''The Coronation of the Great

Šišlam In Mandaeism, Shishlam (;) is a figure representing the archetype, prototypical Mandaean priest or Mandaeans, Mandaean. He is also frequently referred to in Mandaean texts as Šišlam Rabba (. Shishlam is sometimes identified with Adam Kasia, the ...

'' (or ''The Coronation of Shishlam Rabba''; ) is a Mandaean religious text. The text is a detailed commentary on the initiation of the

tarmida A tarmida (singular form in , plural form in ; ; ) is a junior Mandaean priest, priest in Mandaeism. Ganzibras, or head priests, rank above tarmidas.Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ...

(junior priests), with detailed discussions on

masbuta Maṣbuta (; pronounced ''maṣwottā'' in Neo-Mandaic) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as ritual purification, not of initia ...

and

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 ...

rituals. '' The Scroll of Exalted Kingship'' is also used extensively alongside the ''Coronation'' in tarmida initiation rituals. Similar esoteric texts that are traditionally used exclusively by

Mandaean priest A Mandaean priest or ''Tarmida'' () 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 text ...

s include ''

The Thousand and Twelve Questions ''The Thousand and Twelve Questions'' ( ; Modern Mandaic: ''Alf Tressar Ešyāli'') is a Mandaean religious text. The ''1012 Questions'' is one of the most detailed texts on Mandaean priestly rituals. It is kept by Mandaean priests in the shk ...

'', and ''

The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa ''The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa'' or ''Diwan Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa'' (, "Scroll of the Baptism of Hibil Ziwa") is a Mandaean illustrated scroll. It describes the soteriological descent of Hibil Ziwa to the World of Darkness, and his baptisms bef ...

''. ''The

Scroll of Exalted Kingship The ''Scroll of Exalted Kingship'' ( ; Modern Mandaic: ''Diwān Malkuthā Əlaythā'') is a Mandaean religious text. Written as a large illustrated scroll, the text consists of 1363 lines. The scroll is a commentary on the initiation of the tar ...

'' is essentially a much more detailed version of the ''Coronation''. Whereas the ''Coronation'' simply lists the sequences of prayers and rituals to be performed, the ''Exalted Kingship'' also provides symbolic explanations for each prayer and ritual that is performed.

Manuscripts and translations

In 1962, E. S. Drower published an English translation and commentary of the text, which was based on Manuscript 54 of the

Drower Collection This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā''), the ''Mandaean B ...

(DC 54, which Drower dates to 1008 A.H., i.e. 1590-1591 A.D.) and Or. 6592,

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

(dated by Drower to 1298 A.H., i.e. 1880-1881 A.D.).Drower, E. S. 1962.
The Coronation of the Great Šišlam: Being a Description of the Rite of the Coronation of a Mandaean Priest according to the ancient Canon
'. Leiden: Brill. Drower donated DC 54 to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

in 1961.Mandaean manuscripts given by Lady Ethel May Stefana Drower
Archives Hub. MS RRC 1A is another manuscript of the ''Coronation'' text. The manuscript was copied at

Shushtar Shushtar () is a city in the Central District of Shushtar County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province ...

in 1156 A.H. (1744-5 A.D.) by Iuhana br Ram br Sam br Adam k. Malka Sabur. It has been digitized and analyzed by

Matthew Morgenstern Matthew Morgenstern, also known as Moshe Morgenstern (; born 1968 in London, United Kingdom), is an Israeli linguist and religious studies scholar known for his work on Eastern Aramaic languages, especially Mandaic. He is currently Full Professor ...

. MS RRC 2E, a damaged manuscript, was copied at Mučarra in 1200 A.H. (1785–1786 A.D.).Morgenstern, Matthew
New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Mandaic
In: V. Golinets et. al (eds.), ''Neue Beiträge zur Semitistik. Sechstes Treffen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Semitistik in der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft vom 09.–11. Februar 2013 in Heidelberg''. AOAT, Ugarit Verlag.

Prayer sequence

References

External links

Full text
at

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Transliterated text
(''The

Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL) is an online database containing a searchable dictionary and text corpora of Aramaic dialects. CAL includes more than 3 million lexically parsed words. The project was started in the 1980s and is currently ...

'') based on MS RRC 1A {{DEFAULTSORT:Coronation of the Great Shishlam Mandaean texts

Manuscripts and translations

Prayer sequence

See also

References

External links