Uthra

An illustration of several uthras in Zihrun Raza Kasia (Ms. DC 27). Clockwise starting from the top-center figure (standing upright): Nidbai, Adathan and Yadathan (as two separate figures), Hibil Ziwa, an ašganda (priest's assistant, the only figure without a margna), Mara ḏ-Rabuta ("Father of Greatness"), Anuš, Šilmai

An uthra or ʿutra (Classical Mandaic: ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ, Neo-Mandaic oṯrɔ, traditionally transliterated eutra; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated eutria) is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency". Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utras (sing.: 'utra 'wealth', but meaning 'angel' or 'guardian')." Aldihisi (2008) compares them to the yazata of Zoroastrianism. According to E. S. Drower, "an 'uthra is an ethereal being, a spirit of light and Life.": 2 

Uthras are benevolent beings that live in škinas (ࡔࡊࡉࡍࡀ, "celestial dwellings") in the World of Light (alma ḏ-nhūra) and communicate with each other via telepathy. Uthras are also occasionally mentioned as being in anana ("cloud"; e.g., in Right Ginza Book 17, Chapter 1), which can also be interpreted as female consorts. Many uthras also serve as guardians (naṭra); for instance, Shilmai and Nidbai are the guardians of Piriawis, the Great Jordan (yardna) of Life. Other uthras are gufnas, or heavenly grapevines.

Uthras that accompany people or souls are known as parwanqa (ࡐࡀࡓࡅࡀࡍࡒࡀ), which can be translated as "guide", "envoy", or "messenger".

Etymology

Uthra is typically considered to be cognate with the Aramaic ʿuṯrā 'riches', derived from the Semitic root *ʿ-ṯ-r 'to be rich'. Based on that etymology, E. S. Drower suggests a parallel with the South Arabian god of storms, ʿAṯtar, who provides irrigation for the people.

However, that etymology is disputed by Charles G. Häberl (2017), who suggests it is the ʾaqtal pattern noun *awtərā 'excellency', derived from the Semitic root *w-t-r 'to exceed'.

Naming

Uthras often bear the term Ziwa "Radiance" (Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡉࡅࡀ, romanized: Ziua) appended to their names owing to their origins in the World of Light. In Manichaeism, the Syriac term Ziwa (ܙܝܘܐ) is also used to refer to Jesus in Manichaeism as Ishoʿ Ziwā (ܝܫܘܥ ܙܝܘܐ "Jesus the Splendor"), who is sent to awaken Adam and Eve to the source of the spiritual light trapped within their physical bodies.

Pairs of uthras also typically have rhyming names. The names can be alliterative (e.g., Adathan and Yadathan), or one name may have an infixed consonant or syllable (e.g., Kapan and Kanpan). In Manichaeism, pairs of celestial beings can also have rhyming names, such as Xroshtag and Padvaxtag. Gardner (2010) discusses other parallels with Manichaeism.

List of uthras

Commonly mentioned uthras

Below is a partial list of uthras. Some names of uthras are always listed together as pairs.

In the Ginza Rabba

Other uthras mentioned in the Ginza Rabba are:


In Right Ginza 5.1, Yawar Ziwa appoints four uthras each over the four directions to watch over Ur (see also Guardians of the directions):

In the Qulasta

A few Qulasta prayers list the names of lesser-known uthras in sets of four. They are referred to as the "four men, the sons of peace" (arba gubria bnia šlama) in Qulasta prayers 8, 49, 71, 75, and 77, as well as Right Ginza 5.4, 14, and 15.8. Qulasta prayer 17 and Left Ginza 1.2 refer to them as the "four uthras, the sons of light" (arba ʿutria bnia nhura). Mark J. Lofts (2010) considers them to be parallel to the Four Luminaries in Sethian Gnosticism. Qulasta prayers 17 and 77 list them as:

Qulasta prayer 49 lists the "four men, the sons of peace" as:

These four uthras are considered to be the kings (malkia) of the North Star, who give strength and life to the sun. Together with Malka Ziwa (another name for Hayyi Rabbi), they make up the "five primal beings of light." Conversely, Mandaeans consider the "five lords of the World of Darkness" to be Zartai-Zartanai, Hag and Mag, Gap and Gapan, Šdum, and Krun (the paired demons are considered to rule together as single lords). (See Manichaeism § The World of Light for similar parallels.)

Other minor uthras mentioned in the Qulasta are:

In other texts

Uthras in the Diwan Abatur (DC 8): Hibil (upper left corner), Bihram (to the right of Hibil), Simat Hayyi, (upper right corner), along with Adam, Anush, Shitil, and Yadathan (bottom row of uthras)

In the Mandaean Book of John, Etinṣib Ziwa (Classical Mandaic: ࡏࡕࡉࡍࡑࡉࡁ ࡆࡉࡅࡀ, lit. 'Splendid Transplant') is an uthra who starts a battle against Nbaṭ.

Some uthras mentioned in the Diwan Abatur include:

Mentioned in the Alma Rišaia Zuṭa:

Gufna

In various Mandaean texts, several heavenly beings are described as personified grapevines (gufna or gupna) in the World of Light.

Trees

In various Mandaean manuscripts, uthras can also be described as personified heavenly trees. Many Mandaean scrolls contain illustrations of the trees. Some of them are:

Anana

The Mandaic term anana (Classical Mandaic: ࡀࡍࡀࡍࡀ) is typically translated as 'cloud,' but can also be interpreted as a female consort of an uthra, and hence also an uthra.

In Qulasta prayers such as the Asut Malkia, the word niṭufta (spelled niṭupta), which originally means 'drop' and has sometimes also been translated as 'cloud', is also often used as an appellation to refer to the consorts of uthras. It can also be interpreted as the semen or seed of the Father (Hayyi Rabbi), or a personified drop of "water of life".: 13 

Parallels in other religions

Mandaean names for uthras have been found in Jewish magical texts. Abatur appears to be inscribed inside a Jewish incantation bowl in a variant form as "Abiṭur". The name Ptḥiʾl (Hebrew: פתחיאל), apparently a variation of Ptahil, is found in Sefer HaRazim, listed among other angels who stand on the ninth step of the second firmament.: 210–211 

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Mandaean Scriptures and Fragments". The Gnostic Society Library. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Häberl, Charles G.; McGrath, James F. (2019). The Mandaean Book of John: Text and Translation (PDF). Open Access Version. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
  3. ↑ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443. p8
  4. 1 2 3 Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
  5. 1 2 3 Drower, E. S. (1960). The secret Adam: a study of Nasoraean gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Gelbert, Carlos; Lofts, Mark J. (2011). Ginza Rba. Sydney: Living Water Books. ISBN 9780958034630.
  7. ↑ "The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon". cal.huc.edu.
  8. ↑ Gelbert, Carlos (2023). The Key to All the Mysteries of Ginza Rba. Sydney: Living Water Books. ISBN 9780648795414.
  9. 1 2 Häberl, Charles G. (Spring 2017). "The Origin and Meaning of Mandaic ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ". Journal of Semitic Studies. 62 (1). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/jss/fgw044. The Aramaic verbal root ʿ-t-r 'to be rich' (from PS *ʿ-ṯ-r) has completely disappeared from Mandaic through merger with the verbal root *y-t-r (from PS *w-t-r) 'to exceed' due to the mergers of PS *ʾ with *ʿ and PS *ṯ with *t in Mandaic; […] The scholarly consensus that has developed over the past fifteen decades, namely that CM eutra is cognate with Aramaic ʿuṯrā 'riches' and therefore means 'riches', is not justified either by the internal evidence from the Mandaic literature or by the comparative evidence from the other Semitic languages. By comparing its contemporary spoken form, NM oṯrɔ, with related words in all other branches of Semitic, I have demonstrated that CM eutra clearly derives from the PS root *w-t-r 'to exceed', that it is one of an extremely small class of relic C-stem deverbal adjectives in Aramaic, that its original meaning with reference to divine beings is 'excellent', and that in Classical Mandaic (and only in Classical Mandaic) it secondarily came to be used as a proper noun referring to an entire category of supernatural beings ('the excellencies').
  10. ↑ Gardner, Iain (2010). "Searching for Traces of the 'Utria in the Coptic Manichaica". ARAM Periodical. 22: 87–96. doi:10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131033.
  11. ↑ Al-Saadi, Qais Mughashghash; Al-Saadi, Hamed Mughashghash (2019). "Glossary". Ginza Rabba: The Great Treasure. An equivalent translation of the Mandaean Holy Book (2 ed.). Drabsha.
  12. ↑ Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. Mandäische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.
  13. 1 2 Haberl, Charles and McGrath, James (2020). The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-048651-3. OCLC 1129155601.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. 1 2 Gelbert, Carlos; Lofts, Mark J. (2017). The Teachings of the Mandaean John the Baptist. Fairfield, NSW, Australia: Living Water Books. ISBN 9780958034678. OCLC 1000148487.
  15. ↑ Lofts, Mark J. (2010). "Mandaeism: the sole extant tradition of Sethian Gnosticism". ARAM Periodical. 22: 31–59. doi:10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131031.
  16. ↑ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
  17. ↑ Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
  18. 1 2 Drower, Ethel S. (1950). Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories. Studi e Testi. Vol. 151. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  19. ↑ Drower, Ethel S. (1960). The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar Šuialia). Berlin: Akademie Verlag. p. 228, footnote 3.
  20. 1 2 3 4 van Rompaey, Sandra (2024). Mandaean Symbolic Art. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-59365-4.
  21. ↑ Macúch, Rudolf (1965). Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: De Gruyter.
  22. ↑ Morgan, Michael A. Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of the Mysteries. Pseudepigrapha Series. Vol. 11. Chico, California: Scholars Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-89130-615-3.
  23. ↑ Vinklat, Marek (January 2012). "Jewish Elements in the Mandaic Written Magic". Biernot, D. – Blažek, J. – Veverková, K. (Eds.), "Šalom: Pocta Bedřichu Noskovi K Sedmdesátým Narozeninám" (Deus et Gentes, Vol. 37), Chomutov: L. Marek, 2012. Isbn 978-80-87127-56-8. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.