Nasoræans

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Sometimes called M S or C S J

Nasoræans arepaganGnostics who shortly before the rise ofChristianity, formed asect which flourished in Mesopotamia andBabylonia, and which was one of the foremostreligions in WesternAsia in the early years ofMohammedanism. Though some 2000families strong in the seventeenth century, they have dwindled at the present day to some 1500 adherents living on the Shat-el-Arab near the Persian Gulf. It is the onlyGnosticsect that has survived and the sacred writings of which are still extant; a few remnants excepted, the writings of the so-calledChristianGnostics have perished.

Names

Mandæan (mndaya) is a Babylonian-Aramaic word in dialectic form, meaning:Gnostics,gnostikoí, "those who are good at knowing". TheHebrew forknowledge md‘ Madda is of the same root and is the noun from which the adjective Mandaya is derived. It is the name adopted by thesect itself, being employed in their sacred books, and is characteristic of their worship of the mnds dhyagnôsis tês doês or "knowledge of life". Another name also found in their sacred books is that ofSabians (sbya) which meansBaptists (sb‘ tobaptize in Syriac and Aramaic). This name is known to theMohammedans (sing.Sabia, pl. fr.Subâ’u) from theKoran (Sure V, 73; II, 59; XXII, 17) in whichChristians, Savians, andJews are enumerated asreligions which can be tolerated byIslam. It is based on the prominence of frequentbaptism in their religious discipline and hence they are nodoubt referred to by the Fathers as Hemerobaptists‘emerobaptístai i.e. practising dailybaptism. The nameSoubaíoi was even known in Greek writers. The name, however, most frequently used in their sacred literature is that of Nasoreans,naswraya which is also the usual Arabic (sing.Nasrani, pl. Nasâra) forChristians. The coincidence is striking, the more so as the Nasoræans have no leaning towardsChristianity, but rather contempt andhatred for it; nor do their doctrines betray any approximation toChristianbeliefs, except perhaps in that of the existence of a saviour, although some of their ceremonies bear a superficial resemblance toChristian mysteries. If, however, we remember that theManichæans inEurope paraded as thetrueChristians, though their system has but the use of half a dozen terms in common withChristianity, and that someGnosticsects had barely any similarity with theChurch ofChrist, though self-styledChristians, it becomes less strange that even Mandæans should have styled themselves Nasoræans. The term Kristiânâ, as transliteration of the Greek word, they reserve for the followers ofJesus Christ.Christianity was no doubt a name to conjure with, but the absence of any reason for the adoption of the title remains a mystery. It is suggested by some that the name is only given to the most perfect amongst them, but this seems contrary to fact. The name "Christians of St. John" is ofEuropean origin and based on a mistake. The Nasoræans have an extraordinary veneration forSt. John the Baptist, who figures largely in their mythology. This veneration, together with the similarity of their rites toChristian sacraments, led the first missionaries fromEurope to regard them as descendants of theChristiansbaptized only with thebaptism of St. John. Such, e.g. was the impression of theCarmelite Ignatius a Jesu, who lived some years in Bassa and wrote a description of thesect (1652).

Doctrines

These are to be gathered from a voluminous compilation called Genza or "The Treasure", and sometimes Sidra Rabba or "The Great Book", of which copiesdating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are in the Bibliothèque Nationale atParis and have been published by Petermann (Thesaurus s. Liber Magnus, vulgo Liber Adami, etc., Berlin, 1867) in Nasoræan script and language. The former is not unlike Estrangela with vowels added in the modifications of the consonants, and the latter closely resembles that of the Aramaic in the Talmud. The same text in Syriac characters with a somewhat free Latin translation was published by Norberg (London and Gotha, 1817). Selections from the Genza (about one fourth) have been translated into German by Brandt. This book is arbitrarily divided into two sections, called the Right and the Left Genza from the curious Nasoræan custom of writing these two portions in one volume but in inverted positions, the left being used at funerals and being written for the benefit of the dead. The Genza is a collection of writings from all ages and sources, some dating even after theMohammedan conquest. Another sacred book is the Kolasta, or "Summa" or practicalvademecum containinghymns,liturgies, rites formarriages, etc. (published as "Qolasta" by Euting, Stuttgart, 1867). The Sidra de Yahya i.e. Book of St. John or Drâshê de malkê, "Lectures of the Kings" was published in 1905 by Lidzbarski and translated with commentary by Ochser in 1905. The Diwan, apriestly ritual, was published by Euting (1904), but the Asfar Malwâshe, anastrological work on the signs of the Zodiac, is not yet published. In recent years finds of Nasoræan inscriptions on pottery have added to ourknowledge of their popularsuperstitions (Pognon, "Une incantation en Mandaïte", Paris, 1892; "Inscriptions Mand."Paris, 1808-9; Lidzbarski, "Ephem. f. Sem. Epigr.", Giessen, 1900).

These sources show Nasoræanism to be a form ofGnosticism which stands towards lateBabylonianpolytheism somewhat asNeo-Platonism stands towards the Greek and Roman Pantheon. It is an attempt to allegorize the ancient myths as being phases of man's creation andsalvation, though Nasoræanism never rids itself of fantastic Eastern imagery. Probably through Nabatæan commerce these southern Babylonians came into contact with theJews of the east of theJordan and developed a worship ofSt. John the Baptist. Their dailybaptism is however earlier than St. John's practice and is probably the cause of theirbelief regarding St. John rather than the effect of it. They likewise absorbed a great deal of Indian and Parsee philosophy till they developed theirdoctrine of the Light-King, which is similar to theManichæan concept of theuniverse, though without an absolutely rigiddualism. No religion therefore bears a nearer resemblance to Nasoræanism than that of Mani, who himself was an eastern Baptist in his youth. Finally, through contact with themonotheism ofJews,Christians,Mohammedans, and later Parsees, they gradually drifted towards the acceptance of oneGod. Their worship of the Light-King is one of singular beauty and elevation. Their æonology is extremely intricate: theæons are called by the mystical name Utra (‘wtryya which means: Riches or Potencies; Hebrew ‘sr). It will suffice to mention a few prominentideas. Pira Rabba is the source, origin, and container of all things. The meaning of Pira (pyra) is uncertain; of various suggested meanings, perhaps that of "Fruit" (Hebr. pry) is the most likely. This "Fruit" is like the Indian "Golden Egg", thetranscendental and unconscious "Fullness of Being" out of which all things develop; it is the seed of the fig tree of theGnostic Docetæ; it is theBúdos of the Valentinians. This Pira Rabba is possessed and filled by the Mânâ Rabbâ: the Great Spirit, the Great Illustrious One, the Great Splendour or Majesty. From the Mânâ Rabbâ emanates the First Life, whoprays for companionship and progeny, whereupon the Second Life, the Ultra Mkayyema or World-constituting Æon, the Architect of the Universe, comes into being. This divine architect gives forth a number ofæons, who with his permission intend to erect theuniverse. This however displeases the First Life at whose request the Mânâ Rabbâ produces as surveyor or foreman of the architect'sæons the Mandâ d'Hayye orgnôsis zoês the Personified Knowledge of Life i.e. the friend and counsellor of the First Life.

This Manda de Hayye is the Christ of the Nasoræans after whom they are called and around whom all their religiousideas group themselves. As god of order he has to battle with theæons of chaos and thus realize the divineidea in the world. The whole is a bold and obvious allegory: Marduk is sent by hisfather Ea to do battle with the powers of Tiamat. Thisfemale monster of chaos Nasoræans called the Holy Ghost, the Deceiver (spirit is feminine in Aramaic) or Ruha, nodoubt to spite theChristians. This Ruha has a son called Ur, the prince ofdevils. Manda de Hayye conquers him and throws him into chains. Unfortunately while Gabriel the Apostle and Petahiel are beginning to create a good world, Ur escapes and begets with Ruha the seven planets, the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the five elements. A truce is called and Petahiel amicably shares the creation of the world with the sons of Ur and Ruha. The lifeless body of Adam is created, but the "Image of God" is without motion. With the help of Abel, Seth, Enos, and Adakas there is breathed into him the spirit of life. The seven planets, however, and the twelve signs of the Zodiac constitute anevil influence in the world, which is continually being overcome by the Manda de Hayye. With thedoctrine of the Light-King a considerable modification of æonology was introduced, but the main outline remained the same. The Light-King, the Father of theæons, begets Manda de Hayye or Protanthropos, Adam as the First man. This Manda de Hayye becomes incarnate in Jibil the Glorious or Hibil Ziva (hybyl zywa). Kessler pointedly remarks that if Manda is the Christ then Hibil is theJesus Christ of Nasoræanism. Hibil's descents into Hades play a great rôle in theirtheology. Hibil is the Saviour and the Prophet of man. He is Marduk attempting to displaceJesus of Nazareth. A last emanation of the Light-King wasJohn the Baptist, who with Hibil, Seth, and Enos are brethren of the Manda de Hayye. Frequent mention is made of heavenly Jordans, being streams of living waters from thetranscendental realm of light. Hibil Ziva wasbaptized in 360,000 of them before his descent to the nether world.

Discipline and ritual

The Nasoræans strongly repudiate allideas ofcelibacy and asceticism; they have atrueSemitic contempt for the unmarried and repeatedly inculcate the precept "increase and multiply". They reject allfasting and self-denial as useless and unnatural, and if they observed theMohammedanfasts at least in outward appearance it was only to avoid trouble and persecutions. They are the reverse ofManichæans; there may be muchevil in this world but man is bound to make the best of it. No wonder Mani left them. They observe no distinctions of food, except that blood and things strangled are forbidden them, also all food prepared by strangers, and even food bought in the market, must be washed. They have no special hours forprayer except that they must onlypray when it is light, noprayer is heard as long as it is dark. Not theMohammedan Friday, or the JewishSabbath, but theChristian Sunday is their weekly holyday. This, however, is not a conscious imitation of theChristians, whose "Carpenter-god" they hate as a son of thedevil. The religious observance of other holidays seems of more recent origin, though nodoubt their civil observance, as in the case of New Year's day (first day of Wintermonth; their months have thirty days with five intercalary days to make a solar year), is ancient enough, being a festival of ancientBabylonia. They observeAscension day (of Hibil Ziva returning from Hades) on the eighteenth of first Springmonth, the Great Baptismal Festival on the intercalary days, the Feast of the Egyptians apparently drowned in theRed Sea underPharaoh (they were not really drowned, but escaped and were the forefathers of the Nasoræans), and a few other feasts. They possessed a hierarchicalpriesthood to whom they paid a profound veneration. Their patriarch is the Rash Amma, chief of the people, but they seem but rarely to have had such a dignitary; legend says only one before and one afterJohn the Baptist. A kind ofbishops,priests, anddeacons form thehierarchy; they are called Ganzivrâ, Tarmidhâ, and Shecandâ or Treasurer, Disciple, and Messenger. Theordination to thepriesthood is preceded by a so-called retreat of sixty days during which the candidate submits to many quaint rules andbaptisms. The Shecanda is only an assistant, but thepriest's privilege is the power tobaptize; thebishop is the administrator of the community. They possess three great sacramental rites, Mashutha orbaptism; Pehta and Mabutha or communion, really morsel (bread) and draught (water); and Kusta or troth, a handshake and plighting of troth. Baptism, always in flowing or living water of rivers and brooks, is the greatest of all the rites. Children arebaptized as soon as they can bear total immersion. Self-baptism is frequent; thepriest whenbaptizing used originally the formula: Thou art signed with the sign of life; the Name of the Life and the Manda de Hayya is named over thee. Baptism takes place on Sunday and on many other occasions when forgiveness ofsin is required. It is followed by a kind of anointing with moist sesame. Communion is given in thin unleavened cakes kept in thepriest's house and a handful of water. Kushta is a solemn sign of fellowship with brother Nasoræans. "Brethren of the flesh pass away, Kushta brethren remain forever", says the proverb. The history of Nasoræanism is practically unknown. The Genza contains a Book of Kings of a pseudo-historical character, but the utter confusion of their historical reminiscences makes it difficult to find a kernel oftruth. The Nasoræans were lost to history till Ignatius a Jesu brought the news of their existence. They have been a prominent religion, as they were classed withChristians andJews by theMohammedans. It is often held that they once actually dwelt in Palestine near theJordan and immigrated into Chaldea. Their bitterhatred of all that is Jewish orChristian (for Moses is afalseprophet,Jesus, the Great Deceiver, whom Enos justly brings to the cross), together with their extensive use of Biblical names, would lead one to believe that though their "theology" is Indian-Babylonian they were once historically connected with JewishChristians.

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