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{"id":14873,"date":"2013-06-10T11:22:05","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T15:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=14873"},"modified":"2013-06-10T11:22:05","modified_gmt":"2013-06-10T15:22:05","slug":"qmaha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/06\/qmaha.html","title":{"rendered":"Qmaha"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

No, the title of this post does not say \u201cOmaha.\u201d It says \u201cQmaha,\u201d a term for a particular kind of Mandaean<\/a>\u00a0 phylactery<\/a> or amulet.\u00a0It contains text, which is believed to ward off evil and illness, and iron needles which are thought to be effective protection against evil spirits.<\/p>\n

Brian Mubaraki kindly provided me with these photos, and I am very grateful. I will soon be sharing some other resources which he wishes to make available online, and am happy to be able to provide a home for them on the web.<\/p>\n

The \u201cdissected\u201d qmaha is a relatively recently-made one, while the other he estimates as being 50 years old.<\/p>\n

Click on the images in the gallery below to see them larger.<\/p>\n\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"