The skandola (literally meaning "dwelling of evil") is a ritual

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

used by

Mandaeans 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. ...

to protect against evil.

Description

The skandola is an iron ring with a chain attached to an iron knife. It is used as a sacred

ic seal. It is used to seal graves and also newborn babies on their navels. During wedding ceremonies, a priest gives the skandola to the bridegroom. There are incised depictions of the following animals: *Lion, representing

Krun Krun (; myz, ࡊࡓࡅࡍ) or Akrun () is a Mandaean lord of the underworld. According to Mandaean cosmology, he dwells in the lowest depths of creation, supporting the entirety of the physical world. In mythology Krun is the greatest of the f ...

*Scorpion, representing

Hag HAG is a Swiss maker of model trains. The company was founded by Hugo and Alwin Gahler on 1 April 1944 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Gahler brothers originally manufactured model trains in O scale but due to competition, particularly by Märk ...

*Black snake or

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

, representing Ur *Wasp or hornet E. S. Drower notes parallels with

Mithraic Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

Yazidism Yazidism , alternatively Sharfadin is a Monotheism, monotheistic ethnic religion that has roots in a western Ancient Iranian religion, Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian tradition. It is follow ...

, Iranian artistic symbols, and others. A

Mandaean priest A Mandaean priest or ''Rabbi'' refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism. Overview All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation. Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious texts ho ...

told Drower that the skandola was originally brought by Hibil Ziwa from the

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apoca ...

as he was taking

Ruha In Mandaeism, Rūha ( myz, ࡓࡅࡄࡀ, lit=spirit/breath; also known as Namrūs or Hiwat (Ewath; myz, ࡏࡅࡀࡕ)) is the queen of the World of Darkness (''alma ḏ-hšuka'') or underworld. She rules the underworld together with her son Ur ...

along with him (a narrative found in Book 5, Chapter 1 of the '' Right Ginza'').

References

Mandaean religious objects Mandaic words and phrases Seals (insignia) Talismans Objects believed to protect from evil * Snakes in religion Lions in religion Insects in religion {{Mandaeism-stub

Description

See also

References