The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (ࡒࡅࡋࡀࡎࡕࡀ|translit=Qulasta; Qōlutā|script=Latn), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word qolastā means "collection".[1]
The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms (masbuta) and other sacred rituals involved in the ascension of the soul (masiqta).[2] There is no standardized version of the Qulasta; different versions can contain varying numbers of prayers, and ordering of the prayers can also vary. The most commonly Qulasta versions are those of E. S. Drower (1959 English translation) and Mark Lidzbarski (1905 German translation).[1]
Eric Segelberg (1958) contains a detailed study of many of the first 90 Qulasta prayers (many of which are known in Mandaic as buta) as used in Mandaean rituals.[3]
The Qulasta, and two other key texts to Mandaic literature, the Mandaean Book of John and the Ginza Rabba, may have been compiled together. However, their date of authorship is heavily debated, some believing it to be during the second and third centuries,[4] and others believing it to be conceived during the first century.[5] A study of the colophons of this text would appear to push back a date to the third century at the latest.[6]
In 1949, Torgny Säve-Söderbergh argued that at many passages in the Manichaean Psalms of Thomas were paraphrases or even word-by-word translations of Mandaean prayers in the Qulasta. Säve-Söderbergh also argued that the Manichaean psalms had borrowed from Mandaean sources rather than vice versa. As a result, much of the Qulasta can be dated to before 3rd century, i.e. before Mani's lifetime.[7]
However, some scholars such as Kevin van Bladel believe that the material shared with the Psalms of Thomas may only be the use of a common source (perhaps Elkesaite funerary hymns), and that the text as a whole may date considerably later.[8] The present form of the text must post-date the early Muslim conquests at minimum, given the references made in the Qulasta to the advancement of the Arab armies.
In 1867, Julius Euting published a printed Mandaic version of the Qolasta.[9] [10] [11]
The Qulasta has been translated into English by E. S. Drower in 1959 and by Mark Lidzbarski into German in 1920.[12] Lidzbarski's translation was based on two manuscripts, including Ms. Syr. F. 2 (R) held at the Bodleian Library, which he called "Roll F."
E. S. Drower's version of the Qulasta contains 414 prayers (338 prayers if excluding duplicated prayers), which was based on manuscript 53 of the Drower Collection (abbreviated DC 53). The fragmentary DC 3, which is an incomplete codex of the Qulasta, was also consulted by Drower.[1] DC 53 was copied in 1802 by the ganzibra Adam Yuhana, the father of Yahia Bihram, in Huwaiza, Khuzistan. The manuscript was purchased by Drower in 1954.
Carlos Gelbert has also translated the 103 prayers from Lidzbarki's Mandäische Liturgien into Arabic.[13] A typesetted Mandaic version has also been published in 1998 by Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki.[14] [15] [16]
Part 1 of Mark Lidzbarski's Liturgien (1920) (commonly abbreviated ML in Mandaic studies), titled the Qolastā, has only 103 prayers. Part 2 includes 4 books from the "Oxford Collection," with 60, 33, 20, and 20 prayers respectively for books 1-4. All of the prayers have the original Mandaic transcribed in Hebrew letters side-by-side with their respective German translations.[12]
Lidzbarski's Mandäische Liturgien differs substantially from Drower's Canonical Prayerbook, since different manuscripts had been consulted.[12]
The 414 prayers in E. S. Drower's 1959 Canonical Prayerbook (commonly abbreviated CP in Mandaic studies) are categorized into the following sections.[1]
Mandaeans typically refer to their canonical prayers as being part of the sections listed below (for example, the Book of Souls), rather than as part of the "Qulasta" (since Qulasta simply means 'Collection').
| Prayer numbers | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-31 | Book of Souls (Sidra ḏ-Nišmata) (Baptism Liturgy) | |
| 32-72 | Book of Gadana (Masiqta Liturgy) | |
| 73-74 | The Letter (ʿngirta) prayers | |
| 75-77 | Hymns of praise | |
| 78-103 | The Responses (ʿniania) | |
| 104 | Rušma (Daily ablution prayer) | |
| 105 | Salutation of Kings (Asiet malkia) | |
| 106–169 | Rahmia (Daily devotional prayers) | |
| 170 | Ṭab ṭaba lṭabia (the full Commemoration prayer for the dead, and living) | |
| 171–172 | Hymns of praise etc. | |
| 173 | Šumhata (The "Names") | |
| 174–176 | Hymns of praise etc. | |
| 177 | Little New Year's Feast prayer | |
| 178 | Prayer for "honoring" the crown | |
| 179–232 | Hymns for marriage (hadaiata) | |
| 233–256 | Kḏ azil Bhira Dakia (When the proven, pure one went) (prayer series, for a new priest) | |
| 257–304 | Hymns for marriage and a new priest (repeated) | |
| 305–329 | Coronation prayers and hymns (including two for myrtle) | |
| 330–347 | Drabša (Banner) prayers and hymns | |
| 348–374 | Zidqa Brika (Blessed Oblation) prayers and hymns | |
| 375–381 | Blessings on the chief celebrant after Blessed Oblation | |
| 382–409 | Myrtle prayers and hymns | |
| 410 | Prayer of Yahia | |
| 411–414 | Miscellaneous hymns |
There are 8 colophons in DC 53, which means that the manuscript had originally consisted of at least 8 separate texts. As a result, Buckley (2010) provides the following outline for Drower's Canonical Prayerbook (CP) based on the DC 53 colophons:
One of the most important prayers is prayer 170, called the Ṭabahatan ("Our Ancestors"). As a commemoration prayer with a long list of names, the prayer starts with the line ṭab ṭaba lṭabia ("Good is the Good for the Good"). A different version of this prayer is found in DC 42, Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata ("The Scroll of Ṭabahata" [Parents]), which is used during Parwanaya rituals.
In Mandaean rituals, many prayers are frequently recited in sets. Common sets of prayers listed in ritual texts such as the Scroll of Exalted Kingship, The Coronation of the Great Shishlam, the Alma Rišaia texts,[17] and Zihrun Raza Kasia[18] are given below. Drower's and Lidzbarki's numberings are equivalent for these prayers, since the first 103 prayers are nearly identical in both versions.
The "loosening prayers" are known as širiata.
Many of the prayers in the Qulasta have recurring formulas such as:[1]
See main article: List of Qulasta prayers.
Several of the prayers in Drower's Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (CP), mostly ʿniania ("responses") and masiqta prayers, correspond to hymns in Book 3 of the Left Ginza (GL 3):[20] [21]
| CP prayer | GL chapter | |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | 3.43 | |
| 68 | 3.20 | |
| 69 | 3.5 (many lines) | |
| 73 | 3.27 | |
| 92 | 3.4 | |
| 93 | 3.10 | |
| 94 | 3.3 | |
| 96 | 3.2 | |
| 98 | 3.7 |
Some marriage hymns (hadaiata) in the Canonical Prayerbook also correspond to some hymns in Book 12 of the Right Ginza (GR 12):[21]
Various esoteric texts used in priestly initiation ceremonies frequently refer to prayers in the Qulasta. These include:[20]
Many passages in these texts are essentially priestly commentaries on both the practical ritual applications and esoteric symbolism of specific prayers in the Qulasta.