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(Redirected from Mandaeanism)
'Mandaeism' or 'Mandaeanism' is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the 'Mandaeans', revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. They describe Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad as false Prophets. Mandaeans consider John the Baptist to be God's most honorable messenger.
Worldwide, there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans.1 Mandaeism has historically been practiced primarily in the country around the lower Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab. This area is currently part of southern Iraq[2] and the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Persecution in Iraq and Iran[3] has caused many Mandaeans to leave for diaspora populations in Europe, Australia, and North America. Also, as of early 2007, most Iraqi Mandaeans have fled to Syria and Jordan under the threat of violence by Islamic extremists.[4]
The Mandaeans have remained separate and intensely private—what has been reported of them and their religion has come primarily from outsiders, particularly from the Orientalists J. Heinrich Petermann, Nicholas Siouffi, and Lady Ethel Drower.
The term "Mandaeism" comes from Mandaic: 'mandaiuta' (Arabic 'مندائية' Manda'eyya, classical Mandaic 'mandaiia', Neo-Mandaic ''Mandeyānā''), meaning followers of ''Mandā d-Heyyi'' (Mandaic 'manda ' "Knowledge of Life"). In Islam, the term ''Sabian'' (Arabic: صابئين) is used as a blanket term for adherents to a number of religions, including that of the Mandaeans.
On the basis of cognates in other Aramaic dialects, Semitists such as Mark Lidzbarski and Rudolf Macuch have translated the term 'manda', from which 'mandaiia' "Mandaeans" is derived, as "knowledge" (cf. Biblical Aramaic מַנְדַּע '' in Dan. 2:21, 4:31, 33, 5:12; cpr. Hebrew מַדַּע '', with the typical assimilation of /n/). If this translation is correct, it would make the Mandaeans the sole sect from late Antiquity to identify themselves as Gnostics. Certainly, the Mandaean religion shares much with the ensemble of sects labelled as Gnostics, which date to the 1st c. AD and the following centuries; however, there are crucial differences, particularly in the realm of the behavioral ethics of the laity.
It should be emphasized that this identification is largely a product of western scholarship, and was not current in the Mandaean community itself until recently. Other scholars derive the term 'mandaiia' from 'manda ', ( "Knowledge of Life", with reference to the chief divinity 'hiia rbia' "the Great Life") or from the word '(bi)manda', which is the cultic hut in which many Mandaean ceremonies are performed (such as the baptism, which is the central sacrament of Mandaean religious life). This last term is possibly to be derived from Pahlavi 'm’nd' ''mānd'' "house."
Mandaeism, as the religion of the Mandaean people, is based more on a common heritage than on any set of religious creeds and doctrines. A basic guide to Mandaean theology does not exist. The corpus of Mandaean literature, though quite large, covers topics such as eschatology, the knowledge of God, the afterlife only in an unsystematic manner, and, apart from the priesthood, is known only to a few laypeople.
According to E.S. Drower in the introduction to ''The Secret Adam'' (p. xvi), the Mandaean Gnosis is characterized by nine features, which appear in various forms in other gnostic sects:
# A supreme formless Entity, the expression of which in time and space is creation of spiritual, etheric, and material worlds and beings. Production of these is delegated by It to a creator or creators who originated in It. The cosmos is created by Archetypal Man, who produces it in similitude to his own shape.
# Dualism: a cosmic Father and Mother, Light and Darkness, Right and Left, syzygy in cosmic and microcosmic form.
# As a feature of this dualism, counter-types, a world of ideas.
# The soul is portrayed as an exile, a captive: her home and origin being the supreme Entity to which she eventually returns.
# Planets and stars influence fate and human beings, and are also places of detention after death.
# A saviour spirit or saviour spirits which assist the soul on her journey through life and after it to 'worlds of light'.
# A cult-language of symbol and metaphor. Ideas and qualities are personified.
# 'Mysteries', i.e. sacraments to aid and purify the soul, to ensure her rebirth into a spiritual body, and her ascent from the world of matter. These are often adaptations of existing seasonal and traditional rites to which an esoteric interpretation is attached. In the case of the Naoreans this interpretation is based upon the Creation story (see 1 and 2), especially on the Divine Man, Adam, as crowned and anointed King-priest.
# Great secrecy is enjoined upon initiates; full explanation of 1, 2, and 8 being reserved for those considered able to understand and preserve the gnosis.
Mandaeans believe in marriage and procreation, and in the importance of leading an ethical and moral lifestyle in this world, placing a high priority upon family life. Consequently, Mandaeans do not practice celibacy or asceticism. Mandaeans will, however, abstain from strong drink and red meat. While they agree with other gnostic sects that the world is a prison governed by the planetary archons, they do not view it as a cruel and inhospitable one.
The Mandaeans have a large corpus of religious scriptures, the most important of which is the ''Genzā Rabbā'' or Ginza, a collection of history, theology, and prayers. The ''Genzā Rabbā'' is divided into two halves — the ''Genzā Smālā'' or "Left Ginza" and the ''Genzā Yeminā'' or "Right Ginza". By consulting the colophons in the Left Ginza, Jorunn J. Buckley has identified an uninterrupted chain of copyists to the late 2nd or early 3rd c. AD. The colophons attest to the existence of the Mandaeans during the late Arsacid period at the very latest, a fact corroborated by the ''Harrān Gāwetā'' legend, according to which the Mandaeans left Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 1st c. AD, and settled within the Arsacid empire. Although the Ginza continued to evolve under the rule of the Sassanians and the Islamic empires, few textual traditions can lay claim to such extensive continuity.
Other important books include the ''Qolastā'', the "Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans," which was translated by E.S. Drower. One of the chief works of Mandaean scripture, accessible to laymen and initiates alike, is the 'draša ', the book of John the Baptist, which includes a dialog between John and Jesus. In addition to these works, there are also many other religious texts such as ritual commentaries, which are generally only consulted by the members of the priesthood. The language in which the Mandaean religious literature was originally composed is known as Mandaic, and is a member of the Aramaic family of dialects. It is written in a cursive variant of the Parthian chancery script. The majority of Mandaean lay people do not speak this language, though some members of the Mandaean community resident in Iran (ca. 300-500 out of a total of ca. 5,000 Iranian Mandaeans) continue to speak Neo-Mandaic, a modern version of this language.
As noted above (under Mandaean Beliefs) Mandaean theology is not systematic. There is no one single authoritative account of the creation of the cosmos, but rather a series of several accounts. Some scholars, such as Edmondo Lupieri, maintain that comparison of these different accounts may reveal the diverse religious influences upon which the Mandaeans have drawn and the ways in which the Mandaean religion has evolved over time.[5]
On the other hand, modern mystics such as Steve Wilson have suggested that these may be more akin to meditation manuals resembling the Merkabah and Heikhalot texts of first millennium Jewish mysticism, than explanatory texts for the entire faith.
In contrast with the religious texts of the western Gnostic sects formerly found in Syria and Egypt, the earliest Mandaean religious texts suggest a more strictly dualistic theology, typical of other Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and the teachings of Mazdak. In these texts, instead of a large pleroma, there is a discrete division between ''light'' and ''darkness''. The ruler of darkness is called ''Ptahil'' (similar to the Gnostic Demiurge), and the originator of the light (i.e. God) is only known as "the great first Life from the worlds of light, the sublime one that stands above all works". When this being emanated, other spiritual beings became increasingly corrupted, and they and their ruler Ptahil created our world. The similarity between the name Ptahil and the Egyptian Ptah, followed by the semitic -il added to "spiritualise" a word should also be noted - the Mandaeans believe that they were resident in Egypt for a while.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that Ptahil alone does not constitute the demiurge but only that he fills that role insofar as he is the creator of our world. Rather, Ptahil is the lowest of a group of three 'demiurgic' beings, the other two being Yushamin (a.k.a. Joshamin) and Abathur. Abathur's demiurgic role consists of his sitting in judgment upon the souls of mortals. The role of Yushamin, the senior being, is more obscure; wanting to create a world of his own, he was severely punished for opposing the King of Light.
Mandaeans recognize several prophets, among whom John the Baptist (Mandaic 'Iahia Iuhana') is accorded a special status, higher than his role in Christianity and Islam. In contrast to common belief, Mandaeans do not consider John the Baptist to be the founder of their religion but merely revere him as one of their greatest teachers, tracing their beliefs back to Adam.
Mandaeans maintain that Jesus was a 'mšiha kdaba' or "false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by John. The word 'k(a)daba', however, derives from two roots in Mandaic: the first root, meaning "to lie," is the one traditionally ascribed to Jesus; the second, meaning "to write," might provide a second meaning, that of "book;" hence some Mandaeans, motivated perhaps by an ecumenical spirit, maintain that Jesus was not a "lying Messiah" but a "Book Messiah", the "book" in question presumably being the Christian Gospels. This however seems to be a folk etymology without support in the Mandaean texts.[6]
Likewise, the Mandaeans believe that Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad were false prophets, but recognize other prophetic figures from the monotheistic traditions, such as 'Adam', his sons 'Hibil' (Abel) and 'Šitil' (Seth), and his grandson 'Anuš' (Enosh), as well as 'Nuh' (Noah), his son 'Sam' (Shem), and his son 'Ram' (Aram). The latter three they consider to be their direct ancestors.
There is a strict division between Mandaean laity and the priests. According to E.S. Drower (''The Secret Adam'', p. ix):
:[T]hose amongst the community who possess secret knowledge are called ''Nauraiia'' - Naoreans (or, if the heavy '' is written as 'z', Nazorenes). At the same time the ignorant or semi-ignorant laity are called 'Mandaeans', ''Mandaiia'' - 'gnostics'. When a man becomes a priest he leaves 'Mandaeanism' and enters ''tarmiduta'', 'priesthood'. Even then he has not attained to true enlightenment, for this, called 'Nairuta', is reserved for a very few. Those possessed of its secrets may call themselves Naoreans, and 'Naorean' today indicates not only one who observes strictly all rules of ritual purity, but one who understands the secret doctrine.
There are three grades of priesthood in Mandaeism: the 'tarmidia' (Neo-Mandaic ''tarmidānā'') or "disciples", the 'ganzibria' (Neo-Mandaic '') or "treasurers," and the 'rišamma' or "leader of the people." This last office, the highest level of the Mandaean priesthood, has lain vacant for many years. At the moment, the highest office currently occupied is that of the '', a title which appears first in a religious context in the Aramaic ritual texts from Persepolis (ca. 3rd c. BCE) and which may be related to ''Kamnaskires'' (from Elamite ''kapnušgir'' "treasurer"), the title of the rulers of Elymais (modern Khuzestan) during the Hellenistic age. Traditionally, any '' who baptizes seven or more '' may qualify for the office of 'rišamma', though the Mandaean community has yet to rally as a whole behind any single candidate.
The modern priesthood dates to the first half of the 19th century. In 1831, an outbreak of cholera devastated the region and eliminated most if not all of the Mandaean religious authorities. Two of the surviving acolytes ('šgandia'), Yahia Bihram and Ram Zihrun, reestablished the priesthood on the basis of their own training and the texts that were available to them.
According to the ''Fihrist'' of ibn al-Nadim, Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, was brought up within the Elkasaites (''Elcesaites'' or ''Elchasaite'') sect. The Elkasaites were a Christian baptismal sect which may have been related to the Mandaeans. The members of this sect, like the Mandaeans, wore white and performed baptisms. They dwelled in east Judea and northern Mesopotamia, whence the Mandaeans claim to have migrated to southern Mesopotamia, according to the ''Harran Gawaitā'' legend. Mani later left the Elkasaites to found his own religion. In a remarkable comparative analysis, Mandaean scholar Säve-Söderberg demonstrated that Mani's ''Psalms of Thomas'' were closely related to Mandaean texts. This would imply that Mani had access to Mandaean religious literature. This leads to the question of just how close the origins of the Elkasaites, the Manichaeans, and the Mandaeans are to one other.
Within the Middle East, but outside of their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the ''ubba'' (singular ''ubbī''). Likewise, their Muslim neighbors will refer to them collectively as the Sabians (Arabic الصابئون ''), in reference to the of the Qur'an. Occasionally, the Mandaeans are also called the "Christians of St. John" (a misnomer, since they are not Christians), based upon preliminary reports made by members of the Barefoot Carmelite mission in Basra during the 16th century.
Other groups which have been identified with the Mandaeans include the "Nasoraeans" described by Epiphanius and the Dositheans mentioned by Theodore Bar Kōnī in his ''Scholion''. Ibn al-Nadim also mentions a group called the ''Mughtasila'', "the self-ablutionists," who may be identified with one or the other of these groups. The members of this sect, like the Mandaeans, wore white and performed baptisms.
Whether it can be said that the Elkasaites, the Mughtasila, the Nasoraeans, and/or the Dositheans are to be identified with the Mandaeans is a separate question. While it seems certain that a number of distinct groups are intended by these names, the nature of their sects and the connections between them are less than clear.
The Mandaean canon is also utilized by a modern religious movement called the Order of Nazoraean Essenes; material from the former can be found on the latter's websites. This latter movement however is entirely independent of Mandaeism.
Today (early 2007) Mandaeans in Iraq are being subjected to forced conversions, rape and murder by Islamic extremists. There are also reports of attacks on women who refuse to veil themselves. Most Iraqi Mandaeans have fled as a result, and the Mandaean community in Iraq faces extinction.4[7]
Mandaeans in Iran are not subject to sectarian violence as they are in Iraq, but are prohibited from fully participating in civil life in Iran by the ''Gozinesh'' Law (passed in 1985). This law and other ''gozinesh'' provisions make access to employment, education, and a range of other areas conditional upon a rigorous ideological screening, the principal prerequisite for which is devotion to the tenets of Islam.[8] These laws are regularly applied to discriminate against religious and ethnic groups that are not officially recognized, such as the Mandaeans.3
Out of the over 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq in the early 1990s, only about 5,000 to 7,000 remain there; as of early 2007, over 80% of Iraqi Mandaeans are now refugees in Syria and Jordan. There are small Mandaean diaspora populations in Australia (c. 3,500 as of 2006), Canada, the USA (c. 1,500) and Sweden (c. 5,000).4[9][10][11][12]
According to a 10 February 2007 Associated Press article by Chris Newmarker, many of the roughly 1,500 Mandaeans living in the United States are professionals including physicians, engineers and jewelers. One concern of Mandaeans is assimilation into American culture, especially intermarriage. For mixed marriages, the Mandaean religion has "no mechanism to bring their children into the fold. [...] [T]he religion's few dozen priests [are] reluctant to bring in the children of mixed marriages [...]"
According to a National Public Radio story, Mandaeans are the chief gold traders in Iraq.
A ''darfash'', "a cross with cloth hanging off it" is used by Mandaeans as a symbol of their religion.9
★ John the Baptist
★ Johannites
★ Jerusalem in Mandaeanism
★ Manicheism
★ Mazdakism
★ Yazdanism
★ Zoroastrianism
★ Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
★ Proto-Indo-European religion
Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. 2002. ''The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buckley. J.J. "Mandaeans" in ''Encyclopedia Iranica'' [3]
Drower, Ethel Stefana. 2002. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore'' (reprint). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
Newmarker, Chris, Associated Press article, "Faith under fire: Iraq war threatens extinction for ancient religious group" (headline in ''The Advocate'' of Stamford, Connecticut, page A12, February 10, 2007)
Petermann, J. Heinrich. 2007 ''The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans'' (reprint of ''Thesaurus s. Liber Magni''). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
Yamauchi, Edwin. 2004. ''Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins'' (reprint). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
1. Iraqi minority group needs U.S. attention, Kai Thaler, ''Yale Daily News'', March 9, 2007.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Iraq_demography.jpg
3. Iran, Amnesty International report, 2005.
4. Iraq's Mandaeans 'face extinction', Angus Crawford, BBC, March 4, 2007.
5. The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics, , Edmondo, Lupieri, Eerdmans, 2002,
6. Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic, , Rudolf, Macuch, De Gruyter & Co., 1965,
7. [1]
8. [2]
9. Survival of Ancient Faith Threatened by Fighting in Iraq, Chris Newmarker, Associated Press. February 10, 2007.
10. The Plight of Iraq's Mandeans, John Bolender. Counterpunch.org, January 8/9, 2005.
11. An exodus to Sweden from Iraq for ethnic Mandaeans, Ivar Ekman. International Herald Tribune, April 9, 2007.
12. Mandaeans persecuted in Iraq. ABC Radio National (Australia), June 7, 2006.
★ Mandaean Association Union - The Mandaean Association Union is an international federation which strives for unification of Mandaeans around the globe. Information in English and Arabic.
★ Mandaean World- Information on the Mandaeans including history, the Mandaic language and Literature.
★ Mandaean scriptures: ''Ginza Rba'' and ''Haran Gawaitha'' texts and fragments -- Take note the book titled Ginza Rba is not the Ginza Rba but is instead "The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans" as translated by E.S Drower.
★ Gnostic John the Baptizer: Selections from the Mandæan John-Book: This is the complete 1924 edition of G.R.S. Mead's classic study of the Mandæan John-Book (in The Gnosis Archive collection - www.gnosis.org).
★ Extracts from E. S. Drower, ''Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,'' Leiden, 1962
★ An Ancient Religion Endangered by Iraq War - A video by News21.
★ BBC: Iraq chaos threatens ancient faith
★ BBC: Iraq's Mandaeans 'face extinction'
'Mandaeism' or 'Mandaeanism' is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the 'Mandaeans', revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. They describe Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad as false Prophets. Mandaeans consider John the Baptist to be God's most honorable messenger.
Worldwide, there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans.1 Mandaeism has historically been practiced primarily in the country around the lower Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab. This area is currently part of southern Iraq[2] and the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Persecution in Iraq and Iran[3] has caused many Mandaeans to leave for diaspora populations in Europe, Australia, and North America. Also, as of early 2007, most Iraqi Mandaeans have fled to Syria and Jordan under the threat of violence by Islamic extremists.[4]
The Mandaeans have remained separate and intensely private—what has been reported of them and their religion has come primarily from outsiders, particularly from the Orientalists J. Heinrich Petermann, Nicholas Siouffi, and Lady Ethel Drower.
The term "Mandaeism" comes from Mandaic: 'mandaiuta' (Arabic 'مندائية' Manda'eyya, classical Mandaic 'mandaiia', Neo-Mandaic ''Mandeyānā''), meaning followers of ''Mandā d-Heyyi'' (Mandaic 'manda ' "Knowledge of Life"). In Islam, the term ''Sabian'' (Arabic: صابئين) is used as a blanket term for adherents to a number of religions, including that of the Mandaeans.
Origin of the term 'Mandaean'
On the basis of cognates in other Aramaic dialects, Semitists such as Mark Lidzbarski and Rudolf Macuch have translated the term 'manda', from which 'mandaiia' "Mandaeans" is derived, as "knowledge" (cf. Biblical Aramaic מַנְדַּע '' in Dan. 2:21, 4:31, 33, 5:12; cpr. Hebrew מַדַּע '', with the typical assimilation of /n/). If this translation is correct, it would make the Mandaeans the sole sect from late Antiquity to identify themselves as Gnostics. Certainly, the Mandaean religion shares much with the ensemble of sects labelled as Gnostics, which date to the 1st c. AD and the following centuries; however, there are crucial differences, particularly in the realm of the behavioral ethics of the laity.
It should be emphasized that this identification is largely a product of western scholarship, and was not current in the Mandaean community itself until recently. Other scholars derive the term 'mandaiia' from 'manda ', ( "Knowledge of Life", with reference to the chief divinity 'hiia rbia' "the Great Life") or from the word '(bi)manda', which is the cultic hut in which many Mandaean ceremonies are performed (such as the baptism, which is the central sacrament of Mandaean religious life). This last term is possibly to be derived from Pahlavi 'm’nd' ''mānd'' "house."
Mandaean beliefs
Mandaeism, as the religion of the Mandaean people, is based more on a common heritage than on any set of religious creeds and doctrines. A basic guide to Mandaean theology does not exist. The corpus of Mandaean literature, though quite large, covers topics such as eschatology, the knowledge of God, the afterlife only in an unsystematic manner, and, apart from the priesthood, is known only to a few laypeople.
Fundamental tenets
According to E.S. Drower in the introduction to ''The Secret Adam'' (p. xvi), the Mandaean Gnosis is characterized by nine features, which appear in various forms in other gnostic sects:
# A supreme formless Entity, the expression of which in time and space is creation of spiritual, etheric, and material worlds and beings. Production of these is delegated by It to a creator or creators who originated in It. The cosmos is created by Archetypal Man, who produces it in similitude to his own shape.
# Dualism: a cosmic Father and Mother, Light and Darkness, Right and Left, syzygy in cosmic and microcosmic form.
# As a feature of this dualism, counter-types, a world of ideas.
# The soul is portrayed as an exile, a captive: her home and origin being the supreme Entity to which she eventually returns.
# Planets and stars influence fate and human beings, and are also places of detention after death.
# A saviour spirit or saviour spirits which assist the soul on her journey through life and after it to 'worlds of light'.
# A cult-language of symbol and metaphor. Ideas and qualities are personified.
# 'Mysteries', i.e. sacraments to aid and purify the soul, to ensure her rebirth into a spiritual body, and her ascent from the world of matter. These are often adaptations of existing seasonal and traditional rites to which an esoteric interpretation is attached. In the case of the Naoreans this interpretation is based upon the Creation story (see 1 and 2), especially on the Divine Man, Adam, as crowned and anointed King-priest.
# Great secrecy is enjoined upon initiates; full explanation of 1, 2, and 8 being reserved for those considered able to understand and preserve the gnosis.
Mandaeans believe in marriage and procreation, and in the importance of leading an ethical and moral lifestyle in this world, placing a high priority upon family life. Consequently, Mandaeans do not practice celibacy or asceticism. Mandaeans will, however, abstain from strong drink and red meat. While they agree with other gnostic sects that the world is a prison governed by the planetary archons, they do not view it as a cruel and inhospitable one.
Mandaean scriptures
The Mandaeans have a large corpus of religious scriptures, the most important of which is the ''Genzā Rabbā'' or Ginza, a collection of history, theology, and prayers. The ''Genzā Rabbā'' is divided into two halves — the ''Genzā Smālā'' or "Left Ginza" and the ''Genzā Yeminā'' or "Right Ginza". By consulting the colophons in the Left Ginza, Jorunn J. Buckley has identified an uninterrupted chain of copyists to the late 2nd or early 3rd c. AD. The colophons attest to the existence of the Mandaeans during the late Arsacid period at the very latest, a fact corroborated by the ''Harrān Gāwetā'' legend, according to which the Mandaeans left Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 1st c. AD, and settled within the Arsacid empire. Although the Ginza continued to evolve under the rule of the Sassanians and the Islamic empires, few textual traditions can lay claim to such extensive continuity.
Other important books include the ''Qolastā'', the "Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans," which was translated by E.S. Drower. One of the chief works of Mandaean scripture, accessible to laymen and initiates alike, is the 'draša ', the book of John the Baptist, which includes a dialog between John and Jesus. In addition to these works, there are also many other religious texts such as ritual commentaries, which are generally only consulted by the members of the priesthood. The language in which the Mandaean religious literature was originally composed is known as Mandaic, and is a member of the Aramaic family of dialects. It is written in a cursive variant of the Parthian chancery script. The majority of Mandaean lay people do not speak this language, though some members of the Mandaean community resident in Iran (ca. 300-500 out of a total of ca. 5,000 Iranian Mandaeans) continue to speak Neo-Mandaic, a modern version of this language.
Cosmology
As noted above (under Mandaean Beliefs) Mandaean theology is not systematic. There is no one single authoritative account of the creation of the cosmos, but rather a series of several accounts. Some scholars, such as Edmondo Lupieri, maintain that comparison of these different accounts may reveal the diverse religious influences upon which the Mandaeans have drawn and the ways in which the Mandaean religion has evolved over time.[5]
On the other hand, modern mystics such as Steve Wilson have suggested that these may be more akin to meditation manuals resembling the Merkabah and Heikhalot texts of first millennium Jewish mysticism, than explanatory texts for the entire faith.
In contrast with the religious texts of the western Gnostic sects formerly found in Syria and Egypt, the earliest Mandaean religious texts suggest a more strictly dualistic theology, typical of other Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and the teachings of Mazdak. In these texts, instead of a large pleroma, there is a discrete division between ''light'' and ''darkness''. The ruler of darkness is called ''Ptahil'' (similar to the Gnostic Demiurge), and the originator of the light (i.e. God) is only known as "the great first Life from the worlds of light, the sublime one that stands above all works". When this being emanated, other spiritual beings became increasingly corrupted, and they and their ruler Ptahil created our world. The similarity between the name Ptahil and the Egyptian Ptah, followed by the semitic -il added to "spiritualise" a word should also be noted - the Mandaeans believe that they were resident in Egypt for a while.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that Ptahil alone does not constitute the demiurge but only that he fills that role insofar as he is the creator of our world. Rather, Ptahil is the lowest of a group of three 'demiurgic' beings, the other two being Yushamin (a.k.a. Joshamin) and Abathur. Abathur's demiurgic role consists of his sitting in judgment upon the souls of mortals. The role of Yushamin, the senior being, is more obscure; wanting to create a world of his own, he was severely punished for opposing the King of Light.
Chief prophets
Mandaeans recognize several prophets, among whom John the Baptist (Mandaic 'Iahia Iuhana') is accorded a special status, higher than his role in Christianity and Islam. In contrast to common belief, Mandaeans do not consider John the Baptist to be the founder of their religion but merely revere him as one of their greatest teachers, tracing their beliefs back to Adam.
Mandaeans maintain that Jesus was a 'mšiha kdaba' or "false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by John. The word 'k(a)daba', however, derives from two roots in Mandaic: the first root, meaning "to lie," is the one traditionally ascribed to Jesus; the second, meaning "to write," might provide a second meaning, that of "book;" hence some Mandaeans, motivated perhaps by an ecumenical spirit, maintain that Jesus was not a "lying Messiah" but a "Book Messiah", the "book" in question presumably being the Christian Gospels. This however seems to be a folk etymology without support in the Mandaean texts.[6]
Likewise, the Mandaeans believe that Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad were false prophets, but recognize other prophetic figures from the monotheistic traditions, such as 'Adam', his sons 'Hibil' (Abel) and 'Šitil' (Seth), and his grandson 'Anuš' (Enosh), as well as 'Nuh' (Noah), his son 'Sam' (Shem), and his son 'Ram' (Aram). The latter three they consider to be their direct ancestors.
Priests and laymen
There is a strict division between Mandaean laity and the priests. According to E.S. Drower (''The Secret Adam'', p. ix):
:[T]hose amongst the community who possess secret knowledge are called ''Nauraiia'' - Naoreans (or, if the heavy '' is written as 'z', Nazorenes). At the same time the ignorant or semi-ignorant laity are called 'Mandaeans', ''Mandaiia'' - 'gnostics'. When a man becomes a priest he leaves 'Mandaeanism' and enters ''tarmiduta'', 'priesthood'. Even then he has not attained to true enlightenment, for this, called 'Nairuta', is reserved for a very few. Those possessed of its secrets may call themselves Naoreans, and 'Naorean' today indicates not only one who observes strictly all rules of ritual purity, but one who understands the secret doctrine.
There are three grades of priesthood in Mandaeism: the 'tarmidia' (Neo-Mandaic ''tarmidānā'') or "disciples", the 'ganzibria' (Neo-Mandaic '') or "treasurers," and the 'rišamma' or "leader of the people." This last office, the highest level of the Mandaean priesthood, has lain vacant for many years. At the moment, the highest office currently occupied is that of the '', a title which appears first in a religious context in the Aramaic ritual texts from Persepolis (ca. 3rd c. BCE) and which may be related to ''Kamnaskires'' (from Elamite
The modern priesthood dates to the first half of the 19th century. In 1831, an outbreak of cholera devastated the region and eliminated most if not all of the Mandaean religious authorities. Two of the surviving acolytes ('šgandia'), Yahia Bihram and Ram Zihrun, reestablished the priesthood on the basis of their own training and the texts that were available to them.
Influences
According to the ''Fihrist'' of ibn al-Nadim, Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, was brought up within the Elkasaites (''Elcesaites'' or ''Elchasaite'') sect. The Elkasaites were a Christian baptismal sect which may have been related to the Mandaeans. The members of this sect, like the Mandaeans, wore white and performed baptisms. They dwelled in east Judea and northern Mesopotamia, whence the Mandaeans claim to have migrated to southern Mesopotamia, according to the ''Harran Gawaitā'' legend. Mani later left the Elkasaites to found his own religion. In a remarkable comparative analysis, Mandaean scholar Säve-Söderberg demonstrated that Mani's ''Psalms of Thomas'' were closely related to Mandaean texts. This would imply that Mani had access to Mandaean religious literature. This leads to the question of just how close the origins of the Elkasaites, the Manichaeans, and the Mandaeans are to one other.
Other associated terms
Within the Middle East, but outside of their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the ''ubba'' (singular ''ubbī''). Likewise, their Muslim neighbors will refer to them collectively as the Sabians (Arabic الصابئون ''), in reference to the of the Qur'an. Occasionally, the Mandaeans are also called the "Christians of St. John" (a misnomer, since they are not Christians), based upon preliminary reports made by members of the Barefoot Carmelite mission in Basra during the 16th century.
Other groups which have been identified with the Mandaeans include the "Nasoraeans" described by Epiphanius and the Dositheans mentioned by Theodore Bar Kōnī in his ''Scholion''. Ibn al-Nadim also mentions a group called the ''Mughtasila'', "the self-ablutionists," who may be identified with one or the other of these groups. The members of this sect, like the Mandaeans, wore white and performed baptisms.
Whether it can be said that the Elkasaites, the Mughtasila, the Nasoraeans, and/or the Dositheans are to be identified with the Mandaeans is a separate question. While it seems certain that a number of distinct groups are intended by these names, the nature of their sects and the connections between them are less than clear.
The Mandaean canon is also utilized by a modern religious movement called the Order of Nazoraean Essenes; material from the former can be found on the latter's websites. This latter movement however is entirely independent of Mandaeism.
Persecution
Today (early 2007) Mandaeans in Iraq are being subjected to forced conversions, rape and murder by Islamic extremists. There are also reports of attacks on women who refuse to veil themselves. Most Iraqi Mandaeans have fled as a result, and the Mandaean community in Iraq faces extinction.4[7]
Mandaeans in Iran are not subject to sectarian violence as they are in Iraq, but are prohibited from fully participating in civil life in Iran by the ''Gozinesh'' Law (passed in 1985). This law and other ''gozinesh'' provisions make access to employment, education, and a range of other areas conditional upon a rigorous ideological screening, the principal prerequisite for which is devotion to the tenets of Islam.[8] These laws are regularly applied to discriminate against religious and ethnic groups that are not officially recognized, such as the Mandaeans.3
Diaspora
Out of the over 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq in the early 1990s, only about 5,000 to 7,000 remain there; as of early 2007, over 80% of Iraqi Mandaeans are now refugees in Syria and Jordan. There are small Mandaean diaspora populations in Australia (c. 3,500 as of 2006), Canada, the USA (c. 1,500) and Sweden (c. 5,000).4[9][10][11][12]
Sociological
According to a 10 February 2007 Associated Press article by Chris Newmarker, many of the roughly 1,500 Mandaeans living in the United States are professionals including physicians, engineers and jewelers. One concern of Mandaeans is assimilation into American culture, especially intermarriage. For mixed marriages, the Mandaean religion has "no mechanism to bring their children into the fold. [...] [T]he religion's few dozen priests [are] reluctant to bring in the children of mixed marriages [...]"
According to a National Public Radio story, Mandaeans are the chief gold traders in Iraq.
A ''darfash'', "a cross with cloth hanging off it" is used by Mandaeans as a symbol of their religion.9
See also
★ John the Baptist
★ Johannites
★ Jerusalem in Mandaeanism
Other related religions
★ Manicheism
★ Mazdakism
★ Yazdanism
★ Zoroastrianism
★ Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
★ Proto-Indo-European religion
References
Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. 2002. ''The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buckley. J.J. "Mandaeans" in ''Encyclopedia Iranica'' [3]
Drower, Ethel Stefana. 2002. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore'' (reprint). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
Newmarker, Chris, Associated Press article, "Faith under fire: Iraq war threatens extinction for ancient religious group" (headline in ''The Advocate'' of Stamford, Connecticut, page A12, February 10, 2007)
Petermann, J. Heinrich. 2007 ''The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans'' (reprint of ''Thesaurus s. Liber Magni''). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
Yamauchi, Edwin. 2004. ''Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins'' (reprint). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
1. Iraqi minority group needs U.S. attention, Kai Thaler, ''Yale Daily News'', March 9, 2007.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Iraq_demography.jpg
3. Iran, Amnesty International report, 2005.
4. Iraq's Mandaeans 'face extinction', Angus Crawford, BBC, March 4, 2007.
5. The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics, , Edmondo, Lupieri, Eerdmans, 2002,
6. Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic, , Rudolf, Macuch, De Gruyter & Co., 1965,
7. [1]
8. [2]
9. Survival of Ancient Faith Threatened by Fighting in Iraq, Chris Newmarker, Associated Press. February 10, 2007.
10. The Plight of Iraq's Mandeans, John Bolender. Counterpunch.org, January 8/9, 2005.
11. An exodus to Sweden from Iraq for ethnic Mandaeans, Ivar Ekman. International Herald Tribune, April 9, 2007.
12. Mandaeans persecuted in Iraq. ABC Radio National (Australia), June 7, 2006.
External links
★ Mandaean Association Union - The Mandaean Association Union is an international federation which strives for unification of Mandaeans around the globe. Information in English and Arabic.
★ Mandaean World- Information on the Mandaeans including history, the Mandaic language and Literature.
★ Mandaean scriptures: ''Ginza Rba'' and ''Haran Gawaitha'' texts and fragments -- Take note the book titled Ginza Rba is not the Ginza Rba but is instead "The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans" as translated by E.S Drower.
★ Gnostic John the Baptizer: Selections from the Mandæan John-Book: This is the complete 1924 edition of G.R.S. Mead's classic study of the Mandæan John-Book (in The Gnosis Archive collection - www.gnosis.org).
★ Extracts from E. S. Drower, ''Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,'' Leiden, 1962
★ An Ancient Religion Endangered by Iraq War - A video by News21.
★ BBC: Iraq chaos threatens ancient faith
★ BBC: Iraq's Mandaeans 'face extinction'
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