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Concept
Ruha
Summary
In Mandaeism, Rūha (ࡓࡅࡄࡀ; also known as Namrūs or Hiwat (Ewath; ࡏࡅࡀࡕ)) is the queen of the World of Darkness (alma ḏ-hšuka) or underworld. She rules the underworld together with her son Ur, the king of the World of Darkness, and her entourage of the seven planets and twelve constellations, who are also her offspring with Ur.
Ruha is the daughter of Qin, the Mistress of Darkness in the first underworld. She is the ruler of the third maṭarta (watch-house or purgatory). She is associated with lust, uncleanness (i.e., menstrual impurity), and other negative feminine qualities.
The Ginza Rabba refers to Ruha using various epithets, such as:
Rūha Masṭanita "Ruha the Seductress"
Rūha ḏ-Qudša "Holy Spirit"
ḏlibat ʿstra amamit "Libat-Ishtar-Amamit" (i.e., Venus)
Use of the term "Holy Spirit" for Ruha is primarily confined to polemical texts, and not found in esoteric or ritual scrolls.
Other epithets mentioned in the Ginza Rabba are:
Amamit
Namrus (Nimrus)
Qananit (in Right Ginza Book 6, i.e. the Book of Dinanukht)
Dayum (in Left Ginza 3.27)
Gelbert (2013) connects the name Ruha to the city Urha (Edessa), although this hypothesis has not been peer reviewed.
Mandaean cosmology and Mandaean calendar
Rūha bears a son called Ur with Gaf, one of the giants in the World of Darkness described in book 5 of the Ginza Rabba. She then commits incest with Ur, giving birth to the seven planets and twelve zodiacs (listed below).
Twelve Constellations (trisar malwašia)
Daula (Aquarius)
Nuna (Pisces)
ʿmbra (Aries)
Taura (Taurus)
Ṣilmia (Gemini)
Sarṭana (Cancer)
Aria (Leo)
Šumbulta (Virgo)
Qaina (Libra)
Arqba (Scorpio)
Hiṭia (Sagittarius)
Gadia (Capricorn)
Seven Planets (šuba šibiahia)
Shamish (Sun)
Libat (Venus)
Nbu (Mercury)
Sin (Moon)
Kiwan (Saturn)
Bil (Jupiter)
Nirig (Mars)
Ruha also disguised herself as Noah's wife Anhuraita, sleeping with him and giving birth to three sons, Ham, Yam, and Yafet.
According to Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Ruha is a complex character who can not be simply portrayed as an evil archon.
Official source
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