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Mandaean studies, or Mandaic studies when referring to linguistic studies, is the study of the Mandaean religion, Mandaean people, and Mandaic language. It can be considered as a subdiscipline of Aramaic studies, Semitic studies, Middle Eastern studies, and Oriental studies. Related disciplines include Syriac studies, Assyriology, Iranian studies, Jewish studies, and religious studies.
One of the earliest Europeans to write detailed works about the Mandaeans was Ignatius of Jesus, an Italian Roman Catholic friar who published a 1652 treatise on Mandaeism, Narratio originis, rituum, & errorum christianorum Sancti Ioannis ("Narration of the Origin, the Rituals, and the Errors of the Christians of St. John"). [1]
During the 19th century, scholars such as Matthias Norberg and Julius Heinrich Petermann published printed versions of the Ginza Rabba. Petermann also performed field research with the Mandaeans in southern Iraq during the 1850s, where he worked with Yahya Bihram as his primary informant. [2]
In the early 20th century, Mandaean studies saw major progress as many works about Mandaeism were published, particularly translations of Mandaean texts into German by Mark Lidzbarski. During the 1930s, studies on Mandaeism were published by European scholars and writers such Hugo Odeberg (1930), [3] Robert Stahl (1930), [4] and Alfred Loisy (1934). [5] Afterwards, the field went into a temporary hiatus due to the turmoils of World War II. [6]
During the mid-1900s, Rudolf Macúch wrote a dictionary and grammar of Mandaic, while E. S. Drower (1879–1972) translated many hitherto unknown Mandaean texts into English and documented the Mandaean communities of Iraq in great detail. Drower spent decades in Iraq and obtained dozens of Mandaean texts for the Drower Collection through her primary field consultant, Sheikh Negm bar Zahroon. Even today, many Mandaean texts remain accessible to Western scholars solely through Drower's works. [7]
During the latter half of the 20th century, other scholars active in Mandaean studies include Kurt Rudolph, Eric Segelberg, Edwin M. Yamauchi, and Edmondo Lupieri.
During the 21st century, Mandaean studies underwent a revival as many new studies and textual translations were published. The most active 21st-century Mandaean studies scholars based in the United States are Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Charles G. Häberl, and James F. McGrath. Philologists outside the United States working on Mandaic texts include Bogdan Burtea in Germany, [8] as well as Matthew Morgenstern and Ohad Abudraham in Israel. [9]
After the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Mandaeans emigrated from Iraq en masse, with the Mandaean diaspora outnumbering those remaining in Iraq and Iran for the first time in history. With the majority of Mandaeans living permanently in Anglophone countries (especially Australia and the United States) and Western Europe, members of the Mandaean diaspora, including Brikha Nasoraia, Carlos Gelbert, Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki, Yuhana Nashmi, Qais Al-Saadi, Dakhil Shooshtary, and many other Mandaeans were publishing books and documents about their religion, history, scriptures, and language in English, allowing international scholars unprecedented access to information about Mandaean religion and culture. In 2011, the first translation of the entire Ginza Rabba into English was published by Carlos Gelbert. [10] During the mid-2010s, the World of Mandaean Priests project led by Christine Robins (née Allison) of the University of Exeter, with the assistance of Yuhana Nashmi, provided detailed multimedia documentation of Mandaean rituals, communities, and priests. [11] In addition, archival work of Mandaic manuscripts is currently being undertaken by Rafid Al-Sabti and his son Ardwan Al-Sabti in Nijmegen, Netherlands. [12]
Despite the significant progress made in Mandaean studies over the past several decades, Mandaean studies remains one of the least known subfields within Middle Eastern and Semitic studies. As stated by Charles G. Häberl (2022): [8] : 206
It would not be much of an exaggeration to claim that scholars of Late Antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East have consigned Mandaeans to an oubliette for much of the past century, on the grounds that they are too cryptic, too late, too weird, and far too disassociated from the other peoples who have primarily served as the subjects for their own research. ... Mandaic is certainly not part of the standard repertoire of scholars working upon Late Antiquity, and not even of those working upon the Sasanian Empire, and while it is probably unreasonable to expect that it might someday join Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian among the other languages within that repertoire, I am nonetheless convinced that Mandaean texts ... will prove indispensable for elucidating some of the mysteries that attend the study of this period and region.
The following monographic series specialize in Mandaean studies:
Papers relating to Mandaean studies are regularly published in the ARAM Periodical . [15]
The following ARAM International Conferences, organized by the ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies of the University of Oxford, [16] were specifically dedicated to Mandaean studies. Mandaean priests also performed baptisms (masbutas) during the 1999, 2002, and 2007 conferences. [17]
Mandaeans, also known as Mandaean Sabians or simply as Sabians, are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They may have been among the earliest religious groups to practice baptism, as well as among the earliest adherents of Gnosticism, a belief system of which they are the last surviving representatives today. The Mandaeans were originally native speakers of Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language, before they nearly all switched to Mesopotamian Arabic or Persian as their main language.
The Ginza Rabba, Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba, and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism.
Mandaeism, sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion with Greek, Iranian, and Jewish influences. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. Mandaeans consider Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem and John the Baptist prophets, with Adam being the founder of the religion and John being the greatest and final prophet.
In Mandaeism, kushta or kušṭa can have several meanings. Its original literal meaning is "truth" in the Mandaic language, and is thus typically used to refer to the Mandaean religious concept of truth. The same word is also used to refer to a sacred handclasp that is used during Mandaean rituals such as the masbuta, masiqta, and priestly initiation ceremonies.
A rasta is a white ceremonial garment that Mandaeans wear during most baptismal rites, religious ceremonies, and during periods of uncleanliness. It signifies the purity of the World of Light. The rasta is worn equally by the laypersons and the priests. If a Mandaean dies in clothes other than a rasta, it is believed that they will not reenter the World of Light, unless the rite "Ahaba ḏ-Mania" can be performed "for those who have died not wearing the ritual garment."
The Haran Gawaita also known as the Scroll of Great Revelation, is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the Mandaeans as Nasoraeans from Jerusalem and their arrival in a region described as "Inner Harran which is called the mountains of Madday", which some scholars have identified with Media. The Haran Gawaita continues the historical narrative of the Mandaean Book of Kings, adding a new eighth age to the seven described in that work.
In Mandaeism, the Book of John is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist.
The Scroll of Exalted Kingship is a Mandaean religious text. Written as a large illustrated scroll, the text consists of 1363 lines. The scroll is a commentary on the initiation of the tarmida "junior priest".
In Mandaeism, ʿUr is the king of the World of Darkness or underworld. He is the son of Ruha, the queen of the underworld, and her brother Gaf, one of the giants in the World of Darkness described in book 5 of the Ginza Rabba. Ur is typically portrayed as a large, ferocious dragon or snake. He is represented by the image of a serpent on the skandola talisman.
Maṣbuta is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion.
A ganzibra is a high priest in Mandaeism. Tarmidas, or junior priests, rank below the ganzibras.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley is a Norwegian-American religious studies scholar and historian of religion known for her work on Mandaeism and Gnosticism. She was a former Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College. She is known for translating the Scroll of Exalted Kingship and other Mandaean texts, as well as for her various books on the Mandaean religion and people. Her interests include Mandaean genealogy and anthropology.
In Mandaeism, Shitil is an uthra from the World of Light. Shitil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Seth.
The drabsha or darfash is the symbol of the Mandaean faith. It is typically translated as 'banner'.
The Mandaic word mana (ࡌࡀࡍࡀ) is a term that is roughly equivalent to the philosophical concept of nous. It has been variously translated as "mind", "soul", "treasure", "Garment", "Intellect", "Intelligence", "Heart", "Spirit", "Being"; or alternatively as "nous", "consciousness", or "vessel".
In Mandaeism, a ʿniana or eniana prayer is recited during rituals such as the masiqta and priest initiation ceremonies. They form part of the Qulasta. The rahma prayers are often considered to be a subset of the eniana prayers.
Mandaean names can include both birth names and baptismal names, called malwasha (ࡌࡀࡋࡅࡀࡔࡀ) in Mandaic.
Rishama Salah Choheili is an Iranian Mandaean priest in Australia. He is the head priest of Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia, as well as Wallacia Mandi in Wallacia, New South Wales.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mandaeism.
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