Scroll of Abatur

The Diwan Abatur (ࡃࡉࡅࡀࡍ ࡀࡁࡀࡕࡅࡓ‎; "Scroll of Abatur") is a Mandaean religious text. It is a large illustrated scroll that is over 20 ft. (6.1 m) long.[1]

Diwan Abatur
Information
ReligionMandaeism
LanguageMandaic language
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A similar illustrated Mandaean scroll is the Diwan Nahrawata ("The Scroll of the Rivers"), a lavishly illustrated geographical treatise which translated into German and published by Kurt Rudolph in 1982.[1]

Contents

The Diwan Abatur mentions a heavenly tree called Shatrin (Šatrin) where the souls of unbaptized Mandaean children are temporarily nourished for 30 days. On the 30th day, Hibil Ziwa baptizes the souls of the children, who then continue on to the World of Light. The tree has a length of 360,000 parasangs according to the Diwan Abatur.[2]

Additionally, the Diwan Abatur mentions a ship called Shahrat (Šahrat; lit. "she kept watch") that ferries souls from Tibil across the Hitpun and into the house of Abatur.[3]

Manuscripts and translations

An English translation of the text was published by E. S. Drower in 1950 A.D., which was based on manuscript 8 of the Drower Collection (abbreviated DC 8).[3]

A manuscript of the Diwan Abatur, MS. Borgiani Siriaci 175 (abbreviated BS175), is held at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Vatican City.[4]

In 2020, Bogdan Burtea translated the Diwan Abatur into German.[5]

  • An 18th-century manuscript of the Diwan Abatur in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. The illustration on top depicts the ship Shahrat ferrying Mandaean souls towards the house of Abatur, while the lower illustration shows the tree of Shatrin with the souls of unbaptized children.
    An 18th-century manuscript of the Diwan Abatur in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. The illustration on top depicts the ship Shahrat ferrying Mandaean souls towards the house of Abatur, while the lower illustration shows the tree of Shatrin with the souls of unbaptized children.
  • Image of Abatur from the Diwan Abatur
    Image of Abatur from the Diwan Abatur
  • Image of Abatur at the scales (Abatur Muzania), from the Diwan Abatur
    Image of Abatur at the scales (Abatur Muzania), from the Diwan Abatur

See also

References
  1. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
  2. Nasoraia, Brikha H.S. (2021). The Mandaean gnostic religion: worship practice and deep thought. New Delhi: Sterling. ISBN 978-81-950824-1-4. OCLC 1272858968.
  3. Drower, Ethel S. (1950). Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories. Studi e Testi. Vol. 151. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  4. Drower, Ethel S. (1950). Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories. Studi e Testi. Vol. 151. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  5. "Diwan Abatur: Ein Text über die Jenseitsreise der Seele nach den Vorstellungen der Mandäer. Edition, Übersetzung, Kommentar. - Research Portal of the HU Berlin". Research Information System of HU Berlin (in German). 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
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