Zidqa brikha

Ganzibra Najah Choheili waiting for two tarmidia and shgandia to join him to start performing zidqa brikha, the final ritual for the masiqta, during the 2015 Parwanaya festival in Ahvaz, Iran.

In Mandaeism, the zidqa brikha (or zidqa brika; Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡉࡃࡒࡀ ࡁࡓࡉࡊࡀ, lit.'blessed oblation') is a type of ritual meal blessed by Mandaean priests.[1][2] Zidqa means oblation and can also mean alms, while brikha means blessed.[3] Unlike the lofani, which is a minor ritual meal does not require the presence of a priest, the zidqa brikha needs to be prepared by a priest.[4]: 232 

The zidqa brikha is offered and eaten at the end of tarmida (junior priest) initiation ceremonies, after the novice's 60-day seclusion period.[1] It is also offered at weddings[5] and during the Parwanaya festival.[6]

It is distinct from the lofani and dukrana, which are two other types of ritual meal offered for the dead.[3]

  1. ^ a b Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
  2. ^ Segelberg, Eric. 1977. "Zidqa Brika and the Mandæan Problem. In Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Gnosticism. Ed. Geo Widengren and David Hellholm. Stockholm.
  3. ^ a b Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
  4. ^ Drower, E. S. (1956). Water into wine: a study of ritual idiom in the Middle East. London: John Murray.
  5. ^ Häberl, Charles (2022). The Book of Kings and the Explanations of This World: A Universal History from the Late Sasanian Empire. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-80085-627-1.
  6. ^ Burtea, Bogdan (2005). Das mandäische Fest der Schalttage: Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentierung der Handschrift (DC 24, Šarh ḏ-paruanaiia) (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-05179-8. OCLC 62273841.

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