Masiqta

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Mandaeism
Prophets Adam Seth Noah Shem John the Baptist
Names for adherents Mandaeans Sabians Nasoraeans Gnostics
Scriptures Ginza Rabba Right Ginza Left Ginza Mandaean Book of John Qolasta Niana Haran Gawaita The Wedding of the Great Shishlam The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa Diwan Abatur The Thousand and Twelve Questions Scroll of Exalted Kingship The Coronation of the Great Shishlam Alma Rišaia Rba Alma Rišaia Zuṭa Zihrun Raza Kasia Scroll of the Parwanaya Book of the Zodiac Dmut Kušṭa Scroll of the Rivers Secrets of the Ancestors Scroll of the Ancestors
Priests Rishama Ganzibra Tarmida Shganda
Other important figures Miriai Shlama Beth Qidra Anush Bar Danqa Yahya Bihram Dakheel Edan Jabbar Choheili Sattar Jabbar Hilo Salah Chohaili Zazai of Gawazta
Rituals Masbuta Masiqta Tamasha Rishama Kushta Qabin Misha
Ritual food and drink Mambuha Halalta Hamra Pihta Fatira Zidqa brika Lofani Sa Dukrana
Practices Belief in Oneness of God Daily prayer Baptism Fasting Almsgiving
Objects and symbols Drabsha Rasta Burzinqa Pandama Klila Taga Riha Skandola
Cosmology Hayyi Rabbi World of Light Mana Manda Uthra Manda d-Hayyi Yushamin Abatur Ptahil Hibil Shitil Anush Sam Ziwa Bihram Rabba Adathan Yadathan Shilmai Nidbai Yawar Ziwa Simat Hayyi Yufin-Yufafin Nsab Nbat Gubran Shihlun Urfeil Marfeil Saureil Zihrun Etinsib Ziwa Piriawis Tarwan Yura Yurba Yukashar Ziwa Shahrat Malwasha Nishimta Dinanukht Shishlam Zlat škina Dmuta Mshunia Kushta Adam kasia Adam pagria Shatrin Laufa Hitfun Tibil World of Darkness Sea of Suf Siniawis Matarta Ruha Ur Krun Gaf Qin Zahreil Anathan Giu Shdum Zartai-Zartanai Hag Mag
Festivals Parwanaya Dehwa Rabba Dehwa d-Shishlam Rabba Dehwa Daimana Dehwa Hanina Abu al-Haris (Ashoriya) Ead Fel
Places Yardena Beth Manda Shkinta Andiruna
Prayers Asiet Malkia Rushma Rahma Tabahatan Bshuma
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The masiqta (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡎࡉࡒࡕࡀ "ascent"^[1]) is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul (nišimta) towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology.^[2] They are typically performed as funerary rites for Mandaeans who have just died. Although usually translated as "death mass", a few types of masiqta are also performed for living people, such as when priests are ordained.^[3] Masiqtas are also used to consecrate houses of worship (bit manda).^[4]

Purpose

The complex ritual involves guiding the soul through the maṭarta, or toll houses located between the Earth (Tibil) and the World of Light, which are guarded by various uthras and demons.^[3]

A successful masiqta merges the incarnate soul (ࡍࡉࡔࡉࡌࡕࡀ nišimta; roughly equivalent to the psyche or "ego" in Greek philosophy) and spirit (ࡓࡅࡄࡀ ruha; roughly equivalent to the pneuma or "breath" in Greek philosophy) from the Earth (Tibil) into a new merged entity in the World of Light called the ʿuṣṭuna. The ʿuṣṭuna can then reunite with its heavenly, non-incarnate counterpart (or spiritual image), the dmuta, in the World of Light, where it will reside in the world of ideal counterparts (Mšunia Kušṭa).^[3]

Types

There are several different types of masiqtas depending on the cause or timing of the death. Adam and Shitil (Seth) both have masiqtas named after them.^[3]

The masiqta of Shitil (described in The Thousand and Twelve Questions^[5]) is performed for certain unclean deaths, such as:^[3]

• priests who die without their myrtle wreaths (klila) or otherwise improperly clad
• women who die on or after the 7th day after childbirth
• people dying during the 36 hours of seclusion on New Year's Eve (Kanshiy u-Zahly)

The masiqta of Adam is performed for people who have died on one of the mbaṭṭal days, such as on Dehwa Rabba (New Year's Day).^[2] The masiqta of Adam and the masiqta of Shitil are both performed together for people dying in one place but are being buried in another.

The Ṭabahata Masiqta, or the "masiqta of the Parents", is held only once a year during the Parwanaya intercalary festival. Priests recite dozens of prayers, prepare 72 faṭiras (small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuits for ritual use) symbolizing ancestors, and also sacrifice a white dove, called Ba, which symbolizes the spirit. The Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata ("The Scroll of Ṭabahata," or "The Scroll of the Ancestors") describes aspects of this masiqta. According to The Thousand and Twelve Questions, this masiqta cannot be held at any other time other than during the Parwanaya.^[3] It is celebrated in the names of a man and a woman, and is linked with the celebration of Dukrana lhdaia rba zadiqa.^[2]

Other masiqtas are listed below.^[2]

• The Bukra is the first masiqta performed by a priest after ordination (i.e., newly consecrated ganzibra).
• The masiqta of Zihrun Raza Kasia is performed for people who have died during one of the minor mbaṭṭal days (inauspicious days during which all rituals are forbidden), etc. The Šarḥ ḏ-Zihrun Raza Kasia ("The [Masiqta] of Zihrun, the Hidden Mystery") is a Mandaean religious text that describes the ritual and prayer sequence for this masiqta, as well as for the Masbuta of Zihrun Raza Kasia.^[6] This masiqta is also described in The Thousand and Twelve Questions, which also describes the "masiqta of the dukrania."^[5]
• The masiqta of Samandriʿil: is performed for people who have died from burns, trees falls, or drowning. (Samandriʿil is the name of an uthra.)
• The masiqta of Kanat is performed for women who died during pregnancy. (Kanat, also known as Kanat Niṭufta in the Asiet Malkia,^[7] is the name of an uthra.)
• The masiqta of Hai-Šūm is performed for people who have died from snakebites. (Hai-Šūm is the name of an uthra.)

There are also other masiqtas for bridegrooms who have died during wedding ceremonies, and for moving the remains of a dead person.

Ritual objects

Ritual objects used in masiqtas include teriani (plates made from mud and reed).^[8]

See also

• Masbuta
• Requiem
• Prayer for the dead
• Valentinianism § Death
• Bariah
• Qeej, used to guide departed souls in Hmong rituals
• Balafon, used to guide departed souls in African rituals

Further reading

• Al-Sabtī, Rāfid ʿAbd Allāh Naǧm (2004). Masiqt̲ā : al-suʻūd wa-al-irtiqāʼ (in Arabic). Nijmegen. ISBN 978-90-90-18165-3. OCLC 319811837.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Masiqta.

• Tamasha (Cleansing) and Masiqta performed at the 2014 Parwanaya festival at the Nepean River in Australia
• Sydney 2014 Masiqta 04: Doves to be sacrificed during Masiqta representing the liberation of the soul

This page was last edited on 16 December 2023, at 20:14