly

Kanshī u-Zahli or Kanshiy u-Zahly (Classical Mandaic : ࡊࡀࡍࡔࡉࡀ ࡅࡆࡀࡄࡋࡉࡀ, romanized: Kanšia u-Zahlia, lit.  'cleaning and purification' [1] : 113 ) is the day preceding Dehwa Rabba, or New Year's Eve. It is the 30th day of Gadia, the twelfth month (i.e., the last day of the Mandaean year). On Kanshiy u-Zahly, Mandaeans do not work as it is a holy day. Mandaean priests spend the entire day performing prayers and masbuta until the afternoon, and also animals are slaughtered for consumption. Before the sun sets, Mandaeans prepare food for the following day of Dehwa Rabba and also perform ṭmasha , or ritual immersion in water that does not require the assistance of a priest. [4]

36 hours of seclusion

At sunset, once the North Star appears in the sky, Mandaeans must stay inside their homes with their families for 36 hours. No one is permitted to go outside their homes during these 36 hours, since Mandaeans believe that the naṭria (guardian spirits, including the water guardians Shilmai and Nidbai) have left Tibil and returned to the World of Light, leaving people on Tibil vulnerable to misfortune. [5] : 110  As a result, Mandaeans will emerge only at noontime on the 2nd day of Daula (the day following Dehwa Rabba). [6]

Deaths during these 36 hours are considered to be inauspicious (mbaṭṭal, Classical Mandaic : ࡌࡁࡀࡈࡀࡋ, romanized: mbaṭal [7] ), and the masiqta of Adam needs to be performed when Mandaean deaths occur during this time. [2] [8] During this period of time, it is also inauspicious to kill any animals or even swat insects. [1]

E. S. Drower has compared this period of isolation to the Babylonian festival Akitu and to the myth of Dumuzid's descent into the underworld and his subsequent ascent after three days. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Left Ginza</span> Mandaean religious text

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masiqta</span> Mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion

The masiqta is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul (nišimta) towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for Mandaeans who have just died. Although usually translated as "death mass", a few types of masiqta are also performed for living people, such as when priests are ordained. Masiqtas are also used to consecrate houses of worship.

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The Feast of the Great Shishlam or Dehwa d-Šišlam Rabba or Nauruz Zūṭa is a Mandaean religious holiday that takes place on the 6th and 7th days of Daula, the first month of the Mandaean calendar. It is named after Shishlam, the Mandaean personification of the prototypical priest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yardna</span> Rivers in Mandaeism

In Mandaeism, a yardna or yardena is a body of flowing fresh water that is suitable for ritual use as baptismal water. The masbuta and other Mandaean rituals such as the tamasha can only be performed in a yardna. Stagnant fresh water, brackish water, and seawater are not considered to be yardnas.

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Taura, alternatively known as Ayar, is the fourth month of the Mandaean calendar.

Gadia, alternatively known as Ṭabit, is the twelfth month of the Mandaean calendar.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mandaeism.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nasoraia, Brikha H.S. (2021). The Mandaean gnostic religion: worship practice and deep thought. New Delhi: Sterling. ISBN   978-81-950824-1-4. OCLC   1272858968.
  2. 1 2 Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rabba. It includes everything they need to know about Mandaeism (PhD). University College London.
  3. ↑ Bhayro, Siam (2020-02-10). "Cosmology in Mandaean Texts". Hellenistic Astronomy. Brill. pp. 572–579. doi:10.1163/9789004400566_046. ISBN   9789004243361. S2CID   213438712 . Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  4. ↑ Gelbert, Carlos (2005). The Mandaeans and the Jews. Edensor Park, NSW: Living Water Books. ISBN   0-9580346-2-1. OCLC   68208613.
  5. ↑ Masco, Maire (2012). The Mandaeans: Gnostic astrology as an artifact of cultural transmission. Tacoma, WA: Fluke Press. ISBN   978-1-938476-00-6. OCLC   864905792.
  6. ↑ Gelbert 2005, p. 191-192.
  7. ↑ Häberl, Charles (2022). The Book of Kings and the Explanations of This World: A Universal History from the Late Sasanian Empire. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN   978-1-80085-627-1.
  8. ↑ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-515385-5. OCLC   65198443.
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