Secrets of the Ancestors
{{Short description|Religious text of Mandaeism}}
{{Distinguish|Scroll of the Ancestors}}
{{Infobox religious text
|name=The Scroll and Tafsir of the Secrets of the Ancestors
Diwan u-tafsir ḏ-razia ḏ-abahata
|religion=Mandaeism
|image=
|alt=
|language=Mandaic language
|caption=
|period=
}}
{{Mandaeism}}
Diwan u-tafsir ḏ-razia ḏ-abahata ({{langx|myz|ࡃࡉࡅࡀࡍ ࡅࡕࡀࡐࡎࡉࡓ ࡖࡓࡀࡆࡉࡀ ࡖࡀࡁࡀࡄࡀࡕࡀ}} "Scroll and Tafsir [Explanation] of the Secrets of the Ancestors", or simply "The Secrets of the Ancestors") is a Mandaean religious text. It is written as a scroll.{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history|publisher=Gorgias Press|publication-place=Piscataway, N.J|year=2010|isbn=978-1-59333-621-9}}
Manuscripts and translations
The Bodleian Library at Oxford University holds a manuscript of the text, catalogued as Ms. Asiat. Misc. C 13. The text was translated into German by Bogdan Burtea in 2012.{{cite book|last=Burtea|first=Bogdan|title=Die Geheimnisse Der Vorvater Edition, Ubersetzung Und Kommentierung Einer Esoterischen Mandaischen Handschrift Aus Der Bodleian Library Oxford|publisher=Harrassowitz|publication-place=Wiesbaden|year=2012|isbn=978-3-447-06466-8|oclc=940934456|language=de|url=https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/%26Die_Geheimnisse_der_Vorv%C3%A4ter%26/titel_1111.ahtml}}
Bodleian MS Asiat. Misc. C 13 was copied at Mučarra in 1238 A.H. (1822-3 A.D.) by Iahia Ram Zihrun br Mhatam.{{cite web | editor-last=Morgenstern | editor-first=Matthew | website=The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon | url=https://cal.huc.edu/get_a_chapter.php?file=74429 | title=Diuan u-Tafsir ḏ-Raza ḏ-Abahata | access-date=2024-07-27}} The text lists the names Barmeil, Bihdad, Bihram, Šišlam, Šišlameil, Manhareil, Nureil, Zihrun, Sahqeil, Haiil, and Reil. Bogdan Burtea's (2012) German translation is based on MS Asiat. Misc. C 13.{{cite book|last=Burtea|first=Bogdan|title=Die Geheimnisse Der Vorvater Edition, Ubersetzung Und Kommentierung Einer Esoterischen Mandaischen Handschrift Aus Der Bodleian Library Oxford|publisher=Harrassowitz|publication-place=Wiesbaden|year=2012|isbn=978-3-447-06466-8|oclc=940934456|language=de|url=https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/%26Die_Geheimnisse_der_Vorv%C3%A4ter%26/titel_1111.ahtml}}
MS Asiat. Misc. C 13 was discovered in 1956. It is a scroll that is about 32 cm wide and 257 cm long. The text contains 378 lines and occupies about 28.5 cm in width. Illustrations take up 31.5 cm of the length. The illustrated part of the manuscript is marked by frames and is divided into two parts. The upper part with banner illustrations is about 12 cm, and the lower one with anthropomorphic figures is about 18.5 cm high. The illustrations are accompanied by short explanations written in Mandaic. The figures depicted are about 7 cm in length. The manuscript is dated to the year 1238 A.H. (1822 A.D.).Burtea 2012: 2
As of 2022, Brikha Nasoraia is working on a translation and analysis of the scroll.{{cite book | last=Nasoraia | first=Brikha |author-link=Brikha Nasoraia | title=The Mandaean Rivers Scroll (Diwan Nahrawatha): an analysis | publisher=Routledge | publication-place=London | year=2022 | isbn=978-0-367-33544-1 | oclc=1295213206 | url=https://www.routledge.com/The-Mandaean-Rivers-Scroll-Diwan-Nahrawatha-An-Analysis/Nasoraia/p/book/9780367335441}}
Contents
The contents of the text are:Burtea 2012: 2
- Lines 1–5: Introduction
- between lines 5 and 6: illustrations with accompanying written explanations
- Lines 6–157: Secret teachings/instructions of the uthri (light beings)
- Lines 158–362: Interpretation of prayers and rituals
- Lines 363–378: Colophon
The text lists the names of the following uthras in order:
The manuscript also contains illustrations of the following uthras.{{cite book |last=van Rompaey |first=Sandra |title=Mandaean Symbolic Art |publisher=Brepols |publication-place=Turnhout |date=2024 |isbn=978-2-503-59365-4 |url=https://www.brepols.net/products/IS-9782503593654-1}}