Uthras are benevolent beings that live in škinas (ࡔࡊࡉࡍࡀ, "celestial dwellings") in the World of Light (alma ḏ-nhūra) and communicate with each other via telepathy.[4] Uthras are also occasionally mentioned as being in anana ("cloud"; e.g., in Right Ginza Book 17, Chapter 1), which can also be interpreted as female consorts.[6] Many uthras also serve as guardians (naṭra);[7] for instance, Shilmai and Nidbai are the guardians of Piriawis, the Great Jordan (yardna) of Life. Other uthras are gufnas, or heavenly grapevines.[6]
Uthras that accompany people or souls are known as parwanqa (ࡐࡀࡓࡅࡀࡍࡒࡀ), which can be translated as "guide", "envoy", or "messenger".[8]
Uthras often have the term Ziwa / Ziua (ࡆࡉࡅࡀ "Radiance') attached after their names, due to their origins from the World of Light. In Manichaeism, the Syriac term Ziwa (ܙܝܘܐ) is also used to refer to Jesus as Ishoʿ Ziwā (Syriac: ܝܫܘܥ ܙܝܘܐ, Jesus the Splendor), who is sent to awaken Adam and Eve to the source of the spiritual light trapped within their physical bodies.
Pairs of uthras also typically have rhyming names. The names can be alliterative (e.g., Adathan and Yadathan), or one name may have an infixed consonant or syllable (e.g., Kapan and Kanpan). In Manichaeism, pairs of celestial beings can also have rhyming names, such as Xroshtag and Padvaxtag. Gardner (2010) discusses other parallels with Manichaeism.[10]
List of uthras
Commonly mentioned uthras
Below is a partial list of uthras. Some names of uthras are always listed together as pairs.
Nṣab (Classical Mandaic: ࡍࡑࡀࡁ, lit. 'Plant') – also called Nṣab Rabba and Nṣab Ziwa. Son of Yushamin. Frequently mentioned with Anan-Nṣab ('cloud of Nṣab', a female consort) as a pair. Mentioned in Right Ginza 8 and 17.1, and Qulasta prayers 25, 71, 105, 145, 168, 186, 353, and 379.
Nbaz (Nbaz Haila) – Mentioned in Right Ginza 1.4 and 6 as the guardian of a matarta. He is mentioned in Right Ginza 6 as "Nbaz-Haila, the Lord of Darkness, the great anvil of the earth."
Nurʿil and Nuriaʿil – mentioned in Right Ginza 5.1.
Piriawis Yardna – also a heavenly stream and personified vine (gufna)
Rahziʿil – mentioned in Right Ginza 11, in which he is described as "the well-armed one who (is) the smallest of his brothers."
Sam Mana Smira (Smir Ziwa 'pure first Radiance', or Sam Smir Ziwa; Smir means 'preserved') – one of the Twelve. Sam Mana Smira is mentioned in Qulasta prayers 9, 14, 28, 77, and 171, and Right Ginza 3 and 5.4. Yawar Mana Smira and Sam Smira Ziwa are mentioned in Right Ginza 14. Lidzbarski (1920) translates Sam Mana Smira as "Sām, the well-preserved Mānā."[12]
Sar and Sarwan – mentioned in Qulasta prayers 25, 105, 168, and 378, and Right Ginza 5.1, 8, and 17.1.
Ṣaureil (Ṣaurʿil) – the angel of death; also an epithet for the Moon (Sén)
Simat Hayyi – treasure of life; typically considered to be the wife of the uthra Yawar Ziwa
Tar and Tarwan. Tarwan is mentioned in Right Ginza 8 and in Qulasta prayer 105. The "land of Tarwan" is mentioned in Qulasta prayers 190 and 379 and Right Ginza 15.17, while "pure Tarwan" (taruan dakita), or sometimes "the pure land of Tarwan," is mentioned as a heavenly place in Right Ginza 15.2, 15.8, 15.16, and 16.1. "Tarwan-Nhura" (Tarwan of Light) is mentioned in Qulasta prayers 4 and 25.
Yur (also Yur-Yahur) is one of the matarta guardians. Qulasta prayer 12 begins with the name Yur, son of Barit. Yur is also mentioned in Qulasta prayers 18 and 171.
Yura – "jewel". Mentioned in Right Ginza 15.7, 15.8, 16.1, and 17.1 as Yura Rba Ganzibra (literally "Great Yura the Ganzibra" or "Great Yura the Treasurer"). Yura is mentioned in Qulasta prayers 214 and 379 as well.
Yurba (spelled Jōrabba by Lidzbarski) – also called the fighter. Yurba is identified with Shamish, the sun.[13] Book 18 of the Right Ginza equates Yurba with Adonai of Judaism, while Gelbert (2017) identifies Yurba with Yao.[14] Mentioned in Right Ginza 3, 5.3 (which mentions Yurba as a matarta guardian), 8, 12.1, 15.5, and 18 and Left Ginza 2.22 and 3.45. Mandaean Book of John 52 is a narrative dedicated to Yurba. Yurba is often mentioned as engaging in conversation with Ruha.
Zarzeil Ziwa (Zarzʿil Ziwa) – mentioned in Right Ginza 5.1 and 15.8.
Zhir (meaning 'secured') – often mentioned as part of a pair with Zihrun
Zihrun (sometimes spelled as Zahrun; literally means 'the Life warned me') – Zihrun is mentioned in Right Ginza 4 as Zihrun-Uthra (also called Yusmir-Kana) and Right Ginza 8, and in Mandaean Book of John 62 as a "morning star." Qulasta prayers 2, 3, 240, and 319 mention him as Zihrun Raza ("Zihrun the Mystery"). He is described as an uthra of radiance, light, and glory in prayers 2 and 3, with prayer 2 mentioning Manda d-Hayyi as an emanation of Zihrun. Qulasta prayers 332, 340, 341, and 374 mention him as the name for a drabsha (banner), and prayer 347 mentions him as Zihrun-Šašlamiel. He is the subject of Zihrun Raza Kasia.
A few Qulasta prayers list the names of lesser-known uthras in sets of four. Mark J. Lofts (2010) considers them to be parallel to the Four Luminaries in Sethian Gnosticism. Qulasta prayers 17 and 77 list them as:[15]
These four uthras are considered to be the kings (malkia) of the North Star, who give strength and life to the sun. Together with Malka Ziwa (another name for Hayyi Rabbi), they make up the "five primal beings of light." Conversely, Mandaeans consider the "five lords of the World of Darkness" to be Zartai-Zartanai, Hag and Mag, Gap and Gapan, Šdum, and Krun (the paired demons are considered to rule together as single lords).[16] (See Manichaeism § The World of Light for similar parallels.)
In Qulasta prayers such as the Asut Malkia, the word niṭufta (spelled niṭupta), which originally means 'drop' and has sometimes also been translated as 'cloud', is also often used as an appellation to refer to the consorts of uthras.[17] It can also be interpreted as the semen or seed of the Father (Hayyi Rabbi), or a personified drop of "water of life".[5]: 13 (See alsoanana (Mandaeism).)
Other minor uthras mentioned in the Qulasta are:[18]
Hamgai-Ziwa, son of Hamgagai-Ziwa – mentioned in Qulasta prayer 3 and Right Ginza 15.5.
Hauran and Hauraran – mentioned in Qulasta prayers 14, 27, and 28. In prayer 27, Hauran is described as a vestment, while Hauraran is described as a covering. Hauraran is also mentioned in Right Ginza 15.2, Left Ginza 3.60, and Mandaean Book of John 70.
Hazazban (Haza-Zban) – mentioned in Qulasta prayers 19 and 27 as an uthra who sets wreaths (klila) upon the heads of Mandaeans who are performing masbuta. Sometimes the klila itself is also called Hazazban. Also mentioned in the Ginza Rabba as the matarta guard Zan-Hazazban in Right Ginza5.3 and 6. Hazazban possibly means 'this time.'[19]
ʿIt ʿNṣibat ʿUtria (or ʿIt Yawar bar ʿNṣibat ʿUtria – mentioned in Qulasta prayer 5. Prayer 46 mentions ʿNiṣbat-ʿUtria.
Ṣihiun, Pardun, and Kanfun – mentioned in Qulasta prayer 77
S'haq Ziwa (pronounced [sʰāq zīwā]) – mentioned in Qulasta prayers 18, 105, and 173. Š'haq is also mentioned in Right Ginza 15.5. In the 1012 Questions, S'haq Ziwa or Adam S'haq Ziwa (literally "Adam was Bright Radiance"[5]: 75 ) is equated with Adam Kasia.[20]
Shingilan (or Šingilan-Uthra) – mentioned in Qulasta prayer 105 and Mandaean Book of John 1 and 69. According to Mandaean Book of John 1, "Šingilan-Uthra takes the incense holder and brings it before the Mana."[14]
ʿUṣar, also known as ʿUṣar-Hiia or ʿUṣar-Hai ("Treasure of Life"), as well as ʿUṣar-Nhura ("Treasure of Light") – mentioned in Qulasta prayers 17, 27, 40, 42, 49, 75, and 77; mentioned together with Pta-Hai in prayers 27, 49, and 77.
The Mandaic term anana (Classical Mandaic: ࡀࡍࡀࡍࡀ) is typically translated as 'cloud,' but can also be interpreted as a female consort of an uthra, and hence also an uthra.[6]
^Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-515385-5. OCLC65198443. p8
^Gelbert, Carlos (2023). The Key to All the Mysteries of Ginza Rba. Sydney: Living Water Books. ISBN9780648795414.
^ abHäberl, Charles G. (Spring 2017). "The Origin and Meaning of Mandaic ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ". Journal of Semitic Studies. 62 (1). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/jss/fgw044. The Aramaic verbal root ʿ-t-r 'to be rich' (from PS*ʿ-ṯ-r) has completely disappeared from Mandaic through merger with the verbal root *y-t-r (from PS *w-t-r) 'to exceed' due to the mergers of PS *ʾ with *ʿ and PS *ṯ with *t in Mandaic; […] The scholarly consensus that has developed over the past fifteen decades, namely that CMeutra is cognate with Aramaic ʿuṯrā 'riches' and therefore means 'riches', is not justified either by the internal evidence from the Mandaic literature or by the comparative evidence from the other Semitic languages. By comparing its contemporary spoken form, NMoṯrɔ, with related words in all other branches of Semitic, I have demonstrated that CM eutra clearly derives from the PS root *w-t-r 'to exceed', that it is one of an extremely small class of relic C-stem deverbal adjectives in Aramaic, that its original meaning with reference to divine beings is 'excellent', and that in Classical Mandaic (and only in Classical Mandaic) it secondarily came to be used as a proper noun referring to an entire category of supernatural beings ('the excellencies').
^Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. Mandäische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.
^ abHaberl, Charles and McGrath, James (2020). The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN978-3-11-048651-3. OCLC1129155601.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
