Ginza Rabba: The Great Treasure. An equivalent translation of the Mandaean Holy Book

379 Pages·2019·10.487 MB·English

by  Qais Mughashghash Al-Saadi, Hamed Mughashghash Al-Saadi

G R
inza abba
The Great Treasure
An equivalent translation of the Mandaean Holy Book
Translated by
Qais Mughashghash Al-Saadi Hamed Mughashghash Al-Saadi
Second Edition
Germany 2019
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Ginza Rabba
The Great Treasure
An equivalent translation of the Mandaean Holy Book
Translated by
Prof. Dr. Qais Mughashghash Al-Saadi
Hamed Mughashghash Al-Saadi
Publisher
^^Drabsha
[email protected]
Mandaic fonts and arts by: Qais Al-Saadi
© All rights reserved to Qais Al-Saadi & Fouad Chasib Muhyi
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the authors.
G R
inza abba
right Volume
The first circle (from inside) contains the short term of the Mandaean testimony of faith:
“Hayyi exists, my Lord exists, Manda 'd Haii exists”. The following inner cricle contains a
Mandaean prayer (see p. XXI). The next circle contains the opening phrase of the right Ginza
(see p.l). The 28 outer circles contain the phrase “Ginza Rabba” in Mandaic calligraphy.
’Bshumayhond Hayyi rabbi
In the name of the Great Hayyi
How much I will be happy when the Mandaeans can read their
religious books in their own language, Mandaic, but unfortunately,
they can not today. The English language has become the language of
the majority of them, since they today live in many countries rather
than in their homeland, Iraq and Iran. We would like that all of them,
and especially the new generations, have the chance to read and learn
more about their religion.
The Ginza Rabba is their main holy book. It is important that every
Mandaean family own it, read it, learn from it, and follow its
teachings. This is the purpose of this translation and the reason for
rendering the meaning of the text in a comprehensible language rather
than precisely following the words of the original text itself.
We have ensured this work to an honest and careful committee
consisting of Prof. Dr. Qais Al-Saadi, Mr. Hamed Al-Saadi and Mr.
Fouad Chasib Subbi. I have followed their hard work and helped to
answer their questions regarding the meanings of some Mandaic
words and texts.
I would like to mention here that the Ginza Rabba in its original
Mandaic is the base upon which we depend.
I appreciate the efforts of the committee and thank them and those
who shared with them in this very important project. I pray to Hayyi
Qadmayyi, the Great Life, to bless them. I call upon the Mandaeans,
and especially the new generations, to read it and follow the teachings
which are the teachings of our first religion, the teachings of the Great
Life.
’u Hayyi zaken
Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos
VII
'Bshumayhon’d Hayyi rabbi
In the name of the Great Hayyi
The principles and the teachings of any religion have to be preserved
in a book, so that the followers of the religion can read and understand
them. It should be written in a comprehensible language, to ensure
that its readers get the full benefit of it.
Our holy book, the Ginza Rabba, was written in the Mandaic
language. Unfortunately, most of the Mandaeans nowadays have lost
the opportunity to learn their mother language. Therefore, we have
found it necessary to translate our holy book into Arabic. An efficient
specialized committee accomplished this project in Iraq, finishing in
2001.
Because the Mandaeans are today distributed in a diaspora, in
which most live in countries where English is the common language, it
once again became necessary to translate our holy book, the Ginza
Rabba, into English for the benefit of our descendants and for those
who would like to know more about Mandaism.
The committee that volunteered to undertake this great project
consists of Prof. Dr. Qais Mughashghash Al-Saadi, Mr. Hamed
Mughashghash Al-Saadi, and Mr. Fuad Chasib Subbi. We personally
followed the progress of this translation and took note of the great
efforts exerted to accomplish it.
It is important to mention here that no translation can be
substitute for the original text, especially with regard to sacred books.
For a greater understanding of the principles and the teachings of the
Mandaean religion, it is important to read and depend upon the
original texts in Mandaic.
I fully trust the sincerity and efficiency of the committee in
translating the meaning of the original Ginza Rabbas texts, and
invoke Hayyi Rabbi, the Great Life, to bless them and hope that the
Mandaeans who know English and the coming generations will get the
most benefit from it.
’u Hayyi zaken
Rishema Sattar Jabar Hillo
Head of the Mandaean Community
VIII
’Bshumayhon’d Hayyi rabbi
In the name of the Great Hayyi
The Sabean Mandaeans, to whom I belong, consider the Ginza Rabba
as the main sacred scripture that contains the principles and
instructions of their religion. They have a great appreciation for their
holy book due to its unique language and primal teachings which bear
witness to the antiquity of their mono-theistic faith.
Unfortunately, the Mandaeans in Iraq and Iran ceased learning
their language as a result of using Arabic and Persian in their daily
lives. Due to their emigration to many countries of the world, they
acquired knowledge of other foreign languages, such as English, which
is of great relevance to the coming generations.
We realized the importance of presenting the Ginza Rabba in a
language which our children can comprehend. We want to help the
Mandaean youth to read their holy book and understand their faith,
since we have noticed their interest and how proud they would be to
deal with their scriptures just as other communities do.
Since I arrived in Australia along with the first Mandaeans in 1979,
I have attended to this important matter. The more that Mandaeans
were forced to leave their home countries, the more they have hoped
to gather themselves together in one land, such as Australia. The
future of our children and the survival of our doctrine has always been
our mission.
Due to my deep faith and abiding love of my people, I have
dedicated myself to translating the Ginza Rabba into English for my
family, grandchildren and children of all Mandaeans. We are
responsible for preserving the heritage that our ancestors have
maintained for thousands of years in a language that is under­
standable for everyone everywhere.
Reverend Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos and Reverend Rishema
Sattar Jabbar Hillo appreciated this idea and encouraged me to keep
pursuing this project. They suggested the well known Mandaean, Prof.
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Dr. Qais Mughashghash Al-Saadi, to support this translation based
upon his wide knowledge of this field.
I contacted him, and then visited him three times in Germany to
discuss the details of the project. I was following with him the
development of the work and how he was in contact with Reverend
Rishema Salah and Reverend Ganzibra Sattar to discuss with them and
with other priests about the correct meanings of the Mandaic words
and some special passages according to the original texts.
It is my honor to thank Reverend Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos,
Reverend Rishema Sattar Jabbar Hillo, Prof. Dr. Qais Al Saadi, and
Mr. Hamed Al Saadi very much for their support with this translation.
I am very honoured to support this project, in order to make it
available for my community.
I pray to Hayyi Qadmayyi, the Great Life, to accept this work from
me, according to His grace upon my health, my family, and my
livelihood.
I pray to Hayyi Qadmayyi to contribute to other projects in the
future that serve our religion. May this work, which is free of charge
for the Mandaeans, be considered for me as a Zidqa Brikha or “Blessed
Oblation” in this life and in the World of Light.
’u Hayyi zaken
Fouad Chasib Muhyi
(Yahia br Yasmen)
X
Preface
Although Mandaeans neglected to document their history and
have lost much of their oral traditions, they were quite eager to keep
their religious heritage by copying their manuscripts. They therefore
adopted strict regulations for copying their sacred manuscripts, to
maintain and preserve them from one generation to the next.
The Ginza Rabba, or Great Treasure, is Mandaeans’ largest
collection of religious principles and instructions. According to their
beliefs, the Ginza was the first revelation of God to Adam and thus
considered as their holy book. Among Mandaeans, the book is also
known as Sidra Rabba, the great codex or Sidra’d Adam, the codex of
Adam.
As unique as these people are, their holy book is specially
arranged: it consists of two volumes, the yamina or “right” and smala
or “left” Ginza. The “right” volume is larger and contains 18 chapters
divided into individual tractates, whereas the “left” volume includes 3
main chapters containing many hymns. The way of binding both
volumes together is very particular and used by the Mandaeans only
for this book. Both parts have to be bundled together in one tome; the
“left” part is placed upside-down to the “right” part, so that both parts
can be read from right-to-left according to the Mandaic alphabet.1
The Ginza Rabba varies in its contents and deals with spiritual,
even metaphysical aspects. It also deals with the mortal life of human
beings and describes ancient visions concerning life after death. In
particular, the “right” volume depicts the Mandaean theology,
cosmogony and anthropogeny, i.e. the Mandaeans’ dogma of
monotheism and the creation story of the cosmos and mankind; in
this part, Mandaean ethics are outlined by a detailed account of moral
Some Mandaeans think this procedure arose from differences between the contents of the two parts:
the “right” part deals with life and contains the creation and the descent of the Soul into the body of
Adam, whereas the “left” part contains the texts about death, and how the Soul departs the body to
ascend to the World of Light. In addition, I see that the first copyist collected the right part from
several different Mandaic texts, whereas the texts of the “left" part were already together in one roll
and dealt with one subject. In order not to mix the contents of the “left" part with the other texts, he
used this way to collect them separately together in one book. In any case, the reader will respect the
“right” side when he reads either the “right” or the “left” part.
XI
duties. On the other hand, the “left” volume is concerned entirely with
the return of the soul to its origin in the world of light; it is about the
ascent of the soul after death and the idea of eternal life.
Generally, the Ginza Rabba represents consecutively the principles
of the Mandaean doctrine: the belief of the only one great God, Hayyi
Rabbi, to whom all absolute properties belong; he created all the
worlds, formed the soul through his power, and placed it by means of
angels into the human body. So he created Adam and Hawa/Eve, the
first man and woman. Since the soul was brought down to the material
world, it has to stay for a defined period of time in the human body
and is obliged to suffer its worldly fate; however, the soul as a part of
the divine creation should encourage human beings to do good deeds
and to confront evil with God’s help. God therefore sent the saviour to
protect the soul, along with messengers to guide the people to a pious
life according to His will. When the soul completes its predestined
lifespan, the saviour will come to accompany it back from the body to
its origins, whereupon it has to pass through several stations of
purification.
In ancient times, the Sabeans Mandaeans were able to read and
understand their manuscripts in their own language. The Mandaic
language and alphabet were in official use during certain historical
eras in southern Mesopotamia. The more that other languages were
perceived for official use due to political and social changes, the more
Mandaeans lost the chance to practice and educate themselves in their
mother tongue; nowadays, its main use is limited to ritual practice by
clerics.
In more recent times, Mandaeans have been facing serious
difficulties in reading and understanding the Ginza Rabba, and
explaining its contents to their children and neighbors.
In the past, there were several serious attempts to translate the
Ginza Rabba into foreign languages by scholars as part of their studies
of Mandaean religion. This began with the attempt of the Swedish
Orientalist Mathias Norberg to translate it into Latin in 1815/1816.
The first printed version of the Ginza Rabba was copied by the
German Orientalist Heinrich Julius Petermann in 1867. Then the
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