SAMAN or Sabean, the people of Saba in Yemen, the traditional descendants of Saba or Sheba, the rulers of the Cushite kingdom in Southern Ambia, now. known as the Himyarite. They are quite distinct from the Sabians men tioned in the Komn. Sabrean is a term which has been variously applied to the ancient in habitants of Southern Arabia; also to the philo sophical seamier' of Baran ; and likewise also to the pseudo-Christian remains of Babylonian astrolatry. The Arabian writers, on the other hand, apply it to tho pagans of all parts of the world, to all who are neither Jew, Zoroastrian, Christian, or Muhammadan. Tho true Salxrans of to-day aro the ‘Subba ' of Mesopotamia. They are descendants of the Nabatlimana, the Chaldmans. They have a great reverence for the planets ; they call themselves Mandwans (Mando-Yahya, disciples of John), and they have various sacred books ; but though called Christians of St. John, they aro Chaldees in speech and religion. They have 360 divinities, amongst whom are Yahya, also Bab ram Rabba and God, whom they style Alaha. In the environs of Babylon they retain a great number of Babylonian religious traditions ; they designate tho tree of life in their Scriptures as Setarvan. Sabmism was formerly re-introduced in Kuseem by Darim, about the year 1200, and prevailed till the Wahabee revival. In the Vedic Sabmanism only the elemental powers aro invoked. Sabrean worship once extensively prevailed in South America. There is a curious passage in Tavernier concerning the aversion of the Sabxans to blue ; and there exists a similar antipathy among the Kurdish sect of the Yezdi (who appear to have been once Christians) for that colour, grounded on a different, although not less absurd, reason. Tavernier makes inention of another peculiarity of the Sabreans, and calls it the cere peony of the fowl, which their priests alone have the right to kill ; but he does not explain in what this ceremony consists, so that we cannot now judge whether it has any connection with a cus tom prevalent among the Yezdi. Ambian authors
who lived with the Sabxans state unanimously that they worshipped the seven planets (Masud', p. 218), and that their faith did not inaterially differ from that of the Chaldseans. It resembled that of the idolatrous nations around them ; they addressed their devotions to numerous deities, of which the principal were represented by tho sun, moon, and stars ; but there were many who ac knowledged one deity as the supreme Lord of the universe. They believed in the immortality of the soul, and a future state of rewards and punish ments, while many held the doctrine of trans migration. The Sabwan, called Sabi by Muharn madans, who are known to Europa as the Nazarenes, also Christians of St. John, designate themselves Mandrean. They are in two small tribes of artisans, about 4000 in number, one tribe settled in Haran and one in Babylonia ; those of Haran only took tho name of Sabrean in A.D. 830, during the khalifat of 3famun, in order to bring themselvea within the 5th Sum of the Koran, which recognised as people of the faith, Jews, Sabreans, and Christians. Those of Hamn have a confused belief framed of biblical legends, Jewish ceremonial laws, Greek gods. Those of Babylonia speak an Aramaic dialect closely allied to Syriac and Chaldee. They have two Scripture books,—one the Sidra Rabba, also Ginza or Treasure, and the other the Qolasta hymns. John the Baptist is their lawgiver. They have frequent baptizinp and purifications by ablutions.—.4s. Res. ii. p. 374. See Ali Bahl; Veda; Yezdi.