The Hymn of the First Primal Man
Gnostic Manichaean Teachings
In the Living Gods, Let the hallowed Light of Transcendant Truth be praised. Let the Sweet Mystery of Miryai awaken in the heart of hearts.
The Hymn of the First Primal Man
The good God, the highest of the gods,
a diadem and eternal glory, blissful among the
lights,
was proud and happy when you was born in his
realm.
The twelve sons and the aeons of the aeons of
the vast
air were also happy.
All gods and the inhabitants of his realm -
the mountains, trees, springs , the broad strong
palaces
and halls, were happy through you, Friend.
When the lovely women and girls born of the Sense
saw you,
they praised you, blessed you , perfect youth.
Songs filled the air. Tambourine, harp, and flute
exploded.
All gods stood before you, Prince, son of a king.
Voices ring from the vast air, songs from the
Light-Earth,
tell the Father of Light;
Born is the battler who make peace.
The all-good highest of the gods gives you three
tasks;
Destroy death, strike the enemies, and cover
the whole
Paradise of Light! You paid homage and went out
for battle
and covered the whole Paradise of Light.
The tyrant prince was bound forever and the dwelling
place
of the Dark Ones was destroyed.
The Light Friend, Primal Man, remained until
he carried
out his fathers will.
There is a female counterpart to the Primal Man, the Primal Woman.
She has five powers just like the Primal Man:
- "In fact, male/female pairs seem to hâve played an important
rôle in some early streams of Manichaean discourse at the level of
the third and even the first évocations. ("Another, albeit ambiguous,
pièce of évidence which points to the importance of male-female
pairs in early Manichaean discourse can be found in the Psalm-book. According
to "Berna Psalm" 223, the Father sent forth his "strong son" (cyHpe MXCDpe)
to counter the dark invasion. The son, however, produces someone called
"his virgin" (TecrrTà.p©eNOC), who is, just like First Man,
equipped with "five powers" ('f'e NÔA.M) in order to battle with
the forces of darkness (2Ps 10.6-9). Then, the psalmist records how First
Man (hère called the "watcher" [TTMâ.2l.3i.ÏTCJ]), in
an action reminiscent of the Third Messenger, reveals "his Maiden" to the
dark powers, causing them to go mad with désire (2Ps 10.10-14).
This idea, also attested in a recently discovered Manichaean text from
Kellis, where a féminine being addressed as ÎÏÔTVUX
("lady") is depicted as clothing herself in the Five Eléments and
going out to meet the powers of darkness (see Gardner and Worp, "Leaves
from a Manichaean Codex," 148-151), that it was a pair of beings who actually
when out to meet the darkness, may reflect some very early stratum of early
Manichaean discourse in which the principal beings of each évocation
where conceived of as male/female pairs." -- Five-Part
Numeric Patterning in the ManichaeanKephalaia, www.theses.ulaval.ca/2006/23889/23889.pdf,
by T PETTIPIECE - ?2006
