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A rishama (rišama; riš-ama), rishamma, or rishema (Classical Mandaic : ࡓࡉࡔࡀࡌࡀ, lit. ''head/leader of the people''; Modern Mandaic : rišammā; [1] Arabic : ريش امّة; Persian : ریشا اد اما) is a religious patriarch in Mandaeism. [2] It is the highest rank out of all the Mandaean clergical ranks. [3] The next ranks are the ganzibra and tarmida priests (see Mandaean priest).
In Iraq, the current rishama is Sattar Jabbar Hilo. [4] [5] [6] In Australia, Rishamas are Brikha Nasoraia and Salah Choheili [7] [8]
The Mandaic term rišama is derived from the words riš 'head' and ama 'people'. Although the term for the Mandaean daily minor ablution is also spelled the same in written Classical Mandaic (rišama), the word for 'minor ablution' is pronounced in Modern Mandaic as rešāmā, while 'head priest' is pronounced rišammā. [1]
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.
Rishama Sattar Jabbar Hilow al-Zahrooni is the patriarch and international head of the Mandaean religion in Iraq. He is currently based in Baghdad, Iraq, where he serves as the head of the Sabian–Mandaean Mandi of Baghdad.
The Mandaean Council of Ahvaz is the main organization of the Mandaean religion and the primary authority of the Mandaean ethnic community in Ahvaz, Iran.
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.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili was an Iranian Mandaean priest, the head of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz, which presides over the Mandaean community of Iran.
A ganzibra is a high priest in Mandaeism. Tarmidas, or junior priests, rank below the ganzibras.
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.
Mandaean Australians are Australians of Mandaean descent or Mandaeans who have Australian citizenship.
A Mandaean priest or Rabbi refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism.
Daily prayer in Mandaeism, called brakha ࡁࡓࡀࡊࡀ in Mandaic or occasionally birukta (birukhta), consists of set prayers that are recited three times per day. Mandaeans stand facing north while reciting daily prayers. Unlike in Islam and Coptic Orthodox Christianity, prostration is not practiced.
Rishama Brikha H. S. Nasoraia is an Iraqi-Australian Mandaean priest and scholar based in Sydney, Australia. He is affiliated with the University of Sydney and Mardin Artuklu University. He is currently a Professor of Comparative Semitics, Literature and Art History.
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.
Choheili or Chohaili is an Iranian and Iraqi Mandaean surname or family name. The Choheili (Kuhailia) family has produced many Mandaean priests. Notable people with the surname include:
Ganzibra Negm bar Zahroon was a Mandaean priest. He is primarily known as E. S. Drower's main field consultant who helped her procure dozens of Mandaic texts, now kept in the Bodleian Library's Drower Collection.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Abdullah bar Negm was an Iraqi Mandaean priest who served as the Rishama of Baghdad, Iraq during the latter half of the 20th century.
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.
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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mandaeism.