Let us now carry our research into that region whence civilization spread
through western Asia, and is said to have been carried to Egypt, Greece
and Rome. It may be a surprise to many to learn that, at the present day,
on the banks of the Euphrates, in Mesopotamia, pole-star worship, pure and
simple, is openly professed by the Mandaïtes who are reputed to be the
descendants of the famous Magi of ancient Chaldea, and are termed Sabba or
Sabans by the Moslems. It will be seen that these star-watchers have
preserved intact an extremely ancient form of the archaic cult which
contains the living germ of all primitive religions and represents an
evolutionary stage which they must all have undergone.
It is to the kindness of a friend that I owe the knowledge of an article
on a Mandaïte New Year festival which appeared in the “Standard” some
years ago and which I reproduce in full as Appendix II. As might be
expected, the Euphratean star-gazers, like the Chinese, determined
midnight by the position of the Great Bear. It is interesting to find,
moreover, that the spiritual head of the sect is entitled Gan-zivro, and
is closely escorted by four young deacons, named sh-kan-dos, as well as by
four priests=tarmidos, and four sub-deacons. The circumstance that the
consecrated group of officiants consists of 12+1=13 individuals is
particularly suggestive. Not less so are the employment of the tau-shaped
cross and the sacrifice of a quadruped to the lord of the underworld and
his companion (the lord of the upper world?). The ceremonial immersion in
the starlit river is a curious parallel to the midnight bathing in the
sacred pool attached to the ancient Mexican temple.
The formulas employed in addressing the pole-star deserve special
consideration. In the designation of the stable centre of heaven as “the
abode of the pious hereafter and the paradise of the elect,” the natural
longings of the human race for stability, _i. e._ safety and repose, find
an expression and in this we can detect the germ of thought whose extreme
development, in India, produced the comparatively philosophical doctrine
of Nirvana. The title of “Primitive Sun” enlightens us as to the original
use of the word sun and the supreme importance accorded by the ancient
star-gazers to the “Imperial ruler of heaven,” as the Chinese term the
pole-star. This application of the word sun will be found particularly
interesting to those who, having found the swastika termed a “sun-symbol,”
have naturally been led to associate it with the diurnal sun, although
they found it difficult to understand its connection with the rotatory
motion so clearly discernible in the form of the primitive symbol.
Having ascertained that the Mandaïte pole-star worship of the present day
embodies the cult of the sacred centre and of dual principles (one of
which is designated as the lord of the underworld) and is associated with
quadruple organization and a form of cross, let us now make a great stride
backwards and note some details concerning ancient Sabæan star-worship.