The Coronation of the Great Shishlam

The Coronation of the Great Šišlam Šarḥ ḏ-Traṣa ḏ-Taga ḏ-Šišlam Rba
The Coronation of the Great Shishlam being read inside a tarmida initiation hut in Baghdad, Iraq in 2008
Information
Religion	Mandaeism
Language	Mandaic language

The Coronation of the Great Šišlam (or The Coronation of Shishlam Rabba; Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡀࡓࡇ ࡖࡕࡓࡀࡑࡀ ࡖࡕࡀࡂࡀ ࡖࡔࡉࡔࡋࡀࡌ ࡓࡁࡀ, romanized: Šarḥ ḏ-Traṣa ḏ-Taga ḏ-Šišlam Rba) is a Mandaean religious text. The text is a detailed commentary on the initiation of the tarmida (junior priests), with detailed discussions on masbuta and masiqta rituals. The Scroll of Exalted Kingship is also used extensively alongside the Coronation in tarmida initiation rituals. Similar esoteric texts that are traditionally used exclusively by Mandaean priests include The Thousand and Twelve Questions, and The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa.^[1]

The Scroll of Exalted Kingship is essentially a much more detailed version of the Coronation. Whereas the Coronation simply lists the sequences of prayers and rituals to be performed, the Exalted Kingship also provides symbolic explanations for each prayer and ritual that is performed.^[1]

Manuscripts and translations

In 1962, E. S. Drower published an English translation and commentary of the text, which was based on Manuscript 54 of the Drower Collection (DC 54, which Drower dates to 1008 A.H., i.e. 1590-1591 A.D.) and Or. 6592, British Museum (dated by Drower to 1298 A.H., i.e. 1880-1881 A.D.).^[2] Drower donated DC 54 to the Bodleian Library in 1961.^[3]

MS RRC 1A is another manuscript of the Coronation text. The manuscript was copied at Shushtar in 1156 A.H. (1744-5 A.D.) by Iuhana br Ram br Sam br Adam k. Malka Sabur. It has been digitized and analyzed by Matthew Morgenstern.^[4]

MS RRC 2E, a damaged manuscript, was copied at Mučarra in 1200 A.H. (1785–1786 A.D.).^[5]

Prayer sequence

Main article: Tarmida § Prayer sequence

See also

• Tarmida § Prayer sequence
• Scroll of Exalted Kingship
• The Thousand and Twelve Questions
• The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa

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. Drower, E. S. 1962. The Coronation of the Great Šišlam: Being a Description of the Rite of the Coronation of a Mandaean Priest according to the ancient Canon. Leiden: Brill.
3. Mandaean manuscripts given by Lady Ethel May Stefana Drower. Archives Hub.
4. Morgenstern, Matthew (ed.). "Haran Gauaita". The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
5. Morgenstern, Matthew. New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Mandaic. In: V. Golinets et. al (eds.), Neue Beiträge zur Semitistik. Sechstes Treffen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Semitistik in der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft vom 09.–11. Februar 2013 in Heidelberg. AOAT, Ugarit Verlag.

External links

• Full text at Archive.org
• Transliterated text (The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon)