Mandaïsch

Mandaïsch refers to the Mandaean language and to things pertaining to the Mandaean people. The Mandaeans are an ethnoreligious community originating in the Near East, associated with Gnostic religious traditions. The Mandaic language is an Eastern Aramaic language within the Semitic language family. It is best known in its classical form, Classical Mandaic, which survives in religious literature such as the Ginza Rabba and the Qolasta, and as a living form in Neo-Mandaic, spoken by some communities as a vernacular in diaspora settings. The language is written in the Mandaic script, a distinct variant of the Aramaic alphabet.

Historically, Mandaeans lived in the lower Mesopotamian belt, especially around Basra in present-day Iraq, with communities in Iran. In the modern era, conflicts and persecution led to substantial diaspora communities in Europe, North America, Australia, and elsewhere, while some groups remain in the traditional homelands. The Mandaic script is read right-to-left and features several distinctive letters; Neo-Mandaic uses the same script with modern readings.

Culturally, the Mandaean community is known for its ritual baptism (masbuta), a unique religious corpus, and a tradition that venerates John the Baptist as a central prophetic figure. Today, Mandaic and Mandaean cultural practices are maintained through liturgical usage, education within communities, and extensive manuscript and diaspora literature.