TheQulasta,[1] also spelledQolastā in older sources[2] (Classical Mandaic:ࡒࡅࡋࡀࡎࡕࡀ,romanized: Qulasta;Modern Mandaic:Qōlutā), is a compilation ofMandaean prayers. The Mandaic wordqolastā means "collection".[3]
The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms (masbuta) and other sacred rituals involved in the ascension of the soul (masiqta).[4] In Mandaic, individual prayers are generally calledbuta (plural form:bawata), although some prayers also known asqaiamta,šrita (loosing or deconsecration prayers), and other Mandaic designations.[5] There is no standardized version of the Qulasta; different versions can contain varying numbers of prayers, and ordering of the prayers can also vary. The most commonly Qulasta versions are those ofE. S. Drower (1959 English translation) andMark Lidzbarski (1905 German translation).[3][2]
Eric Segelberg (1958) contains a detailed study of many of the first 90 Qulasta prayers (many of which are known in Mandaic asbuta) as used in Mandaean rituals.[5]
TheQulasta, and two other key texts to Mandaic literature, theMandaean Book of John and theGinza Rabba, may have been compiled together.[4] However, their date of authorship is heavily debated, some believing it to be during the second and third centuries,[6] and others believing it to be conceived during the first century.[7] A study of thecolophons of this text would appear to push back a date to the third century at the latest.[8]
In the first colophon of the Qulasta (directly after prayer 74), Nukraya, son of Šitil, a scribe from the earliest part of the Islamic period, wrote that he copied the text while consulting at least seven manuscripts (ṭupsia). One of them belonged to "a library in a house of 'aPeople of the Book' (anašia ḏ-ktiba), while another originated from "a town of Byzantines" (i.e., Byzantine Christians), indicating that Mandaean liturgical texts were being kept in non-Mandaean libraries at the start of the Islamic period.[1]: 175
In 1949,Torgny Säve-Söderbergh argued that at many passages in the ManichaeanPsalms of Thomas were paraphrases or even word-by-word translations of Mandaean prayers in the Qulasta. Säve-Söderbergh also argued that the Manichaean psalms had borrowed from Mandaean sources rather than vice versa. As a result, much of the Qulasta can be dated to before the 3rd century, i.e. beforeMani's lifetime.[9]
However, some scholars such as Kevin van Bladel believe that the material shared with the Psalms of Thomas may only be the use of a common source (perhapsElkesaite funerary hymns), and that the text as a whole may date considerably later.[10]: 76–78 The present form of the text must post-date theearly Muslim conquests at minimum, given the references made in the Qulasta to the advancement of the Arab armies.[10]: 8–9
In 1867,Julius Euting published a printed Mandaic version of the Qolasta.[11][12][13]
The Qulasta has been translated intoEnglish byE. S. Drower in 1959 and byMark Lidzbarski intoGerman in 1920.[2] Lidzbarski's translation was based on two manuscripts, including Ms. Syr. F. 2 (R) held at theBodleian Library, which he called "Roll F."[1]
E. S. Drower's version of the Qulasta contains 414 prayers (338 prayers if excluding duplicated prayers), which was based on manuscript 53 of theDrower Collection (abbreviated DC 53). The fragmentary DC 3, which is an incomplete codex of the Qulasta, was also consulted by Drower.[3] DC 53 was copied in 1802 by theganzibra Adam Yuhana, the father ofYahia Bihram, inHuwaiza,Khuzistan. The manuscript was purchased by Drower in 1954.[1]
Carlos Gelbert has also translated the 103 prayers from Lidzbarki'sMandäische Liturgien into Arabic.[14] A typesetted Mandaic version has also been published in 1998 byMajid Fandi Al-Mubaraki.[15][16][17]
Part 1 ofMark Lidzbarski'sLiturgien (1920) (commonly abbreviatedML in Mandaic studies), titled the Qolastā, has only 103 prayers. Part 2 includes 4 books from the "Oxford Collection," with 60, 33, 20, and 20 prayers respectively for books 1-4. All of the prayers have the original Mandaic transcribed in Hebrew letters side-by-side with their respective German translations.[2]
CP 104–105, 161–164, 170–179, 200–329, and 348–414 in Drower (1959) are not found in Lidzbarski (1920).
Lidzbarski'sMandäische Liturgien differs substantially from Drower'sCanonical Prayerbook, since different manuscripts had been consulted.[2]
The 414 prayers inE. S. Drower's 1959Canonical Prayerbook (commonly abbreviatedCP in Mandaic studies) are categorized into the following sections.[3]
Mandaeans typically refer to their canonical prayers as being part of the sections listed below (for example, the Book of Souls), rather than as part of the "Qulasta" (sinceQulasta simply means 'Collection').
| Prayer numbers | Section |
|---|---|
| 1–31 | Book of Souls (Sidra ḏ-Nišmata) (Baptism Liturgy) |
| 32–72 | Book of Souls (Sidra ḏ-Nišmata) (Masiqta Liturgy) |
| 73–74 | The Letter (ʿngirta) prayers |
| 75–77 | Hymns of praise |
| 78–103 | The Responses (ʿniania) |
| 104 | Rušma (Daily ablution prayer) |
| 105 | Salutation of Kings (Asiet malkia) |
| 106–169 | Rahmia (Daily devotional prayers) |
| 170 | Ṭab ṭaba lṭabia (the full Commemoration prayer for the dead, and living) |
| 171–172 | Hymns of praise etc. |
| 173 | Šumhata (The "Names") |
| 174–176 | Hymns of praise etc. |
| 177 | Little New Year's Feast prayer |
| 178 | Prayer for "honoring" thecrown |
| 179–232 | Hymns formarriage (hadaiata) |
| 233–256 | Kḏ azil Bhira Dakia (When the proven, pure one went) (prayer series, for a new priest) |
| 257–304 | Hymns formarriage and anew priest (repeated) |
| 305–329 | Coronation prayers and hymns (including two formyrtle) |
| 330–347 | Drabša (Banner) prayers and hymns |
| 348–374 | Zidqa Brika (Blessed Oblation) prayers and hymns |
| 375–381 | Blessings on the chief celebrant after Blessed Oblation |
| 382–409 | Myrtle prayers and hymns |
| 410 | Prayer of Yahia |
| 411–414 | Miscellaneous hymns |
There are 8 colophons in DC 53, which means that the manuscript had originally consisted of at least 8 separate texts. As a result, Buckley (2010) provides the following outline for Drower'sCanonical Prayerbook (CP) based on the DC 53 colophons:[1]
Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki has published a two-volume set of Qulasta prayers containing the printed Mandaic text of the prayers. It was originally published in 1998 and 1999, and republished in 2010 as an electronicCD-ROM version. Volume 1 corresponds to Part 1 of Lidzbarski (1920), and Volume 2 partially corresponds to Part 2 (the "Oxford Collection") of Lidzbarski (1920).[18][19] The contents are as follows, with Drower'sCP numbers provided as well. The prayers in Al-Mubaraki's Qulasta correspond to prayers 1-259 and 410 in Drower (1959).Note that azhara (lit. 'warning') is a name insertion used by the person reciting the prayer.
One of the most important prayers is prayer 170, called theṬabahatan ("Our Ancestors"). As a commemoration prayer with a long list of names, the prayer starts with the lineṭab ṭaba lṭabia ("Good is the Good for the Good"). A different version of this prayer is found in DC 42,Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata ("The Scroll of Ṭabahata" [Parents]), which is used duringParwanaya rituals.[1]
In Mandaean rituals, many prayers are frequently recited in sets. Common sets of prayers listed in ritual texts such as theScroll of Exalted Kingship,The Coronation of the Great Shishlam,[20] theAlma Rišaia texts,[21] andZihrun Raza Kasia[22] are given below. Drower's and Lidzbarki's numberings are equivalent for these prayers, since the first 103 prayers are nearly identical in both versions.
The "loosening prayers" are known asširiata.[20]
Many of the prayers in the Qulasta have recurring formulas such as:[3]
Several of the prayers in Drower'sCanonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (CP), mostlyʿniania ("responses") andmasiqta prayers, correspond to hymns in Book 3 of theLeft Ginza (GL 3):[1][23]
| CP prayer | GL chapter |
|---|---|
| 66 | 3.43 |
| 68 | 3.20 |
| 69 | 3.5 (many lines)[23] |
| 73 | 3.27 |
| 92 | 3.4 |
| 93 | 3.10[23] |
| 94 | 3.3 |
| 96 | 3.2 |
| 98 | 3.7 |
Prayer 66 also corresponds withPsalms of Thomas 6.[9]
Some marriage hymns (hadaiata) in theCanonical Prayerbook also correspond to some hymns in Book 12 of theRight Ginza (GR 12):[23]
Various esoteric texts used in priestly initiation ceremonies frequently refer to prayers in the Qulasta. These include:[1]
Many passages in these texts are essentially priestly commentaries on both the practical ritual applications and esoteric symbolism of specific prayers in the Qulasta.
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