Zidqa brikha

In Mandaeism, the zidqa brikha (or zidqa brika; Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡉࡃࡒࡀ ࡁࡓࡉࡊࡀ, lit. 'blessed oblation', Modern Mandaic pronunciation: [ˈzɪdqa ˈbriχa]) is a type of ritual meal blessed by Mandaean priests.[1][2] Zidqa means oblation and can also mean alms, while brikha means blessed.[3] Unlike the lofani, which is a minor ritual meal does not require the presence of a priest, the zidqa brikha needs to be prepared by a priest.[4]: 232


The zidqa brikha is offered and eaten at the end of tarmida (junior priest) initiation ceremonies, after the novice's 60-day seclusion period.[1] It is also offered at weddings[5] and during the Parwanaya festival.[6] During Parwanaya, the zidqa brikha is performed privately by priests around midnight, rather than in front of a large congregation of laypeople.
The ahaba ḏ-mania or hava ḏ-mania (presentation of garments) is a form of zidqa brika for those who have not died wearing the ritual garment, or for the ritually impure. It is performed on a proxy during the Parwanaya.[7]
It is distinct from the lofani and dukrana, which are two other types of ritual meal offered for the dead.[3]
Prayers
[edit]In E. S. Drower's version of the Qulasta, prayers 348–374 are for the zidqa brikha. Prayers 375–381 are blessings recited after the zidqa brikha.[8]
Parallels in other religions
[edit]E. S. Drower draws comparisons between the Afringan ceremony in Zoroastrianism and the zidqa brikha ceremony in Mandaeism.[9]
See also
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- Sacred food as offering
- Votive offering
- Dukrana
- Eucharist
- Koliva
- Lofani
- Zidqa
- Prasada in Hinduism
- Afrinagan ceremony in Zoroastrianism
References
[edit]- ^ a b Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
- ^ Segelberg, Eric. 1977. "Zidqa Brika and the Mandæan Problem. In Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Gnosticism. Ed. Geo Widengren and David Hellholm. Stockholm.
- ^ a b Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
- ^ Drower, E. S. (1956). Water into wine: a study of ritual idiom in the Middle East. London: John Murray.
- ^ Häberl, Charles (2022). The Book of Kings and the Explanations of This World: A Universal History from the Late Sasanian Empire. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-80085-627-1.
- ^ Burtea, Bogdan (2005). Das mandäische Fest der Schalttage: Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentierung der Handschrift (DC 24, Šarh ḏ-paruanaiia) (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-05179-8. OCLC 62273841.
- ^ van Rompaey, Sandra (2024). Mandaean Symbolic Art. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-59365-4.
- ^ Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford at the Clarendon Press.