Adam Kasia (
Classical Mandaic: ࡀࡃࡀࡌ ࡊࡀࡎࡉࡀ; also referred to using the
portmanteauAdakasࡀࡃࡀࡊࡀࡎ or Adakas Ziwa in the Ginza Rabba[1]) means "the hidden
Adam" in
Mandaic.[2] The hidden Adam is also called Adam Qadmaiia (ࡀࡃࡀࡌ ࡒࡀࡃࡌࡀࡉࡉࡀ, "The First Adam").[2] In
Mandaeism, it means the
soul of the first man.[3] He is also identified as
Shishlam, the primordial priest.[4]
Among the Mandaeans, Adam Kasia means the soul of every human.[2][5][6]Adam Kasia shows many similarities with the Jewish idea of Adam Kadmon.[7]
Prayers in the Qolasta, such as the Asiet Malkia, also refer to Adam as "Adam the First Man" (Adam Gabra Qadmaiia).[8]The Thousand and Twelve Questions, a Mandaean priestly text, also refers to Adam Kasia as Adam-S'haq[9] ('Adam-was-bright'), Adam-S'haq-Ziwa,[3] or Adam-S'haq-Rba, who is described as the father of
Shishlam, the archetype of the prototypical Mandaean.[10]
The wife of Adam Kasia is Hawa Kasia ('hidden Eve'), also known as Hawa Ziwa ('radiant Eve') or Anana Ziwa ('radiant cloud').[11]
Manfred Lurker: A Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1987, p. 6
Gerhard J. Bellinger: Knaurs Lexikon der Mythologie. 3100 Stichwörter zu den Mythen aller Völker von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Droemer Knaur Verlag, München 1989,
ISBN3-426-26376-9.