In Mandaeism, a shganda (šganda; Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡂࡀࡍࡃࡀ), shkanda (Arabic: شكندا, romanized: škandā), or ashganda (ašganda)[1] is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties.[2]
In the Mandaean diaspora, shgandas, or alternatively learned laymen called yalufa, often perform minor priestly roles due to shortages of tarmida and ganzibra priests abroad.[3]: 338
Tarmida initiations
editTarmida initiates or novices (šualia) have often been trained as shgandas when they were children. Initiates may or may not be married, although typically they are not yet married.[2]
During tarmida initiation ceremonies, shgandas, who represent emissaries from the World of Light, also help perform the rituals, many of which are held in a specially constructed priest initiation hut (škinta) and also a nearby temporary reed hut (andiruna).[2]
Notable shgandas
edit- Salem Choheili (born 1935), scribe, teacher, and author in Ahvaz
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Drower, E. S. 1960. The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ a b c Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
- ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
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