An andiruna () is a temporary

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

hut used during

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 ...

initiation ceremonies. Drower, E. S. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Leiden: Brill (1962 reprint).

Etymology

The term ''andiruna'' or ''ʿndiruna'' (''ʿndruna'') literally means 'chamber' and can also be used to refer to a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

chamber or canopy.

Ceremonial usage

Several different priestly texts, including the ''

Scroll of Exalted Kingship The ''Scroll of Exalted Kingship'' ( ; Modern Mandaic: ''Diwān Malkuthā Əlaythā'') 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 tar ...

'' () and '' The Great Supreme World'' (),Drower, E. S. 1963.
A Pair of Naṣoraean Commentaries: Two Priestly Documents, the Great First World and the Lesser First World
'. Leiden: Brill. need to kept in the ''andiruna'' hut during the initiation ceremony, or else the ceremony would be deemed invalid without the presence of the texts. During the

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. ...

initiation ceremony, the initiating priest (''rba'') and the novice stay in the ''andiruna'' hut for one entire week without sleeping. The priest and the novice emerge from the hut after the 7 days are completed, and the hut is taken down. Afterwards, the novice undergoes 60 days of seclusion at home.

Symbolism

During the priest initiation ceremony, another reed hut, the ''

škinta In Mandaeism, a shkinta () or shkina (''škina'') is a celestial dwelling inhabited by uthras in the World of Light that is analogous to the shekhinah in Jewish mysticism. In Tibil (the physical earth), it refers to a reed (plant), reed or mud h ...

'', is constructed to the north of the andiruna. It symbolizes the

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld () is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'' or Supreme God/ Monad) is the ruler of the World of Ligh ...

and it covered by a white cloth roof. In contrast, the andiruna has a blue cloth roof to symbolize the color of

Ruha Ruha (pronounced /ˈruːhə/) is a term with spiritual connotations found across various religious traditions. In Arabic, Ruh () signifies "spirit" or "soul" and is a fundamental concept in Islam, referring to the divine breath of life.Esposito, ...

. Together, the two adjacent huts symbolize complementary masculine and feminine elements. The andiruna symbolizes the "female" side, and is associated with the earth (

Tibil In Mandaean cosmology, Tibil () or occasionally Arqa ḏ-Tibil (lit. "Tibil-Earth") is the Earth (World) or earthly middle realm. It is separated from the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') above and the World of Darkness (Mandaeism), World of D ...

), laypeople, the left side, silver, and the

klila In Mandaeism, the klila () is a small Myrtus, myrtle () wreath or ring (translated as "circlet" by E. S. Drower) used during Mandaean religious rituals. The klila is a female symbol that complements the ''taga (Mandaeism), taga'', a white crown w ...

(myrtle wreath). Similarly, in a traditional Persian house, the women's quarters are known as ''andirūn''. The ''

'' (cognate with the Hebrew word

shekhinah Shekhinah () is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature. The word "Shekhinah" is found in the Bible onl ...

; from the

Semitic root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

''š-k-n'', associated with dwellings) symbolizes the "male" side, and is associated with the

, priests, the right side, gold, and the taga (crown).

References

{{Mandaeism footer Mandaean buildings Mandaic words and phrases Religious buildings and structures

Etymology

Ceremonial usage

Symbolism

See also

References