Background information   from Drower Various sections of the Canonical Prayerbook Copyists BOOK OF SOULS  Prayers  1-31    MASIQTA  Prayers  32-72   The Letter ('ngirta)  Prayer 73    COLOPHON  #74    HYMNS OF PRAISE  Prayers 75-77   The Responses ('niania)  Prayers 78-103 The Rusma (Daily Ablution Prayers)--Prayer 104 ASIET MALKIA  Prayer 105   Rahmia (Daily Devotional Prayers)--Prayers 106-168      Colophon 169     Tab Taba Ltabia (the full Commemoration prayer forthe dead and living--Prayer  170      Hymns of Praise--Prayers 171-172      Sumhata (The Names)--Prayers 173-176      Little New Year's Feast Prayer--Prayer 177      Prayers for honoring the crown--Prayer 178     Hymns of marriage and a new priest (including the series Kt Azil Bhira Dakia--  Prayer 179-198      Colophon 199     Prayers 200-283    Colophon 284      Prayers 285-304     Coronation Prayers and hymns (including two for  myrtle)-- Prayers 305-328       Colophon 329 BANNER HYMNS  Prayers 330- 347     Blessed Oblation Prayers and Hymns--Prayers 348- 374   Blessings on the chief celebrant after Blessed Oblation--                     Prayers 375-381     Myrtle prayers and hymns--Prayers 382-385      Various prayers 386-409      Prayer of Yahia--Prayer 410      Odd hymns--411- 412

THE CANONICAL PRAYERBOOK OF THE MANDAEANS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

"The first Mandaean book which came into my hands was a small volume of 200 hundred and thirty-eight pages in a poor handwriting. It was presented to me by an old Mandaean silversmith a year or two after the first World War. This volume inspired me with curiosity, and later when I has read Nodeke's ‘Mandaische Grammatik’, I found that it contained prayers for minor ablutions, the daily office (the 'nisania) and the masitqa prayers. An early visit to 'Amarah resulted in the acquisition of a damaged and imperfect copy of the entire codex, I mean prayers considered canonical and still used by priests. A head priest (a ganzibra) copied into it some of the missing pages and to these I added others when I had had access to other MSS. Complete copies of the collection is hard to come by for they are in constant use. It was not until many years later in the spring of 1954 that I persuaded the owner of a prayerbook, himself a ganzibra, to give me his in exchange for a money gift for sacred manuscripts are never bought. This codex N. 53 of my collection is in a good hand and from it very little is missing.”

by E.S. DROWER CANONICAL PRAYERBOOK OF THE MANDAEANS LEIDEN: 1959 Page: Introduction