Klila

Klila being held during a Parwanaya festival on the banks of the Tigris River in Maysan Governorate, Iraq on 17 March 2019

In Mandaeism, the klila (Classical Mandaic: ࡊࡋࡉࡋࡀ) is a small myrtle (asa) wreath or ring (translated as "circlet" by E. S. Drower^[1]) used during Mandaean religious rituals. The klila is a female symbol that complements the taga, a white crown which always takes on masculine symbolism.^[2]^[3]

The klila is used to adorn the drabsha, a wooden cross covered with a white cloth that is the main symbol of Mandaeism.^[2]

Use in rituals[]

The klila is used during most Mandaean rituals, including masbuta, masiqta, and priest initiation rituals.^[2]

In the Qolasta[]

Several prayers in the Qolasta are recited when consecrating and putting on the klila, including prayers 19, 46, 47, 61, and 79.^[1]

In E. S. Drower's version of the Qolasta, prayers 305-329 are recited for the klila, as well as for the taga.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c Drower, E. S. (1959). Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
^ ^a ^b ^c Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford at the Clarendon Press.