The ''Scroll of the Ancestors'' ( myz, ࡔࡀࡓࡇ ࡖࡈࡀࡁࡀࡄࡀࡕࡀ ) is a

Mandaean Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They ...

religious text that describes the rituals of the Ṭabahata (ancestors')

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 ...

, held during the 5-day

Parwanaya Parwanaya ( myz, ࡐࡀࡓࡅࡀࡍࡀࡉࡉࡀ; ar, البرونايا) or Panja (from Persian 'five') is a 5-day religious festival in the Mandaean calendar. The 5 epagomenals (extra days) inserted at the end of every Šumbulta (the 8th month) ...

festival.

Manuscripts

Copies of the scroll include Manuscript 42 of the

Drower Collection This article contains a list of Mandaean texts (Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic). Well-known texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā'') and the '' Qolastā''. Texts for Mandaean priests include ...

(DC 42), currently held at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

. The scroll was originally transcribed in 1743 and has 834 lines. It is similar to Prayer 170 of the

Qolasta The Qolastā, Qulasta, or Qolusta ( myz, ࡒࡅࡋࡀࡎࡕࡀ; mid, Qōlutā, script=Latn) is the canonical prayer book of the Mandaeans, a Gnostic ethnoreligious group from Iraq and Iran. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The p ...

, but some names are different.

Ṭabahata Masiqta

The Ṭabahata Masiqta, or the "masiqta of the Parents", is held only once a year during the

intercalary Intercalation may refer to: *Intercalation (chemistry), insertion of a molecule (or ion) into layered solids such as graphite *Intercalation (timekeeping), insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follo ...

festival. Priests recite dozens of prayers, prepare 72 ''

faṭira In Mandaeism, faṭira ( myz, ࡐࡀࡈࡉࡓࡀ; plural form: ''faṭiri''Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.) is a small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuit. Faṭiras are used in ritu ...

s'' (small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuits for ritual use) symbolizing ancestors, and also sacrifice a white dove, called ''ba'', which symbolizes the spirit. According to the '' 1012 Questions'', this masiqta cannot be held at any other time other than during the

. For a more detailed description of the Ṭabahata Masiqta according to the ''Scroll of the Ancestors'', see chapter 8 in Buckley (2002). Below is the

prayer sequence (i.e., order of prayers to be recited) for the Ṭabahata Masiqta, following the numbering in Drower's 1959 '' Canonical Prayerbook''. Some of the prayers involve

fatira In Mandaeism, faṭira ( myz, ࡐࡀࡈࡉࡓࡀ; plural form: ''faṭiri''Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.) is a small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuit. Faṭiras are used in ritu ...

s that must be signed by a priest, who dips it with four fingers, tips pressed together, into sacramental masiqta oil and signs the fatira with oil three times, from left to right (similar in some ways to the

sign of the cross Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...

). The

has 3 parts. The first two parts are known as the "Mother Masiqta," while the final part is known as the "Father Masiqta."

References

{{Authority control Mandaean texts Mandaean rituals

Manuscripts

Ṭabahata Masiqta

See also

References