Parwanaya

{{Short description|Five-day Mandaean religious festival}}

{{Infobox holiday

|holiday_name = Parwanaya
Paruanaiia

|type = Religious, ethnic

|caption =

|nickname =

|observedby = Mandaeans

|significance =

}}

{{Mandaeism}}

Parwanaya ({{langx|myz|ࡐࡀࡓࡅࡀࡍࡀࡉࡉࡀ|translit=Paruanaiia}}; {{langx|ar|البرونايا}}) or Panja (Mandaic: {{lang|mid|ࡐࡀࡍࡔࡀ}} {{transl|mid|Panša}}, from Persian 'five') is a 5-day religious festival in the Mandaean calendar. The 5 epagomenals (extra days) inserted at the end of every Šumbulta (the 8th month) constitute the Parwanaya intercalary feast.{{cite thesis|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444088/|last=Aldihisi|first=Sabah|year=2008|title=The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba|type=PhD|publisher=University College London}} The festival celebrates the five days that Hayyi Rabbi created the uthri and the universe.{{cite web|url=https://mandaeansynod.org.au/mandaean-calendar.html|website=Mandaean Synod of Australia|title=Mandaean Calendar|access-date=20 November 2021}}

Origins

The epagomenals in the Egyptian calendar were also considered to be sacred days in Ancient Egypt, as they were considered to be the birthdays of different gods. Today in the Coptic calendar, these five days are designated by the Coptic Orthodox Church as feast days for different saints.{{citation |url=http://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/Coptic-Synaxarium-or-Synaxarion_English/Eng-Synexarium-or-Synexarion-index.html |title=Coptic Synaxarium |publisher=St Takla Haymanout |location=Alexandria |contribution=13: Nasie Month |contribution-url=http://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/Coptic-Synaxarium-or-Synaxarion_English/Eng_Senexar-Senksar-13-Nasie-Coptic-Month.html |ref={{harvid|St Takla}} |access-date=6 February 2017 }}.

Rituals

The masbuta (baptism), Ṭabahata Masiqta (ascension of the soul ceremony for ancestors), and hawad mania rituals are held during the Parwanaya.[http://mandaeanpriests.exeter.ac.uk/items/browse?collection=4&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle Collection: Parwanaya (Banja) Festival: Unedited Clips], [http://mandaeanpriests.exeter.ac.uk/ The Worlds of Mandaean Priests], University of Exeter

Texts

Mandaean texts containing instructions for rituals performed during the Parwanaya include the Šarḥ ḏ-Parwanaiia ("Scroll of the Parwanaya"){{cite book|last=Burtea|first=Bogdan|title=Das mandäische Fest der Schalttage: Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentierung der Handschrift (DC 24, Šarh ḏ-paruanaiia)|publisher=Harrassowitz|publication-place=Wiesbaden|year=2005|isbn=978-3-447-05179-8|oclc=62273841|language=de|url=https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/Das_mand%C3%A4ische_Fest_der_Schalttage/titel_1320.ahtml}} and Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata ("Scroll of the Ancestors").{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-19-515385-5|oclc=65198443}}

Gallery

Gallery of Mandaeans celebrating Parwanaya on the banks of the Tigris River in Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq on 17 March 2019:

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 01.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 02.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 03.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 04.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 05.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 06.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 07.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 08.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 09.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 10.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 11.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 12.jpg

File:Mandaeans celebrating the Creation Day (Brunaya), Maysan, Iraq - Mar 17, 2019 13.jpg

See also

References

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