Mandaean cosmology Mandaean cosmology is the Gnostic conception of the universe in the religion of Mandaeism. Mandaean cosmology is strongly influenced by ancient near eastern cosmology broadly and Jewish, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Manichaean and other Near ...

, a maṭarta (; plural form: ' ) is a "station" or "toll house" that is located between the

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld () is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'' or Supreme God/ Monad) is the ruler of the World of Ligh ...

(''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from

Tibil In Mandaean cosmology, Tibil () 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 (Mandaeism), World of D ...

(Earth). It has variously been translated as "watch-station", "toll-station", "way-station", or "

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

". Maṭartas are guarded by various

uthra An uthra or ʿutra (, Neo-Mandaic ''oṯrɔ'', traditionally transliterated ''eutra''; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated ''eutria'') is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath transl ...

s (celestial beings from the World of Light) and demons.

Ruha Ruha (pronounced /ˈruːhə/) is a term with spiritual connotations found across various religious traditions. In Arabic, Ruh () signifies "spirit" or "soul" and is a fundamental concept in Islam, referring to the divine breath of life.Esposito, ...

, the queen of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, is the ruler or guardian of one of the maṭartas. To reach the

(''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from

(Earth), souls must pass through the various maṭartas that are situated in between. Rituals such as the ''

masiqta The masiqta () 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 Mandaeans who have just di ...

'' can help guide souls past the various maṭarta so that they could reach the World of Light.

In the Ginza Rabba

In the

Ginza Rabba The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...

, Chapter 3 in Book 5 of the ''

Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...

'',

Book 6 A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

of the ''

'' (also known as the "Book of

Dinanukht Dinanukht (also spelled Dinanukt or Dananukt; or ; from Persian 'the one who speaks in accordance with the religion') is a mythological character in the ''Ginza Rabba'', one of the main religious scriptures of Mandaeism, who is portrayed as an an ...

"), and Chapter 4 in Book 1 of the '' Left Ginza'' give detailed descriptions of the maṭartas.Häberl, Charles G. (2007).
Introduction to the New Edition, in The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans, a new edition of J. Heinrich Petermann’s Thesaurus s. Liber Magni, with a new introduction and a translation of the original preface by Charles G. Häberl
'. Gorgias Press, LLC. https://doi.org/10.7282/T3C53J6P Some of the matarta guards are: * Nbaz (Nbaz Haila) * Nbu (Mercury) *Zan-

Haza-Zban An uthra or ʿutra (, Neo-Mandaic ''oṯrɔ'', traditionally transliterated ''eutra''; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated ''eutria'') is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath transla ...

*Yur (Yur-Yahur) *Arhum *Pilpin-Pipin * Jesus the Messiah ( / ) *

*Himun * Ptahil *

Abatur Abatur (, sometimes called Abathur; Yawar, ; and the Ancient of Days and also pronounced Awāthur) is an Uthra and the second of three subservient emanations created by the Mandaean God ''Hayyi Rabbi'' (, “The Great Living God”) in the Mand ...

Order of matarta guards in ''Right Ginza'' 5.3: #the Virgin (''ptula'') #Zan-

Hazazban An uthra or ʿutra (, Neo-Mandaic ''oṯrɔ'', traditionally transliterated ''eutra''; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated ''eutria'') is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath transla ...

#Yur, Yahur, and Arhum #Pilpin-Pipin # Jesus the Messiah #the userers #

ḏ-Qudša Order of matarta guards in ''Right Ginza'' 6: #Nbaz-Haila #Zan-

#Ewat-

#Himun # Ptahil #

Order of matarta guards in ''Left Ginza'' 1.4: #Nbaz and the clergy # Nbu and the scribes #Seven of Ptahil and the sinners #userers #The

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

(Jesus) and the celibates #Ewat (i.e.,

) and the fasting hypocrites # Ptahil and the wicked rulers #

and the unobservant Naṣoraeans ''Left Ginza'' 3.51 is about the soul passing through seven matarta stations. The names of the matarta guards are simply the "First," "Second," "Third," "Fourth," "Fifth," "Sixth," and "Seventh," respectively.

Parallels in other religions

In the

Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the Chenoboskion Manuscripts and the Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyrus c ...

, the

Coptic Apocalypse of Paul The Coptic ''Apocalypse of Paul'' (Sahidic Coptic: ⲧⲁⲡⲟⲕⲁⲗⲩⲯⲓⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ), also known as the ''Revelation of Paul'', is a Gnostic apocalyptic writing. It was originally written in Koine Greek, but the surv ...

describes an ascent through the seven lower heavens, which are guarded by various angels inflicting punishments on sinners. Heavenly "toll collectors" are mentioned in the

First Apocalypse of James The First Apocalypse of James is a Gnostic Apocalypse, apocalyptic writing. Its initial rediscovery was a Coptic language, Coptic translation as the third Masekhet, tractate of Codex V in the Nag Hammadi library. Additional copies were later foun ...

(33,2-27), which mentions "three detainers who carry off souls by theft," as well as angels torturing the soul in the

Book of Thomas the Contender The ''Book of Thomas the Contender'' or The ''Book of Thomas'' is a Gnostic revelation dialogue. It is the seventh tractate in Codex II of the Nag Hammadi library. The tractate is a Coptic translation of a Greek original, likely composed in Sy ...

(141,36-39) and

Pistis Sophia ''Pistis Sophia'' () is a Gnostic text discovered in 1773, possibly written between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The existing manuscript, which some scholars place in the late 4th century, relates one Gnostic group's teachings of the transfigu ...

. Matartas in Mandaeism are also similar to

aerial toll house Aerial toll houses (also called "telonia", from the / ''telonia'', customs) are a belief held by some in the Eastern Orthodox Church which states that "following a person's death the soul leaves the body, and is escorted to God by angels. During ...

s (; ) in

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

. (The aforementioned Slavic words are not cognate with the Mandaic word.) The

Second Book of Enoch The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch, or the Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, throu ...

, a

Jewish apocrypha The Jewish apocrypha () are religious texts written in large part by Jews, especially during the Second Temple period, not accepted as sacred manuscripts when the Hebrew Bible was Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, canonized. Some of these boo ...

l text written in the first century CE, describes the

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...

ascent of the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Enoch Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of t ...

through a

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...

of Ten Heavens. Enoch passes through the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

in the Third Heaven on his way to meet the

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

face-to-face in the Tenth (chapter 22). Along the way he encounters vividly described populations of

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s who torment wrongdoers; he sees homes,

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

, and flowers.

References

{{Mandaeism footer Mandaean cosmology Afterlife places Mandaic words and phrases

In the Ginza Rabba

Parallels in other religions

See also

References