Religion and the Everyday Life of Manichaeans in Kellis

Mattias Brand, Ph.D. (2019), Leiden University, is postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zürich. He has published on Manichaeism, ancient Christianity, and the study of religion. Currently, he is researching the transformation of religious practices within ancient and contemporary houses.

• AcknowledgmentsList of Figures and TablesAbbreviations and TranslationsIntroduction Religion and Everyday GroupnessIntroductionIntroducing ManichaeismManichaeans and the Transformation of Religion in Late AntiquityTheoretical Framework: Everyday GroupnessSources and the Structure of the Book1 Makarios’s Family: Manichaeans at Home in the OasisKellis in the Dakhleh OasisLocating Makarios and Pamour: The Archaeological ContextMakarios and MariaPamour and His BrothersOther Clusters of LettersIndications of ManichaeannessConclusionsDocuments Associated with the Various Family Clusters2 Pamour’s Connections: Religion beyond a Conflict ModelEgyptian Temple ReligionClassical Traditions from the Greek and Roman WorldCelestial Power and AmuletsChristian Institutions and RepertoireManichaeans and the Roman AdministrationConclusions3 Orion’s Language: Manichaean Self-Designation in the Kellis PapyriPerforming Personal LettersSelf-Designation in Documentary PapyriExcursus: Coptic as a Community-Specific Language?ConclusionsAppendix: List of Self-Designators in the Personal Letters4 Tehat’s Gifts: Everyday Community BoundariesThe Manichaean Ideology of GivingFive Types of Giving in the Kellis LettersThe Agape, a Manichaean Ritual Meal?Conclusions5 The Deacon’s Practice: Manichaean Gatherings with Prayer and Psalm SingingManichaean Communal GatheringsDid Makarios Go to Church? On the Location of Manichaean GatheringsA Manichaean Monastery in the Oasis?Evoking Groupness: Teaching and Emotional Arousal through SongConclusions6 Matthaios’s Grief: Manichaean Death RitualsDeath and the Deceased in Documentary PapyriSongs and Prayers for the DeceasedChristian and Manichaean Funerary MealsBurial Practices and Material CultureConclusions7 Ision’s Books: Scribal Culture and Access to Manichaean TextsCopying and Circulating BooksThe Syriac ConnectionMateriality: The Ude of the Codex and Wooden TabletsIdentifying Manichaean ScribesConclusionsConclusion: Untidy History: Manichaeanness in Everyday LifeIntroductionWhen Did Manichaeism Matter?Modeling Late Antique ReligionAbandoning KellisAppendix 1: Outline of Published Documents from KellisAppendix 2: Prosopography of Makarios’s and Pamour’s RelativesBibliographyIndex of SourcesIndex of NamesSubject Index

Mattias Brand has produced a well-conceived and nuanced study of Manichean life in late antique Kellis that usefully brings theoretical insights to bear on textual, material, and visual evidence. I would strongly recommend this book to any historian or student interested in Manichaeism or lived religion in late antiquity.Joseph E. Sanzo, BMCR 2023