Solar Ship in Manichean symbolism
Manichaeism is a religion that utilized numerous symbols to represent its mythos and theology. Among these symbols, tree, great healer, pearl and ship are fairly common.
Augustine’s De Haeresibus give us a clear summary of the meaning of this ship symbolism: “They (the Manicheans) maintain that whatever of the light is cleansed (purgatur) from everywhere is returned to the realm of God and to its own home, as it were, by certain ships, which, as they say, are the moon and the sun and are made from the same pure substance of God”.
According to Manichean myth, in the beginning there was Light and Darkness, and the Darkness invaded the realm of Light, the demons of Darkness were defeated and out of the remains of the demons, the Living Spirit, the Demiurge, created the cosmos as a mean of liberating soul from matter, and then he also created the Sun and the Moon as vehicles to bring the souls back to God, as summarized by Augustine in the text above.
The Coptic Manichean scripture Kephalaia says that the Living Spirit did seven great deeds, among them is that “he established the Ships of Light” and the Chinese Manichean Fragment Texts records that “and the Pure Wind (the Living Spirit) built the two Ships of Light (the sun and the moon) to bring forth the good ones (the souls) from the Sea of Life and Dead to the Original State, so that the Light and the ultimate peace and bliss may be upon them”.
Some historians suggest that the solar and lunar ships are based on the gufa, an oval shaped, lightweight boat (resembles the coracle in the British Isles) used in Mesopotamia. Since the heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon and the gufa are spherical, these suggested that these Ships of Light must based on gufa.
I disagree with that the Ships of Light are merely celestial version of small gufas that sails on Tigris and Euphrates. The solar boat actually has a long history, dating back to Neolithic period.
Mesopotamia has a long tradition of building, boats and ships featured were also featured in Mesopotamian religious arts, as shown in this line drawing dating back to the Akkadian period. The drawing shows that the sun god Shamash sits on his reed boat, sailing across the sky. The reed boat certainly is not spherical in shape.
(Utu-Shamash in his solar boat)
In Egypt, the solar deity Ra and his companions embark on the Sun Boat to sail through the sky, giving light to the world. The Pyramid Texts and the Amduat depict the dead pharaoh travels with the solar deity in the boat through the hours of Duat.
(Egyptian solar barge)
Instead of the gufa, the Manichean solar ship, and most probably other mythical ships like Ship of the Living Water, Ship of the Moon, Ship of Light and other divine ships are more probably link to the ancient Mesopotamian great seafaring boat like the one of Shamash.
However, we must remember that the solar ship, just like other ships in Manichean symbolism, is an allegory and should never be interpreted literally. Of course, Mani would never actually preach that the sun is exactly like the boat he saw on Tigris and Euphrates, but as a symbol of the vessel of the Light that bring forth the souls return to the realm of God.
Augustine’s De Haeresibus give us a clear summary of the meaning of this ship symbolism: “They (the Manicheans) maintain that whatever of the light is cleansed (purgatur) from everywhere is returned to the realm of God and to its own home, as it were, by certain ships, which, as they say, are the moon and the sun and are made from the same pure substance of God”.
According to Manichean myth, in the beginning there was Light and Darkness, and the Darkness invaded the realm of Light, the demons of Darkness were defeated and out of the remains of the demons, the Living Spirit, the Demiurge, created the cosmos as a mean of liberating soul from matter, and then he also created the Sun and the Moon as vehicles to bring the souls back to God, as summarized by Augustine in the text above.
The Coptic Manichean scripture Kephalaia says that the Living Spirit did seven great deeds, among them is that “he established the Ships of Light” and the Chinese Manichean Fragment Texts records that “and the Pure Wind (the Living Spirit) built the two Ships of Light (the sun and the moon) to bring forth the good ones (the souls) from the Sea of Life and Dead to the Original State, so that the Light and the ultimate peace and bliss may be upon them”.
Some historians suggest that the solar and lunar ships are based on the gufa, an oval shaped, lightweight boat (resembles the coracle in the British Isles) used in Mesopotamia. Since the heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon and the gufa are spherical, these suggested that these Ships of Light must based on gufa.
I disagree with that the Ships of Light are merely celestial version of small gufas that sails on Tigris and Euphrates. The solar boat actually has a long history, dating back to Neolithic period.
Mesopotamia has a long tradition of building, boats and ships featured were also featured in Mesopotamian religious arts, as shown in this line drawing dating back to the Akkadian period. The drawing shows that the sun god Shamash sits on his reed boat, sailing across the sky. The reed boat certainly is not spherical in shape.
(Utu-Shamash in his solar boat)
In Egypt, the solar deity Ra and his companions embark on the Sun Boat to sail through the sky, giving light to the world. The Pyramid Texts and the Amduat depict the dead pharaoh travels with the solar deity in the boat through the hours of Duat.
(Egyptian solar barge)
Later the great Neo-Platonist Iamblichus, in his De Mysteriis would interpret the Egyptian solar boat as “the one "sailing in a Boat" sets before the mind the power that directs the world. As, therefore, the Pilot, being apart from the ship, has the control of its rudders, so the Sun subsisting separately has control of the helms of all the world. And as the pilot from above at the stern, giving forth from himself the first brief beginning of the course, directs everything, so by an infinite priority of rank, the God from above, imparts without division from the first principles of Nature, the first-operative causes of motions. These things, therefore, and still more than these, are denoted by One Sailing in a boat.”
In Buddhism, dharma is often likened to a ship that sails to the ocean of samsāra to salvage sentient beings from the endless circle of rebirth.
Perhaps the strongest influence on the Manichean solar ship symbolism comes from those of Mandaeism. Mani was brought up in the Elchasaite sect, a baptismal sect that is related to Mandaeism, so it is no wonder that the prophet adopted many concepts, including the solar ship into his own teachings. In Mandaeism, Shamish the sun deity sails in his solar ship, in this ship there is a banner that illuminates the light of God. It is in this ship that the righteous souls were brought back to the realm of Abathur. The name Shamish is obviously inherited from the semitic sun god Shamash, together with his solar ship.
In Buddhism, dharma is often likened to a ship that sails to the ocean of samsāra to salvage sentient beings from the endless circle of rebirth.
Perhaps the strongest influence on the Manichean solar ship symbolism comes from those of Mandaeism. Mani was brought up in the Elchasaite sect, a baptismal sect that is related to Mandaeism, so it is no wonder that the prophet adopted many concepts, including the solar ship into his own teachings. In Mandaeism, Shamish the sun deity sails in his solar ship, in this ship there is a banner that illuminates the light of God. It is in this ship that the righteous souls were brought back to the realm of Abathur. The name Shamish is obviously inherited from the semitic sun god Shamash, together with his solar ship.
(Mandean sun boat, with righteous souls and the drabsia, the banner of the Lightworld)
Instead of the gufa, the Manichean solar ship, and most probably other mythical ships like Ship of the Living Water, Ship of the Moon, Ship of Light and other divine ships are more probably link to the ancient Mesopotamian great seafaring boat like the one of Shamash.
However, we must remember that the solar ship, just like other ships in Manichean symbolism, is an allegory and should never be interpreted literally. Of course, Mani would never actually preach that the sun is exactly like the boat he saw on Tigris and Euphrates, but as a symbol of the vessel of the Light that bring forth the souls return to the realm of God.
Further reading:
(in Chinese)
posted by Nishiki at
1:25 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home