Information AboutMandaeanism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MANDAEISM | |
| gnosticism | |
| abrahamic religions | |
| esotericism | |
| mandaen | |
| religion in iraq | |
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Mandaeism or Mandaeanism ( Religion practiced primarily in southern Iraq and the Iranian province of Khuzestan , as well as among a substantial diaspora population in Europe , Australia , and North America . The exact number of Mandaeans worldwide is unknown, but conservative guesses place them in the range of 50,000 to 70,000. 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 Orientalist s J. Heinrich Petermann, Nicholas Siouffi, and Lady E.S. Drower . ORIGIN OF THE TERM 'MANDAEAN' Following cognates in other to identify themselves as Gnostics . Certainly, the Mandaean religion shares much in common with the ensemble of sects labeled as Gnostics, which date to the 1st c. CE and the following centuries; however, there are crucial differences, particularly in the realm of Ethics . 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 the name of the chief divinity, '''manda ''', 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 likely derived from Pahlavi '''m’nd''' ''mānd'' "house." It seems equally probable that the Mandaeans would derive their name from the type of religion they practice, the name of their chief divinity, or the term for their house of worship; consequently, the issue of the origins of this term seems insoluble. MANDAEAN BELIEFS Mandaeans do not recognize Moses , Jesus , and Muhammad ; like Christians and Muslims, however, they acknowledge John The Baptist , whom they revere as one of their greatest teachers. They also have a hierarchical clergy, practice frequent Baptism , and hold Public Worship on Sundays. They deplore fasting and Monasticism , and believe in peace above all. Fundamental tenets According to E.S. Drower, 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. # Planet s and Star s 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. Sacrament s 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 maintain a much more life-affirming worldview than that generally ascribed to Gnostics ; they 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. C.E. 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 , 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. On the Internet, the ''Genzā Rabbā'' is often confused with 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 sidra , the book of John The Baptist , which includes a dialogue between John and Jesus . In addition to these works, there are also religious texts which are accessible only to the priests. 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. Cosmology In contrast with the Gnostic sects of Syria and Egypt , Mandaeism has a more strict Dualistic nature, typical of other Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and the teachings of Mazdak. Instead of a large Pleroma , the Mandaeans believe in 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. Chief prophets As indicated above, John The Baptist (Mandaic iahia iuhana) is recognized by the Mandaeans as well as Christians and Muslims, but is accorded a higher status in Mandaeism than in either of the other two communities. There exists a widespread (but erroneous) belief that the Mandaeans consider John The Baptist to be the founder of their religion, analogous to Jesus or Muhammad within Christianity and Islam. In fact, they maintain that he was merely one of their greatest teachers; according to their beliefs, Mandaeism was the original religion of Adam . |
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