máni

Mâni, with diacritics, is a transliteration variant of Mani that appears in several languages and cultural contexts. It can refer to a historical figure, a personal name, or a form of traditional verse, depending on language and usage.

The most prominent reference is Mani (c. 216–272 CE), the prophet and founder of Manichaeism. Mani proposed a dualistic cosmology in which light and darkness are in endless conflict. He traveled widely along ancient trade routes to teach his synthesis of Christian, Zoroastrian, and Buddhist elements. After his death, Manichaeism spread across the Roman and Persian spheres and reached Central and East Asia before later suppression by various authorities. The tradition influenced later religious thought and literature, even as it declined as a public movement.

As a given name or surname, Mâni is used in several cultures, particularly in South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the Balkans. A widely known bearer is Mani Ratnam (born 1956), an Indian film director and producer celebrated for films such as Roja and Bombay. The name appears in other contexts as well, reflecting regional naming practices rather than a single, unified identity.

In Turkish and related Turkic literatures, mani (also written manî) denotes a traditional short verse form, typically a four-line stanza used in folk songs and oral storytelling. The form occupies a place in cultural and literary history and is studied in the context of regional poetics and heritage.

Because Mâni traverses multiple languages and traditions, its precise meaning is usually clear only from accompanying text or cultural context.