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 ...

Salah Choheili (; also known as Ganzibra Ṣalah Jabbar Ṭawus Choheili; Salah Al-Kuhaili; born 1952,

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) is an Iranian

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 ...

in Australia. He is the head priest of

Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi (officially registered as Mandi Genzvra Dakhil) is a Mandaean temple ( mandi) in downtown Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after Rishama Dakhil Aidan, who was the head priest of the Mandaean community i ...

Liverpool, New South Wales Liverpool is a suburb of South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, south-west of the Sydney CBD. It is the administrative seat of the City of Liverpool and is in the Cumberland Plain. History Indigenous Before Bri ...

, Australia, as well as

Wallacia Mandi Wallacia Mandi (also known as Mandi Wallacia or Mendi Wallacia; ) is a Mandaean temple ( mandi) under construction in Wallacia, New South Wales, Australia. The mandi is located on the west bank of the Nepean River. It is the only mandi in Aust ...

Wallacia, New South Wales Wallacia is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Formerly a rural village it is west of the Sydney GPO (General Post Office), in the local government areas of the City of Penrith, City of Liverpool and Wollondilly S ...

Biography

Salah Choheili was born in

, Iran in 1952 into the Kuhailia (Persian pronunciation: ''Choheili'') family. His ''malwasha'' (

baptismal name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious name, religious personal personal name, name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth. In Anglosphere, English-spe ...

) is Sam bar Sharat Simat (; full baptismal name: ''Sam br Šarat Simat br Mhatam Yuhana br Yahya br Zihrun'', surname ''Kuhailia''). His father was Ganzibra

Jabbar Choheili Sheikh (''Rabbi'') Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili (, also known as Sheikh Jabbar Ṭawūsī Al-Kuhaili, ; born 1923, died December 27, 2014) was an Iranian Mandaean priest, the head of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz, which presides over the Mandaea ...

. Salah Choheili's brother is Najah Choheili (), who is currently the head of the Mandaean community in Iran, while his sister is Nargess Choheili. In 1976, he was initiated as 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. ...

by Ganzibra Abdullah Ganzibra Sam at the Mandi of

Dora, Baghdad Dora (also al-Dura, or ad-Durah, , Syriac: ܕܘܿܪܵܐ) is a neighborhood in Al Rashid administrative district, southern Baghdad, Iraq. Before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, it was home to the city's largest concentration of Christian Assyri ...

. He spent 5 months in Baghdad and subsequently returned to Iran to serve the Mandaean community of

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

. In 1992, he attained the rank of

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 ...

. In 1996, he emigrated to Australia. During the early 2000s, his priestly assistants were the

s Haithem Saeed (now a

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 ...

who is more widely known as Brikha Nasoraia) and Alaa An-Nashmi (now more widely known as

Yuhana Nashmi Yuhana Nashmi (; Mandaic language, Mandaic: ; also known as Sheikh Alaa Nashmi or Ala’a Nashmi; ) is an Iraqi-Australian visual artist and ceramicist. Early life Nashmi was born in Baghdad, Iraq. His ''malwasha'' (Mandaean name, baptismal name ...

). On June 13, 1999, Ganzibra Salah Choheili, together with Tarmida Taleb Doraji from

, performed the first-ever

masbuta Maṣbuta (; pronounced ''maṣwottā'' in Neo-Mandaic) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as ritual purification, not of initia ...

on a university campus and at an academic conference, the ARAM 13th International Conference at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. The masbuta was performed in the

Charles River The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...

, with

Salem Choheili Šganda Salem Choheili (; born 1935 in Ahvaz, Iran) is an Iranian Mandaean scribe, teacher, and author. He is also a shganda and ''yalufa'' (learned Mandaean layman) and is one of the leaders of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz. Salem Choheili is ...

and his brother assisting as

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 Man ...

s. A 52-minute film of the 1999 ARAM conference masbuta was also made by Jesse Buckley, the stepson of

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 ...

. In 2004, Ganzibra Salah Choheili copied the

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 ...

. His colophon has been translated into English by Gelbert (2017). Salah Choheili became a

in 2010 and is commonly recognized as the head priest and leader of the Mandaean community in Australia. In Australia, he worked on publishing a new 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 ...

with various members of the Mandaean community, including

Carlos Gelbert Carlos Gelbert (born 1948) is an Australian writer and translator. He is best known for publishing the first full-length English translations of the Ginza Rba (2011) and Mandaean Book of John (2017) together with Mark J. Lofts. Gelbert has also ...

, Qais Al-Saadi, and others. He has initiated several priests, including Ganzibra Waleed Khashan, who also currently resides in Australia. As the religious head of the Sabian Mandaean Association in Australia, Salah Choheili is currently supervising the construction and expansion of

(also known as Mendi Wallacia), a mandi located by the banks of the

Nepean River The Nepean River (Darug language, Darug: Yandhai), is a Perennial stream, major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River, and, continuing by its downstream name, the Hawkesbury ...

. Salah Choheili has several children. One of his sons is Shadan Choheili, a

Mandaic language Mandaic, or more specifically Classical Mandaic, is the liturgical language of Mandaeism and a South Eastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran, for their religiou ...

teacher.

References

External links

Mandaean Masbuta (13 June 1999)
performed by Salah Choheili and Taleb Doragi at the ARAM 13th International Conference, Harvard University (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Choheili, Salah Living people 1952 births Mandaean priests Religious leaders from Ahvaz Iranian Mandaeans Clergy from Sydney Australian people of Iranian descent Iranian emigrants to Australia Australian Mandaeans Ginza Rabba Choheili family Rishamas Mandaic-speaking people

Biography

See also

References

External links