Huastvanift

Huastvanift also known as Xuastvanift is a Manichaean text written in the Uyghur language, containing a repentance prayer that Manichaean believers read to confess their sins. The text is important for understanding the lives of Manichaean communities in the East and confirms many concepts found in other Manichaean, Christian, and Muslim writings. The name "Huastvanift" comes from the Uyghur language and means "confession" or "repentance". This text was widely used by Uyghur Manichaeans and has been preserved in many manuscripts and fragments.
Name
The name "Huastvanift" is found at the end of manuscript SI 3159 in Uighur language. It originated from Parthian or Sogdian language where it is written as "xw'stw'nyft [xuastvanift]" and means "confession" or "repentance".
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Manuscripts
The Huastvanift text was popular in East Turkestan, which is why it has been found in at least 24 manuscripts and preserved over time.
The manuscript, with the code SI D1 (SI 3159), is from the collection of St. Petersburg IVR RAS. It contains 160 lines, but the beginning of the text is missing. It was written in an old Uighur script that has graphic features of the 10th-11th centuries. The manuscript was brought from Turfan by the Russian consul A. V. Dyakov, among other manuscripts. It is a paper scroll that is 255x30.5 cm in size and is glued together from sheets 46 cm long. The paper is thin, white, and polished. The lettering is classical bookish, and it is more probable that the manuscript is from the 11th century. The name of the scribe, Byutyurmish , is written in red ink at the end of the manuscript. The manuscript is titled Huastvanift.
This is a manuscript from the Collection of the British Library. It has the cipher Or. 8212/178 and is a horizontal scroll that is 10.2 cm wide and 447 cm long.
This manuscript is held in the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences with the code T II D 178. The beginning of the manuscript is missing, but it ends with the name of the scribe written as Raymast F(a)rzend, indicating an Iranian origin.
Publications
Russian publications
In 1909, the first publication of Huastvanift was made by in St. Petersburg, titled "Chuastuanit, das Bussgebet der Manichaer" as part of the series "Buchdruckerei der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften". The publication included a Uighur script text based on the Petersburg manuscript, a full translation of the text into German, and a facsimile of lines 144-160.
In 1951, published the second edition of the work in the book "Monuments of ancient Turkic writing". This edition included the reproduction of lines 32-160 in typeface, as well as Latin transcription, Russian translation, and notes.
In 1963, Lyudmila Vasilievna Dmitrievna published the third publication of Huastuanift in the collection "Turkological Studies" on pages 214-232. The publication includes an introduction, the text of Huastuanift, and its translation. Additionally, a summary analysis of the text on three monuments is also provided.
The fourth publication of Huastvanift was translated by L. Yu. Tugushev with a commentary by Alexander Leonovich Khosroev in 2008. This publication was prepared to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first publication of the text by V. V. Radlov. It included a translation of the text into modern Russian with a detailed commentary and analysis of the language, grammar, and syntax of the text.
In other countries:
In 1965, JP Asmussen published a work titled "Huastvanift" under the title "Studies in Manichaeism" by Copenhagen Prostant apud Munksgaard. The work was based on the analysis of a large number of manuscripts and research literature.
Language
The book is written in Turkic using the . It is easy to understand because the language is clear and pure. The author or translator didn't use many special Manichaean words, and the sentences are simple. Anyone who can read could understand the text. The writer of the book may have known Buddhist texts with similar content and structure, which were read aloud during special ceremonies to get rid of sins. There are also Iranic structures in the book. For example, "manastar hirz-a" is used to complete each section, which means "let go of my sin."
Content
The text has 15 parts and an ending. Each part is a request to God with a formal confession and a plea for forgiveness for a specific sin.
In the first part of the text, it tells a story about a cosmogonic battle between good and evil forces. , along with five other deities (aether, wind, light, water, and fire), his sons, led the forces of light against Shimnu (), who represented darkness. Due to the mixing of light and darkness, people forgot the difference between them and started believing that God gives both life and death or that Hormuzta and Shimnu are brothers, which is not true. This is the first sin confessed in the text.
The second sin is disrespect towards the Sun and the Moon, also known as the "Two Bright Palaces". In Manichaeism, these luminaries were believed to be divine, eternal, and pure, moving according to God's will and made up of a pure soul. After death, the souls of the righteous were thought to pass through the Moon, which was like a "small ship", and then to the Sun, which was like a "Big ship". From there, they would return to the immaterial Kingdom of Light. To view the luminaries as just part of the material world or natural occurrences that lack a will is the second confessed sin.
The third wrongdoing confessed is harming the five deities, which includes harming any living creatures, dry and damp earth, grass, and trees. The Manicheans believed in two sets of five gods. The first set consists of the sons of the First Man: Ether, wind, light, water, and fire. The second set consists of the five sons of the Holy Spirit, who was sent by God to save particles of light from the kingdom of darkness. The Holy Spirit's work resulted in the formation of the material world - "eight lands and ten heavens". The five sons of the Holy Spirit are Light holder, Great King of Honor, Adamant of Light, King of Glory, and Omophorus. They protect the world from decay. It is unclear from the text if the author differentiates between these two sets of gods.
The fourth sin is about going against the Burkhans, which is a term used by the Buddhist Uyghurs to refer to Buddha, and by the Manicheans to refer to the heads of the Manichaean church. The confession also includes a sin against the "Elect", who were the hierarchs of the church that took special vows. This sin is about not believing, rejecting, contradicting, or withholding their preaching.
The fifth sin is about harming living beings, which is separate from the third sin that is against the gods. It includes causing harm to all types of creatures: those with two legs, four legs, wings, those that live in water, and those that crawl on their belly. The Manichaean asks for forgiveness for causing their death, fear, beating, scourging, torment, and pain.
The sixth sin is related to human communication. It encompasses spreading lies, making false oaths, committing perjury, persecuting the innocent, spreading gossip, engaging in slander, witchcraft, being deceitful, using cunning, causing delusion, making mistakes, and any other actions that are disapproved by the deities.
The seventh sin is related to following false teachings and worshipping unclean forces. This involves practicing human and animal sacrifices, as well as engaging in other impure rituals.
The eighth sin is a departure from the qualities of a devoted Manichean: love is the sign of the god , faith is the sign of the Sun and Moon, fear is the sign of the five deities, wisdom is the sign of the Burkhans. Departure from these virtues - signs of deities was confessed.
The ninth sin is the breaking of the ten commandments that the regular Manichaeans followed. They are called hearers. The actual text of the commandments hasn't been found in any known Manichaean text, but an-Nadim lists them as follows: 1. Rejecting idolatry, 2. Refraining from lying, 3. Not being greedy, 4. Refraining from murder, 5. Refraining from adultery, 6. Not stealing, 7. Not cheating, 8. Not practicing or learning magic, 9. Do not be doublefaced, 10. Not being lazy in work.
The tenth sin involves the Manichaean prayer. Mani instructed his followers to pray to God four times a day. Forgetting to pray, being distracted during prayer, and making other mistakes while praying are considered sins.
The eleventh sin is related to the unwillingness to donate to the Manichaean church. According to the teachings, Manichaean believers receive the "light" of the five deities and the gods Xroshtag and Padvaxtag. Being stingy in donations was considered equivalent to stealing the light of the Manichaean teachings.
The twelfth sin is when a Manichaean breaks the fasts called vusanti. These fasts occur for 50 days every year and were mandatory for Manichaean hearers.
The thirteenth sin involves failing to participate in the Manichaean confession held in the community every Monday. The confession involved the Manichaean priest reading a text, and the laity responding in unison.
The fourteenth sin was about Manichaeans not participating in the celebration of the "yemki" holidays in honor of the seven heads of the Manichaean church, as well as the main Manichaean holiday called "caydanta" or "Bema" in Greek. The latter was celebrated in March to commemorate the execution of Mani, and involved a communal meal and a collective confession of sins committed over the past year.
The fifteenth sin was committing actions, words, or thoughts that pleased the demons. These sinful deeds caused the "light" of the Manichaean teachings to flow from the believer to the evil spirits. Confession was necessary for this sin.
Lines 143 to 160 contain a short list of sins and a request for forgiveness.
Notes
References
Sources
Other websites
Scroll from the British Library at the International Dunhuang Project
Manichaean texts
Uyghur language
Pages with unreviewed translations