Dehwa Rabba ( myz, ࡃࡉࡄࡁࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, translit=Dihba Rba, lit=Great Feast) or Nauruz Rabba ( myz, ࡍࡀࡅࡓࡅࡆ ࡓࡁࡀ, 'Great New Year') is the Mandaean New Year. It is the first day of Daula (or Dowla), the first month of the

Mandaean calendar The Mandaean calendar is a 365-day solar calendar used by the Mandaean people.Drower, Ethel Stefana. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937. It consists of twelve 30-day months, with five extra days at the end of ...

Kanshiy u-Zahly

''Kanshī u-Zahli'' or ''Kanshiy u-Zahly'' ( myz, ࡊࡀࡍࡔࡉࡀ ࡅࡆࡀࡄࡋࡉࡀ, translit=Kanšia u-Zahlia, lit=cleaning and purification{{{rp, 113) is the day preceding Dehwa Rabba, or

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

. It is the 30th day of Gadia, the 12th month (i.e., the last day of the Mandaean year). On Kanshiy u-Zahly, Mandaeans do not work as it is a holy day. Mandaean priests spend the entire day performing prayers and

masbuta Maṣbuta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡑࡁࡅࡕࡀ) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaeism, Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as a Ritual purification, ritual of purificati ...

until the afternoon, and also animals are slaughtered for consumption. Before the sun sets, Mandaeans prepare food for the following day of Dehwa Rabba and also perform '' ṭmasha'', or ritual immersion in water that does not require the assistance of a priest.{{cite book, last=Gelbert, first=Carlos, title=The Mandaeans and the Jews, publisher=Living Water Books, publication-place=Edensor Park, NSW, year=2005, isbn=0-9580346-2-1, oclc=68208613

36 hours of seclusion

At sunset, once the

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

appears in the sky, Mandaeans must stay inside their homes with their families for 36 hours. No one is permitted to go outside their homes during these 36 hours, since Mandaeans believe that the ''naṭria'' (guardian spirits, including the water guardians

Shilmai In Mandaeism, Shilmai (Šilmai; myz, ࡔࡉࡋࡌࡀࡉ) or Shalmai (Šalmai) is an uthra (angel or guardian) who serves as one of the two guardian spirits of Piriawis, the heavenly ''yardna'' (river) in the World of Light. In the ''Ginza Rabba'' ...

and

Nidbai In Mandaeism, Nidbai ( myz, ࡍࡉࡃࡁࡀࡉ) is an uthra (angel or guardian) who serves as one of the two guardian spirits () of Piriawis, the heavenly ''yardna'' (river) in the World of Light. In the ''Ginza Rabba'' and ''Qolasta'', he is usua ...

) have left

Tibil In Mandaean cosmology, Tibil ( myz, ࡕࡉࡁࡉࡋ) or occasionally Arqa ḏ-Tibil (lit. "Tibil-Earth") is the Earth (World) or earthly middle realm. It is separated from the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') above and the World of Darkness (' ...

and returned to the

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld ( myz, ࡀࡋࡌࡀ ࡖࡍࡄࡅࡓࡀ, translit=alma ḏ-nhūra) is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life (''Hayyi Rabbi ...

, leaving people on Tibil vulnerable to misfortune.{{cite book, last=Masco, first=Maire, title=The Mandaeans: Gnostic astrology as an artifact of cultural transmission, publisher=Fluke Press, publication-place=Tacoma, WA, year=2012, isbn=978-1-938476-00-6, oclc=864905792{{rp, 110 As a result, Mandaeans will emerge only at noontime on the 2nd day of Daula (the day following Dehwa Rabba).{{sfn, Gelbert, 2005, p=191-192 Deaths during these 36 hours are considered to be inauspicious (''mbaṭṭal''), and the

masiqta The masiqta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡎࡉࡒࡕࡀ) is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul (''nišimta'') towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for ...

of Adam needs to be performed when Mandaean deaths occur during this time.{{cite book, last=Buckley, first=Jorunn Jacobsen, title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people, publisher=Oxford University Press, publication-place=New York, year=2002, isbn=0-19-515385-5, oclc=65198443 During this period of time, it is also inauspicious to kill any animals or even swat insects. E. S. Drower has compared this period of isolation to the Babylonian festival

Akitu Akitu or Akitum is a spring festival held on the first day of Nisan in ancient Mesopotamia, to celebrate the sowing of barley. The Assyrian and Babylonian Akitu festival has played a pivotal role in the development of theories of religion, myth ...

and to the myth of

Tammuz Dumuzid or Tammuz ( sux, , ''Dumuzid''; akk, Duʾūzu, Dûzu; he, תַּמּוּז, Tammûz),; ar, تمّوز ' known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd ( sux, , ''Dumuzid sipad''), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shep ...

's descent into the underworld and his subsequent ascent after three days.{{cite book, last=Nasoraia, first=Brikha H.S., author-link=Brikha Nasoraia, title=The Mandaean gnostic religion: worship practice and deep thought, publisher=Sterling, publication-place=New Delhi, year=2021, isbn=978-81-950824-1-4, oclc=1272858968

References

{{Reflist

External links

Kanshia u Zahla (New Year) Baptisms
(unedited clips) {{New Year by Calendar {{Mandaeism footer{{Iraq topics New Year celebrations Observances on non-Gregorian calendars Mandaean holidays

Kanshiy u-Zahly

36 hours of seclusion

See also

References

External links