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 ...

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 Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. He is affiliated with the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and Mardin Artuklu University. He is currently a Professor of Comparative Semitics, Literature and Art History. He currently holds the rank of

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 ...

, 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 Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...

, son of Sheikh Negm, of Baghdad. He was ordained as a ganzibra (Mandaean high priest) and later emigrated to

, Australia, where he initially served with Ganzibra Salah Choheili. In 2005, he obtained a Ph.D. degree from the

, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the translation and analysis of the '' Dmut Kušṭa'' scroll. After graduating from the University of Sydney, he later took the name ''Brikha Naṣoraia'', which means "Blessed Naṣoraean" in Mandaic.

Career

As a ganzibra (head priest), he is currently the President of the Mandaean Spiritual Council (or the Mandaean Nasoraean Supreme Council) of Australia and is also the President of the International Mandaean Nasoraean Supreme Council (or Nasoraean Mandaean Association). Nasoraia lectures at the

and also at Mardin Artuklu University in

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

, Turkey. Brikha Nasoraia's research interests include

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

(particularly Mandaic lead rolls and

incantation bowl Incantation bowls are a form of Apotropaic magic, protective magic found in what is now Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during late antiquity from the sixth to eighth centuries, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria (region), Syri ...

s),

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

, and translation of Mandaic manuscripts. In 1998, together with

Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki () is an Iraqi-Australian writer and researcher based in the Sydney metropolitan area. He is known for his publications of Mandaic texts, including the Ginza Rba and Qulasta. Biography Al-Mubaraki is a Mandaean who wa ...

and his son Brian Mubaraki, he published a full printed version of the

Ginza Rabba 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 Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...

in typesetted Mandaic. He has participated in excavations at archaeological sites such as

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

. He is fluent in English, Arabic, and

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

. Nasoraia is also an artist who produces

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s featuring Mandaean religious themes. In late July of 2024, Nasoraia was ordained as a

. His ordination was attended by Rishama

Sattar Jabbar Hilow Rishama Sattar Jabbar Hilow al-Zahrooni (; also known as His Holiness Ganzevra Sattar Jabbar Hilo al-Zahrony; born 1956, Al-Kahla District, Al-Kahla, Maysan Governorate, Iraq) is the patriarch and international head of the Mandaeism, Mandaean r ...

and other Mandaean leaders. On 12 August 2024, his ordination was congratulated by Australian MP Anne Stanley.

Personal life

He is married to Nadia al-Faris, with whom he has three children.

Selected publications

Below is a partial list of publications by Brikha Nasoraia. Note that in earlier works, he is cited as Haithem Saed Naṣoraia. ''Brikha'' (which means "blessed" in Mandaic) is a title that was later added to his name as cited in academic literature, ''Haithem'' is his given name, ''Mahdi'' is his father's name, and ''Saed'' is his grandfather's name. ''Naṣoraia'' is used to denote that he is a Nasoraean, i.e. a Mandaean priest. (''See also'' Mandaean name.) As a result, he is also known as Sheikh (Rbai) Haithem Mahdi Saeed ().

Books

*Al-Mubaraki, Majid Fandi; Rbai Haithem Mahdi Saeed; Brian Mubaraki (eds). 1998. '' Ginza Rba''. Sydney, N.S.W., Australia. ISBN 0-646-35222-9. * *Nasoraia, Brikha (2022). ''Masbuta: The Mandaean Baptism'' (forthcoming). Belgium: Brepols Publishers. * (e-book: )

Book chapters

* *

Journal articles

*Nasoraia, B., Crangle, E. (2010). The ''Asuta'' wish: '' Adam Kasia'' and the Dynamics of Healing in Mandaean Contemplative Praxis. ''

ARAM Periodical The ''ARAM Periodical'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Aram Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies covering Ancient Near East studies with a particular focus on Aramaic studies, including archaeology, religious studi ...

'', 22, 349-390. *Crangle, E., Nasoraia, B. (2010). Soul Food: The Mandaean Laufani. ''

'', 22, 97-132. *Nasoraia, B., Trompf, G. (2011). Mandaean Macrohistory. ''

'', 22(2010), 391-425. *Trompf, G., Nasoraia, B. (2011). Reflecting on the ' Rivers Scroll'. ''

'', 22(2010), 61-86. * *

References

External links

Interview
from ''The Worlds of Mandaean Priests''
Lecture
at Mardin Artuklu University
Lecture
at

Nanhua University Nanhua University (NHU; ) is a university located in Dalin, Chiayi, Dalin Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. Founded in 1996 as the Nanhua College of Management, it was elevated to university status in 1999. The university was founded by the Budd ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasoraia, Brikha 1964 births Living people Iraqi emigrants to Australia Iraqi Mandaeans Mandaean priests Religious studies scholars Scholars of Mandaeism Translators from Mandaic Academic staff of the University of Sydney Academic staff of Mardin Artuklu University Clergy from Sydney Australian people of Iraqi descent Australian Mandaeans Ginza Rabba Iraqi religious writers Australian historians of religion Artists from Sydney Choheili family Rishamas University of Sydney alumni