Daily prayer in Mandaeism, called brakha ࡁࡓࡀࡊࡀ in Mandaic (cognate with Hebrew berakhah and Arabic barakah) or occasionally birukta (birukhta), consists of set prayers that are recited three times per day. Mandaeans stand facing north while reciting daily prayers. Unlike in Islam and Coptic Orthodox Christianity, prostration is not practiced.
Mandaean priests recite rahma prayers three times every day, while laypeople also recite the Rushuma (signing prayer) and Asut Malkia ("Healing of Kings") daily.
In Mandaic, the generic term for an individual prayer is buta (plural form: bawata).
Prayer times
The three prayer times in Mandaeism are:
- dawn (sunrise) (corresponding to the Fajr prayer in Islam and Shacharit in Judaism; mentioned in Book 8 of the Right Ginza as rahmia ḏ-miṣṭipra)
- noontime (the "seventh hour") (corresponding to the Zuhr prayer in Islam and Mincha in Judaism; mentioned in Book 8 of the Right Ginza as rahmia ḏ-šuba šaiia)
- evening (sunset) (corresponding to the Maghrib prayer in Islam and Maariv in Judaism; mentioned in Book 8 of the Right Ginza as rahmia ḏ-l-paina)
Traditionally, the prayers are performed while wearing the rasta (robe), burzinqa (turban), and himiana (belt).
See also
References
- Nasoraia, Brikha H.S. (2021). The Mandaean gnostic religion: worship practice and deep thought. New Delhi: Sterling. ISBN 978-81-950824-1-4. OCLC 1272858968.
- ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
- Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
- ^ Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
- Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. Mandäische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.
- Segelberg, Eric (1958). Maṣbūtā: Studies in the Ritual of Mandaean Baptism. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell.
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
- Choheili, Shadan. Rishama and Barakha Rituals. Liverpool, NSW: Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi.
External links
- Brakha and Rishama instructional video
- Afternoon brakha and ablution in Amarah, Iraq
- Morning brakha
- Afternoon brakha
- Evening brakha
- Baii Rahmi (The Great Prayer)
