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Shafta ḏ Pishra ḏ Ainia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

Bshumaihun ḏ hiia rbia qadmaiia nukhraia mn almia ḏ nhura yatiria ḏ 'lawia kulhun 'ubadia asutha uzakutha hathamta uzarazta unaṭarta rabtia ḏ sharara nhuilia Idilia Plan br Plana uzawai ubnai ubnathai udaurai hikhlai ukulẖ binianai mn hiia umn Manda ḏ hiia asia maraihun ḏ kulhun asawatha 'zha u'tazha aina bishta ukabihta waina zruqtia waina (10) bruqtia waina kbishtia waina qliqtia waina 'kiltia kth abun Bil nsib mia urmẖ lrishia qirib rma 'l kwakiatha unsab tagha wathnẖ brishia uzaina tla '1 kadfẖ huṭra ḏ mura b'dẖ (or b'adia) am qarbala (?) lauma kulẖ bgumra tagha nad unfal mn rishia uzaina nfal mn kadfẖ huṭra ḏ mura nfal mn 'dẖ urishia (20)ṣmar ubarsa nfal gibta ḏ gaubat 'lẖ usilqit [sic] shgibun [sic] bshuba shibiahia kth taghaiun traṣlun brishaihun uzaina tlilia lkadfaiun huṭra ḏ mura nfal mn 'daihun umdabrania lalma kulẖ bgumura huṭra ḏ mura nfal mn 'daihun urishaihun ṣmar ubarsa nfal gibta ḏ gabat 'lh usilqit [sic] upagibun [sic] byama (30) k th mlia mia wazlia mia bgauẖ warbita piria u'nbia u'lania ḏ 'lawia rauzia wamarat kma shapiria yama ushapiria ḏ masgin bgauẖ ḏ 'bdit piria u'nbia u'lania ḏ 'lawiẖ rauzia wamarat kma shapiria yama ushapiria ḏ masgin bgauẖ ḏ rbita piria u'nbia u'lania d 'lawiẖ ṣba gibta ḏ gabat 'lawaihun usilqat pagibun baqnia ḏ hush raiia ushapir bnaiun ubnathun ushapiria baqaria ḏ masgin abathraiun aqnia lgaṭ pumaiun mn miria (40) ubnaiun lgaṭ pumaiun mn mimaṣ waramatha la masgin abathraiun gubta ḏ gaubat 'lawaihun usilqat pagibun btauria ḏ pirun malka ḏ miṣraiia

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1937

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References

page 590 note 1 Later on (p. 2) “unidabrẖ lalma kulẖ bgumra”.

page 597 note 1 Should be this. Careless copying.

page 597 note 2 Nukraiia Mandæans translate “coming from a distance of time or space”, hence “ancient”. I follow Lidzbarski.

page 597 note 3 Shrara. Soundness of body and mind. L. sometimes translates shrara “truth”.

page 597 note 4 Hikla. Mandæans say “the ground about the house”, i.e. the compound wall. Literally “that enclosed by a boundary line drawn about it”. (Cf. hql.) Hence hall, temple, nave (of church), etc.

page 597 note 5 Priests translate “eye that glances to and fro”. I suspect that priests amongst whom blue eyes are common, are biased. It is just possible (cf. P.-S. ); however, blue eyes are commonly thought baleful.

page 598 note 1 “She” is the Eye throughout.

page 598 note 2 Another miscopying, as is evident from the context.

page 598 note 3 The lambs.

page 599 note 1 Obscure. Freely translated.

page 599 note 2 Hifel ṭma “to be unclean”.

page 599 note 3 Lower written shibia. I think this is the shebba, modern colloquial for the reed-bundle used in the construction of reed-huts.

page 599 note 4 Shiriatha “rays”, “exorcisms”.

page 599 note 5 A priest translates ziburia “male”.

page 600 note 1 See note 3, page 599.

page 600 note 2 Aufia. Literally “foliage”. In the Diwan Abaxthur supernatural beings are portrayed with leaves for hair. A priest (unreliable) translates “plaits”.

page 600 note 3 This probably read urumuia bzban uladan lduktẖ “and throw them at my time and moment into the place”, etc.

page 600 note 4 i.e. the exorcist.

page 600 note 5 bpramanakh “in thy (ritual) face-covering” ? (cf. ). The usual word for the Mandæan ritual face-bandage, which covers the lower part of the face only, is the pandama. It is also called the paiman. These forms recall the Pahlevi and Parsi padân, and the Pazend panam or penum. The Avestan (see Modi, : Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees, p. 56Google Scholar) is paitidâna. Jastrow gives and , i.e. “rag used as a mask”. The addition of the suffix an or ana is common in Mandæan. Hence the “praman” is probably the ritual face-bandage which any Mandæan priest puts on when performing ritual. (The Zoroastrian priest wears a padân before the fire-altar). The Euphrates, not the Tigris, is the holy river for Mandæans. “The mouth of the Light-Euphrates” is (nowadays) the junction of that river with the Tigris at Qurna. The junction of two rivers has been thought curative and life-bestowing since Babylonian times. (Cf. Campbell-Thompson's, R.Semitic Magic, p. liGoogle Scholar.)

page 600 note 6 The Eye is compelled to give the recipe for her own exorcism.

page 601 note 1 Tata. A priest suggests “silkworm”, but this is tulita.

page 601 note 2 Dibna. The same man says “cocoon”. Nöldeke translates “sheepfold”, and a priest gives “reed enclosure for sheep”.

page 601 note 3 An inland freshwater sea is indicated full in the time of flood and rain.

page 601 note 4 See note 1 above: tata.

page 601 note 5 See note 2 above: dibna.

page 602 note 1 Bsana.

page 602 note 2 Zanai uzmar a common expression in exorcisms. “My whore and singingboy” is possible, but improbable.

page 602 note 3 See note 2.

page 602 note 4 Play on words: 'uir meaning “blind” and diq “seeing”.

page 602 note 5 ? nandia.

page 602 note 6 Tata or tatha, see note 1, page 601.

page 603 note 1 Gṭl sometimes used for “beat”.

page 603 note 2 Uṭibukh abara hardly makes sense.

page 603 note 3 Usab sida “and ate their fill” obviously miscopied.

page 603 note 4 Hufia “vapours”, “froth”.

page 603 note 5 See note 4, page 602.

page 603 note 6 Silwa “rod”, “stick”.

page 603 note 7 Ṣuhuṣ (?).

page 604 note 1 'kura. A building on a hill, or mound. Cf. the modern Arabic kūra, a brick kiln, built on a mound.

page 604 note 2 Merely reciting the letters of the alphabet constitutes an exorcism, because letters are magic. Hence the verb abaga.

page 604 note 3 Pilqa and

page 604 note 4 'urnasa. I am unable to translate these words. Priests are glib with translations, but no reliance can be placed on these, chiefly guesses.

page 604 note 5 The Eye's defence is that often made by people accused of having the Evil Eye, viz. that their intentions were innocent, that they were not envious or scornful. The exorcizer confronts the accused with the results of the baleful look.

page 604 note 6 See note 4, page 597.

page 605 note 1 Shanziria. A priest translates “plough-ropes”. Cf. = rope.

page 605 note 2 'urnasa.

page 605 note 3 Literally “basket”. The marsh-tribes place their food on a large woven basket-platter, sitting round it, and eating with their hands from it.

page 605 note 4 pilqa. See above.

page 605 note 5 'urnasa. See above.

page 606 note 1 The marsh loom is of reeds and wood. The shuttle is passed between the higher and lower threads. The second 'laiia is redundant.

page 606 note 2 pilqa.

page 606 note 3 'urnasa.

page 606 note 4 Written 'isira. From the context below it looks as if this should be 'rusa “bride”.

page 606 note 5 Bukta. This would seem from the context to be a water-pot.

page 606 note 6 Should be, I think, 'tigdat. Cf. “benumbed”, “stupefied”.

page 606 note 7 I read 'tgihnat.

page 606 note 8 From to be ravenous ? ( often becomes “a” in Mandæan.) Or “didst become big ?” Rabat might mean “grew big with envious surprise”.

page 606 note 9 and

page 606 note 10 pilqa and 'urnasa. See above.

page 607 note 1 Shria “loosed”. Shria is often used for “exorcized”. The verb is employed for “reading” a prayer which frees. Cf. the common expression shra masiqta “he read a mass” (i.e. a rite to free and raise the soul). Hence, “expelled” is a relative translation.

page 607 note 2 Namely Bel, who is spoken of elsewhere as the father of the Eye.

page 607 note 3 A somewhat free translation.

page 607 note 4 At the right time astrologically.

page 607 note 5 Exorcisms are commonly read over a jar or bowl of water. The exorcist often places a fresh sprig of myrtle or flowers in the water, the strength and health of the growing things is invoked by this action. Water is the symbol of life and vitality.

page 608 note 1 Or “shut”. The glance of a person with a diseased eye is as baleful as that of a person with the apparently harmless evil eye, or blue eye.

page 608 note 2 Should be mshamṭia.

page 608 note 3 Yardna. A generic term for all flowing water.

page 608 note 4 Ṭabutha. A more exact translation would be “wholesomeness”. The word is often used of food, especially that of the ritual meal.

page 608 note 5 The entire paragraph which follows is obscure. The key seems to be “thou art made clear, buried eye”, taken in conjunction with the preceding paragraph. But there is hardly a verb which is not ambiguous.

page 608 note 6 Shafel QHA ?

page 609 note 1 The following paragraph is also ambiguous. I suggest that it originally applied to the diseased state of the eyes of the planets named, which were cured by exorcism, and that priestly editing, attributing a maleficent purpose to the planets, converted them from being the sufferers, into being those who inflicted suffering. That Bel was a sufferer from the Eye appears later on in the roll.

page 609 note 2 Shafel QHA ?

page 609 note 3 Ṣarṣit “buratest forth”. Possibly “was burnt out” ?

page 609 note 4 Sam usaf.

page 610 note 1 HAQ: “to draw a circle round” (in the ground) as in making a miṣra, i.e. an enclosure isolating an area from contamination. MAQ might mean “surrounded by a ditch or runnel of water” (as in ritual). Obscure and, I suspect, corrupt.

page 610 note 2 To name a demon is to take away its power.

page 610 note 3 Rishaga “Head Agha” (Persian agha = “lord, master”).

page 610 note 4 This and the following section seem to me of later authorship. The mention of Ruha ḏ Qudsha indicates late composition, and the tag of “directions for use” speaks of “these two gates” as if they had been incorporated by a scribe and were not part of the original.