The Asut Malkia (, ) or Asuta ḏ-Malkia () is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. In the prayer, the reciter wishes health and victory (asuta u-zakuta ) upon dozens of heavenly and ancestral figures. According to E. S. Drower, it is recited daily by priests and also before all baptisms (masbuta), ritual meals (lofani), and various rites.
The Asut Malkia is numbered as Prayer 105 in E. S. Drower's version of the Qulasta, which was based on manuscript 53 of the Drower Collection (abbreviated DC 53).
Etymology Asut or asuta can be literally translated as 'healing' and can also mean 'salutation' or 'greeting', while malkia means 'kings' (singular form: malka).
Similarly, Mandaeans typically greet other individual Mandaeans with the phrase: Asuta nihuilak (, )
Multiple people are greeted using the plural form: Asuta nihuilkun (, )
Prayer The formula (, ) is recited dozens of times in the prayer before the names of each uthra or set of uthras, Hayyi Rabbi, some of the prophets, and the reciter himself, almost all of whom are addressed as malka ( "king"; ).
Drower (1937) Drower's (1937) version lists the following uthras, etc.Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
The final part is translated in Drower (1937: 45) as:
+ Mandaic transliteration English translation
The word niṭufta (spelled niṭupta) originally means 'drop' and has sometimes also been translated as 'cloud'. It is also often used as an appellation to refer to the consorts of uthras.Macúch, Rudolf (1965). Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Drower (1959) Drower's (1959) version, which differs from the version in Drower (1937), lists the following uthras, etc.
Al-Mubaraki (2010) Below is a list of names and entities mentioned in the Asut Malkia, from Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki's Qulasta (volume 2), as edited by Matthew Morgenstern and Ohad Abudraham in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon. Some names are addressed with the title Malka ("King"), while others are not. It is longer than Drower's version and is currently the most commonly used version recited by contemporary Mandaeans.
Mandaic text Below is the full transliterated Mandaic text of the above. The recurring formula 'healing and victory' is repeated 66 times.
Salem Choheili (2026) Salem Choheili () recites a version that is most similar to Al-Mubaraki's (2010) version, although there some differences in the order and inclusion of uthra names, as well as a few Mandaic spelling differences. Choheili's version includes Hilbun Uthra, an uthra who is not included in any of the other versions given above.
See also Brakha (daily prayer in Mandaeism) Tabahatan Shal Shulta Shumhata Rahma (Mandaeism) Qulasta List of Qulasta prayers Litany of the Saints Intercession of saints
References
External links Salutation of Kings (Asuta ḏ-malkia) recited by Salem Choheili Salutation of Kings (Asut malkia) recited by Rbai Rafid al-Sabti in the Netherlands Salutation of Kings (Asut malkia) recited by Abdullah Khaffagi in Ahvaz in 1960 Asut Malkia recited by Abdullah bar Negm (recorded on 21 November 1977 by Kurt Rudolph) Salutation of Kings (Asut malkia) recited at a Parwanaya service held at a mandi in Michigan Asut malkia recited in Stockholm, Sweden (part 1) Asut malkia recited in Stockholm, Sweden (part 2) Asut malkia recited in Stockholm, Sweden (part 3)