Adam Kasia Explained

Adam Kasia (ࡀࡃࡀࡌ ࡊࡀࡎࡉࡀ; also referred to using the portmanteau Adakas ࡀࡃࡀࡊࡀࡎ or Adakas Ziwa in the Ginza Rabba^[1]) means "the hidden Adam" in Mandaic.^[2] The hidden Adam is also called Adam Qadmaiia (ࡀࡃࡀࡌ ࡒࡀࡃࡌࡀࡉࡉࡀ, "The First Adam").^[2] In Mandaeism, it means the soul of the first man.^[3] He is also identified as Shishlam, the primordial priest.^[4]

Among the Mandaeans, Adam Kasia means the soul of every human.^{[2] [5] [6]} Adam Kasia shows many similarities with the Jewish idea of Adam Kadmon.^[7]

Prayers in the Qulasta, such as the Asiet Malkia, also refer to Adam as "Adam the First Man" (Adam Gabra Qadmaiia).^[8] The Thousand and Twelve Questions, a Mandaean priestly text, also refers to Adam Kasia as Adam-S'haq^[9] ('Adam-was-bright'), Adam-S'haq-Ziwa,^[3] or Adam-S'haq-Rba, who is described as the father of Shishlam, the archetype of the prototypical Mandaean.^[10]

The wife of Adam Kasia is Hawa Kasia ('hidden Eve'), also known as Hawa Ziwa ('radiant Eve') or Anana Ziwa ('radiant cloud').^[11]

See also

• Adam and Eve
• Adam Kadmon in Judaism
• Adam Pagria (earthly Adam)
• Al-Insān al-Kāmil in Islam
• Cosmic Man
• Purusha in Hinduism
• Shishlam

Sources

• Ethel Stefana Drower: The Secret Adam: A Study of Naṣoraean Gnosis, Clarendon Press, 1960, p. 21
• Ethel Stefana Drower: The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore, Gorgias Press, p. 73,
• Manfred Lurker: A Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1987, p. 6
• Gerhard J. Bellinger: Knaurs Lexikon der Mythologie. 3100 Stichwörter zu den Mythen aller Völker von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Droemer Knaur Verlag, München 1989, .
• Horst Robert Balz, Gerhard Krause, Gerhard Müller: Theologische Realenzyklopädie. Band 22. 1992.

Notes and References

1. Book: Ginza Rba . Gelbert . Carlos . 2011 . Living Water Books . Sydney . 9780958034630.
2. Book: Manfred Lurker. The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons. 2004. Psychology Press. 978-0-415-34018-2. 3.
3. Book: Drower, E.S.. The Secret Adam - The Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. E. S. Drower. Oxford University Press. 1960.
4. Book: Drower . E. S. . A Mandaic Dictionary . 26 July 2021 . Wipf and Stock Publishers . 978-1-7252-7204-0 . 464a . en.
5. Book: Drower, E.S.. Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Brill. 1942. 978-90-04-00496-2.
6. Book: Drower, E.S.. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore. Gorgias Press. 2002. 1931956499.
7. Web site: Adam Kadmon. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. 2020-01-11.
8. Book: Drower, E. S.. The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. E. J. Brill. 1959. Leiden.
9. Book: Drower, Ethel S.. The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar Šuialia). Berlin. Akademie Verlag. 1960. 228, footnote 3.
10. Book: Drower, Ethel S.. The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar Šuialia). Berlin. Akademie Verlag. 1960. 112, 127, 136.
11. Book: Drower, E.S.. The Secret Adam - A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. E. S. Drower. Oxford University Press. 1960. 36.