Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Ph.D Student in Philosophy of Art, Islamic Azad University, Shahroud Branch, Shahroud, Iran.
2
Associate Professor, Department of Art Research, University of Art, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction: Manichaeism, as a religious system, encompasses various traditions and rituals, among which the Bēma ceremony is one of the most significant. Elements of this ceremony, including customs, food, and ritual objects, are mentioned in several sources. The annual Bēma ceremony expresses fundamental Manichaean doctrines and serves to reaffirm the religious commitment of believers. However, the extensive loss of Manichaean texts and artifacts, together with the limited amount of scholarship on the subject, has left several questions concerning the ceremony unanswered. For example, scholars disagree as to whether the Bēma ceremony developed during Mani’s lifetime or after his death as a commemoration of his legacy. Moreover, Bēma ceremony appears to have received limited attention from a philosophical perspective. In this context, literal translations of the ceremony’s texts alone cannot reveal its deeper meanings and significance. Beyond its religious and philosophical content, Manichaean art influenced fields such as calligraphy, painting, manuscript illumination, bookbinding, and Persian literature. This influence was not confined to the artistic and cultural spheres of Iran. Manichaeism spread eastward and westward, particularly along the Silk Road and through its commercial and ideological networks, creating complex cultural connections among Asian, European, and North African societies. Manichaean studies should therefore be considered both international and intercultural. This context highlights the importance of surviving Manichaean artifacts, especially those from western China. Much of our current knowledge of Manichaean art is derived from artifacts preserved in this region. Among the most significant Manichaean artworks from western China, particularly Turpan, are representations of the Bēma ceremony, which further establishes the significance of this study. Turpan is an oasis in Xinjiang (Eastern Turkestan), the westernmost region of China. The arrival of Uyghur Turks and the establishment of their government in Qocho marked an important turning point in the region’s history. Subsequently, Mani’s followers replaced Buddhists in East Turkestan and Turpan, making the region the largest and last center of Manichaeism in the East. Previous studies, particularly those by Zsuzsanna Gulácsi, have examined the technical, codicological, and aesthetic dimensions of this fragment. However, the relationship between Fragment MIK III 4979 and the Bēma ceremony has not been examined in detail. Despite their contributions, however, neither work explores the relationship between the verso of Fragment MIK III 4979 and the Bēma ceremony. The significance of the present study lies in two aspects. First, the depth of wisdom and knowledge embodied in Manichaean artworks provides a valuable source for contemporary art. Second, it demonstrates how Iranian art and culture can be adapted by other indigenous cultures and transformed into an intercultural, or even universal, art form.
Purposes & Questions: This article examines five elements of the Bēma ceremony—throne, table, consecrated food, hymns, and color symbolism—in selected Manichaean artifacts and paintings. Considering Bēma and the wide range of elements and signs represented in different works, the study takes their various indications and significations into account. Fragment MIK III 4979 (Verso), in the Asian Arts Museum in Berlin, has been purposefully selected as the central example to answer the following question: How, and under what circumstances, are these five elements represented in this artifact?
Methods: This study employs a descriptive-analytical and iconographic approach. Data were collected through library research and field observations conducted by the researchers. A major challenge in such studies is the inaccessibility of some artifacts, particularly those damaged over time. The data obtained from the manuscript fragment were qualitatively examined and analyzed. The five elements discussed in this article have been identified in the relevant sources. Since Fragment MIK III 4979 (Verso) is the most intact example depicting rituals associated with the Bēma ceremony, it preserves major characteristics of Uyghur art as well as native artistic forms from Turpan, further underscoring its importance.
Findings & Results: The findings show that Manichaean art creatively combines the ideological and unchanging tenets of Manichaeism with local beliefs and aesthetic traditions. More specifically, the analysis identifies visual correspondences between the ceremonial throne, ritual table, consecrated food, hymns, and color symbolism of the Bēma ceremony and the compositional and symbolic features of the fragment. Accordingly, the influence of both Buddhist and Uyghur artistic forms can be traced in Fragment MIK III 4979 (Verso). It can be argued that the Manichaean artist focused on the principles of Manichaeism while adapting local and cultural elements within the artwork. In this context, the Bēma ceremony, as a special gathering representing a substantial part of Manichaean ritual practice, provides a suitable example for examining the philosophical and aesthetic dimensions of Manichaean art.
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