Lamia Abbas Amara (; ), also sometimes spelled Lamea Abbas Amara; 1929 – 18 June 2021) was an Iraqi poet. She was a pioneer of modern

Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ''ash-shi‘r al-‘arabīyy'') is one of the earliest forms of Arabic literature. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry contains the bulk of the oldest poetic material in Arabic, but Old Arabic inscriptions reveal the art of poetry existe ...

and an important figure in contemporary poetry in Iraq.

Name

Lamia is her given name, while Abbas is her father's name, and Amara is her paternal grandfather's name.

Early life and education

She was born to a Mandaean family in

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 ...

in 1929, and later grew up in

Amarah Amarah (), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between ...

. Her father was Bayan bar Manu, while her paternal grandfather was Sheikh Amara, who worked for the British during World War II. Her uncle Zahroun Amara (died 1929) was a famous silversmith, while her cousin Abdul Razzak Abdul Wahid (1930–2015) was also a poet. Her mother, the sister of Rabbi

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 ...

, belonged to the Manduia priestly lineage. She studied at the Teachers' Training College, which later became part of the

Baghdad University The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public research university in Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the ...

, and graduated in 1950.

Career

She was a member of the administrative board of the Iraqi Writers Union in Baghdad between 1963 and 1975, a member of the administrative board of the Syriac Synod in Baghdad, and deputy permanent representative of Iraq to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

between 1973 and 1975, and director of culture and arts at the

University of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

in Baghdad. She left Iraq in 1978 and lived most of her exile in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, United States after emigrating during the time of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

. Her sister, Shafia Abbas Amara, also emigrated to San Diego. Lamia Abbas specialized in Arabic eloquent and popular Iraqi poetry. She was awarded the

National Order of the Cedar The National Order of the Cedar () is the highest Order (honour), state order of Lebanon, established on 31 December 1936. It is offered in five grades. History The Order was created on the 31 December 1936, but is regulated by the Lebanese C ...

by the Lebanese state for her work. Together with her sister Shafia Abbas Amara, she published a magazine called ''Mandaee'' in the United States, which was mostly in Arabic but also partially in English. Lamia Abbas owned several

Mandaean manuscripts This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā''), the ''Mandaean B ...

that were given to her by her maternal uncle,

. These manuscripts, including 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 ...

'' (two copies dating to 1886 and 1935), ''

Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

'' (from 1922), and ''

Book of the Zodiac The ''Book of the Zodiac'' (; Modern Mandaic: ''Asfar Malwāši'') is a Mandaean text. It covers Mandaean astrology in great detail. The book is used to obtain a Mandaean's baptismal name (''malwasha''). It is also an important source on Mandaea ...

'' (from 1919), were studied by

Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley (born Jorunn Jacobsen, 1944) is a Norwegian-American religious studies scholar and historian of religion known for her work on Mandaeism and Gnosticism. She was a former Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College. She is ...

. Buckley and Abbas were also lifelong friends. She kept the manuscripts inside white cotton cloth bags containing musk grains, considered to be the scent of Life by Mandaeans. Abbas died in the United States on 18 June 2021, aged 92.

Family

Lamia's sons are Zakia and Zaidoun.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Lamia 1929 births 2021 deaths Iraqi Mandaeans 20th-century Iraqi poets Iraqi women poets Writers from Baghdad Recipients of the National Order of the Cedar American Mandaeans Iraqi emigrants to the United States Poets from California Writers from San Diego Iraqi book and manuscript collectors People from Amarah Ginza Rabba Manduia family American book and manuscript collectors Mandaean women