Scroll of the Ancestors

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The Scroll of the Ancestors, or Sharḥ d-Ṭabahata, is a Mandaean religious text about the Ṭabahata masiqta, the ritual for the ancestors. It describes how the ceremony is performed during Parwanaya, a 5-day intercalary festival. The text is written in the Mandaic language and is related to prayers found in the Qulasta.

Manuscripts and origin
- The scroll is known from Manuscript 42 (DC 42) in the Drower Collection, held at the Bodleian Library.
- It was transcribed in 1743 and has 834 lines.
- DC 42 verso, copied in Basra in 1832–3, contains six texts, including the Ṭabahata Masiqta, or the “masiqta of the Parents.”

Ritual details
- The Ṭabahata Masiqta is held only once a year during the Parwanaya festival.
- Priests recite many prayers, prepare 72 fatiras (round, saltless biscuits) for the ancestors, and sacrifice a white dove named ba, symbolizing the spirit (ruha).
- According to The Thousand and Twelve Questions, this masiqta cannot be held at any other time.
- The ritual sequence follows the Qulasta prayer order, and some fatiras must be signed by a priest, who uses masiqta oil in a sign that is described as part of the ceremony.

Structure
- The masiqta has three parts: the first two are called the “Mother Masiqta,” and the final part is the “Father Masiqta.”

For further detail, scholars reference Buckley (2002), chapter 8.