The Coronation of the Great Šišlam

COMMENTARY ON THE CORONATION OF THE GREAT ŠIŠLAM

THE FIRST BLESSED OBLATION

And the priests and ganzivri shall pray their Rahmia beneath the banner and shall end their Rahmia, but the rba and postulant shall not pray the Rahmia (i.e. prayers appointed for the dawn of that day): they shall go  ) (with) the banner-hymns (?) (taking?) the Sidra Rba (Great Book, Ginza Rba, Book of Adam) to the river bank. He (the rba?) shall recite the lesser ‘Petition’ (CP no. 81). And the postulant shall put on his vestment and purify his hands and set the kinta in order. And they shall instruct him to baptise his rba without zharia (commemorative insertions) in ‘I prayed, lifting eyes’ (CP no. 35), ‘Piriawis’ (CP no. 44  Biriawis?). and in the Rahmia, ‘On the beginning of the Ether’ (CP no. 168)’ and ‘To thy name, Land of Light’ (CP no. 169). He shall not read (the zharia) because the baptism ‘of the sixty’  is that of the postulant. but the baptism of the rba is d-abahata (of the Parents). And all the ‘treasures’ in the ‘sixty’ and the tabahata (=d-abahata) are mlabšin (“covered” i.e. identical) —they are spirit and soul. And he (the postulant shall complete the baptism (of his rba). And priests and the postulant shall come to the škinta (cult-hut) and bring the tabuta (‘good things’ i.e. ritual food); the unleavened bread (fatira), sindirka dates); kauara (fish); pomegranate, quince, green herbs, and whatever good things’ they may be able to bring. And they put them upon the tariana (table). Then the postulant and priests stand and carry their crowns in their hands, and say ‘In the name of the Great First Life!’ and put in commemorative insertions (zharia) for themselves. And they say, ‘Moreover, communion and and refreshment of life and forgiving of sins be there for this the soul of N. of this masiqta’, (namely) he who is the rba, ‘by the power of Yawar-Ziwa and Simat-Hiia’. And they shall recite ‘of that First Man’ (CP no. 1) and put their crowns on their heads, and, on ending it, they shall recite ‘Life created’ (CP no. 2). ‘Let there be light’ (CP no. 3) and ‘Manda created me’ (CP no. 19). And the postulant shall sit he and the priests excepting the rba. And he (the postulant) shall hold the sa. And the ganzibra and priests shall eat in the name of the rba. Then they shall place a bowl of rahbata on the good things , and shall put their hands into the bowl and say

‘In the name of the Great Life!’ ‘Union, refreshment of life and forgiveness of sins be there for this the soul of N. and the souls of this masiqta and of our brothers and sisters who have departed the body and of those who still stand (live) in their bodies And may there be forgiveness of sins for the provider of fee and oblation, and for this the soul of N. and for the souls of this masiqta be there forgiving of sins. For them and for all souls of our righteous fathers be there forgiveness of sins’.

Then they shall refresh themselves (i.e. eat of the ritual food) and drink water. And they shall bring three fatiria and place them on the table. And the acolyte shall come when he has the phial of wine (hamra) held in his hand and when he has put on the five mysteries (i.e. has put on his rasta). They shall address the acolyte, who  ) recites ‘On the day that Ether emerged from the Wellspring’ (CP no 34), and the ganzibria shall address to him the hymn ‘Come, come lofty messenger’ (CP no. 349) and ‘On the day that a root of fresh myrtle’ (CP no. 350) and takes the myrtle and wine and sets it before him on the table. And they’ recite the sealing (prayers)  ), put a hand on his head and give benediction in the name of the postulant when he brings the Blessed Oblation to an end. And they,,,,,,,,,,,  ) him, and he honours his crown  ). And they shall secrete (or ‘put away) the postulant’s mana  )(dress, vestments) and keep watch till daybreak (when) he shall pray the Rahmia (daily office) in them (i.e. in the vestments). And whilst praying his Rahmia, in (the prayers) ‘Praised be the First Life’ (CP no. 58), ‘Ye are set up and raised up’ (CP no. 65), and ‘Blessed and praised be Life’ —the ‘great’ — (i.e. longer of two prayers beginning with the same line, CP no. 71), he shall say ‘of our fathers (parents) teachers, brothers and sisters’ because (these) Rahmia are those of the škinta, of the sixty fatiria; (whereas) the Rahmia of the sixty days are ‘of the Parents’  ). (During the sixty days) he shall pray thrice daily and perform kid/a (rite) with an acolyte. a Mandaean. In those rahmia of the sixty days there are one hundred and eighty (prayers), sixty rahmia for they body, sixty for the ruha (spirit) and sixty for the nišimta (soul). When these one hundred and eighty rahmia are ended, he, the postulant, enters the bimanda  and he and a šganda (acolyte) who has been baptised (that dawn) grind wheat into flour and express (oil)  ) for the mifa. And they bake bread in (during?) the smearing  of the wreath

Introduction Commenatry on the Coronation of the Great Sislam The First Blessed Oblation Masiqta Colophon Texts