Shganda
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In Mandaeism, a shganda (šganda; Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡂࡀࡍࡃࡀ), shkanda (Arabic: شكندا, romanized: škandā), or ashganda (ašganda)[1] is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties.[2]
In the Mandaean diaspora, shgandas, or alternatively learned laymen called yalufa, often perform minor priestly roles due to shortages of tarmida and ganzibra priests abroad.[3]: 338
Tarmida initiations
[edit]Tarmida initiates or novices (šualia) have often been trained as shgandas when they were children. Initiates may or may not be married, although typically they are not yet married.[2]
During tarmida initiation ceremonies, shgandas, who represent emissaries from the World of Light, also help perform the rituals, many of which are held in a specially constructed priest initiation hut (škinta) and also a nearby temporary reed hut (andiruna).[2]
Notable shgandas
[edit]- Salem Choheili (born 1935), scribe, teacher, and author in Ahvaz
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Drower, E. S. 1960. The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ a b c Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
- ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
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