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Pihta

Mandaean sacramental bread

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated August 17, 2026
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In Mandaeism, the pihta (Classical Mandaic: ࡐࡉࡄࡕࡀ, lit. 'opened; something broken apart or into pieces') is a type of sacramental bread used with rituals performed by Mandaean priests. It is a small, round, biscuit-sized flatbread that can either be salted or saltless, depending on whether the ritual use of the pihta is for living or dead people.

The pihta is not to be confused with the faṭira, a small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuit also used in Mandaean rituals.

01Description

The pihta, as used in rituals for living people such as the masbuta, is a small, round, salted, biscuit-sized flatbread made by mixing flour and salt with water, followed by baking. It can only be made by Mandaean priests, and the flour is also ground by priests. Unlike the faṭira, which is saltless sacramental bread used for the masiqta, the pihta (as used in masbuta rituals) is salted (with salt mixed into the dough before baking), since salt (mihla) represents symbolizes the soul according to the Alma Rišaia Rba. However, pihta is also used during masiqta rituals. In this case, the pihta is not salted, since the lack of salt symbolizes the departure of the soul from the body. (See also: blessed salt)

02Ritual usage

Every Sunday, Mandaeans participate in a baptismal mass (maṣbuta) involving immersion in flowing water (yardna) by ordained priests. The baptized then consume pieces of salted pihta blessed by a priest in order to restore their connections (laufa) with the World of Light (see Mandaean cosmology).

Saltless pihta is also used in masiqta rituals.

03Associated ritual objects

The brihi is a ritual clay fire saucer. Its narrow end faces north. The brihi is used for the pihta and riha.

The gišar is a stone flour mill that can only be used by priests for grinding sacramental flour.

04Prayers

Various prayers in the Qulasta, including prayers 36, 45 and 59, are recited during the sacrament of the pihta.

Watch videos about PihtaExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Pihta”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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