Mandaeans, also known as Mandaean Sabians or simply as Sabians, are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They may have been among the earliest religious groups to practice baptism, as well as among the earliest adherents of Gnosticism, a belief system of which they are the last surviving representatives today. The Mandaeans were originally native speakers of Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language, before they nearly all switched to Mesopotamian Arabic or Persian as their main language.
The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources, is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word qolastā means "collection".
In Mandaeism, Ptahil also known as Ptahil-Uthra, is the Fourth Life, the third of three emanations from the First Life, Hayyi Rabbi, after Yushamin and Abatur. Ptahil-Uthra alone does not constitute the demiurge but only fills that role since he is viewed as the creator of the material world in the Ginza Rabba, often holding an inherently malicious character.
An uthra or ʿutra is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency". Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utras ." Aldihisi (2008) compares them to the yazata of Zoroastrianism. According to E. S. Drower, "an 'uthra is an ethereal being, a spirit of light and Life."
Mandaean cosmology is the Gnostic conception of the universe in the religion of Mandaeism.
In Mandaeism, Yushamin and also known as the 'Second Life', is the primal uthra and a subservient emanation who was created by the Mandaean God 'The Great Life', hence beginning the creation of the material world. Yushamin is the father of Abatur. Jorunn J. Buckley identifies Yushamin as "both a Lightworld utra beyond reproach and the prototype of a priest who has made mistakes in ritual."
In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi, 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate.
The Mandaean calendar is a 365-day solar calendar used by the Mandaean people. It consists of twelve 30-day months, with five extra days at the end of Šumbulta. The Parwanaya festival takes place during those five days. There is no leap year therefore every four years all Mandaean dates move one day back with respect to the Gregorian calendar.
In Mandaeism, Hibil or Hibil Ziwa is an uthra from the World of Light. Hibil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Abel.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Ganzibra Dakhil Aidan was the Iraqi patriarch and international head of the Mandaean religion from 1917, until his death in 1964. The mandi in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia is named in his honor.
A rishama, rishamma, or rishema is a religious patriarch in Mandaeism. It is the highest rank out of all the Mandaean clergical ranks. The next ranks are the ganzibra and tarmida priests.
Yahya Bihram was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (yalufa), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean priests in 1831. He is mentioned in the colophons of various Mandaean manuscripts.
A Mandaean priest or Rabbi refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism.
The Asiet Malkia or Asut Malkia is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. In the prayer, the reciter wishes health and victory upon dozens of heavenly and ancestral figures. According to E. S. Drower, it is recited daily by priests and also before all baptisms (masbuta), ritual meals (lofani), and various rites.
Mandaean names can include both birth names and baptismal names, called malwasha (ࡌࡀࡋࡅࡀࡔࡀ) in Mandaic.
The Khaffagi family is a Mandaean priestly family with origins in Khuzestan, Iran, although some family members also lived in southern Iraq. The family's genealogy can be traced back to the mid-1400s in Khuzestan.
The Shumhata is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism.
Sheikh Abdullah bar Sam was an Iraqi Mandaean priest. He is known as the priestly initiator of Jabbar Choheili and Salah Choheili, as well as the father of physicist Abdul Jabbar Abdullah.
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