Uthra

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An uthra or ʿutra (

Neo-Mandaic oṯrɔ, traditionally transliterated eutra; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated eutria) is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism.[1] Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency".[2] Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utras (sing.: 'utra 'wealth', but meaning 'angel' or 'guardian')."[3] Aldihisi (2008) compares them to the yazata of Zoroastrianism.[4] According to E. S. Drower, "an 'uthra is an ethereal being, a spirit of light and Life."[5]
: 2 

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 ("clouds"; 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]

Etymology

Uthra is typically considered to be

Attar, who provides irrigation for the people.[4]

However, that etymology is disputed by Charles G. Häberl (2017), who suggests it is the ʾaqtal pattern noun *awtərā "excellency".[9]

Naming

Uthras often have the term

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.

In the Ginza Rabba

Other uthras mentioned in the Ginza Rabba are:[11][6]


In Right Ginza 5.1, Yawar Ziwa appoints four uthras each over the four directions to watch over Ur (see also Guardians of the directions):

  • west: Azaziʿil, Azaziaʿil, Taqpʿil and Margazʿil the Great
  • east:
    Marpʿil
    , Taqpʿil and Hananʿil
  • north: Kanpan and Kapan, Gubran and Guban
  • south: Hailʿil, Qarbʿil, Nurʿil and Nuriaʿil

In the Qolasta

A few

Sethian Gnosticism. Qolasta prayers 17 and 77 list them as:[15]

Qolasta prayer 49 lists the "four uthras" as:

  • Īn-Hai
  • Šum-Hai (Šum can mean both Shem and "Name")
  • Ziw-Hai ("Radiance")
  • Nhur-Hai ("Light")

These four uthras are considered to be the kings (malkia) of the

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 Qolasta prayers such as the Asiet 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 also anana (Mandaeism).)

Other minor uthras mentioned in the Qolasta are:[18]

  • Hamgai-Ziwa, son of Hamgagai-Ziwa – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 3 and Right Ginza 15.5.
  • Hash (Haš) – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 77
  • Hauran and Hauraran – mentioned in Qolasta 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 Qolasta 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 Ginza 5.3 and 6. Hazazban possibly means 'this time.'[19]
  • Kanfiel – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 168
  • Karkawan-Ziwa – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 49
  • Piriafil-Malaka – mentioned together with Piriawis-Ziwa in Qolasta prayers 13 and 17
  • Rham and Rhamiel-Uthra – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 378
  • Ṣanaṣiel – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 77
  • Ṣihiun, Pardun, and Kanfun – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 77
  • 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 Qolasta 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 Qolasta prayers 17, 27, 40, 42, 49, 75, and 77; mentioned together with Pta-Hai in prayers 27, 49, and 77.
  • Yukašar – mentioned in Qolasta prayers 53, 54, 55, 64, 77
    , and 343
  • Yaha-Yaha – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 15
  • Yaluz-Yaluz – mentioned in Qolasta prayers 22 and 50
  • Yusmir-Yusamir – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 14
  • Zha-Zha – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 15
  • Zhir – mentioned in Qolasta prayer 26

In other texts

In the

Nbaṭ.[13]

Some uthras mentioned in the

Diwan Abatur include:[19]

  • Arspan, an uthra connected with water and baptism; also the name of a throne in the
    Diwan Abatur
  • Bihdad, an uthra who assists Abatur at the scales in the
    Diwan Abatur
  • ʿQaimat
  • Rahmiʿil – often mentioned in love charms
  • Samandarʿil – a flower and blossom spirit
  • Šhaq – son of Ptahil and ruler of a matarta; means 'cloud(s)'

Gufna

Main article: Gufna

In various Mandaean texts, several heavenly beings are described as personified grapevines (gufna or gupna) in the World of Light.

Anana

Main article: Anana (Mandaeism)

The Mandaic term

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]

See also

Further reading

  • Lidzbarski, Mark (1906). Uthra und Malakha. A. Töpelmann (vormals J. Ricker). (Internet Archive)

References

  1. ^ "Mandaean Scriptures and Fragments". The Gnostic Society Library. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  2. ^ Häberl, Charles G.; McGrath, James F. (2019). The Mandaean Book of John: Text and Translation (PDF). Open Access Version. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
  3. OCLC 65198443
    . p8
  4. ^ a b c Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
  5. ^ a b c Drower, E. S. (1960). The secret Adam: a study of Nasoraean gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780958034630
    .
  7. ^ "The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon". cal.huc.edu.
  8. ISBN 9780648795414
    .
  9. ^
    doi:10.1093/jss/fgw044
    . The scholarly consensus that has developed over the past fifteen decades, namely that CM eutra is cognate with Aramaic ʽuṯrā '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, nm oṯrɔ, 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').
  10. doi:10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131033
    .
  11. ^ Al-Saadi, Qais Mughashghash; Al-Saadi, Hamed Mughashghash (2019). "Glossary". Ginza Rabba: The Great Treasure. An equivalent translation of the Mandaean Holy Book (2 ed.). Drabsha.
  12. ^ Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. Mandäische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.
  13. ^
    OCLC 1129155601.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  14. ^
    OCLC 1000148487
    .
  15. doi:10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131031
    .
  16. ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
  17. ^ Macúch, Rudolf (1965). Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: De Gruyter.
  18. ^ Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
  19. ^ a b Drower, Ethel S. (1950). Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories. Studi e Testi. Vol. 151. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  20. ^ Drower, Ethel S. (1960). The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar Šuialia). Berlin: Akademie Verlag. p. 228, footnote 3.
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