Parwanaya

Parwanaya Paruanaiia
Observed by	Mandaeans
Type	Religious, ethnic

Parwanaya (Classical Mandaic: ࡐࡀࡓࡅࡀࡍࡀࡉࡉࡀ, romanized: Paruanaiia; Arabic: البرونايا) or Panja (Mandaic: ࡐࡀࡍࡔࡀ Panša, from Persian 'five') is a 5-day religious festival in the Mandaean calendar. The 5 epagomenals (extra days) inserted at the end of every Šumbulta (the 8th month) constitute the Parwanaya intercalary feast.^[1] The festival celebrates the five days that Hayyi Rabbi created the angels and the universe.^[2]

Origins

The epagomenals in the Egyptian calendar were also considered to be sacred days in Ancient Egypt, as they were considered to be the birthdays of different gods. Today in the Coptic calendar, these five days are designated by the Coptic Orthodox Church as feast days for different saints.^[3]

Rituals

The masbuta (baptism), Ṭabahata Masiqta (ascension of the soul ceremony for ancestors), and hawad mania rituals are held during the Parwanaya.^[4]

Texts

Mandaean texts containing instructions for rituals performed during the Parwanaya include the Šarḥ ḏ-Parwanaiia ("Scroll of the Parwanaya")^[5] and Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata ("Scroll of the Ancestors").^[6]

Gallery

Gallery of Mandaeans celebrating Parwanaya on the banks of the Tigris River in Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq on 17 March 2019:

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See also

• Mandaean calendar
• Intercalary month (Egypt)
• Dehwa Rabba

References

1. Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
2. "Mandaean Calendar". Mandaean Synod of Australia. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
3. "13: Nasie Month", Coptic Synaxarium, Alexandria: St Takla Haymanout, retrieved 6 February 2017.
4. Collection: Parwanaya (Banja) Festival: Unedited Clips, The Worlds of Mandaean Priests, University of Exeter
5. 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.
6. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.

External links

• Slideshow: The Iranian Mandaeans at Parwanaya (Panja) time (in Ahvaz, Iran)