Sheikh (''Rabbi'') Abdullah bar Negm ( ar, عبدالله ابن نجم; born in Qal'at Saleh, Iraq; died 2009,

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

, Netherlands) was an Iraqi Mandaean priest who served as the Rishama (Mandaean patriarch) of Baghdad, Iraq during the latter half of the 20th century.

Life

Rabbi Negm was born into the

Khaffagi The Khaffagi (also spelled Khaffagy, Khaffajy, Khafajy; fa, خفاجي; ar, خفاجی or ; written Mandaic: Kupašia ) family is a Mandaean priestly family with origins in Khuzestan, Iran, although some family members also lived in southern I ...

(written Mandaic: ''Kupašia'') clan. In 1947, his father, Rabbi

Negm bar Zahroon Ganzibra Negm bar Zahroon ( baptismal name: Adam Negm bar Zakia Zihrun ; ar, الشيخ نجم ابن زهرون; born 1892, Huwaiza; died 1976, Qal'at Saleh District) was a Mandaean priest. He is primarily known as E. S. Drower's main field c ...

, who had just become a ganzibra that same year, initiated him into the Mandaean priesthood. Abdullah bar Negm's ordination was mentioned in his father's two-page letter to

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 ...

, which was dated February 4, 1948. Abdullah bar Negm married Rabbi

Abdullah Khaffagi Sheikh Abdullah Khaffagi ( baptismal name: Sam Yuhana bar Bihram ; fa, عبدالله خفاجی; ar, عبدالله الخفاجي; born ; died 1975, Ahvaz) was an Iranian Mandaean priest from Ahvaz, Iran. He is a grandson of Ganzibra Ram ...

's daughter Šarat (Sharat) from Ahvaz, Iran.

Rafid al-Sabti Mandaean priest, Rbai Rafid al-Sabti, known in full as Rafid al-Rishama Abdallah al-Ganzibra Zahrun al-Rishama Abdallah al-Sabti ( ar, رافد الريشاما عبدالله الگنزبرا نجم الگنزبرا زهرون الريشاما ...

, a tarmida currently residing in

, Netherlands, is the son of Rabbi Abdullah. Abdullah bar Negm became Rishama of Baghdad after Dakhil Aidan's death in 1964. Rabbi Abdullah bar Negm was known for initiating Sheikh Haithem (now known as Brikha Nasoraia, a ganzibra and professor living in Sydney, Australia) into the priesthood in Iraq, as well as the majority of well-known Mandaean priests in the diaspora. He later emigrated with his wife to the United Kingdom. After his wife died in the United Kingdom, Abdullah bar Negm moved to

, Netherlands to be with his family members. He died in the Netherlands in 2009.

Family

Abdullah bar Negm's grandfather is the son of

Ram Zihrun Ram Zihrun ( myz, ࡓࡀࡌ ࡆࡉࡄࡓࡅࡍ) was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood together with his cousin Yahya Bihram after a cholera epide ...

, one of the survivors of the

1831 cholera epidemic Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing ''The Liberator'', an anti- slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyot ...

that nearly wiped out the Mandaean priesthood.

References

External links

Archival video of an interview with Sheikh Abdullah bar Negm

Rishama Abdullah bar Negm in Iraq, 1985-1990Rishama Abdullah bar Negm reciting prayersAbdullah bar Negm
reciting the '' Asiet Malkia'' (recorded on 21 November 1977 by Kurt Rudolph) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah Bar Negm 20th-century births 2009 deaths People from Maysan Governorate Religious leaders from Baghdad Mandaean priests Iraqi Mandaeans Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom Iraqi emigrants to the Netherlands Khaffagi family Iraqi religious leaders 20th-century Iraqi clergy Rishamas

Life

Family

See also

References

External links