Translations:Manāt/8/en

In Nabataea, mentions of Manāt are restricted to the northern Hejaz where She is mentioned in five Hegra tomb inscriptions. It must be significant that in four of these inscriptions She immediately follows Ḏušarē and in three of the four no other deity is mentioned. The pair are also found together in an inscription just outside of Hegra in Jabal Ithlib. One inscription invokes Her with A'ra, a deity from Bostra that was identified with Ḏušarē. Another invokes Her before Allāt. Most inscriptions in Hegra's tombs are about cursing those who might tamper with the tombs such as one in which Manāt, Ḏušarē and a mysterious deity named Qaysha are called on to "curse anyone who sells this tomb or buys it or gives it in pledge or makes a gift of it or leases it." Qaysha is also closely associated with Manāt and He appears only once in an inscription alone. He had a temple in Hegra but appears nowhere else in Nabataea. In two inscriptions (H 8 and H 16) we hear of mnwtw wqyšh "Manāt and Her Qaysha." Qaysha might mean spouse or measure so its possible Qaysha was a consort of Manāt as His name suggests. Measure might also be a reference to the measuring out of manāyā or the thread of fate. This is just speculation on my part and it should be kept in mind that Manāt also had a special relationship with Ḏušarē as pointed out above. Qaysha was only worshipped in Hegra and must be a local deity.