Mandaeans

Mandaeans are a small ethnoreligious community whose tradition, Mandaeism, is a Gnostic faith with roots in the Near East. Historically centered in southern Iraq and Iran’s Khuzestan, they have preserved a distinct language, ritual life, and identity, while many have joined diaspora communities in the United States, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere.

Central to Mandaeism is Hayyi Rabbi, the Great Life, a supreme God associated with a World of Light. The faith presents a dual cosmos in which earthly beings originate from the World of Light. John the Baptist is a central figure; Jesus is not regarded as divine.

Baptism, or masbuta, is a core rite performed in flowing water by trained priests. The priesthood includes tarmida (junior priests) and Ganzibra (senior priests). Purity and living water are essential to ritual practice, which anchors religious life and community bonds.

Key scriptures are the Ginza Rabba (Great Treasure) and the Qolasta (prayerbook), written in Mandaic, a dialect of Aramaic. The liturgical language and script are maintained through ritual readings, hymns, and education within Mandaean communities.

Origins are uncertain, but Mandaeism is linked to pre-Islamic Mesopotamian religious currents. Persecutions and displacement, including during the Iraq War and later conflicts, have driven many Mandaeans to emigrate. Global estimates place the community at about 60,000 to 70,000 worldwide, with notable populations in the United States, Sweden, Australia, and Germany.