Sheikh (''Rabbi'') Abdullah bar Negm (; born in

Qal'at Saleh The town of Qal'at Saleh () is the district centre of Qal'at Saleh District, Maysan Governorate, southern Iraq. It is located along the road that links Basra to Amarah, a mere 40 km away. Qalat Saleh’s nearest towns are the district centre ...

, Iraq; died 2009,

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

, Netherlands) was an Iraqi

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 text ...

who served as the

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 ...

(Mandaean patriarch) of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Iraq from 1981 to 1999.

Life

Rabbi Negm was born into the Khaffagi (written Mandaic: ''Kupašia'') clan. In 1947, his father, Rabbi

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 he ...

, who had just become a

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''. Oxfor ...

that same year, initiated him into the

hood. Abdullah bar Negm's ordination was mentioned in his father's two-page letter to E. S. Drower, which was dated February 4, 1948. Abdullah bar Negm married Rabbi

Abdullah Khaffagi Sheikh Abdullah Khaffagi (Mandaean baptismal name, baptismal name: Sam Yuhana bar Bihram ; ; ; born ; died 1975, Ahvaz) was an Iranian Mandaean priest from Ahvaz, Iran. He is a grandson of Ganzibra Ram Zihrun. Life Abdullah Khaffagi was born ...

's daughter Šarat (Sharat) from

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

, Iran.

Rafid al-Sabti Rbai Rafid al-Sabti, known in full as Rafid al-Rishama Abdallah al-Ganzibra Zahrun al-Rishama Abdallah al-Sabti (; born 1965, Iraq), is an Iraqi-Dutch Mandaean priest in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Biography Al-Sabti was born in 1965 to Rishama Ab ...

, a

tarmida A tarmida (singular form in , plural form in ; ; ) is a junior Mandaean priest, priest in Mandaeism. Ganzibras, or head priests, rank above tarmidas.Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ...

currently residing in

, Netherlands, is the son of Rabbi Abdullah. Abdullah bar Negm became

of Baghdad after

Dakhil Aidan Sheikh (''Rabbi'') Ganzibra Dakhil Aidan (also spelled Dakheel Edan or Dakhil Idan, ; Mandaean baptismal name: Mhatam Zihrun bar Adam; ; born April 14, 1881, died June 24, 1964) was the Iraqi Mandaean patriarch and international head of the Ma ...

's death in 1964. Rabbi Abdullah bar Negm was known for initiating Sheikh Haithem (now known as

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 Univ ...

, a

and professor living in Sydney, Australia) into the priesthood in Iraq, as well as the majority of well-known Mandaean priests in the diaspora. He later emigrated with his wife to the United Kingdom. After his wife died in the United Kingdom, Abdullah bar Negm moved to

, Netherlands to be with his family members. He died in the Netherlands in 2009.

Family

Abdullah bar Negm's grandfather is the son of

Ram Zihrun Ram Zihrun () was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood together with his cousin Yahya Bihram after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean ...

, one of the survivors of the 1831 cholera epidemic that nearly wiped out the Mandaean priesthood.

References

External links

Archival video of an interview with Sheikh Abdullah bar Negm

Rishama Abdullah bar Negm in Iraq, 1985-1990Rishama Abdullah bar Negm reciting prayersAbdullah bar Negm
reciting the ''

Asut Malkia The ''Asut Malkia'' ("Salutation of Kings") is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. In the prayer, the reciter wishes health and victory (''asuta u-zakuta'' ) upon dozens of heavenly and ancestral figures. According to E. S. Dro ...

'' (recorded on 21 November 1977 by

Kurt Rudolph Kurt Rudolph (3 April 1929
University of Leipzig – 13 May 2020) was a German researcher of < ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah Bar Negm 20th-century births 2009 deaths People from Maysan Governorate Religious leaders from Baghdad Mandaean priests Iraqi Mandaeans Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom Iraqi emigrants to the Netherlands Khaffagi family Iraqi religious leaders 20th-century Iraqi clergy Rishamas

Life

Family

See also

References

External links