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A Mandaean priest or Rabbi refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism.
All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation. [1] Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious texts hold the title Rabbi or in Arabic 'Sheikh'. [2] [3]
All Mandaean communities traditionally require the presence of a priest, since priests are required to officiate over all important religious rituals, including masbuta, masiqta, birth and wedding ceremonies. Priests also serve as teachers, scribes, and community leaders. Many Mandaean diaspora communities do not have easy access to priests. [1] Due to the shortage of priests in the Mandaean diaspora, halala (Classical Mandaic : ࡄࡀࡋࡀࡋࡀ) or learned Mandaean laymen who are ritually clean (both individually and in terms of family background) can sometimes assume minor roles typically assumed by ordained priests. Such laymen taking on limited priestly roles are called paisaq (Classical Mandaic : ࡐࡀࡉࡎࡀࡒ). [4] : 338 Ritually clean laymen who are literate in Mandaic and can read Mandaean scriptures are known as yalufa (Classical Mandaic : ࡉࡀࡋࡅࡐࡀ, romanized: ialupa). [5] : 15
In Mandaean scriptures, priests are referred to as Naṣuraiia (Classical Mandaic : ࡍࡀࡑࡅࡓࡀࡉࡉࡀ, lit. ' Naṣoraeans ') [6] or occasionally as Tarmiduta. On the other hand, laypeople are referred to as Mandaiia (Classical Mandaic : ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ, lit. 'Gnostics, Knowers, Enlightened Ones'). [7] : 116 Naṣuraiia are considered to have naṣiruta, or esoteric divine knowledge. (Brikha Nasoraia describes naṣiruta as the esoteric strand of Mandaeism, similar to how Sufism is related to Islam.) [7]
There are three types of priests in Mandaeism: [1]
Priests have lineages based on the succession of ganzibria priests who had initiated them. Priestly lineages, which are distinct from birth lineages, are typically recorded in the colophons of many Mandaean texts. The position is not hereditary, and any yalufa (yalupa), or Mandaean male who is highly knowledgeable about religious matters, is eligible to become a priest. [4]
Traditionally, any ganzeḇrā who baptizes seven or more ganzeḇrānā may qualify for the office of rišama. The current rišama of the Mandaean community in Iraq is Sattar Jabbar Hilo al-Zahrony. In Australia, the rišama of the Mandaean community is Salah Choheili. [8] [9]
A shganda (šganda) or ashganda (ašganda) [6] is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties. Prior to ordination, many priests have typically served as shganda as young men, although this is not a requirement. [1]
Zazai of Gawazta, who was active during the 270s AD during the reign of Sasanian Emperor Bahram I, is widely considered to be one of the first Mandaean priests. During the Muslim conquests of the 630s, the Mandaean priest Anush bar Danqa, led a delegation before the Muslim authorities to have the Mandaeans recognized as a People of the Book. [10] [1]
The contemporary Mandaean priesthood can trace its immediate origins to the first half of the 19th century. In 1831, a cholera pandemic in Shushtar, Iran devastated the region and eliminated all of the Mandaean religious leaders there. Two of the surviving acolytes ( šgandia ), Yahia Bihram and Ram Zihrun, reestablished the Mandaean priesthood in Suq esh-Shuyuk on the basis of their own training and the texts that were available to them. [4]
Although Mandaean priests have been exclusively male since the 1900s, Buckley (2010) presents evidence that there had historically been Mandaean priests who were women, including Bibia Mudalal (the wife of Ram Zihrun during the 19th century) and Shlama beth Qidra (Šlama, daughter of Qidra, from the 3rd century AD). [4]
Ritual clothing and accessories worn by Mandaean priests include: [1]
Mandaean priests are dressed completely in white to symbolize radiant uthras from the World of Light. [1]
Mandaean priests regularly receive zidqa (alms) [11] from laypeople, since priesthood is typically a full-time occupation.
Symbolically, a Mandaean priest represents an uthra on earth (Tibil). [1]
Shishlam is the personification of the prototypical or archetypal Mandaean priest. [1]
As of 2016, Rishama Salah Choheili estimated a total number of 43–44 Mandaean priests in the world, including tarmidas, ganzibras, and rishamas. [12] [13]
There are also a few Mandaean priests in Sweden, including Tarmida Qais Edan of Malmö. [17] Buckley (2023) reported that in 2015, there were 8 Mandaean priests in Sweden. [16] : 23
In 2016, Salah Choheili also estimated a total number of 16 shgandas in the world who could potentially become tarmidas, 4 of whom were in Australia. [13]
Rishama Abdullah Ganzibra Najam (died 2009) was one of the few high-ranking Mandaean priests in the Netherlands. [18]
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The Ginza Rabba, Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba, and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism.
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".
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 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.
A Ganzibra is a high priest in Mandaeism. Tarmidas, or junior priests, rank below the Ganzibras.
The Diwan ḏ-Qadaha Rba Šuma ḏ-Mara ḏ-Rabuta u-Dmut Kušṭa, or simply the Dmut Kušṭa, is a Mandaean religious text. It is written as an illustrated scroll. No published translation of the text currently exists.
The Diwan ḏ-Nahrawata or Diwan ḏ-Nahrauata is a Mandaean religious text. It is written as an illustrated scroll.
In Mandaeism, a shganda or ashganda (ašganda) is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties.
Mandaean Australians are Australians of Mandaean descent or Mandaeans who have Australian citizenship.
In Mandaeism, rishama (rišama) is a daily ablution ritual. Unlike the masbuta, it does not require the assistance of a priest. Rishama (signing) is performed before prayers and involves washing the face and limbs while reciting specific prayers such as the rushma. It is performed daily, before sunrise, with hair covered and after evacuation of bowels, or before religious ceremonies.
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.
Rabbi Prof. 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.
Salah Choheili is an Iranian Mandaean priest in Australia. He is the head priest of the Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.
Rabbi 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.
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.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Ganzibra Taleb Doraji is an Iranian Mandaean priest and goldsmith from Ahvaz, Khuzestan.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mandaeism.
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