Gadia (month)

Gadia
Native nameࡂࡀࡃࡉࡀ (Classical Mandaic)
CalendarMandaean calendar
Month number12
Number of days30
Seasonpaiz (autumn)
Gregorian equivalentJune / July
Significant daysKanshiy u-Zahly (Gadia 30)
← Hitia
Daula →

Gadia (Classical Mandaic: ࡂࡀࡃࡉࡀ), alternatively known as Ṭabit (Classical Mandaic: ࡈࡀࡁࡉࡕ),[1] is the twelfth month of the Mandaean calendar.[2]

Light fasting is practiced by Mandaeans on the 28th and 29th days of Gadia. The 30th and last day of Gadia is Kanshiy u-Zahly, or New Year's Eve. Mandaeans clean and wash the whole household, perform baptism, and buying new clothes in preparation for the New Year. At sunset, Mandaeans will close their doors and stay inside for 36 hours to commemorate the assembly of the angels in heaven.[3]

It is the Mandaic name for the constellation Capricorn.[2] It currently corresponds to June / July in the Gregorian calendar due to a lack of a leap year in the Mandaean calendar.

  1. ^ Häberl, Charles (2022). The Book of Kings and the Explanations of This World: A Universal History from the Late Sasanian Empire. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-80085-627-1.
  2. ^ a b Bhayro, Siam (2020-02-10). "Cosmology in Mandaean Texts". Hellenistic Astronomy. Brill. pp. 572–579. doi:10.1163/9789004400566_046. ISBN 9789004243361. S2CID 213438712. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  3. ^ Gelbert, Carlos (2005). The Mandaeans and the Jews. Edensor Park, NSW: Living Water Books. ISBN 0-9580346-2-1. OCLC 68208613.