Alma Rišaia Explained

Alma Rišaia
Religion:	Mandaeism
Language:	Mandaic language

Alma Rišaia or Diwan Alma Rišaia ("The Supreme World" or "The First World") is a series of Mandaean religious texts that serve as esoteric priestly ritual commentaries. The texts make copious references to prayers in the Qulasta by quoting the opening lines of each prayer.^[1]

Texts

There are two texts that complement each other in the Alma Rišaia series:^[2]

• Alma Rišaia Rba, or "The Great(er) Supreme World"
• Alma Rišaia Zuṭa, or "The Smaller Supreme World"

English translations of the two texts were published by E. S. Drower in 1963. Drower based the translations on manuscripts 41 and 48 of the Drower Collection (abbreviated DC 41 and DC 48).^[3]

External links

• Full text at Archive.org
• Alma Rishaia Rba (Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)
• Alma Rishaia Rba (Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)
• Alma Rishaia Zuta (Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)
• Alma Rishaia Zuta (Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)

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. Book: Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. Oxford University Press. New York. 2002. 0-19-515385-5. 65198443.
3. Drower, E. S. 1963. A Pair of Naṣoraean Commentaries: Two Priestly Documents, the Great First World and the Lesser First World. Leiden: Brill.