Taga (Mandaeism)

Several tagas can be seen on the right in this 2008 photograph of a tarmida initiation ceremony in Baghdad.

In Mandaeism, the taga (Classical Mandaic: ࡕࡀࡂࡀ; sometimes also spelled taqa ࡕࡀࡒࡀ) is a white crown traditionally made of silk that is used during Mandaean religious rituals. The taga is a white crown which always takes on masculine symbolism, while the klila (myrtle wreath) is a feminine symbol that complements the taga.^[1][2]

Use in rituals

Along with the klila, the taga is used during most Mandaean rituals, including masbuta, masiqta, and priest initiation rituals.^[3]

In the Qulasta

Further information: Qulasta § List of prayers

Several prayers in the Qulasta are recited when consecrating and putting on the taga.^[4]

See also

• Radiate crown
• Drabsha
• Klila
• Rasta (Mandaeism)

References

1. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
2. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (1989). "Why Once Is Not Enough: Mandaean Baptism (Maṣbuta) as an Example of a Repeated Ritual". History of Religions. 29 (1). University of Chicago Press: 23–34. doi:10.1086/463169. ISSN 0018-2710. JSTOR 1062837. S2CID 161224842.
3. Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford at the Clarendon Press.
4. Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.