Choheili or Chohaili ( fa, چحیلی; ar, الكحيلي, Al-Kuhaili or Al-Kuhailia; mid, ࡊࡅࡄࡀࡉࡋࡉࡀ, translit=Kuhailia) is an Iranian and Iraqi
Mandaean surname or family name. The Choheili (Kuhailia) family has produced many
Mandaean priests.
Notable people with the surname include:
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Jabbar Choheili (1923–2014), Mandaean priest from Iran
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Salah Choheili
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...
(born 1952), Mandaean priest in Australia
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Najah Choheili
Ganzibra Najah Choheili ( fa, نجاح چحیلی) is an Iranian Mandaean priest who currently serves as the head of the Mandaean community in Iran.
Biography
Najah Choheili was born in Ahvaz, Iran into the Kuhailia (Persian pronunciation: ' ...
, Mandaean priest in Iran
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Salem Choheili
Šganda Salem Choheili ( fa, سالم چحیلی; 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 ...
(born 1935), a
shganda
In Mandaeism, a shganda (''šganda''; myz, ࡔࡂࡀࡍࡃࡀ) or ashganda (''ašganda'')Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. is a ritual assistant who helps Mandaean priest, priests with r ...
and ''yalufa'' (learned Mandaean layman) in
Ahvaz, Iran
Mandaean priest and professor
Brikha Nasoraia also belongs to the Choheili family.
Ganzibra
Taleb Doraji of
Ahvaz is also connected to the Choheili family. Members of the Choheili family can trace their ancestry back to Adam Zakia, the father of Bihram Bar-Hiia, who lived around 1500 A.D.
19th-century Mandaean priest
Yahya Bihram's uncle Yahya Yuhana, of the Kuhailia (Choheili) clan, was a prominent copyist and
ganzibra.
In Mandaean colophons
Kuhailia scribes from the 15th to 17th centuries who are mentioned in the
colophons of
Mandaean texts include:
*Baktiar br Adam Mhatam, Kuhailia
*Bihram BrHiia br Adam Zakia, Kuhailia (the elder, ; one of the earliest known ancestors of the Kuhailia clan
*Bihram BrHiia br (Adam) Baktiar, Kuhailia (the younger; nephew of Bihram BrHiia, above)
*Mhatam Zihrun br Baktiar/Yahia BrHiia, Kuhailia (husband of Yasmin Mudalal; uncle of Bihram BrHiia the elder)
*Ram Kuhailia ()
*Ram Yuhana br Yahia Baktiar, Kuhailia ()
*Yahia Yuhana br Ram, Kuhailia (brother of Zakia Zihrun; )
*Zakia Zihrun br Ram Kuhailia (brother of Yahia Yuhana br Ram; )
*Yahia br Adam Kuhailia
Neo-Mandaic
Most prominent members of the Choheili family (including Rishama
Salah Choheili
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...
and
Salem Choheili
Šganda Salem Choheili ( fa, سالم چحیلی; 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 ...
), along with their family members, are fluent native speakers of
Neo-Mandaic.
See also
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List of Mandaean priests
This article contains a list of historical and active Mandaean priests, all of whom have the ranks of Rishama, Ganzibra or Tarmida.
Mandaean priestly families include the Manduia (Manduwi), Kupašia (Khaffagi), Kuhailia ( Choheili), and Duraki ...
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Khaffagi family
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 ...
References
{{surname
Persian-language surnames
Iranian Mandaeans
Mandaean priests
Priestly families
Mandaean families