Sidra d-Nishmata

The Sidra ḏ-Nišmata (Classical Mandaic: ࡎࡉࡃࡓࡀ ࡖࡍࡉࡔࡌࡀࡕࡀ, lit. 'Book of Souls'; Modern Mandaic: Sedrā d-Nešmāthā^[1]), also known as the Book of Souls or Book of Gadana, is a collection of Mandaean litugical prayers that constitutes the first part of the Qulasta. It is typically considered to consist of 103 prayers. The Sidra ḏ-Nišmata most likely constitutes the oldest stratum of Mandaean literature and dates to at least the 3rd century CE or earlier.^[2]

Sidra ḏ-Nišmata
Information
Religion	Mandaeism
Language	Mandaic language
Period	3rd century AD or earlier

The Sidra ḏ-Nišmata contains the most important prayers used in core Mandaean rituals, namely the masbuta and masiqta.^[3]

Structure

Matthew Morgenstern (in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon)^[4] and Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki (2010) considers the Sidra ḏ-Nišmata to contain 103 prayers,^[5] which correspond to the first 103 prayers in both Mark Lidzbarski's Mandäische Liturgien (1920)^[6] and E. S. Drower's Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (1959).^[7]

The Sidra ḏ-Nišmata consists of the following sections. Each of the three parts has its own colophon.^[2]

• Part 1: Prayers 1–74
  • Prayers 1–31: masbuta liturgy
  • Prayers 32–72: masiqta liturgy
  • CP 73–74: the 2 "Letter" (engirta) prayers
• Part 2: Prayers 75–77: 3 long prayers of praise
• Part 3: Prayers 78–103: the "responses" (eniania)

Types of prayers

Eric Segelberg (1958) lists the following types of prayers in the Sidra ḏ-Nišmata.^[8]

• buta (plural form: bauata; generic Mandaic term for prayers)
  • Prayers 1, 3, 5: prayers for the crown
  • Prayer 7: prayer for the pandama
  • Prayers 9–11: prayers at the river bank
  • Prayers 22–24: prayers over the oil
  • Prayers 25–28: buta haṭamta or "sealing prayer"
  • Prayer 32: opening masiqta prayer
  • Prayers 75–77: long baptismal prayers
• qaiamta: Prayers 56–65
• pugdama (lit. 'commandment, declaration'): Prayers 8, 14, 19, 34; also applies to Prayers 5, 47, 48
• šrita (plural form: širiata) (loosening or deconsecrating prayers): Prayers 2, 4, 6, 31, 55
• draša
  • Prayers 21, 30, 88–90
• eniana
  • Prayers 79–81: three hymns in the beginning of the baptismal rite
  • Prayer 82: hymn after the acts in the water
  • Prayer 83–87: hymns said after the sealing prayers

List of prayers

See also: List of Qulasta prayers

Below is a list of individual prayers of the Sidra ḏ-Nišmata based on the text of Drower (1959),^[7] with additional notes from Segelberg (1958)^[8] and Buckley (2002).^[3]

Litanies in the Sidra d-Nishmata include prayers 8, 9, 25, 58, 70, 71, 77, 80, and 81.^[9]

Maṣbuta liturgy

• 3 sets of paired prayers for the burzinqa
  • Prayer 1: prayer containing a creation narrative
  • Prayer 2: šrita (loosening prayer) dedicated to Zihrun
  • Prayer 3: prayer to Yawar Ziwa bar Nhur Hiia, Hamgai Ziwa bar Hamgagai Ziwa, Zihrun
  • Prayer 4: šrita (loosening prayer) praising Manda d-Hayyi and the Light of Tarwan (taruan nhura)
  • Prayer 5: prayer to Yufin-Yufafin, Eit Enṣibat Eutria, Eit Yawar bar Enṣibat Eutria
  • Prayer 6: šrita (loosening prayer)

• Prayer 7: pandama prayer
• Prayer 8: longer incense (riha) prayer containing a litany

• "Adjutores baptismi" (adiauria ḏ-maṣbuta) prayers
  • Prayer 9: litany
  • Prayer 10: short prayer about the yardna
  • Prayer 11: short prayer to Yawar Ziwa and seven manas

• Prayer 12: prayer of Yur bar Barit opening up the yardna
• Prayer 13: descent to the yardna, attended by ʿuthria
• Prayer 14: margna prayer (pugdama or declaration of the margna)

• Exorcism prayers
  • Prayer 15: prayer for binding demons
  • Prayer 16: "perfected gem" prayer
  • Prayer 17: invocation of ʿuthria so that evil spirits would flee

• Prayer 18: long prayer blessing the yardna which begins with the invocation of Piriawis (main prayer said during the maṣbuta immersion)
• Prayer 19: short prayer for crowning with the klila, and pronouncing ʿuthria names over the baptized person ("Manda created/called me")
• Prayer 20: yardna prayer beginning with a blessing of the outer door (tira baraia), for deconsecrating the yardna
• Prayer 21: ascent from the yardna; the prayer rejects the sun, moon, and fire as witnesses

• Oil (miša) prayers
  • Prayer 22: invocation of ʿuthria before anointing with oil
  • Prayer 23: praising the oil
  • Prayer 24: oil driving off evil spirits and healing illnesses

• Sealing (haṭamta) prayers
  • Prayer 25: long litany
  • Prayer 26: short prayer sealing the baptized souls
  • Prayer 27: prayer invoking ʿUṣar-Hai and Pta-Hai, Manda ḏ-Hiia, and Hayyi
  • Prayer 28: prayer of healing and driving off illnesses

• Prayer 29: short prayer of rising up
• Prayer 30: prayer about conquering the mountain, fire, and sea (draša of the maṣbuta)
• Prayer 31: final šrita (loosening prayer)

Masiqta liturgy

• Prayer 32: short opening prayer
• Prayer 33: mambuha prayer dedicated to the Water of Life
• Prayer 34: shorter incense prayer
• Prayer 35: long prayer ("I sought to lift my eyes" (bit mišqal ainia)) dedicated to Manda d-Hayyi, used for versatile ritual applications

• Pihta prayers (Prayers 36–42 begin with "I worship, laud and praise" (sagidna šahabana u-mšabana).)
  • Prayer 36: prayer to the Mana, Drop (Niṭufta), Šar, Pirun
  • Prayer 37: prayer to the Cloud (Anana)
  • Prayer 38: prayer to Yawar Ziwa
  • Prayer 39: prayer of the šuta (declaration) of Yawar
  • Prayer 40: prayer to ʿUṣar
  • Prayer 41: prayer to ʿUṣar Nhur
  • Prayer 42: prayer of the šuta (declaration) of Yawar
  • Prayer 43: prayer to Manda ḏ-Hiia

• Mambuha prayers
  • Prayer 44: short prayer to Biriawiš
  • Prayer 45: longer prayer

• Masiqta prayers
  • Klila prayers
    • Prayer 46: klila prayer (nhur nhura). Almost identical to Prayer 5, except that the first two words of Prayer 46 are nhar nhura instead of nhur nhura in Prayer 5. As a result, Lidzbarski (1920) omits Prayer 46 as a duplicate of Prayer 5, although Drower (1959) and Gelbert & Lofts (2025) keep the prayer.^[9]
    • Prayer 47: klila prayer (zhira u-mzahra)
  • Prayer 48: oil prayer
  • Prayer 49: prayer for the spirit and soul; Ṣauriel is invoked
  • Prayer 50: prayer mentioning "Hamamulai"
  • Prayer 51: investiture prayer
  • Prayer 52: prayer invoking Yusmir
  • Prayer 53: masiqta sealing prayer (obtaining a letter from Abatur)
  • Prayer 54: prayer invoking Yukašar (entering the scales of Abatur)
  • Prayer 55: short pandama loosening prayer
  • Prayer 56: short living water prayer
  • Prayer 57: short incense prayer
  • Prayer 58: litany
  • Prayer 59: short pihta prayer
  • Prayer 60: short mambuha prayer
  • Prayer 61: klila prayer
  • Prayer 62: short prayer praising the Naṣoraeans
  • Prayer 63: oil prayer
  • Prayer 64: short prayer ("The Life dwells in its own radiance and light.")
  • Prayer 65: raising up of souls
  • Prayer 66: Left Ginza 3.43
  • Prayer 67: prayer of ascension
  • Prayer 68: Left Ginza 3.20
  • Prayer 69: "go in peace" (ˁzil b-šlam)
  • Prayer 70: litany
  • Prayer 71: prayer of Shum (Shem), son of Noah, which contains a litany
  • Prayer 72: prayer asking Manda ḏ-Hiia for the forgiveness of sins

Engirta prayers

• Prayer 73: long prayer about a sealed letter
• Prayer 74: short prayer about the seal and word of Kušṭa

Three long prayers

• Prayer 75: "Mandaic targum" bearing many similarities to Psalm 114^[10][11][12]
• Prayer 76: prayer of perfecting the souls
• Prayer 77: litany

Eniania

• Prayer 78: short prelude prayer
• Prayer 79: short myrtle prayer (placing the klila on the margna)

• "Hear me" (ʿunan ab ʿunian) litanies
  • Prayer 80: longer "hear me" litany
  • Prayer 81: shorter "hear me" litany
• Prayer 82: short mambuha prayer

• Maṣbuta prayers
  • Prayer 83: short prayer about plants planted and raised by the yardna
  • Prayer 84: short maṣbuta prayer about the baptizer
  • Prayer 85: short maṣbuta prayer about Shilmai, Nidbai, and Anush Uthra
  • Prayer 86: short maṣbuta prayer about the yardna
  • Prayer 87: short maṣbuta prayer about priests
  • Prayer 88: long prayer
  • Prayer 89: long prayer
  • Prayer 90: long prayer. See Gärtner (2013) for a study of the prayer comparing it with Jewish Christianity.^[13]

• Masiqta prayers
  • Prayer 91: short prayer about crossing the waters of death
  • Prayer 92: Left Ginza 3.4 (ˁzil b-šlam bhira dakia)
  • Prayer 93: short prayer about the Mana
  • Prayer 94: Left Ginza 3.3 (ṭubak ṭubak nišma)
  • Prayer 95: short prayer about Sunday, Kushta, and Zidqa (alms)
  • Prayer 96: Left Ginza 3.2 (zidana u-mzaudana)
  • Prayer 97: short prayer about being taken to the World of Light
  • Prayer 98: Left Ginza 3.7 (iuma ḏ-napiq nišma)
  • Prayer 99: prayer about the chosen ones
  • Prayer 100: short prayer about fragrant trees
  • Prayer 101: short prayer
  • Prayer 102: short prayer about the building of Life
  • Prayer 103: final masiqta prayer