Shganda

In Mandaeism, a shganda (šganda; Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡂࡀࡍࡃࡀ), shkanda (Arabic: شكندا, romanizedškandā), or ashganda (ašganda)[1] is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties.[2]

In the Mandaean diaspora, shgandas, or alternatively learned laymen called yalufa, often perform minor priestly roles due to shortages of tarmida and ganzibra priests abroad.[3]: 338 

  1. ^ Drower, E. S. 1960. The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  2. ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
  3. ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.