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Ganzibra
A ganzibra (singular form in , plural form in , literally 'treasurer' in Mandaic; ) is a high priest in Mandaeism. Tarmidas, or junior priests, rank below the ganzibras.Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Symbolically, ganzibras are considered to be uthras on earth ( Tibil). Their responsibilities include performing masbuta, masiqta, wedding ceremonies, and other rituals, all of which can only be performed by priests. They must prepare their own food to maintain ritual purity. Ganzibra priests are also prohibited from consuming stimulants such as wine, tobacco, and coffee. Ordination The ganzibras go through an elaborate set of initiation rituals that are separate from those performed for the tarmidas. According Drower (1937), a ganzibra can only be initiated immediately before the death of a pious member of the Mandaean community. Two ganzibras and two shgandas are required to perform the initiation. Drower, E. S. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Negm Bar Zahroon
Ganzibra Negm bar Zahroon (Mandaean baptismal name, baptismal name: Adam Negm bar Zakia Zihrun ; ; born 1892, Huwaiza; died 1976, Qal'at Saleh District) was a Mandaean priest. He is known for his role 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. Names He is often known simply as Sheikh Negm or Sheikh Nejm in E. S. Drower's writings. His Mandaean baptismal name is Adam Negm bar Zakia Zihrun bar Ram Zihrun (or also Negm bar Zihrun ). In his letters to Drower, he refers to himself as Sheikh Negm, son of Sheikh Zahroon. Life Sheikh Negm was born in Huwaiza in 1892 into the Khaffagi (written Mandaic: ''Kupašia'') clan. He lived in Khorramshahr during his early youth. He later moved to Liṭlaṭa, Qal'at Saleh District, Qal'at Saleh in 1914, where he was later initiated as a tarmida. He became acquainted with E. S. Drower sometime before 1933, with whom he had a lifelong collaboration. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khaldoon Majid Abdullah
Ganzibra Khaldoon Majid Abdullah (; born 16 March 1963, in Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq) is an Iraqi-Australian Mandaean priest. He is currently the ganzibra (senior priest) of Yahya Yuhana Mandi (also known as Mandi Yehya Yahana or Mandi Yehya Youhanna) in Prestons, New South Wales, Australia. Biography Khaldoon Majid Abdullah was born on 16 March 1963 in Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq. His Mandaean baptismal name is Adam bar Maliha (). His father died when he was 4 months old. When he was 7 years old, he moved to Baghdad. In 1995, he was initiated as a tarmida by his rabbi, Tarmida Khalaf Abed Raba, when he was 32 years old. Rishamma Abdullah bar Sam was the head priest supervising the initiation at the time. Khaldoon Majid Abdullah later attained the rank of ganzibra and emigrated to Australia. In 2019, he initiated Sahi Bashikh, who had arrived in Australia from Iran in 2017, as a tarmida. As of 2023, he serves as the head priest of Yahya Yuhana Mandi in the Sydney met ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brikha Nasoraia
Rishama Brikha H. S. Nasoraia (full name: Brikha Haithem Saed Naṣoraia; ; born 1964 in Iraq) 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. He currently holds the rank of rishama, the highest rank of the Mandaean priesthood. Early life and education Brikha Nasoraia was born in Iraq to Mahdi Saed (father; ) and Layla (mother). His Mandaean baptismal name is Sam bar Sam Yuhana (). He belongs to the Kuhailia ( Choheili) family and can thus trace his ancestry back to Adam Zakia, the father of Bihram Bar-Hiia, who lived around 1500 A.D. He was initiated into the Mandaean priesthood by Sheikh Abdullah, son of Sheikh Negm, of Baghdad. He was ordained as a ganzibra (Mandaean high priest) and later emigrated to Sydney, Australia, where he initially served with Ganzibra Salah Choheili. In 2005, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandaean Priests
A Mandaean priest or ''Tarmida'' () refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism. Overview All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation. Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious texts hold the title in Arabic, Sheikh. In Iran, they are also occasionally referred to as Mullah. 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. Due to the shortage of priests in the Mandaean diaspora, ''halala'' () 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 ''pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masiqta
The masiqta () is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul ('' nišimta'') towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for Mandaeans who have just died. Although usually translated as "death mass", a few types of ''masiqta'' are also performed for living people, such as when priests are ordained. Masiqtas are also used to consecrate houses of worship ('' bit manda''). Purpose The complex ritual involves guiding the soul through the '' maṭarta'', or toll houses located between the Earth ( Tibil) and the World of Light, which are guarded by various uthras and demons. A successful masiqta merges the incarnate soul ( ; roughly equivalent to the '' psyche'' or " ego" in Greek philosophy) and spirit ( ; roughly equivalent to the ''pneuma'' or "breath" in Greek philosophy) from the Earth ( Tibil) into a new merged entity in the World of Light called the ''ʿuṣṭuna''. The ''ʿuṣṭun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandaean Priest
A Mandaean priest or ''Tarmida'' () refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism. Overview All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation. Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious texts hold the title in Arabic, Sheikh. In Iran, they are also occasionally referred to as Mullah. 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. Due to the shortage of priests in the Mandaean diaspora, ''halala'' () 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 ''paisa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shganda
In Mandaeism, a shganda (''šganda''; ), shkanda (), or ashganda (''ʔšganda'')Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties. In the Mandaean diaspora, shgandas, or alternatively learned laymen called ''yalufa'', often perform minor priestly roles due to shortages of tarmida and ganzibra priests abroad. Tarmida initiations Tarmida initiates or novices (''šualia'') have often been trained as shgandas when they were children. Initiates may or may not be married, although typically they are not yet married. During tarmida initiation ceremonies, shgandas, who represent emissaries from the World of Light, also help perform the rituals, many of which are held in a specially constructed priest initiation hut (''škinta'') and also a nearby temporary reed hut (''andiruna''). Notable shgandas * Salem Choheili (born 1935), scribe, teacher, and author in Ahvaz See also *Acolyte * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods revered by the Egyptians. * While not regarded as a dynasty, the High Priest of Amun at Thebes, Egypt were nevertheless of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt from 1080 to * High Priest of Osiris. The main cult of Osiris was in Abydos, Egypt. * High Priest of Ptah. The main cult of Ptah was in Memphis, Egypt.Dodson and Hilton, ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', 2004. * High Priest of Ra. The main cult of Ra was in Heliopolis. * God's Wife of Amun – the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult Ancient Israel The High Priest of Israel served in the Tabernacle, then in Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qulasta
The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sacred rituals involved in the ascension of the soul ('' masiqta''). In Mandaic, individual prayers are generally called ''buta'' (plural form: ''bawata''), although some prayers also known as ''qaiamta'', ''šrita'' (loosing or deconsecration prayers), and other Mandaic designations. There is no standardized version of the Qulasta; different versions can contain varying numbers of prayers, and ordering of the prayers can also vary. The most commonly used Qulasta versions are those of E. S. Drower (1959 English translation) and Mark Lidzbarski (1920 German translation). The most complete versions have approximately 340 prayers, excluding duplicates. Eric Segelberg (1958) contains a detailed study of many of the first 90 Qulasta prayers (m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yura (Mandaeism)
In Mandaeism, Yura () is an uthra (angelic or celestial being). Yura is mentioned in ''Right Ginza'' 15.7, 15.8, 16.1, and 17.1, as well as in ''Qulasta'' prayers 214 and 379. In ''Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...'' 15.7, 16.1, and 17.1, he is mentioned as Yura Rba Ganzibra, meaning "Great Yura the Ganzibra" or "Great Yura the Treasurer"; ''Right Ginza'' 15.8 and the ''Qulasta'' prayers mention him simply as Yura Rba ("Great Yura"). While Shishlam is considered to be the prototypical Mandaean priest (of any rank), Yura may be thought of as the prototypical ganzibra. See also * Shishlam * Ganzibra References {{Authority control Uthras Mythological archetypes * Personifications in Mandaeism ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taleb Doraji
Ganzibra Taleb Doraji (also spelled Taleb Doragi, Taleb Dorragi, or Talib Durašia (); born 1937 in Ahvaz, Iran) is an Iranian Mandaean priest and goldsmith from Ahvaz, Khuzestan. He became a tarmida in 1998 and later attained the rank of ganzibra. Biography Taleb Doraji was born in Ahvaz in 1937. He is the cousin of Jabbar Choheili, since they both have the same grandfather, named Salim. Taleb Doraji is a member of the Durašia (also spelled Durakia in the colophons of Mandaean texts; modern Persianized pronunciation: "Doraji") clan. On June 13, 1999, Taleb Doraji (who had just become a tarmida a year earlier), together with Ganzibra Salah Choheili from Ahvaz, performed the first-ever masbuta on a university campus and at an academic conference, the ARAM 13th International Conference at Harvard University. The masbuta was performed in the Charles River, with Salem Choheili and his brother assisting as shgandas. Taleb Doraji is a goldsmith who owns a jewellery shop in the Ahv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rishama
A rishama (''rišama''; ''riš-ama''), rishamma, 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 (see Mandaean priest). In Iraq, the current rishama is Sattar Jabbar Hilo. In Australia, there are two rishamas, namely Salah Choheili and Brikha Nasoraia. Etymology The Mandaic language, Mandaic term ''rišama'' is derived from the words ''riš'' 'head' and ''ama'' 'people'. Although the term for the Mandaean rishama (ablution), daily minor ablution is also spelled the same in written Classical Mandaic (''rišama''), the word for 'minor ablution' is pronounced in Modern Mandaic as , while 'head priest' is pronounced . Notable ''rishama'' or patriarchs Pre-20th century *Zazai d-Gawazta bar Hawa, patriarch datable to around the year 270 CE and earliest known copyist of Alma Rišaia Zuṭa, Qulasta, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, The Baptism of Hibi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
