Scroll of the Rivers
Diwan ḏ-Nahrawata or Diuan ḏ-Nahrauata is a Mandaean religious text. It is written as an illustrated scroll.
Contents
The scroll contains esoteric schematic diagrams of the cosmos. Well-springs are shown as small circles, mountains as triangles, and rivers as long straight lines. Zamzam Well is also depicted. Illustrations in the scroll depict Hibil Ziwa as the grand mediator and messenger of the Life.Manuscripts and translations
obtained a copy of the text and later donated it to the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, where it was catalogued as Manuscript 7 of the Drower Collection. A typesetted Mandaic version of DC 7 was published by Majid [Fandi Al-Mubaraki] in 2002. In 2022, Brikha Nasoraia published an English translation and analysis.Nasoraia lists four known manuscripts of the scroll, which he labels Mss A, B, C, and D. Only Mss A and B were previously known to Western scholars.
- Ms A : dated 1259 AH and written in Shushtar by Ram Zihrun. 538.76 cm long by 12.25 cm wide. 12 pages attached together as a scroll. Analyzed by Kurt Rudolph.
- Ms B: also known as the Baghdad manuscript, dated 1336 AH, from Ahvaz. Photocopied by the German Assyriologist Manfred Müller in 1975. Analyzed by Kurt Rudolph.
- Ms C: copied in Iraq in 1948 and contains many errors.
- Ms D: copied in Qurnah, Basrah by Rbai Sam son of Adam, in 1192 AH. This is the oldest known manuscript.
The scroll contains illustrations of several uthras, including the female uthras Simat Hiia and Ezlat.