Vol 4, No 2 (2018)

Abstract

The present paper provides an interpretation of the Parthian fragment SI 5576 belonging to the Serindian Collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences. The poorly preserved text is a hymn dedicated to Wisdom and, perhaps, is an adaptation of a Mandaean text. Its contents suggest that it was performed during the Bema, the main Manichaean holiday. The fragment’s paper, ink, handwriting, and the Chinese text on the recto side show that it is part of the same manuscript as the fragment M 4590 belonging to the Berlin Turfan Collection, and that the manuscript seems to have been a list of hymns to be performed during the Bema holiday.

Among the fragments of Sogdian medical texts is what seems to be a collection of gynaecological prescriptions, including a recipe for the restoration of virginity. In addition to providing an edition and translation of the text, we attempt to set it within a comparative context including recipes for virginal simulation occuring in Arabic, Chagatai, Greek, and Latin medieval works. Finally, we identify the text as, like much of Sogdian medicine, possible Sanskrit origin, and give an overview of the Sogdian medical fragments so far identified.