Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...

, tamasha or ṭamaša () is an ablution ritual that does not require the assistance of a priest. Tamasha is performed by triple immersion in river (''

yardna In Mandaeism, a yardna () or yardena ([]; ) is a body of flowing fresh water (or in ; pronounced ''meyya heyyi'') that is suitable for ritual use as baptismal water. The masbuta and other Mandaean rituals such as the tamasha (ablution), tamasha ...

'') water. It is performed by women after

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and Mucous membrane, mucosal tissue from the endometrium, inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized ...

or childbirth, men and women after sexual activity or nocturnal emission, touching a corpse, or any other type of defilement (''ṭnupa''). It is also performed after subsiding from unclean thoughts or anger at another person.

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 ...

is another type of ablution performed by Mandaeans, in which the face and limbs are washed (similar to the

wudu ''Wuduʾ'' ( ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The steps of wudu are washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head, ...

in Islam). However, unlike the tamasha, it does not involve full-body immersion in water. The rishama and tamasha ablution rituals, which do not require priestly assistance, are distinct from

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 ...

, which needs to be performed by a priest. Whereas the tamasha is a "self-immersion" in which devotees dip themselves into the water, during the masbuta, devotees need to be immersed into water by a priest, not by themselves. The tamasha ablution is comparable to tevilah in Judaism and

ghusl ( ', ) is an Arabic term that means the full-body ritual purification which is mandatory before the performance of various Islamic activities and prayers. For any Muslim, it is performed after sexual intercourse (i.e. it is fardh), before Fri ...

in Islam.

References

External links

The Worlds of Mandaean Priests
(University of Exeter)
Tamasha (Cleansing)

Tamasha (Cleansing) and Masiqta (Death Mass)

Sydney 2014 Masiqta 17: Tamasha (Purification Ritual) before the Masiqta
{{Mandaeism footer Water and religion Mandaic words and phrases Ritual purification Mandaean rituals

See also

References

External links