Mandeans

The only surviving Gnostic religion, now with not more than 20,000 adherents,
living in southern Iraq and south-western Iran. They are often called the Christians
of Saint John, as he is held as a very sacred person, but not indispensable, in their
theology. Their name is Aramaic for ‘knowledge’, i.e. a translation from the Greek
‘gnosis’.

TEACHING and PRACTICE

John the Baptist is central in their teaching, as a representative for their faith.
Jesus is also central, but he plays a totally different role than in religions like
Christianity and Islam, and is a false prophet, almost depicted as evil.
The central religious book to Mandeans is the Ginza, ‘Treasure’, containing
mythological- theological moral and narrative tractates, and hymns to be used in
the mass for the dead. There are many other, less central, books, mainly written in
East Aramaic, or Mandean is the language is also called. The content in these
books varies, and many has magical texts and exorcisms. The collection of books
started in the time of Islam, which differs strongly between ‘book-religions’ and
other religions, and the Mandeans soon fitted in to the Koranic concept of
‘Sabians’, which can be translated to ‘baptizers’.
Baptism is central to the cult of Mandeans, and the Mandean sanctuary, Mandi is a
very simple, and small, house with slanting roof. In front of this a pool, connected
to a nearby river, is placed. This one, called ‘Jordan’, is used for baptism. The
whole area is surrounded by a high fence or a wall. Baptisms are performed on
Sundays, and every believer pass through this several times every year. Mandean
baptism can be compared to the Christian communion, and the Muslim prayer,
salât. The other central ritual is the mass for the dead, with recitations form the
Ginza. The soul is released from the body the third day after the moment of death.
Meals are central in the rituals. Traditional Mandean graves were unmarked, as
what was buried was only the dark body, but in modern times, things have become
adjusted to Muslim custom.
The ethics of Mandeans are not all too different from Jewish ethics, and the same
rules applied to all. Monogamy, dietary laws, ritual slaughtering, alms-giving are
central acts.
Cosmos, according to the Mandeans, is made up of two forces, the world of light,
located to the north, and the world of darkness, located to the south. There is a
ruler to both, and around the rulers smaller gods, called kings. Between the two
forces there are hostilities, and it is in the fightings between the two that the world
is created, without the ruler of light’s permission. Man is created by the forces of
darkness, but in every man, there is a “hidden Adam”, the soul, which has its origin
in the world of light.
Death is the day of deliverance, the soul leaves the body, and starts on a
dangerous journey to the realms of light. It is only Mandeans and non-sinners who
manages to pass the whole journey — everyone else ends in hell. This hell is not
everlasting, at the end of the world, a judgement is made on who will be wiped out
for ever, and who will rise to the realms of light.

ORIGINS and HISTORY

The religion’s origin is difficult to reconstruct, as there is so much unknown. They
could be a continuation of traditions from Mesopotamia, or Palestine, or both. The
Mandean religion could be pre-Christian, or it could date to 1st or 2nd century AD.
It could actually be John the Baptist who founded the sect, or they could be a
continuation of the Jewish sect that John the Baptist belonged to (guessed to be
the Esseneans). Elements of the languages indicate that the community is of
Jewish origin.
One of the texts of the Mandeans tell about a flight of a group called ‘Nasoreans’,
from areas that probably were in today’s Jordan, to the Mesopotamian region, in
the times of the Jewish wars following the destruction of Jerusalem in year 70 AD.
The Mandeans appears first to have gained a strong position in Babylon, but lost
this with the appearance of the Sassinids in year 226. In the time of Mani, there
have been contacts between him and the Mandeans, resulting in both love and
hate.
With the arrival of Islam in Iraq, in 636, the Mandeans were considered as the third
‘people of the book’, as the mysterious Sabians of the Koran. But the Mandeans
still faced a difficult relationship with Islam, and Muhammad is in their writings
called the ‘demon Bizbat’. The Mandeans moved from the cities to the marshlands
in Southern Iraq. It is first in modern times that the Mandeans have moved back to
the cities, especially Baghdad and Basra, where they now work as gold and silver
smiths, and as iron smiths and boat builders. Mandeans are also found in medium-
sized towns between Baghdad and Basra. Some small groups of Mandeans even
live in Iran, in cities like Ahvaz and Shushtar in the south-western corner of the
country.
Today Mandean theology is seriously threatened, as recruiting new priests is
difficult, and many offices are vacant. Mandean laymen are often highly educated,
but know little of the old language and the scripts, and they attend ceremonies only
seldom, as in weddings f.x. Yet, there is a strong feeling of pride of their heritage,
and they often claim to belong to a religion older than Judaism, Christianity and
Islam.
By: Tore Kjeilen