In
Mandaeism, rishama (rišama) is a daily
ablution ritual. Unlike the
masbuta, it does not require the assistance of a priest.[1]Rishama (signing) is performed before prayers and involves washing the face and limbs while reciting specific prayers such as the
rushma. It is performed daily, before sunrise, with hair covered and after evacuation of bowels, or before religious ceremonies.[2][3]: 16
Tamasha (ṭamaša) is another type of ablution performed by Mandaeans in which the entire body is fully immersed three times in water.[1]
Although the term for the Mandaean daily minor ablution is also spelled the same in written
Classical Mandaic (rišama), the word for 'minor ablution' is pronounced in
Modern Mandaic as rešāmā, while '
head priest' is pronounced rišammā.[3]: 219
Procedures
Rishama ritual steps or procedures may vary according to the location or priest's instructions. Below is a list of rishama procedures by Shadan Choheili of the
Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi in
Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.[4]
John D. Turner and other scholars have noted that in
Sethianism, rituals reminiscent of Mandaean ablutions (i.e., the rishama and tamasha) are mentioned in
Nag Hammadi texts such as the Trimorphic Protennoia, since they involve triple immersion in water, signing, and other similar features.[5]
^
abBuckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN0-19-515385-5.
OCLC65198443.
^Smith, Andrew Phillip (2016). John the Baptist and the last Gnostics: the secret history of the Mandaeans. London: Watkins.
ISBN978-1-78028-913-7.
OCLC956946835.