Qulasta

The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word qolastā means "collection".

The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms (maṣbuta) and other sacred rituals involved in the ascension of the soul (masiqta). In Mandaic, individual prayers are generally called butha (plural form: bawatha), although some prayers also known as qaiamta, šrita (loosing or deconsecration prayers), and other Mandaic designations. 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 used Qulasta versions are those of E. S. Drower (1959 English translation) and Mark Lidzbarski (1920 German translation). Excluding duplicates, the most complete versions have approximately 340 prayers, depending on how variants and duplicates are counted.

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.

Date 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, and others believing it to be conceived during the first century. A study of the colophons of this text would appear to push back a date to the third century at the latest.

In the first colophon of the Qulasta (directly after prayer 74), Nukraya, son of Šitil, a scribe from the earliest part of the Islamic period, wrote that he copied the text while consulting at least seven manuscripts (ṭupsia). One of them belonged to "a library in a house of 'a People of the Book'" (anašia ḏ-ktiba), while another originated from "a town of Byzantines" (i.e., Byzantine Christians), indicating that Mandaean liturgical texts were being kept in non-Mandaean libraries at the start of the Islamic period.

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 the 3rd century, i.e. before Mani's lifetime. 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. Van Bladel also argues that 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.

Translations and manuscripts In 1867, Julius Euting published a printed Mandaic version of the Qolasta.Euting, Julius. 1867. Qolastā oder Gesänge und Lehren von der Taufe und dem Ausgang der Seele. Stuttgart.

The Qulasta has been translated into English by E. S. Drower in 1959 and by Mark Lidzbarski into German in 1920.Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. Mandäische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin. 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 (just under 340 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. DC 53 was copied in 1802 by the ganzibra Adam Yuhana, the father of Yahya Bihram, in Hoveyzeh in what is now Khuzestan province of Iran. The manuscript was purchased by Drower in 1954.

In 2002, Carlos Gelbert translated the 103 prayers from Lidzbarki's Mandäische Liturgien into Arabic. A typesetted Mandaic version has also been published in 1998 by Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki. (set of 2 volumes)

In 2025, Carlos Gelbert and Mark J. Lofts published a full English translation titled The Qulasta, which includes all of the prayers in Drower (1959).

Contents Mandäische Liturgien (Lidzbarski 1920) 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, 19, and 20 prayers respectively for books 1-4. Part 2 has 132 prayers total; combined, Part 1 and Part 2 have 235 prayers. All of the prayers have the original Mandaic transcribed in Hebrew letters side-by-side with their respective German translations.

Mandäische Liturgien (1920) contents Part 1: Qolastā Book 1 (prayers 1–31): Masbuta liturgy Book 2 (prayers 32–74): Masiqta liturgy Book 3 (prayers 75–77): 3 prayers for masbuta and masiqta Book 4 (prayers 78–103): Songs and hymns for masbuta and masiqta Part 2: Oxford Collection Book 1: 60 rahma devotional prayers which correspond to CP 106–160, 165–169 in Drower (1959). Book 2: 33 marriage (qabin) prayers. The first 20 prayers correspond to CP 180–199 in Drower (1959), while the remaining correspond to various parts of CP 201–205. Book 3: 19 prayers (kḏ azil bhira dakia series) which correspond to various parts of CP 233–240, 243–246, 250–251, 253, 255 in Drower (1959). Book 4: 20 drabsha (banner) prayers which correspond to CP 329–347 in Drower (1959).

CP 104–105, 161–164, 170–179, 200, 305–328, 348–385, and various other prayers in Drower (1959) are not found in Lidzbarski (1920).

Lidzbarski's Mandäische Liturgien differs substantially from Drower's Canonical Prayerbook, since different manuscripts had been consulted.

A detailed outline of the contents of the Oxford Collection, along with corresponding CP prayer numbers in Drower (1959), is provided in the section below.

Oxford Collection The 2nd section of Lidzbarski's 1920 book consists of the Oxford Collection, a 4-part collection of 132 prayers.

Part 1 (rahmia or devotional prayers, corresponding to CP 106–160, 165–169): Prayers for the times of the day (CP 106–118): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Sunday prayers (CP 119–124): 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Monday prayers (CP 125–130): 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 Tuesday prayers (CP 131–136): 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Wednesday prayers (CP 137–142): 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 Thursday prayers (CP 143–148): 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 Friday prayers (CP 149–154): 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 Saturday prayers (CP 155–160): 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 Prayers of the fruit of ether (CP 165–169): 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 Part 2 (marriage prayers, corresponding to CP 180–199, 201–205): (CP 180–199): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (CP 201–205): (CP 201): 21, 22, 23 (CP 202): 24, 25, 26 (CP 203): 27, 28, 29 (CP 204): 30, 31 (CP 205): 32, 33 Part 3 (kḏ azil bhira dakia prayers, corresponding to CP 233–240, 243–246, 250–251, 253, 255): (CP 233–236): 1, 2, 3, 4 (CP 237): 5, 6 (CP 238–240): 7, 8, 9 (CP 243): 10 (CP 244): 11, 12 (CP 245–246): 13, 14 (CP 250–251): 15, 16 (CP 253): 17, 18 (CP 255): 19 Part 4 (banner prayers, corresponding to CP 330–347 except for prayer 20, which corresponds to CP 329): Prayers for unfurling the drabsha (CP 330–336): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Prayers for carrying the drabsha (CP 337): 8, 9 Prayers for carrying the drabsha (CP 338–341): 10, 11, 12, 13 Prayer for holding the drabsha (CP 342): 14 Prayer before the baptism (CP 343): 15 Prayers after the baptism (CP 344–345): 16, 17 Prayers for wrapping the drabsha (CP 346–347): 18, 19 Prayer for loosening the crown (taga) (CP 329): 20

Canonical Prayerbook (Drower 1959) The 414 prayers in E. S. Drower's 1959 Canonical Prayerbook (commonly abbreviated CP in Mandaic studies) are categorized into the following sections.

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 Souls (Sidra ḏ-Nišmata) (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 382–385 Myrtle prayers and hymns 386–409 Repetitions of coronation 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:

Part 1, the Book of Souls (also called the Book of Gadana): CP 1–74, dates to the 3rd century CP 1–31: the baptismal liturgy CP 32–72: the masiqta prayers CP 73–74: the 2 "Letter" (ʿngirta) prayers Part 2: CP 75–77: 3 long prayers of praise Part 3: CP 78–103: the "responses" (ʿnianas) Part 4: CP 104–169 CP 104: a rušuma, i.e., "signing" prayer CP 105: "The Healing of Kings" CP 106–164: the rahmas, "devotions," prayed 3 times a day CP 165–169: "The Fruits of Ether" Part 5: CP 170–199 CP 170: Ṭabahatan, "Our Ancestors" CP 171–178 CP 179: acrostic prayer CP 180–199: prayers for priest initiation and for the marriage ceremony Part 6: CP 200–284 CP 200–232 CP 233–256: priest initiation prayers CP 257–284 Part 7: CP 285–304 (duplicates of other prayers) Part 8: CP 305–329: priest initiation prayers Remaining part (no colophon): CP 330–414 CP 330–347: drabša prayers CP 348–374: zidqa brikha prayers CP 375–381: prayers after zidqa brikha CP 382–385: myrtle (klila) prayers CP 386–409: duplicates of CP 305–329 (with CP 329 ordered first, then from CP 305 onwards) CP 410: prayer of Yahya CP 411–414: miscellaneous prayers

Qulasta (Al-Mubaraki 2010) Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki has published a two-volume set of Qulasta prayers containing the printed Mandaic text of the prayers. It was originally published in 1998 and 1999, and republished in 2010 as an electronic CD-ROM version. Volume 1 corresponds to Part 1 of Lidzbarski (1920), and Volume 2 partially corresponds to Part 2 (the "Oxford Collection") of Lidzbarski (1920). (1998 edition: ISBN 0-9585705-1-5) The contents are as follows, with Drower's CP numbers provided as well. The prayers in Al-Mubaraki's Qulasta correspond to prayers 1–259 and 410 in Drower (1959). Note that a zhara () is a name insertion used by the person reciting the prayer.

Sidra ḏ-Nišmata (Book of Souls) (Volume 1) maṣbuta: 1–31 (with zharia after 18, 30, 31) masiqta: 32–72 engirta: 73–74 (with zhara after 74) bauata ḏ-tušbihta (prayers of praise): 75–103 (with zharia after 77 and 103) Ktaba ḏ-Eniania (Book of Responses) (Volume 2, Part 1) rušuma: 104 asut malkia: 105 rahmia: 106–118 rahmia ḏ-iumia (daily rahmia prayers): 119–164 iuma ḏ-habšaba (Sunday): 119–124 iuma ḏ-trin habšaba (Monday): 125–130 iuma ḏ-tlata habšaba (Tuesday): 131–136 iuma ḏ-arba habšaba (Wednesday): 137–142 iuma ḏ-hamša habšaba (Thursday): 143–148 iuma ḏ-rhaṭia (Friday): 149–154