"If the circumstances were normal, we would be able to rejoice in our great feast that we celebrate these days and rituals, but the Corona virus has canceled all religious ceremonies." This is how the Sabean young man Ahmed Kalamshi speaks, merely celebrating with his family on the Mandaean New Year, or what is known as "Eid Al Kursa" at home.
This holiday, also called "Dahwa Riba", is a victory for good and right over evil as seen by the Mandaeans.
According to many theories, the Creator ordered that the earth be crucified and prepared for habitation by Adam's offspring, and on the same day Adam was created and breathed into it, and the celebration continues for 36 hours, which is the period when the Earth was created in their belief, so no one touches a tree or animal, or even mixing In the outer environment, where the Sabeans store enough water and food for a day and a half, to observe i'tikaaf inside the house and practice rituals and worship.
Cosmic holidays
The head of the Sabean Mandaeans, Sheikh Sattar Jabbar Al-Helou, confirms that the celebration of this holiday was simplified this year due to its coincidence with the outbreak of the Corona virus, and was carried out inside their temple and a very limited number of clergy not exceeding 10 people who are important religious rites, for fear of spreading the virus and implementation For the instructions of the Ministry of Health, limit themselves to invitations and prayers and distribute food for forgiveness for the soul of the deceased.
Hilo adds, "This holiday is the third of our four major feasts throughout the Mandaean year, which are Bruneia (the feast of creation), the goal of Dimana (the day of the golden baptism), the goal of its Lord (the Great Feast), and the goal of Hanina (the festival of prosperity)."
The Sheikh of the Mandaeans believes that the Sabeans are among the oldest religions, but because of writing their sacred books in Aramaic and not translating them, they conquered near the marshes and the running water for their need for purification, indicating that they bear this matter because of the misconceptions that were taken against the Sabeans until their books were translated, so some skeptics understood that we Are united to God.
Old religion
The Mandaean or Sabean community is one of the oldest religions in Iraq, where it extends its roots for more than two thousand years inside Mesopotamia, and the word Sabean is derived from "Saba" meaning to indulge or dive, while the Mandaean or "Manda" is interpreted by knowledge, so they are called those who know the religion of truth or The deliberate, because of their ancient history and their exposure to numerous calamities throughout the time stages, the Mandaeans do not have a written history to talk about their past, as their blogs were destroyed and burned over the years because of the persecution they were subjected to.
The President of the Sectarian Affairs Council, Akram Salman, sheds light on the history of the Sabeans and the beginnings of their existence, and says that "many theories differ about our origins, including accounts that explain the arrival of the Sabeans from Palestine as a result of their persecution, and their displacement to Harran and southern Iraq, particularly near the marshes, while other accounts confirm that The origin of their creation began near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, as all their life rituals were connected to water. "
Secret rites
And because they did not mix with other people and sects, the Mandaeans preserved the mystery and secrecy of their rituals, as a result of which the interpretations differed about them, but they always affirm their belief in the oneness of God, the Creator of the earth and the heavens.
Akram believes that "they are not considered missionary religions, so no one is allowed to enter their religion or exit from it to another religion," noting that their self-preservation made their blood pure and not mixed with other religions or denominations, as their great interest in religious affairs strengthened their presence and not extinction despite Few.
And the Sabeans see that they are the root of the first monotheism, and they consider that our master Adam is their first prophet, and after him his son the Prophet Shit, as he has a very great position among the members of the sect, due to their belief that the deceased soul is measured by the measure of nobility of the soul and the soul of Shit, whoever carries his creative soul entered Heaven, and whoever was less created by himself, then he will begin reckoning.
Akram reminds Al-Jazeera Net that the Prophet Sam has a great favor over the Sabeans by installing all modern Mandaic laws, after which the Prophet Yahya bin Zakaria - the last of the Sabeans prophets - can send all the Baptist teachings, indicating that the Prophet Yahya used baptism as an essential part of purification of the soul and the consolidation of Mandaic concepts And from it I derived the banner of the dolphin and their brand, which is the basic symbol of them with a white dress entirely.
The Mandaeans follow the book "A Treasure of Usury" or the Great Treasure, which contains the first Adam’s papers and teachings in the Eastern Aramaic language which is considered the language of the Sabeans, and the book contains two parts, the first: specific to worldly matters of the commandments, rulings and concepts, and the second part is for the soul after her death and her journey from the mortal body to Its origin, a world of light.
Hold on to the ritual
Nadia Maghames, the former director general of the Mandaean Endowments Endowments, confirms that what distinguishes the Sabeans from other sects is their firm attachment to their rituals for more than two thousand years until today, and despite the change in religions caused by the heavenly books, they centered around one ritual that has not and will not change.
Magames - who is the first lady in the history of Iraq who holds a religious position - believes that many have false stereotypes about the Sabeans and must be changed, explaining that some accuse them of worshiping planets and stars because of their kiss towards the North Pole, or that they suffocate the dead animals to eat them, and other details far away from them .
It explains that these misconceptions have exposed many of the sect's members to abuse and persecution over time, noting that their holy books were translated into Arabic for the first time in history 25 years ago with the aim of spreading the truth of the Mandaeans, stopping the inhumane actions against them, and proving their unification to God alone.
To emphasize this, Maghames says that the five pillars of the Mandaeans are very similar to the pillars of Islam, and they are monotheism in God alone and have no partner, and 5 times prayer, charity, and fasting in two parts: great fasting throughout the year for gossip, hate, the act of major sins and sins, and small fasting for a period 36 days from eating meat and meat products.
As for the fifth pillar - the dawn sequence - it is baptism, which is considered a basic pillar and a new birth for man, and it is an obligation and duty of the Sabean, and symbolizes the spiritual connection between the material and spiritual worlds, and the rapprochement with God through the running water because it symbolizes the continuation of life.
In her interview with Al-Jazeera Net, she points out that the marginalization caused to this ancient sect due to the limited number of its members made successive governments in Iraq neglect them without granting them any share of services and rights.
She added that "their emigration from the country began since the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) to escalate with the wars that followed, and their departure cannot be stopped, and perhaps a day will come and their story and their existence will end as a result of exclusion and neglect."