Rishama (ablution)

Mandaeans performing rishama at the Karun River in Ahvaz, Iran

Instructions in Arabic on how to perform rishama (photograph taken at the Yahya Yuhana Mandi in Sydney, Australia). Summary:

1. Wash the hands
2. Wash the face 3 times
3. Wash the forehead 3 times
4. Wash the ears 3 times
5. Wash the nose
6. Wash the seat
7. Wash the mouth 3 times
8. Wash the knees 3 times
9. Wash the legs 3 times
10. Throw water on the head with the fingers of both hands
11. Dip right and then left foot in water

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In Mandaeism, rishama (rišama) is a daily ablution ritual. Unlike the masbuta, it does not require the assistance of a priest.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.

Tamasha (ṭamaša) is another type of ablution performed by Mandaeans in which the entire body is fully immersed three times in water.

Parallels

The ablution is comparable to wudu in Islam.

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.

See also

• Rushma
• Ablution in Christianity
• Ritual washing in Judaism
• Wudu in Islam

External links

• The Worlds of Mandaean Priests (University of Exeter)
• Rishama (Ablution)
• Brakha and Rishama instructional video (in Arabic)
• Afternoon brakha and ablution in Amarah, Iraq