..A. CREATION
...B. CREATION AND THE FLOOD
...C. THE CREATION OF MAN
...D. AND E. THE FLOOD
...F. THE MANDAEAN NATION
...G. ANOTHER VERSION OF THE RED SEA STORY
#2--OF ABRAHAM AND YURBA
#3--HOW HIBIL ZIWA FETCHED RUHA FROM THE DARKNESS
#4--THE STORY OF QIQEL AND THE DEATH OF YAHYA
#5-- NEBUCHADNEZZAR`S DAUGHTER
#6--SUN STORIES
#7-- THE BRIDGE AT SHUSTER
#8-- THE FIRE-WORSHIPPER AND ADAM BUL FARAJ
#9-- HOW DANA NUK VISITED THE SEVENTH HEAVEN
#10-- THE MILLENNIUM
#11-- CONCERNING THE MOUNTAIN OF THE MADDAI AND HOW THE TURKS CAME TO TAKE IT
#12-- HOW THE MANDAI AND THEIR GANZIBRA LEFT THE MOUNTAIN FOR A BETTER COUNTRY
#13-- THE CHILD CONCEIVED ON THE 29th NIGHT OF THE MOON
#14-- THE KANSHI UZAHLA
#15-- THE HAUNTINGS
#16-- THE PLAGUE IN SHUSTER
#17-- THE STONE-THROWING
#18-- THE KAFTAR
#19-- BIBI`S SONS AND THEIR STRANGE ADVENTURE
#20-- SHAIKH ZIBID
#21-- OF BEHOLDING EVENTS IN TRANCE
#22-- HOW EVIL SPIRITS ABUSE THE DEAD, ETC.
#23-- MEN WHO HAVE RETURNED FROM DEATH, ETC.
#24-- OF THE POWER T0 SEE SPIRITS
#25-- THE SIMURGH: THE TRUE HISTORY OF RUSTAM AND HIS SON
#26-- HIRMIZ SHAH
#27--THE MAN WHO SOUGHT TO SEE SIN THE MOON
#28-- THE SIMURGH AND HIRMIZ SHAH
The S'ubba in Shuster beheld them and asked them, 'Whence come ye?' Adam bul Faraj did not answer, 'I am a rish amma and came in such-and-such a manner,' but held his peace. The old men amongst the Subba came and asked him, 'From whence come ye? What is your trade?' Adam bul Faraj replied, 'I am a darwish.' Said they, 'Darwish ! But what is your trade?' Answered he, 'I am your shepherd.' They thought that he must mean a shepherd of sheep, whereas he meant shepherd of souls. They said to him, 'We have water-buffaloes, cattle, and sheep! Take them into the desert and look after them. Why should you remain here idle?' He answered, 'As you will!' and took the flocks and went out of the town. He traced a line round the flocks so that they could not stray, and read a spell, which summoned spirits to prevent the cattle from crossing outside the limit and to shepherd them.
Then Adam bul Faraj sat in the midst of them. One day there came to him an old woman, who thought that he must be a darwish, an enlightened one, a wise man. He looked at the old woman and saw that she was troubled and asked her, 'Why is thy throat constricted ? What is thy grief?' She answered, 'I wanted a Ginza Rabba from a tarmida (priest), but as I have no money, he will not write me one.' Now a person who possesses a Ginza Rabba, his name will remain in this world, and in the world to come the Ginza Rabba protects his soul from harm just as a tree spreads its branches to shelter his head from the sun. Replied Adam bul Faraj to the old woman, 'Bring paper and ink and I will write the Ginza Rabba for you and take no money for it.'
He wrote the Ginza Rabba for her, and when he came to the tarikh he inscribed these words, 'O Nasurai, Mandai, and tarmidi! I came amongst you. There will be tribulation amongst you and (when it occurs) come to me. I am in Mendeli.' Then he took his wife and returned to his place.
After forty days there came to Shuster a wise man, deeply learned in magic, and he appeared to the Subba and said to them, 'What miracles can ye work?' They asked him, 'What do you want of us, you?' Now he was of the sect of fire-worshippers, and he replied, 'If you cannot show me a miracle, I shall force you to be of my religion. I have a stick, and when I command it, it is turned into a snake and bites whomsoever I will. I have a lion and at my command he eats whomsoever I will. I have, too, a mud wall (tof) and when I bestride it, it will gallop like a mare. There is no escape for you! You must come over to my faith, or the lion will eat you and the snake bite you, one by one, and cause you to die!' Then he showed them yet another miracle; a carpet, which, if spread on the water, did not sink, but allowed him to sit on it as if it were a ship.
They were all very frightened . . . . They consulted together and looked in the Diwans, in the Asfar Malwasha, and in all the books which they possessed, but saw no means of escape. They despaired. Then came the old woman, who said to them, 'The darwish who was here made me a Ginza. Perhaps there is something in it, which may help us.' She brought it, and they read the inscription, 'I am Adam bul Faraj. I came amongst you, and you made me a shepherd of sheep. If there is tribulation amongst you, come to see me at Mendeli.' Then they went to the fire-worshipper and begged for a respite of forty days, and four of the Mandai, two of whom were wise men, set off, riding on mares, to Mendeli, for in those days there were no trains, no motorcarat.
They were thirty-eight days on the journey and arrived in Mendeli and went to Adam bul Faraj's house, and cried, 'Dakhil! Your protection!' They told him all that had happened. Adam bul Faraj began to laugh and said, 'Fear not!' They answered him, 'But in two days' time the lion and the serpent will begin to devour our priests and our learned men! There is no time left to succour them!' And they wept, out of their alarm. He repeated, 'Fear not! I can go there quickly!' But they were not comforted, and said amongst themselves 'How can he be there in two days!' He replied, 'Do not fear! We shall leave Mendeli tomorrow and shall be in Shuster by the evening.' Then they began to be heartened and to talk amongst each other, and to wonder, 'How shall this thing be?' The next day was the thirty-ninth day. Adam bul Faraj rose and said, 'Come! Let us go!' He led them to a pool by the river and said, 'Come! Make your ablutions!' They all put on their rastas, and entered the water and prayed and made complete purification. Then he sat and said, 'Come!' One of the Mandai sat on his right shoulder, another on the left, and the two others sat, one on his right knee and the other on his left. Then he began to read (spells) but softly, so that they heard not what he said. Then he commanded them, 'Shut your eyes!' and they shut them. A light came upon them and took them off the ground, so high up into the air that the world was not visible. Adam bul Faraj said to them, 'Look not too much!' for the light was powerful, very powerful! It was the magnetism (maghnatish) that was carrying them. At ten o'clock, and the time was the afternoon, they descended and saw the ground. Adam bul Faraj said, 'Open your eyes!' and they opened their eyes and lo! they were in their own country of Shuster. They cried, 'Sahib! Is this Shuster?' He said, 'Aye!' Said they, 'How can this be?' He replied, 'Have no fear, but return quickly to your own homes.' They said to him, 'We fear that this is a dream, the deception of sleep !' He answered, 'This is not dream (teyf), it is truth, and you are indeed in your own place.'
The four Mandaeans went to the old ganzowra and said to him, 'Adam bul Faraj has come!' Now the priests, acolytes, and the elders of the people were gathered together at the ganzibra's house, and the rest of the Mandaeans were hiding in their own houses and weeping because of that which was to happen on the morrow. The ganzibra asked, 'How did you come?' The four answered, 'We came in four hours from Mendeli!' Then all cried, 'We have escaped!' and the men began to smile, and the women and children to utter joy-cries. It was like a great feast! All rejoiced together and cried, 'Where is he?' They replied, 'Yibrakh! He is praying in the garden!' All went to seek him, priests, smiths, women, and children, all! The ganzowra and the priests and the shgandi went to kiss his hand, and cried, 'Dakhilakh! We knew you not! We made you a shepherd of sheep and knew you not!' He replied, 'It matters not!'
The fire-worshipper came in the morning. The Moslems, Persians, and Jews, men, women and children, all the people of Shuster, gathered together to see what the Subbi would do. The Subba, led by Adam bul Faraj, marched into the great plain outside Shuster and the onlookers formed a circle to see what would happen. The fire-worshipper came before them, and read (spells) upon his stick, and it became a serpent. He said to the serpent, 'Go! Bite that man, Adam bul Faraj!' Adam laughed and said to the serpent, 'Thou art a stick, by what power art thou a serpent?' and it became a stick as before. The fire-worshipper read and read, but the stick remained lifeless.
Then he said to the lion, 'Go, devour that man!' Adam bul Faraj addressed the lion, saying, 'What is thy work, thou? Thou art a beast of the desert and hast no business here! Return to thy place!' And the lion took and fled to the desert. The fire-worshipper called after him, 'Lion, lion!' but he would not return. He went and disappeared from their sight.
Then Adam bul Faraj said, 'What other miracles hast thou?' The fire-worshipper replied, 'I have yet another miracle!' and he got astride the mud wall, and it began to move and to gallop with him as if it were a mare. The people were frightened and began to run away, crying, 'The wall moves, it moves!' Adam bul Faraj cried, 'Stop!' and the mud wall stopped in its place. The fire-worshipper read and read, but it remained immovable and would not stir more.
Adam bul Faraj said to him, 'Hast thou other miracles?' The other said, 'Aye! I have a carpet, which I spread on the water and ride thereon as if it were a ship.' Adam bul Faraj said, 'Perform this miracle and I will see.' The fire-worshipper spread his carpet on the river and sat on it, and the people marveled when they saw how it moved on the water and sank not. Adam bul Faraj had a spell by which he summoned Shelmay and Nedvay, the spirits of the water. They came and were beside Adam bul Faraj, who said to them, 'I wish that man to sink in the water, he and his carpet! Tease him, torture him a little! Let him experience pain!' The carpet sank beneath the water, then came again to the surface, and plunged beneath again, so that the fire- worshipper was half-drowned. He cried, 'Mercy! Loose me! Free me!' Adam bul Faraj said to him, 'Why did you torment these people? Why did you frighten them and their women and children? Do you not fear God that you acted thus, saying that your lion would devour them and your serpent bite them?'
The other replied, 'I repent! Mercy! I will never do so again!' Adam bul Faraj took him from the water, and the fire worshipper said to him, 'I wish to see your miracles!' Adam bul Faraj said to him, 'As you will! I will show you something; but our miracles are not magic, for we worship God, and only what he permits will be!' Said the fire-worshipper, 'I should like to see something of your powers!' Now Adam bul Faraj had brought with him a tir khurr (a carrier pigeon, a breed with an enlarged beak-wattle). He said to this bird, 'There are no dates in Shuster. Bring me a date!' It went, and flew back with a date which Adam bul Faraj gave to the fire-worshipper, saying 'Eat it!' and the magician ate it. Adam bul Faraj took the date-stone from him, washed it in the river, and put, it into the ground. Now there are spirits (`Uthri) which dwell in the sun and these give growth, color, and scent to flowers. The scent and color of flowers are of the world of light and not of this world, and it is the 'uthri who bring them to the earth. Therefore, Adam bul Faraj asked the 'uthri to give power to the date-stone so that it should become a date palm, for he was in favor with God, and received the benefits of Heaven. As he spoke, it was, and the 'uthri caused the stone to germinate and sprout: It sprouted and grew, di, di, di, di! and it became a large date-palm. Then it bore blossom, which became fruit and reddened and ripened. In one hour it brought forth-ripe fruit! The fire-worshipper marvelled and said, 'How can this be ! A palm-tree so quickly!'
Adam bul Faraj said to him, 'Go up and eat the ripe dates.' The fire-worshipper climbed and saw that the fruit was ripe: the dates were perfectly formed and ready to eat, and he ate of them. Now the winds are moved by 'uthri who stir the air. Adam bul Faraj called them and said to them, 'Let the Winds be summoned-North Wind, South Wind, East Wind and West Wind! Let them blow (tehabb) and use their strength!' Then the winds began to blow and the palm swayed in the air this way and that, so that it beat the ground from side to side, and struck the fire-worshipper, who began to cry, 'Dakhil! I have repented and will work no more harm! I will leave your people to follow their religion in peace! I will never hurt them more! Dakhil, dakhil!' Adam bul Faraj said to him, 'All religions, Mandai, Jewish, Moslem, and Christian, were created by God? God created them and desired them, and you should not have sought to harm them. God created them thus and ordered them thus!' He permitted the winds to cease and the fire-worshipper descended.
Then Adam bul Faraj asked him, 'From whence was your power? By whose might did you cause sticks to become serpents, and lions to obey you, the wall to move beneath you and the carpet to bear you on the water?' The fire-worshipper answered, 'My strength is from Qartus Deywa!' And he was repentant and escaped. Thus the Subba learnt the name of Qartus Deywa. And if the jann have breathed into such a one, and his spirit is clouded, they say into his ear, 'O Qartus Deywa! Cure this man! Open!' And he is cured. A big prince of the jann is Qartus Deywa, and from that time the Subba know his name and can use it. As for the fire-worshipper, he returned to his place.
..A. CREATION
...B. CREATION AND THE FLOOD
...C. THE CREATION OF MAN
...D. AND E. THE FLOOD
...F. THE MANDAEAN NATION
...G. ANOTHER VERSION OF THE RED SEA STORY
#2--OF ABRAHAM AND YURBA
#3--HOW HIBIL ZIWA FETCHED RUHA FROM THE DARKNESS
#4--THE STORY OF QIQEL AND THE DEATH OF YAHYA
#5-- NEBUCHADNEZZAR`S DAUGHTER
#6--SUN STORIES
#7-- THE BRIDGE AT SHUSTER
#8-- THE FIRE-WORSHIPPER AND ADAM BUL FARAJ
#9-- HOW DANA NUK VISITED THE SEVENTH HEAVEN
#10-- THE MILLENNIUM
#11-- CONCERNING THE MOUNTAIN OF THE MADDAI AND HOW THE TURKS CAME TO TAKE IT
#12-- HOW THE MANDAI AND THEIR GANZIBRA LEFT THE MOUNTAIN FOR A BETTER COUNTRY
#13-- THE CHILD CONCEIVED ON THE 29th NIGHT OF THE MOON
#14-- THE KANSHI UZAHLA
#15-- THE HAUNTINGS
#16-- THE PLAGUE IN SHUSTER
#17-- THE STONE-THROWING
#18-- THE KAFTAR
#19-- BIBI`S SONS AND THEIR STRANGE ADVENTURE
#20-- SHAIKH ZIBID
#21-- OF BEHOLDING EVENTS IN TRANCE
#22-- HOW EVIL SPIRITS ABUSE THE DEAD, ETC.
#23-- MEN WHO HAVE RETURNED FROM DEATH, ETC.
#24-- OF THE POWER T0 SEE SPIRITS
#25-- THE SIMURGH: THE TRUE HISTORY OF RUSTAM AND HIS SON
#26-- HIRMIZ SHAH
#27--THE MAN WHO SOUGHT TO SEE SIN THE MOON
#28-- THE SIMURGH AND HIRMIZ SHAH
..A. CREATION
...B. CREATION AND THE FLOOD
...C. THE CREATION OF MAN
...D. AND E. THE FLOOD
...F. THE MANDAEAN NATION
...G. ANOTHER VERSION OF THE RED SEA STORY
#2--OF ABRAHAM AND YURBA
#3--HOW HIBIL ZIWA FETCHED RUHA FROM THE DARKNESS
#4--THE STORY OF QIQEL AND THE DEATH OF YAHYA
#5-- NEBUCHADNEZZAR`S DAUGHTER
#6--SUN STORIES
#7-- THE BRIDGE AT SHUSTER
#8-- THE FIRE-WORSHIPPER AND ADAM BUL FARAJ
#9-- HOW DANA NUK VISITED THE SEVENTH HEAVEN
#10-- THE MILLENNIUM
#11-- CONCERNING THE MOUNTAIN OF THE MADDAI AND HOW THE TURKS CAME TO TAKE IT
#12-- HOW THE MANDAI AND THEIR GANZIBRA LEFT THE MOUNTAIN FOR A BETTER COUNTRY
#13-- THE CHILD CONCEIVED ON THE 29th NIGHT OF THE MOON
#14-- THE KANSHI UZAHLA
#15-- THE HAUNTINGS
#16-- THE PLAGUE IN SHUSTER
#17-- THE STONE-THROWING
#18-- THE KAFTAR
#19-- BIBI`S SONS AND THEIR STRANGE ADVENTURE
#20-- SHAIKH ZIBID
#21-- OF BEHOLDING EVENTS IN TRANCE
#22-- HOW EVIL SPIRITS ABUSE THE DEAD, ETC.
#23-- MEN WHO HAVE RETURNED FROM DEATH, ETC.
#24-- OF THE POWER T0 SEE SPIRITS
#25-- THE SIMURGH: THE TRUE HISTORY OF RUSTAM AND HIS SON
#26-- HIRMIZ SHAH
#27--THE MAN WHO SOUGHT TO SEE SIN THE MOON
#28-- THE SIMURGH AND HIRMIZ SHAH
Narrator: Hirmiz bar Anhar
