جشن بِمای مانوی و بازیابی پنج ویژگی آن در قطعۀ MIK III 4979 (verso)

Manichaeism, a religious system, preserves various traditions and rituals, among which “Bēma” remains as one of the most significant Manichaean ceremonies. Some elements of the ceremony, traced in the customs, food, and certain accessories, have been mentioned in several sources. The annual ritual of Bēma conveys some of the most fundamental Manichaean principles and tenets to reinvigorate believers. However, the great loss of Manichaean Literature and artifacts, accompanied by the lack of scholarly research on the topic, has left the reader with numerous questions concerning the ceremony. For instance, there have been contradictory accounts on whether Bēma was developed during Mani’s life, or after his demise and in commemoration of his legacy. Bēma, moreover, has never been evaluated from a philosophical perspective. Under such circumstances, word for word translations of the ceremony’s text fail to shed light on deeper layers of the ceremony and its gist.
Despite the content and its philosophical values, in terms of form, Manichaean Art has influenced various fields such as calligraphy, painting, book art, binding, and Persian Literature. The influence, moreover, has not been confined to Iran's artistic and cultural sectors. Manichaeism spread towards East and West, particularly through the Silk Road and its commercial-ideological capacities. The new path has helped creating complicated cultural connections amongst Asian, European and North African nations. Hence, Manichean Studies should be considered international as well as intercultural. The situation demonstrates the role of remaining Manichaean artifacts, especially in Western China.
Today we know about Manichaean Art via the remaining artefacts from Western China. Some of the most significant Manichean artworks from Western China (i.e. in Turpan) portray Bēma ceremony which contributes to the significance of this study. Turpan, with an area of seventy square Kilometers, is an oasis located in Xingjiang (Eastern Turkestan), the western-most region in China. The coming of Uyghur Turks and the establishment of their government in Qocho, represent a landmark in the region’s history. Soon, Mani’s followers replaced Buddhists in East Turkestan and Turpan, turning the region into the biggest and last center for Manichaeism in the East.
This article studies five elements (throne, table, consecrated food, hymns and color symbolization) of Bēma ceremony in certain Manichaean pieces and paintings. Concerning Bēma as well as the wide range of elements and signs in different works, the study then takes various indications and significations into account. The MIK III 4979 (Verso), in Asian Arts Museum in Berlin, has been purposefully chosen as our central example, in order to answer the following question: how and under which circumstances have these five elements been represented in this artifact?
In this context, it should be noted that there have been previous studies on this particular piece. Most notably, Zsuzsanna Gulácsi examined various technical and aesthetical dimensions of the piece in two different books: 1. Mediaeval Manichaean Book Art: A Codicological Study of Iranian and Turkik illuminated Book Fragments from 8th-11th Century East Central Asia, Nag Hammadi and Manichaean 2.Manichaean Art in Berlin Collections (Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum: Series Archaeologica et Iconographica. Despite their merit, however, none of these works has explored the relationship between the piece (MIK III 4979) and Bēma ceremony.
The significance of the current study can be examined in several ways. Firstly, the depth of wisdom and knowledge behind Manichaean artworks provides a great source for producing contemporary art. Secondly, it shows Iranian art and culture can be adapted by other native cultures, and turn into an intercultural or even universal art form. To be noted, the five elements discussed in this paper have been mentioned in all related sources. Since MIK III 4979 (Verso) is the most intact example to portray rituals in Bēma ceremony, it preserves major characteristics of Uyghur art as well as the native art forms from Turpan, which further underscores its importance.
The present study is a descriptive-analytical research in which data collection has been done through library research and field observations by the researchers. The major challenge of such studies originates in the inaccessibility of some artifacts, in this case, those damaged by time. The data collected from the miniature have been qualitatively studied and analyzed. The findings show that Manichaean Art creatively combines the ideological and unchangeable tenets of Manichaeism with native and local beliefs and aesthetics. Hence, the influence of both Buddhist and Uyghur art forms can be traced in MIK III 4979 (Verso). In fact, it can be argued, the Manichaean artist must have focused on the principles of Manichaeism while adapting local and cultural elements to the artwork. The authors intend to study more pieces and artworks that, specifically, deal with other aspects of Bēma.