"Niana" redirects here. For the Filipino dancer and social media personality, see Niana Guerrero.
In Mandaeism, a ʿniana or eniana (Classical Mandaic: ࡏࡍࡉࡀࡍࡀ, lit.'response', Modern Mandaic pronunciation:[ʕeˈniɑna]; plural form: ʿnianiaࡏࡍࡉࡀࡍࡉࡀ, Modern Mandaic pronunciation:[ʕeˈniɑni]) prayer is recited during rituals such as the masiqta and priest initiation ceremonies. They form part of the Qulasta. The rahma prayers are often considered to be a subset of the eniana prayers.
Etymology
ʿNiana literally means "response," since the prayers may have originally been recited in a call and response manner.
Manuscripts and translations
Jacques de Morgan's manuscript collection included a ʿniania manuscript dating back to 1833.
The prayers have been translated into English by E. S. Drower (1959). They have also been translated into German by Mark Lidzbarski (1920).
The following prayers are also considered to be ʿniana prayers according to Buckley (2010). They are numbered from 78–103 in both Drower's and Lidzbarski's versions of the Qulasta. These prayers are also known as eniania ḏ-maṣbuta and eniania ḏ-masiqta. Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki includes them as part of the Sidra ḏ-Nišmata (Book of Souls).
Prayer 81: shorter "hear me" (ʿunan ab ʿunian) prayer invoking the Father, yardna and its two banks (trin kipḥ), Habšaba (Sunday) and Kana ḏ-Zidqa, and Hayyi Rabbi.
There are also two eniana poems in Book 15 of the Right Ginza, which are chapters 15 and 16 of Book 15. These two poems contain the refrain "when the chosen/proven pure one went away" (kḏ azil bhira dakiaࡗ ࡀࡆࡉࡋ ࡁࡄࡉࡓࡀ ࡃࡀࡊࡉࡀ). This refrain is also found in prayers 205 and 233–256 of the Qulasta.
See also
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
↑Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-515385-5. OCLC65198443.
123Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
123Al-Mubaraki, Majid Fandi; Mubaraki, Brian (2010). Qulasta - 'niania & Qabina / Mandaean Liturgical Prayer Book (Responses & Marriage) (volume 2). Luddenham, New South Wales: Mandaean Research Centre. ISBN9781876888152.
↑Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. Mandäische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.
↑Al-Mubaraki, Majid Fandi; Mubaraki, Brian (2010). Qulasta - Sidra d Nishmata / Mandaean Liturgical Prayer Book (Book of Souls) (volume 1). Luddenham, New South Wales: Mandaean Research Centre. ISBN9781876888145. (1998 edition: ISBN 0-9585705-1-5)