Uthra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Part of a series on
Mandaeism
Darfash - Mandaean cross.svg
Prophets
Names for adherents
Scriptures
Priests
Other important figures
Rituals
Ritual food and drink
Practices
Objects and symbols
Cosmology
Festivals
Places
Prayers
Religion portal
  • v
  • t

An uthra or ʿutra (Classical Mandaic: ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ; plural: ʿutri) is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism.[1] Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency".[2] Jorunn J. Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utras (sing.: 'utra 'wealth', but meaning 'angel' or 'guardian')."[3] Aldihisi (2008) compares them to the yazata of Zoroastrianism.[4]

Uthras are benevolent beings that live in škinas (Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡊࡉࡍࡀ, celestial dwellings) in the World of Light (alma ḏ-nhūra) and communicate with each other via telepathy.[4] Uthras are also occasionally mentioned as being in anana ("clouds"; e.g., in Right Ginza Book 17, Chapter 1), which can also be interpreted as female consorts.[5] Many uthras also serve as guardians (naṭra); for instance, Shilmai and Nidbai are the guardians of Piriawis, the Great Jordan (yardna) of Life.[5]

Etymology[]

Uthra is typically considered to be cognate with Aramaic ʿuṯrā ‘riches’, derived from the Proto-Semitic triconsonantal root *w-t-r ‘to exceed’.[6] Based on this etymology, E. S. Drower suggests a parallel with the South Arabian storm god Athtar, who provides irrigation for the people.[4] However, this etymology is disputed by Häberl (2017).[6]

Naming[]

Uthras often have the term Ziwa / Ziua (Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡉࡅࡀ, meaning 'Radiance') attached after their names, due to their origins from the World of Light. In Manichaeism, the Syriac term Ziwa (Syriac: ܙܝܘܐ) is also used to refer to Jesus as Ishoʻ Ziwā (Syriac: ܝܫܘܥ ܙܝܘܐ, Jesus the Splendor), who is sent to awaken Adam and Eve to the source of the spiritual light trapped within their physical bodies.

Pairs of uthras also typically have rhyming names. The names can be alliterative (e.g., Adathan and Yadathan), or one name may have an infixed consonant or syllable (e.g., Kapan and Kanpan). In Manichaeism, pairs of celestial beings can also have rhyming names, such as Xroshtag and Padvaxtag.

List of uthras[]

Commonly mentioned uthras[]

Below is a partial list of uthras. Some names of uthras are always listed together as pairs.

In the Ginza Rabba[]

Other uthras mentioned in the Ginza Rabba are:[7][5]

  • Barbag (Bar-Bag)
  • Bhaq Ziwa – uthra; also Abatur
  • Bihram – uthra of baptism
  • Bhir (meaning 'chosen, tested, proven') – mentioned as part of a pair with Bihrun in Right Ginza 8.
  • Bihrun – '[the Life] chose me'. Mentioned in Qolasta prayers 105 and 168, Right Ginza 8, and Mandaean Book of John 62.
  • Din Mlikh – uthra who appears in the revelation of Dinanukht
  • and Guban – mentioned in Right Ginza 5.1. In the Mandaean Book of John, Gubran Uthra helps Nbaṭ lead a rebellion against Yushamin and his 21 sons.
  • Ham Ziwa and Nhur Ziwa
  • Kapan and Kanpan
  • Nbaṭ (Classical Mandaic: ࡍࡁࡀࡈ, lit. 'Sprout') – the King of Air, the first great Radiance
  • Nṣab (Classical Mandaic: ࡍࡑࡀࡁ, lit. 'Plant') – also called Nṣab Rabba and Nṣab Ziwa. Son of Yushamin. Frequently mentioned with Anan-Nṣab ('cloud of Nṣab', a female consort) as a pair. Mentioned in Right Ginza 8 and 17.1, and Qolasta prayers 25, 71, 105, 145, 168, 186, 353, and 379.
  • Nbaz Haila
  • Nurʿil and Nuriaʿil – mentioned in Right Ginza 5.1.
  • Piriawis Yardna – also a heavenly stream and personified vine (gupna)
  • Rahziʿil
  • Sam Mana Smira (Smir Ziwa 'pure first Radiance', or Sam Smir Ziwa) – one of the Twelve. Sam Mana Smira is mentioned in Qolasta prayers 9, 14, 28, 77, and 171, and Right Ginza 3 and 5.4. Yawar Mana Smira and Sam Smira Ziwa are mentioned in Right Ginza 14.
  • Sar and Sarwan – mentioned in Qolasta prayers 25, 105, 168, and 378, and Right Ginza 5.1, 8, and 17.1.
  • Ṣaureil (Ṣaurʿil) – the angel of death; also an epithet for the Moon (Sén)
  • Shihlun (lit. '[The Life] has sent me')
  • Simat Hayyi – treasure of life; typically considered to be the wife of the uthra Yawar Ziwa
  • Tar and Tarwan. Tarwan is mentioned in Right Ginza 8 and in Qolasta prayer 105. The "land of Tarwan" is mentioned in Qolasta prayers 190 and 379 and Right Ginza 15.17, while "pure Tarwan" (taruan dakita), or sometimes "the pure land of Tarwan," is mentioned as a heavenly place in Right Ginza 15.2, 15.8, 15.16, and 16.1. "Tarwan-Nhura" (Tarwan of Light) is mentioned in Qolasta prayers 4 and 25.
  • ʿUrpʿil and Marpʿil
  • Yasana – mentioned in Right Ginza 12.1 as the "gate of Yasana."
  • Yathrun – father of Shilmai
  • Yawar Ziwa – Dazzling Radiance, also known as Yawar Kasia or Yawar Rabba; husband of Simat Hayyi. Yawar can also mean 'Helper.'
  • Yufin-Yufafin (Yupin-Yupapin)
  • (Yukhabr)
  • (Yukhashr) – source of Radiance
  • Yura (Yur) – "jewel"
  • (spelled Jōrabba by Lidzbarski) – also called the fighter
  • Zarzeil Ziwa (Zarzʿil Ziwa)
  • Zhir and (Zahrun) – Zihrun is mentioned in Right Ginza 4 and 8, and Mandaean Book of John 62.


In Right Ginza 5.1, Yawar Ziwa appoints four uthras each over the four directions to watch over Ur:

  • west: Azaziʿil, Azaziaʿil, Taqpʿil and Margazʿil the Great
  • east: ʿUrpʿil, Marpʿil, Taqpʿil and Hananʿil
  • north: Kanpan and Kapan, Gubran and Guban
  • south: Hailʿil, Qarbʿil, Nurʿil and Nuriaʿil

In the Qolasta[]

A few Qolasta prayers list the names of lesser-known uthras in sets of four. Mark J. Lofts (2010) considers them to be parallel to the Four Luminaries in Sethian Gnosticism. Qolasta prayers 17 and 77 list them as:[8]

  • Rhum-Hai ("Mercy")
  • Īn-Hai ("Wellspring" or "Source of Life"[5])
  • Šum-Hai ("Name")
  • Zamar-Hai ("Singer")

Qolasta prayer 49 lists the "four uthras" as:

  • Īn-Hai
  • Šum-Hai (Šum can mean both Shem and "Name")
  • Ziw-Hai ("Radiance")
  • Nhur-Hai ("Light")

These four uthras are considered to be the kings (malki) of the North Star who give strength and life to the sun. Together with Malka Ziwa (another name for Hayyi Rabbi), they make up the "five primal beings of light." Conversely, Mandaeans consider the "five lords of the World of Darkness" to be Zartai-Zartanai, Hag and Mag, Gap and Gapan, Šdum, and Krun (the paired demons are considered to rule together as single lords).[9] (See Manichaeism#The World of Light for similar parallels.)

In Qolasta prayers such as the Asiet Malkia, the word niṭufta (spelled niṭupta), which originally means 'drop' and has sometimes also been translated as 'cloud', is also often used as an appellation to refer to the consorts of uthras.[10]

Other minor uthras mentioned in the Qolasta are:[11]

  • Hamgai-Ziwa, son of Hamgagai-Ziwa – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 3 and Right Ginza 15.5.
  • Hauran and Hauraran – mentioned in Qolasta prayers 14, 27, and 28. Hauraran is mentioned in Right Ginza 15.2, Left Ginza 3.60, and Mandaean Book of John 70.
  • Kanfiel – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 168
  • Karkawan-Ziwa – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 49
  • Rham and Rhamiel-Uthra – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 378
  • Ṣihiun, Pardun, and Kanfun – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 77
  • S'haq Ziwa (pronounced [sʰāq zīwā]) – mentioned in Qolasta prayers 18, 105, and 173. Š'haq is also mentioned in Right Ginza 15.5.
  • Shingilan (or Šingilan-Uthra) – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 105 and Mandaean Book of John 1 and 69. According to Mandaean Book of John 1, "Šingilan-Uthra takes the incense holder and brings it before the Mana."[12]
  • Yukašar – mentioned in Qolasta prayers 54, 77, 343
  • Yaha-Yaha – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 15
  • Zha-Zha – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 15

Gupna[]

In various Mandaean texts, several heavenly beings are described as personified grapevines (gupna) in the World of Light. For example, Right Ginza 15.8 lists the following gupnas in order:

  • Taureil (Taurʿil) – also mentioned in Qolasta prayers 379 and 381. Right Ginza 4 identifies Taureil as another name for Anan Anṣab.
  • Rwaz (Ruaz) – also mentioned in Right Ginza 6 and 15.7, and in Qolasta prayers 71, 117, 196, 212, and 379
  • Yusmir – also mentioned in Mandaean Book of John 62 and Qolasta prayers 14, 18, 28, 52, 171, and 379.
  • Šarhabeil (Šarhabʿil) – also described as the Great First Radiance in Qolasta prayers 25 and 381. In Right Ginza 18, Šarhabeil and her husband Šurbai were the only survivors after the world was destyoed during the second epoch of the universe.
  • Šar (Shar) – also mentioned in Qolasta prayers 36 and 374. Šar-Ziwa is mentioned in Qolasta prayer 372. Also identified with Hibil Ziwa.
  • Pirun – also mentioned in Qolasta prayers 36, 374, and 379 and in the first chapter of the Mandaean Book of John. Pirun is described as a banner (drabsha) in Qolasta prayer 333, and as a "torrent" (river) in Qolasta prayer 378.

Yusmir, Šar, and Pirun are also mentioned in the first chapter of the Mandaean Book of John.

Right Ginza 17.1 mentions Šarat as a gupna. Šarat-Niṭupta is mentioned in Mandaean Book of John 68, and Šahrat is mentioned in Qolasta prayer 188.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mandaean Scriptures and Fragments".
  2. ^ Häberl, Charles G.; McGrath, James F. (2019). The Mandaean Book of John: Text and Translation (PDF). Open Access Version. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
  3. ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443. p8
  4. ^ a b c Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
  5. ^ a b c d Gelbert, Carlos (2011). Ginza Rba. Sydney: Living Water Books. ISBN 9780958034630.
  6. ^ a b Häberl, Charles G. (Spring 2017). "The Origin and Meaning of Mandaic". Journal of Semitic Studies. Oxford University Press. 62 (1). doi:10.1093/jss/fg?000.
  7. ^ Al-Saadi, Qais Mughashghash; Al-Saadi, Hamed Mughashghash (2019). "Glossary". Ginza Rabba: The Great Treasure. An equivalent translation of the Mandaean Holy Book (2 ed.). Drabsha.
  8. ^ Lofts, Mark J. (2010). "Mandaeism: the sole extant tradition of Sethian Gnosticism". ARAM Periodical. 22: 31–59. doi:10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131031.
  9. ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
  10. ^ Macúch, Rudolf (1965). Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: De Gruyter.
  11. ^ Drower, E. S. (1959). Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
  12. ^ Gelbert, Carlos (2017). The Teachings of the Mandaean John the Baptist. Fairfield, NSW, Australia: Living Water Books. ISBN 9780958034678. OCLC 1000148487.
Retrieved from ""