Dehwa Rabba
New Year's Day in the Mandaean calendar
Dehwa Rabba (Classical Mandaic: ࡃࡉࡄࡁࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, romanized: Dihba Rba, lit. 'Great Feast') or Nauruz Rabba (Classical Mandaic: ࡍࡀࡅࡓࡅࡆ ࡓࡁࡀ, 'Great New Year') is the Mandaean New Year. It is the first day of Daula (or Dowla), the first month of the Mandaean calendar.
Kanshi u-Zahli
Kanshī u-Zahli or Kanshiy u-Zahly (Classical Mandaic: ࡊࡀࡍࡔࡉࡀ ࡅࡆࡀࡄࡋࡉࡀ, romanized: Kanšia u-Zahlia, lit. 'cleaning and purification') is the day preceding Dehwa Rabba, or New Year's Eve. It is the 30th day of Gadia, the twelfth month (i.e., the last day of the Mandaean year). On Kanshi u-Zahli, Mandaeans do not work as it is a holy day. Mandaean priests spend the entire day performing prayers and masbuta until the afternoon, and also animals are slaughtered for consumption. Ritual purity must be maintained during the entire period. Before the sun sets, Mandaeans prepare food for the following day of Dehwa Rabba and also perform ṭmasha, or ritual immersion in water that does not require the assistance of a priest.
36 hours of seclusion
At sunset, once the North Star appears in the sky, Mandaeans must stay inside their homes with their families for 36 hours. No one is permitted to go outside their homes during these 36 hours, since Mandaeans believe that the naṭria (guardian spirits, including the water guardians Shilmai and Nidbai) have left Tibil and returned to the World of Light, leaving people on Tibil vulnerable to misfortune.
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