List of Mandaic manuscripts

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Mandaean priests inspecting Mandaic manuscripts for photographing in Ahvaz, Iran. Tarmida Sam Zahrooni is at the right. Parwanaya 2015 Ahvaz 06.jpg
Mandaean priests inspecting Mandaic manuscripts for photographing in Ahvaz, Iran. Tarmida Sam Zahrooni is at the right.

This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic.

Contents

Well-known Mandaean texts include the Ginza Rabba (also known as the Sidra Rabbā) and the Qolastā . Texts for Mandaean priests include The 1012 Questions , among others. Some, like the Ginza Rabba, are codices (bound books), while others, such as the various diwans, are illustrated scrolls. [1]

This list is by no means exhaustive. Institutional libraries and private collections contain various Mandaean religious texts that are little known or even unknown to the international scholarly community. [2]

Background

Mandaean copyists or scribes (Mandaic: sapra [3] ) may transcribe texts as a meritorious deed for one's own forgiveness of sins, or they may be hired to copy a text for another person. [4] Mandaean sacred scriptures, such as the Ginza Rabba are traditionally kept in wooden chests wrapped in layers of white cotton and silk cloth. These protected manuscripts are generally not touched by ordinary laypeople, although learned laymen (yalufa) who demonstrate proper knowledge and respect for the manuscripts are usually granted access by priests, similar to the level of respect given to the Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism. [5] Gloves are worn while handling copies of the Ginza Rabba that are used for liturgical purposes.

Types

Mandaean religious texts can be written in book or codex form (drašaࡃࡓࡀࡔࡀ or sidraࡎࡉࡃࡓࡀ) or as scrolls (diwanࡃࡉࡅࡀࡍ, šaftaࡔࡀࡐࡕࡀ, or šarḥࡔࡀࡓࡇ) that are often illustrated. The illustrations, usually labeled with lengthy written explanations, typically contain abstract geometric drawings of uthras that are reminiscent of cubism or prehistoric rock art.

In Mandaean texts, the end of each chapter or section is typically denoted by the Mandaean letters s—a (ࡎࡀ; also known as saka), which are separated by a long ligature. [6]

Some scrolls are talismans (zraztaࡆࡓࡀࡆࡕࡀ), amulets (qmahaࡒࡌࡀࡄࡀ), or exorcisms (pašarࡐࡀࡔࡀࡓ or pišraࡐࡉࡔࡓࡀ), all subtypes of phylacteries. Others consist of prayers such as rahmia ࡓࡀࡄࡌࡉࡀ ('devotions'), ʿniania ࡏࡍࡉࡀࡍࡉࡀ ('responses'), and rušuma ࡓࡅࡔࡅࡌࡀ (' "signing" prayers'). Many scrolls contain symbolic descriptions of rituals, such as various types of masiqta and masbuta rituals. Mandaean texts typically have colophons (tarikࡕࡀࡓࡉࡊ) giving detailed information about the scribes who had transcribed them, as well as dates, lineages, and other historical information. [2]

Drower (1953) recognizes six main groups of Mandaean literature. [6]

  1. esoteric texts, exclusively for priests
  2. ritual texts, exclusively for priests
  3. hymns, psalms, and prayers
  4. hortatory and general texts
  5. astrological texts
  6. magical writings

History

Little is known about the redactors or authors of the texts. The contents date to both pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. The oldest Mandaean magical text is dated to the 4th and 5th centuries CE.[ citation needed ]

During the past few decades, Majid Fandi al-Mubaraki, a Mandaean living in Australia, has digitized many Mandaean texts using typesetted Mandaic script. [7]

Main scriptures

The primary three scriptures containing the most important narratives, liturgies, and doctrines of Mandaeism are the Ginza Rabba, Mandaean Book of John, and Qolasta. The Haran Gawaita is a history text, while the others are priestly esoteric texts.

Various manuscripts

Various Mandaean manuscripts are listed below. Many of them form parts of the Qolasta, while others are magical texts such as zrazta, qmaha, pašar, and the like. The majority of known Mandaean texts are currently held at libraries in Oxford, London, and Paris.

Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library manuscripts (excluding the Drower Collection)

British Library

British Library manuscripts

Bibliothèque nationale de France

Bibliothèque nationale de France Code Sabéen manuscripts

Much of the following information is derived from an 1874 catalogue of Syriac manuscripts compiled by Jules-Antoine Taschereau  [ fr ], which lists descriptions for Mss. Sabéen 1–19. [19] Many of the manuscripts can be viewed online at the Bibliothèque nationale de France's Gallica digital library.

Private collections

Buckley has also found Ginza manuscripts that are privately held by Mandaeans in the United States (two in San Diego, California; one in Flushing, New York; and one in Lake Grove, New York). Buckley has also located a privately held copy of the Book of the Zodiac dating from 1919, which belonged to Lamea Abbas Amara in San Diego. [2]

Manuscripts of the Mandaean Book of John that are privately held by Mandaeans in the United States include: [2] [14]

The Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC) is a private collection of Mandaean manuscripts held by the Mandaean priest Rbai Rafid al-Sabti in Nijmegen, Netherlands. [15] Important manuscripts in the collection include different versions of the Ginza Rabba and a copy of the Alma Rišaia Zuṭa known as Ms. RRC 3F. [21]

Drower Collection

The Drower Collection (DC), held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford University, is the most extensive collection of Mandaean manuscripts. The collection consists of 55 Mandaean manuscripts collected by E. S. Drower. Drower has published some of the smaller texts in journal articles, while other larger texts have been published as monographs. Many texts remain unpublished. [1]

Drower donated MSS. Drower 1–53 to the Bodleian Library in 1958. MS. Drower 54 ( The Coronation of the Great Šišlam ) was given to the library by Lady Drower in 1961, and MS. Drower 55 (Drower's personal notebook) was added in 1986. [22] DC 1–5, 22, 30, 31, 38, 45, and 53 are codices, with the rest of the DC manuscripts being scrolls. [2]

A list of manuscripts in the Drower Collection, based on primarily on Buckley (2010), [2] as well as Drower (1937) [23] and other sources, is given below. The manuscripts are abbreviated DC.

Literature

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginza Rabba</span> Central religious text of Mandaeism

The Ginza Rabba, Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba, and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qolasta</span> Collection of Mandaean prayers

The Qolastā, Qulasta, Qolusta, or the Canonical Prayerbook is, as the name suggests, a canonical prayer book of the Mandaeans, a Gnostic ethnoreligious group from Iraq and Iran. The Mandaic word qolastā means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms (masbuta) and other sacred rituals involved in the ascension of the soul (masiqta).

Ethel Stefana Drower was a British cultural anthropologist, orientalist and novelist who studied the Middle East and its cultures. She was and is still considered one of the primary specialists on the Mandaeans, and was the dedicated collector of Mandaean manuscripts.

The Haran Gawaita also known as the Scroll of Great Revelation, is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the Mandaeans and their arrival in Media as Nasoraeans from Jerusalem.

An uthra or ʿutra is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency". Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utras ." Aldihisi (2008) compares them to the yazata of Zoroastrianism. According to E. S. Drower, "an 'uthra is an ethereal being, a spirit of light and Life."

The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa or Diwan Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa is a Mandaean illustrated scroll. It describes the soteriological descent of Hibil Ziwa to the World of Darkness, and his baptisms before and after. The scroll is essentially also a commentary on the masbuta, or Mandaean ritual baptism.

In Mandaeism, Hibil or Hibil Ziwa is an uthra from the World of Light. Hibil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Abel.

<i>Scroll of the Parwanaya</i> Mandaean text

The Scroll of the Parwanaya is a Mandaean religious text that describes the rituals of the five-day Parwanaya festival. Excluding the colophon, the text consists of 931 lines.

The Wedding of the Great Shishlam is a Mandaean text. As a liturgical rather than esoteric text, it contains instructions and hymns for the Mandaean marriage ceremony. Traditionally, Mandaean priests recite the entire book at marriage ceremonies. The hymns in the text often contain the refrain "When the proven, the Pure One Went." Unlike most other Mandaean ritual scrolls, The Wedding of the Great Šišlam is not illustrated.

<i>The Coronation of the Great Shishlam</i> Mandaean text

The Coronation of the Great Šišlam is a Mandaean religious text. The text is a detailed commentary on the initiation of the tarmida, with detailed discussions on masbuta and masiqta rituals. The Scroll of Exalted Kingship is also used extensively alongside the Coronation in tarmida initiation rituals. Similar esoteric texts that are traditionally used exclusively by Mandaean priests include The Thousand and Twelve Questions, and The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa.

The Alma Rišaia Rba or Diwan Alma Rišaia Rabbā is a Mandaean religious text. The text is used for Mandaean priestly initiation ceremonies. It is written as a scroll and has numerous illustrations. The Alma Rišaia Rba complements the Alma Rišaia Zuṭa, or "The Smaller Supreme World", a related Mandaic text used for priestly rituals.

Yahya Bihram was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (yalufa), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean priests in 1831. He is mentioned in the colophons of various Mandaean manuscripts.

The Šarḥ ḏ-Zihrun Raza Kasia is a Mandaean religious text that describes rituals such as the masbuta, masiqta, and other related topics. It is an illustrated scroll.

The Diwan ḏ-Nahrawata or Diwan ḏ-Nahrauata is a Mandaean religious text. It is written as an illustrated scroll.

The Scroll of the Great Baptism is a Mandaean religious text. It is a ritual scroll describing the 360 baptisms (masbutas) for a polluted priest. The scroll is also called "Fifty Baptisms" and the Raza Rba ḏ-Zihrun.

The Asiet Malkia or Asut Malkia is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. In the prayer, the reciter wishes health and victory upon dozens of heavenly and ancestral figures. According to E. S. Drower, it is recited daily by priests and also before all baptisms (masbuta), ritual meals (lofani), and various rites.

The Ṭabahatan is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism, in which the reciter asks for the forgiveness of sins. As a commemoration prayer with a long list of names, the prayer starts with the line ṭab ṭaba l-ṭabia. A different version of this prayer is found in DC 42, Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata, which is used during Parwanaya rituals.

Mandaean names can include both birth names and baptismal names, called malwasha (ࡌࡀࡋࡅࡀࡔࡀ) in Mandaic.

In Mandaeism, Nbaṭ is an uthra who is described as the "King of Air" or the "first great Radiance." He is also called Nbaṭ Rba or Nbaṭ Ziwa "the Radiant Nbaṭ", literally "Radiance Burst Forth". In The Thousand and Twelve Questions , he is also known as Kušṭa Yaqra "Solemn Truth".

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-515385-5. OCLC   65198443.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN   978-1-59333-621-9.
  3. ↑ 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. p. 219. doi:10.3828/9781800856271 (inactive 2024-02-21). ISBN   978-1-80085-627-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of February 2024 (link)
  4. ↑ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (1999). "Glimpses of A Life: Yahia Bihram, Mandaean priest". History of Religions. 39: 32–49. doi:10.1086/463572. S2CID   162137462.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Drower, E. S. (1953). "A Mandæan Bibliography". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1/2): 34–39. ISSN   0035-869X. JSTOR   25222608 . Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  7. ↑ Mandaean Network Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine .
  8. 1 2 Drower, E. S. 1950. Šarḥ ḏ qabin ḏ šišlam rba (D. C. 38). Explanatory Commentary on the Marriage Ceremony of the great Šišlam . Rome: Ponteficio Istituto Biblico. (text transliterated and translated)
  9. ↑ Burtea, Bogdan (2012). Die Geheimnisse Der Vorvater Edition, Ubersetzung Und Kommentierung Einer Esoterischen Mandaischen Handschrift Aus Der Bodleian Library Oxford (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-06466-8. OCLC   940934456.
  10. 1 2 Burtea, Bogdan (2005). Das mandäische Fest der Schalttage: Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentierung der Handschrift (DC 24, Šarh ḏ-paruanaiia) (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-05179-8. OCLC   62273841.
  11. 1 2 Burtea, Bogdan (2008). Zihrun, das verborgene Geheimnis (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-05644-1. OCLC   221130512.
  12. ↑ Van Rompay, Sandi (2010). "The Tree Šatrin and its Place in Mandaean Art". ARAM Periodical. 22: 183–207. doi:10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131037.
  13. ↑ van Bladel, Kevin (2017). From Sasanian Mandaeans to Ṣābians of the Marshes. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004339460. ISBN   978-90-04-33943-9.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haberl, Charles; McGrath, James (2020). The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN   978-3-11-048651-3. OCLC   1129155601.
  15. 1 2 Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
  16. ↑ Vinklát, Marek (2020-07-06). "Two Unidentified Fragments of Mandaean Ritual Scrolls in the British Museum". Coptica, Gnostica und Mandaica. De Gruyter. pp. 188–195. doi:10.1515/9783110619904-010. ISBN   9783110619904. S2CID   241365971.
  17. ↑ Wright, William. Catalogue of Syriac manuscripts in the British museum acquired since the year 1838. London: British Museum, 1872.
  18. 1 2 Drower, E. S. 1960. The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  19. ↑ Taschereau, Jules-Antoine. 1874. Catalogues des manuscrits syriaques et sabéens (mandaïtes) de la Bibliothèque nationale / Manuscrits orientaux.
  20. 1 2 Häberl, Charles G. (2007). Introduction to the New Edition, in The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans, a new edition of J. Heinrich Petermann's Thesaurus s. Liber Magni, with a new introduction and a translation of the original preface by Charles G. Häberl . Gorgias Press, LLC. doi : 10.7282/T3C53J6P
  21. ↑ Morgenstern, Matthew (2018). "New readings and interpretations in the Mandaic priestly commentary Alma Rišaia Zuṭa (The Lesser 'First World')". Le Muséon. 131 (1–2): 1–19. doi:10.2143/MUS.131.1.3284833.
  22. ↑ Mandaean manuscripts given by Lady Ethel May Stefana Drower Archived 2021-10-16 at the Wayback Machine . Archives Hub.
  23. 1 2 Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
  24. ↑ Mutzafi, Hezy; Morgenstern, Matthew (2012). "Sheikh Nejm's Mandaic Glossary (DC 4) – An Unrecognised Source of Neo-Mandaic". ARAM Periodical . Leuven: Peeters. 24 (Neo-Aramaic dialects and astrology in the ancient Near East: Neo-Aramaic dialects, 6-8 July 2009, The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom): 157–174. ISBN   978-90-429-2957-9. OCLC   879617957.
  25. ↑ Rudolph, Kurt. Der Mandäische ‘Diwan der Flüsse.’ Berlin: Abhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, philosophisch-historische Klasse, vol. 70, no. 1, 1982.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Yamauchi, Edwin M. (1967). Mandaic Incantation Texts. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
  27. ↑ Gelbert, Carlos (2017). The Teachings of the Mandaean John the Baptist. Fairfield, NSW, Australia: Living Water Books. ISBN   9780958034678. OCLC   1000148487.
  28. ↑ Burtea, Bogdan (2005). "Ein mandäischer magischer Text aus der Drower Collection". Studia Semitica et Semitohamitica. Festschrift für Rainer Voigt anläßlich seines 60. Geburtstages am 17. Januar 2004. Harrassowitz: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-934628-73-1.
  29. 1 2 Müller-Kessler, Christa (2010). "A Mandaic Incantation Against an Anonymous Dew Causing Fright: Drower Collection 20 and Its Variant 43 E". ARAM. Peeters (22): 453–476. ISBN   9789042929579.
  30. ↑ Drower, E. S. (1937). "S̲h̲afta d̲ Pis̲h̲ra d̲ Ainia". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (4): 589–611. ISSN   0035-869X. JSTOR   25201592.
  31. ↑ Müller-Kessler, Christa (1999). "Aramäische Beschwörungen und astronomische Omina in nachbabylonischer Zeit". Babylon: Focus Mesopotamischer Geschichte, Wiege früher Gelehrsamkei (in German). Berlin: SDV Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag. ISBN   3-930843-54-4. ISSN   1433-7401.
  32. ↑ Hunter, Erica C. D. (2013). "Comparative Perspectives on Šapta ḏ-pišra ḏ-ainia". Durch Dein Wort ward jegliches Ding! (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-06973-1. OCLC   856902570.
  33. 1 2 Drower, E. S. (1938). "A Mandaean Phylactery (Qmaha ḏ Bit mišqal ainia)". Iraq. British Institute for the Study of Iraq. 5: 31–54. doi:10.2307/4241620. ISSN   0021-0889. JSTOR   4241620. S2CID   191396332.
  34. ↑ Rebrik, Victor (2008). "Mandäische Taufriten (nach der Handschrift DC 27)". Und das Leben ist siegreich!: mandäische und samaritanische Literatur: im Gedenken an Rudolf Macuch (1919-1993) = And life is victorious: Mandaean and Samaritan literatures: in memory of Rudolf Macuch (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-05178-1. OCLC   310616930.
  35. ↑ Drower, E. S. (1939). "Three Mandaean Phylacteries". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (3): 397–406. ISSN   0035-869X. JSTOR   25201939.
  36. ↑ Drower, Ethel S. (1953). The Haran Gawaita and The Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa: The Mandaic text reproduced together with translation, notes and commentary. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  37. ↑ Morgenstern, Matthew (2019-05-24). "Yahia Bihram's Narrative Colophons Part 1: DC 35". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Cambridge University Press. 29 (3): 381–392. doi:10.1017/s135618631800072x. ISSN   1356-1863. S2CID   182352112.
  38. ↑ Tarelko, Michael (2008). "Preliminary Remarks on the Unpublished Manuscript DC 40 from the Drower Collection of Mandaean Manuscripts". Und das Leben ist siegreich!: mandäische und samaritanische Literatur: im Gedenken an Rudolf Macuch (1919-1993) = And life is victorious: Mandaean and Samaritan literatures: in memory of Rudolf Macuch (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-05178-1. OCLC   310616930.
  39. 1 2 Drower, E. S. 1963. A Pair of Naṣoraean Commentaries: Two Priestly Documents, the Great First World and the Lesser First World . Leiden: Brill.
  40. ↑ Notarius, Tania (2016). "The Mandaic Magic Scroll Zarazta ḏ-Hibil Ziua: A Possible Scenario of Literary Evolution". Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 136 (4): 745–762. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.136.4.0745. ISSN   0003-0279. JSTOR   10.7817/jameroriesoci.136.4.0745.
  41. ↑ de Morgan, J. 1905. Mission scientifique en Perse, vol. 5. Paris: E. Leroux.
  42. 1 2 Drower, E. S. (1943). "A Mandæan Book of Black Magic". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2): 149–181. ISSN   0035-869X. JSTOR   25221916.
  43. ↑ Drower, E. S. (1946). "A Phylactery for Rue (An Invocation of the Personified Herb)". Orientalia. Gregorian Biblical Press. 15: 324–346. ISSN   0030-5367. JSTOR   43073269.
  44. ↑ Müller-Kessler, Christa (1999). "Dämon + YTB 'L — Ein Krankheitsdämon. Eine Studie zu aramäischen Beschwörungen medizinischen Inhalts". Munuscula Mesopotamica. Festschrift für Johannes Renger (in German). Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. ISBN   3-927120-81-2.
  45. ↑ Güterbock, Michael (2008). "Vorläufige Bemerkungen zu einer Ausgabe der mandäischen Rituale in der Drower Collection 50". Und das Leben ist siegreich!: mandäische und samaritanische Literatur: im Gedenken an Rudolf Macuch (1919-1993) = And life is victorious: Mandaean and Samaritan literatures: in memory of Rudolf Macuch (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-05178-1. OCLC   310616930.
  46. ↑ Drower, E. S. 1962. The Coronation of the Great Šišlam: Being a Description of the Rite of the Coronation of a Mandaean Priest according to the ancient Canon Archived 2021-10-16 at the Wayback Machine . Leiden: Brill.

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