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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 Book of John, and the Qulasta. Texts for Mandaean priests include The 1012 Questions, among others. Some, like the Ginza Rabba, are codices (bound books), while others, such as the various diwans, are illustrated scrolls.[1]
Mandaean copyists or scribes (Mandaic: sapra[2]) may transcribe texts as a meritorious deed for one's own forgiveness of sins, or they may be hired to copy a text for another person.[3] Mandaean sacred scriptures, such as the Ginza Rabba are traditionally kept in wooden chests wrapped in layers of white cotton and silk cloth. These protected manuscripts are generally not touched by ordinary laypeople, although learned laymen (yalufa) who demonstrate proper knowledge and respect for the manuscripts are usually granted access by priests, similar to the level of respect given to the Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism.[4] Gloves are worn while handling copies of the Ginza Rabba that are used for liturgical purposes.
Mandaean religious texts can be written in book or codex form (draša ࡃࡓࡀࡔࡀ, sidra ࡎࡉࡃࡓࡀ, or ktaba ࡊࡕࡀࡁࡀ) or as scrolls (diwan ࡃࡉࡅࡀࡍ, šafta ࡔࡀࡐࡕࡀ, or šarḥ ࡔࡀࡓࡇ) that are often illustrated. The illustrations, usually labeled with lengthy written explanations, typically contain abstract geometric drawings of uthras that are reminiscent of cubism or prehistoric rock art.
In Mandaean texts, the end of each chapter or section is typically denoted by the Mandaean letters s—a (ࡎࡀ; also known as saka), which are separated by a long ligature.[5]
Some scrolls are talismans (zrazta ࡆࡓࡀࡆࡕࡀ), amulets (qmaha ࡒࡌࡀࡄࡀ), or exorcisms (pašar ࡐࡀࡔࡀࡓ or pišra ࡐࡉࡔࡓࡀ), all of which are subtypes of phylacteries. Others consist of prayers such as rahmia ࡓࡀࡄࡌࡉࡀ ('devotions'), ʿniania ࡏࡍࡉࡀࡍࡉࡀ ('responses'), and rušuma ࡓࡅࡔࡅࡌࡀ (' "signing" prayers'). Many scrolls contain symbolic descriptions of rituals, such as various types of masiqta and masbuta rituals. Mandaean texts typically have colophons (tarik ࡕࡀࡓࡉࡊ) giving detailed information about the scribes who had transcribed them, as well as dates, lineages, and other historical information.[6]
Drower (1953) recognizes six main groups of Mandaean literature.[5]
Little is known about the redactors or authors of the texts. The contents date to both pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. The oldest Mandaean magical text is dated to the 4th and 5th centuries CE.[citation needed]
During the past few decades, Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki, a Mandaean living in Australia, has digitized many Mandaean texts using typesetted Mandaic script.[7]
This section lists the titles of various Mandaic religious texts.
The primary three scriptures containing the most important narratives, liturgies, and doctrines of Mandaeism are the Ginza Rabba, Mandaean Book of John, and Qulasta. They widely used by both lay Mandaeans and Mandaean priests. The Haran Gawaita is a text that discusses the origins and history of the Mandaean people.
Magical texts such as zrazta, qmaha, and the like are listed below. Note that these manuscript designations (zrazta, qmaha, etc.) are interchangeable, with different manuscript titles providing varying designations.
The majority of known Mandaean texts are currently held at libraries in Oxford, London, and Paris.
The Code Sabéen (also Codex Sabéen or CS) manuscripts are held at the National Library of France (BnF). Much of the following information is derived from an 1874 catalogue of Syriac manuscripts compiled by Jules-Antoine Taschereau , which lists descriptions for Mss. Sabéen 1–19.[23] Many of the manuscripts can be viewed online at the Bibliothèque nationale de France's Gallica digital library.
Buckley has also found Ginza manuscripts that are privately held by Mandaeans in the United States (two in San Diego, California; one in Flushing, New York; and one in Lake Grove, New York). Buckley has also located a privately held copy of the Book of the Zodiac dating from 1919, which belonged to Lamea Abbas Amara in San Diego.[6]
Manuscripts of the Mandaean Book of John that are privately held by Mandaeans in the United States include:[6][11]
The Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC) is a private collection of Mandaean manuscripts belonging to the Mandaean priest Rbai Rafid al-Sabti in Nijmegen, Netherlands.[18] Important manuscripts in the collection include different versions of the Ginza Rabba, various priestly texts, and numerous magical texts.[28]
Individual Mandaean priests, including Salah Choheili and Sahi Bashikh, among others, also have private manuscript collections.
The Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC), held by Rbai Rafid al-Sabti in Nijmegen, Netherlands, is likely the world's largest private collection of Mandaean manuscripts. The physical manuscripts date back to the 17th century,[29] while the contents date back to pre-Islamic times. The entire collection was photographed by Matthew Morgenstern in 2013.[30] Many manuscripts in the collection have been digitized and published online in transliterated format by Matthew Morgenstern and Ohad Abudraham. RRC manuscripts cited in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL) are as follows. The following list is compiled from the CAL[31] and Morgenstern's article "New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Mandaic".[30]
RRC MS | Contents | Notes |
---|---|---|
RRC 1A | Šarḥ ḏ-Traṣa ḏ-Taga ḏ-Šišlam Rba | Copied in Shushtar in 1156 A.H. (1744-5 A.D.) by Iuhana br Ram br Sam br Adam k. Malka Sabur. More accurate than the corrupt Drower version and the late British Library version. Main text used in the CAL. |
RRC 1C | Šarḥ Maṣbuta Rbtia | Copied in 1074 A.H. (1663-4 A.D.) by Yahia Yuhana br Rbai Zihrun Adam in Šuštar.[32][33] Most complete manuscript of Šarḥ Maṣbuta Rbtia. A transliteration and English translation of the colophon is included Morgenstern (2019).[33] Variant: DC 50. Main text used in the CAL. |
RRC 1E | Šapta ḏ-Pišra ḏ-Ainia | Variants: DC 29, DC 21, MS Berlin, RRC 3K.[34] |
RRC 1F | Qmaha ḏ-br ˁngaria; Qmaha ḏ-br ˁngaria Zuṭa; Qmaha ḏ-Šuba; Qmaha ḏ-Iurba; Qmaha ḏ-Gastata | Copied by Mhatam Iuhana br Ram Zihrun br Sam k. ˁAziz l. Kupašia udurašiḥ in 1286 A.H. (1869-70 A.D.). Variants: DC 43g I and DC 43g II (copied by Iahia Bihram br Adam Iuhana in the marshlands in 1272 A.H. (1855-6 A.D.)), DC 46, Codex Sabéen (CS) 27.[35] |
RRC 1G | Šapta ḏ-Qaština | Copied by Mhatam Iuhana br Ram Zihrun br Sam in the marshlands in 1287 A.H. (1870-1 A.D.) |
RRC 1P | Šapta ḏ-Pišra ḏ-Šumqa | Copied in Amara in 1289 A.H. (1872-3 A.D.) by Ram Zihrun br Sam Zihrun br Iahia Zihrun k. ˁAziz |
RRC 1T | Šapta ḏ-Bit Mišqal Ainia | Copied by Adam Yuhana br Sam br Bihram in Shushtar in 1196 A.H. (1782 A.D.). Earliest manuscript of Bit Mišqal Ainia. Variants: DC 26 and DC 28. Main text used in the CAL. |
RRC 2C | Pašar Mihla | Copied in 1274 A.H. (1857-1858 A.D.). More accurate than DC 40. Main text used in the CAL. |
RRC 2E | Šarḥ ḏ-Traṣa ḏ-Taga ḏ-Šišlam Rba | Copied in Mučarra in 1200 A.H. (1785–1786 A.D.). Damaged manuscript. |
RRC 2M | Diwan Mhita u-Asuta | Copied by Zihrun br Yahia Sam[33] in 1086 A.H. (1675–1676 A.D.). Longest RRC manuscript. Contains Neo-Mandaic features.[29] Part of Alf Trisar Šuialia, corresponds to "Blow and healing" (Part 5.1) in Book 2 of Drower (1960).[36] |
RRC 2O | Diwan Malkuta Elaita | Copied by Sam Yuhana br Yahia Adam in Ḥuwaiza in 1077 A.H. (1666–7 A.D.).[33] Missing a large section corresponding to lines 912–1131 of DC 34 but is often more accurate than DC 34.[30] |
RRC 2P | Alma Rišaia Rba | Copied in Dezful in 1259 A.H. (1843 A.D.). Partial copy. |
RRC 2U | Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa | Copied in 1168 A.H. (1754-5 A.D.). DC 35 (from 1247 A.H. (1831–2 A.D.)) was copied from RRC 2U. |
RRC 2V | Tafsir Rba ḏ-Dmut Kušṭa | Copied in 1240 A.H. (1824-5 A.D.). |
RRC 2X | Tafsir Rba ḏ-Dmut Kušṭa | Copied in 1204 A.H. (1789-90 A.D.). |
RRC 3D | Alma Rišaia Rba | Copied in Šuštar in 1274 A.H. (1857–8 A.D.). Partial copy. |
RRC 3E | Haran Gauaita | Copied by Zihrun br Iahia Iuhana br Adam Zihrun in Dezful in 1174 A.H. (1760-1 A.D.) |
RRC 3F | Alma Rišaia Zuṭa | Copied in 1238 A.H. (1822-3 A.D.) by Iahia Ram Zihrun br Mhatam br Mhatam Iuhana br Bihram br Mašad br Naǰmia br Karam br Kairia br Haiat kinianḥ Sabur |
RRC 3K | Šapta ḏ-Pišra ḏ-Ainia | Copied in Šuštar in 1080 A.H. (1669-70 A.D.). Oldest surviving Mandaic magical manuscript. Variants: DC 29, DC 21, MS Berlin, RRC 1E.[34] |
RRC 3N | Qmaha ḏ-Šiul; Ṣir Sahra | Qmaha ḏ-Šiul variants: DC 45:5–7, DC 43b, DC 46, DC 19.[37] Ṣir Sahra variants: DC 43a, Codex Sabéen (CS) 27.[38] |
RRC 3R | Tafsir u-Afrašta Kasita | Copied in 1173 A.H. (1759–0 A.D.). Variant: DC 36.[39] Titled Tafsir u-Afrašta Kasita, it corresponds to Books 6 and 7 in Drower's (1960) Alf Trisar Šuialia.[36] |
RRC 4G | Draša ḏ-Yahia | Copied at Qurna in 1248 A.H. (1832–1833 A.D.) by Yahia Bihram br Adam Yuhana.[40] |
RRC 5A | – | Copied in 1301 A.H. (1883-1884 A.D.); the scribe also copied RRC 2C |
RRC 5I | Ginza Rabba | Copied in 1294 A.H. (1877 A.D.) by Bihram br Ram Zihrun br Sam Bihram. Includes a Neo-Mandaic poem that was composed in 1161 A.H. (1748 A.D.) and copied in 1294 A.H. (1877 A.D.) by Yahia Yuhana.[27] |
RRC 5J | Ginza Rabba | Copied at the Margab quarter of Suq eš-Šuyūḵ in A.H. 1277 (1860–1861 A.D.).[41] |
RRC 5L | Ginza Rabba | Copied at the Margab quarter of Suq eš-Šuyūḵ in A.H. 1256 (1840–1841 A.D.).[41] |
RRC 6D | Sigia ḏ-Dihbaiia | Copied in Šuštar in 1085 A.H. (1674–5 A.D.). Variants: DC 36, DC 6. Part of Alf Trisar Šuialia. |
The collection also contains multimedia items, including audio and video recordings. A few of them include:
The Drower Collection (DC), held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford University, is the world's most extensive institutional library collection of Mandaean manuscripts. The collection consists of 55 Mandaean manuscripts collected by E. S. Drower. Drower has published some of the smaller texts in journal articles, while other larger texts have been published as monographs. Many texts remain unpublished.[1]
Drower donated MSS Drower 1–53 to the Bodleian Library in 1958. MS Drower 54 (The Coronation of the Great Šišlam) was given to the library by Lady Drower in 1961, and MS Drower 55 (Drower's personal notebook) was added in 1986.[42] DC 1–5, 22, 30, 31, 38, 45, and 53 are codices, with the rest of the DC manuscripts being scrolls.[6]
A list of manuscripts in the Drower Collection, based on primarily on Buckley (2010),[6] as well as Drower (1937)[43] and other sources, is given below. The manuscripts are abbreviated DC.
Timeline of major publications of important Mandaean scriptures:
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