The ''Šarḥ ḏ-Zihrun Raza Kasia'' ( myz, ࡔࡀࡓࡇ ࡖࡆࡉࡄࡓࡅࡍ ࡓࡀࡆࡀ ࡊࡀࡎࡉࡀ; "The Scroll of Zihrun, the Hidden Mystery") is a
Mandaean religious text that describes rituals such as the
masbuta,
masiqta, and other related topics. It is an illustrated
scroll
A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing.
Structure
A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...
.
Zihrun
Zihrun ( myz, ࡆࡉࡄࡓࡅࡍ, lit=he he Lifewarned me; sometimes also spelled Zahrun), is an uthra (angel or guardian) in the World of Light. He is the main subject of the Mandaean scroll ''Zihrun Raza Kasia''.
The uthra Zhir (meaning 'secure ...
(referred to as Zihrun Raza Kasia or "Zihrun the Hidden Mystery" in full) is the name of an
uthra.
Manuscripts and translations
An illustrated scroll was purchased by
E. S. Drower
Ethel Stefana Drower ( Stevens; full name: Ethel May Stefana Drower; 1 December 1879 – 27 January 1972) was a British cultural anthropologist, orientalist and novelist who studied the Middle East and its cultures.Christa Müller-Kessler, Drowe ...
from Shaikh Yahia at
Qal'at Saleh, southern Iraq in May 1937. Today, it is held as manuscript 27 in the
Drower Collection of the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and is commonly abbreviated DC 27.
translated the DC 27 manuscript into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
in 2008, and also provided a detailed commentary as part of the published translation.
The scroll consists of pieces of paper that have been glued together and is approximately 691 cm long, of which 660 cm contain writing and illustrations. The scroll is about 30 cm wide, with 26 cm used for writing. There are 559 lines of writing. A scribal note in the manuscript says that the text was copied in 1088 A.H. (1677 A.D.).
Contents
The contents of the DC 27 scroll are:
*Lines 1-22: Introduction
*Lines 23-190: The baptism (
masbuta) of Zihrun Raza Kasia
*Lines 231-232: Illustrations, with explanations
*Lines 191-231: Esoteric content
*Lines 232-523: The
masiqta of Zihrun Raza Kasia
*Lines 524-559:
Colophon
The ''
masiqta of Zihrun Razia Kasia'' is performed for people who have died during one of the minor ''mbaṭṭal'' days (inauspicious days during which all rituals are forbidden), etc.
Ritual and prayer sequences
Below is the ritual and prayer sequence for both the
Masiqta and
Masbuta[Burtea 2008: 142-144] of Zihrun Raza Kasia in the ''Šarḥ ḏ-Zihrun Raza Kasia'', as summarized in Burtea (2008).
All prayer numbers, originally in
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
, are from Part 1 (the Qolastā) of
Mark Lidzbarski's
Mandäische Liturgien' (ML) unless otherwise specified (e.g., the Oxford Collection, which is Part 2 of Lidzbarski's ''Mandäische Liturgien'', or CP, which is Drower's 1959 ''Canonical Prayerbook'').
[Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. ]
Mandäische Liturgien
'. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.
Masiqta of Zihrun Raza Kasia
Below is the ritual and prayer sequence for the Masiqta of Zihrun Raza Kasia as given in the text:
Summary of the prayer sequence listed above:
Masbuta of Zihrun Raza Kasia
Below is the ritual and prayer sequence for the Masbuta of Zihrun Raza Kasia as given in the text:
Ritual preliminaries
Baptism in the river
Oil drawing
The meal for the baptized
Priestly meal
Conclusion
Summary of the entire masbuta prayer sequence listed above:
See also
*''
Scroll of Exalted Kingship''
*''
The Thousand and Twelve Questions
''The Thousand and Twelve Questions'' ( myz, ࡀࡋࡐ ࡕࡓࡉࡎࡀࡓ ࡔࡅࡉࡀࡋࡉࡀ ) is a Mandaean religious text. The ''1012 Questions'' is one of the most detailed texts on Mandaean priestly rituals.
The text contains detailed com ...
''
*''
The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa''
References
External links
''Zihrun, das verborgene Geheimnis''
{{Authority control
Mandaean texts
Mandaean rituals