Pišra d-Ainia explained

Pišra ḏ-Ainia ࡐࡉࡔࡓࡀ ࡖࡀࡉࡍࡉࡀ
Religion:	Mandaeism
Language:	Mandaic language

Šafta ḏ-Pišra ḏ-Ainia (ࡔࡀࡐࡕࡀ ࡖࡐࡉࡔࡓࡀ ࡖࡀࡉࡍࡉࡀ, "Exorcism of the Evil Eyes") is a Mandaean text used to protect against the evil eye.^{[1] [2]}

Manuscripts

There are at least 4 or 5 extant manuscripts of Pišra ḏ-Ainia.

• Drower Collection (DC) manuscripts held at the Bodleian Library
  • DC 21 was copied by Sheikh Faraj (Adam br Iahia br Adam Zihrun) for E. S. Drower in December 1935 and contains 803 lines. It was published by Drower in JRAS No. 4 (Oct. 1937).^[3] Erica Hunter published an analysis in 2013.^[4]
  • DC 29 was purchased by Drower from Shaikhs Nejm and Yahia in November 1937. (Full transliterated text from the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon)
• Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC) manuscripts held in Nijmegen, Netherlands^[5]
  • RRC 1E^[6]
  • RRC 3K was copied at Shushtar in 1080 A.H. (1669-70 A.D.). It is the oldest surviving Mandaic magical manuscript currently known to international schools.^[6]
• MS Berlin

External links

• Full transliterated text of DC 29 from the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon

Notes and References

1. Book: Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Gorgias Press. Piscataway, N.J. 2010. 978-1-59333-621-9.
2. Yamauchi, Edwin M. (1967). Mandaic Incantation Texts. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
3. Drower. E. S.. S̲h̲afta d̲ Pis̲h̲ra d̲ Ainia. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 4. 1937. 0035-869X. 25201592. 589–611.
4. Book: Hunter, Erica C. D.. Comparative Perspectives on Šapta ḏ-pišra ḏ-ainia. Durch Dein Wort ward jegliches Ding!. Harrassowitz. Wiesbaden. 2013. 978-3-447-06973-1. 856902570. de.
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.
6. Web site: Morgenstern . Matthew . The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon . Šapta ḏ-Pišra ḏ-Ainia . 2024-07-27.