The Qolastā, Qulasta, or Qolusta is the 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).
In Mandaeism, manda is the concept of gnosis or spiritual knowledge. Mandaeans stress salvation of the soul through secret knowledge (gnosis) of its divine origin. Mandaeism "provides knowledge of whence we have come and whither we are going."
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."
Mandaean cosmology is the Gnostic conception of the universe in the religion of Mandaeism.
In Mandaeism, Manda d-Hayyi or Manda ḏ-Hiia is an uthra sent by the Great Life as a messenger to John the Baptist. Manda d-Hayyi is considered to be the most important uthra, since he is the one bringing manda to Earth (Tibil).
The Mandaean calendar is a 365-day solar calendar used by the Mandaean people. It consists of twelve 30-day months, with five extra days at the end of Šumbulta. The Parwanaya festival takes place during those five days. There is no leap year therefore every four years all Mandaean dates move one day back with respect to the Gregorian calendar.
In Mandaeism, Hibil or Hibil Ziwa is an uthra from the World of Light. Hibil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Abel.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Ganzibra Dakhil Aidan was the Iraqi patriarch and international head of the Mandaean religion from 1917, until his death in 1964. The mandi in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia is named in his honor.
A rishama or rishema is a religious patriarch in Mandaeism. It is the highest rank out of all the Mandaean clergical ranks. The next ranks are the ganzibra and tarmida priests.
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.
A Mandaean priest or Rabbi refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism.
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 (zodiacal) names, called malwasha (ࡌࡀࡋࡅࡀࡔࡀ) in Mandaic.
Choheili or Chohaili is an Iranian Mandaean surname or family name. The Choheili (Kuhailia) family has produced many Mandaean priests. Notable people with the surname include:
The Khaffagi family is a Mandaean priestly family with origins in Khuzestan, Iran, although some family members also lived in southern Iraq. The family's genealogy can be traced back to the mid-1400s in Khuzestan.
The Shumhata is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism.
Sheikh Abdullah bar Sam was an Iraqi Mandaean priest. He is known as the priestly initiator of Jabbar Choheili and Salah Choheili, as well as the father of physicist Abdul Jabbar Abdullah.
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